Becoming Brussels
A newsletter for internationals who are done just living here.
Brussels doesn't hand you belonging. But it does reward the people who figure out how it actually works. These are the dispatches from that process. A lot of that process happens in French and Dutch. That part is my day job.
New issue every two weeks. Subscribe on Substack to get them by email.
Issues
The proportion problem: why belonging in Brussels can take longer than you think
Why making friends here can be hard - and what that means for you
You can live in Brussels for years and still feel like a visitor
On parallel lives, crystal balls, and the right equipment
Brussels is not one city. It's three (at least)
On the map nobody draws you, and why "closed" and "not unfriendly" can both be true
Brussels Business: why Belgians help before they're friends
Why are Belgians so helpful, once they let you in?
Showing Up Is the Networking
On three years of a monthly conversation table, and why nobody owes you a red carpet for saying "hallo"
Do the Homework Before Anyone Adopts You
On lurking in Brussels Facebook groups, a fire from 1967 that still lives in people who weren't born yet, and why not everybody wants to teach every single foreigner from scratch
More issues every two weeks. Subscribe on Substack
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