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UKJSU SHAPE COUNTRY GUIDE (INCLUDING LILLE & Albacete)
A GUIDE TO SHAPE JULY 2011 A GUIDE TO LILLE
LOCATIONS: SHAPE (Casteau/Mons – Belgium). RRC (FR) (Lille – France).
LIVING:
CLIMATE: For all locations, similar to living in the South of England although summers can be slightly warmer.
SHAPE. Casteau is located in the South of Belgium, close to the French Border and is mainly surrounded by fairly flat and attractive countryside. Mons is the nearest town and is a little bit plain, less the City Centre which has several shops/restaurants (completely different from a UK High Street) but is rich in History. The population of Mons is multicultural.
RRC (FR). Lille has a large multicultural society and was the European City of Culture in 2004. It is also one of the major stopping-off points for Eurostar. The Centre of Lille is modern and refreshing and has plenty of shops and stores. Some other parts of the city are less appealing and are quite run down in appearance.
WORKING:
ALL LOCATIONS. It is strongly recommended that all military personnel and their spouses are able to drive and bring their own vehicle whilst stationed in Belgium and France. Public transport at SHAPE does not cover all of our SFA patches and can at times be limited. Public transport in Lille is much better and many personnel do use the local transport systems to get to and from work or to other local facilities.
ARRIVAL: Arrivals are allocated a Sponsor at each location in order to help them and their families (if applicable) settle into Belgium or France. Local administrative procedures make this quite a challenge (particularly in Belgium) and it often takes a good week or more to complete the booking-in cycle. Before personnel arrive in Theatre, they are sent an arrivals pack in advance. Current relevant up to date information including housing application proformas may be obtained on the SHAPE element of the HQ ESG website on www.esg.bfgnet.de
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