Watch your step...

Press reports say that thieves in the depressed town of Charleroi have been stealing manhole covers like no-one's business this summer. In the past two months over 50 have disappeared, leaving a bunch of holes around town. Thieves reportedly try to sell the covers for their value as scrap metal. Charleroi was the same town that not too long ago saw some local criminals use a bazooka on a police station, and local vandals also burnt half of the city's police cars in just one night....

A bad hair day?

One of my favorite blogs is Pestiside. It's from Budapest, and having been there twice alreday this year, it's, well, a very unique place. Pestiside outdid itself today.....

Horrific M1 crash almost ends in dry hair

France goes Anglo-Saxon (finally)

This one passed under the radar of most of the news services, but a recent law change is probably going to open up the job market in France to non-EU citizens…. well, ones with university degrees anyway. From January 1, if you meet the conditions (which have yet to be announced, BTW), you’ll be able to get a two-year renewable permit which allows you to go look for a job in France.

Translated, that means that if the French authorities decide that you’re good enough, you can apply for this permit without having a job lined up. With the permit in hand, you can then go find a job on your own. The UK already has a system like this, and the Netherlands is reportedly considering such a program.

Anyway, we’re still building the website, but there’s more to see over at Do It Yourself Expat, the first guide for non-EU nationals on working and living in the European Union.