At long last ... Brussels

Packing, unpacking, sorting and arranging are done. Now to set about acclimating myself to my new surroundings, which is proving to be a bit more challenging than expected.
For starters, we have to have ID's to get or do just about anything from banking to recycling (I'll explain this later in my post). Getting ID's is a challenge in and of itself. First my husband, who works for the government, needs to apply for a card since he is the one with the job and work permit. Getting his ID can take anywhere up to a month. Once he has his ID, I can apply for my ID (I have to wait because I am not a citizen of the same country he is from) which will also take up to a month.
At first we were told we could not apply for a bank account without an ID but, due to my husband's job, we were able to apply for a bank account now. Applying for a bank account means just that. We filled in an application and now have to wait until they send us a card before we can deposit money and use the account. It has been three and a half weeks and still no card. Without a bank account, we cannot get a cell phone or membership to anything. We were able to get cable and Internet (thank goodness!) but we are supposed to pay through our bank account. Paying through a bank account is not like back home. There are no checks and no online payment options that I know of. The companies send you a voucher that you sign and send back. To top it all off, many places do not accept your bank cards or Visa cards (they might accept Mister cards and Master cards) as payment, so almost everything has to be paid for in cash. Why do we have a bank account? Oh yeah,to pay our bills!