Iedere inwoner van Brussel heeft een persoonlijk verhaal en een persoonlijk gevoel bij de stad. Waarom kiezen mensen eigenlijk om van Brussel een thuis te maken? Wat vinden ze van de stad en haar diversiteit? In Humans Of Brussels komt een blik op het leven van 6 verschillende immigranten, van diverse generaties aan bod dat alle een antwoord op deze vraag formuleren. Hieronder kan u alvast 3 delen terugvinden.
We spraken met Artemis, een indrukwekkende Griekse dame van 31 jaar.
What made you decide to move to Brussels?
“When I finished my master studies I started hesitating on what to do: either to go into the industry or to continue at academia. As you know, Greece had a big financial crisis also and that was a motivation as well for me to leave the country. And at the same time going abroad was a nice idea. These were boosts towards the direction of leaving Greece.”
“The choice of Brussels was due to colleagues, who were already working at the VUB. I had discussions with them and they asked me if I was interested in doing a PhD. Honestly it was not like I was searching for Brussels specifically but since they proposed me to come to Brussels, I did a small research. I came to see the city and I came to meet the people and then decided to come because I liked it. And so far, which has been 6 years now that I’m living in Brussels, I haven’t regretted at all that I came to this city.”
What do you think about the city of Brussels, do you see a lot of good things or downsides as well?
“This might be the most stereotypical answer: it’s a multicultural city. It’s true, and I really like that. To be honest in Athens where I grow up, even though it’s a huge city, you won’t see that. In Brussels I have met people from a lot of countries, which is really nice. Even the working environment is full of foreign people or at least in my department. I think this really opens your horizons, it really opens your thinking and seeing things in general.”
“Before I came here everyone was saying: everything will close early in the evening, it will be boring and cold in Brussels. But it’s not like that at all. I’ve had many nice nights in Brussels. Another thing I really like about Brussels is that it has a lot of parks. I like how people take advantage of every green corner. It’s clear that even in the capital of Europe you have a lot of options.”
“A downside is that the city is a bit dirty sometimes. It’s weird since whenever you go in the more outside neighborhoods it’s super clean. Everything is suddenly very organized. Sadly it’s not like that in the center.”
Can you imagine yourself staying in Brussels?
“Let’s say five years from now, I don’t see myself staying in Brussels. I wouldn’t create my family in Brussels, unless I could have a nice house here in a nice neighborhood. But it’s super expensive to live in the city. So, I think I will go to Flanders for sure. I love the countryside of Flanders, the nice houses with big gardens. I think it’s an ideal place to make a family. Brussels for me is more nice to young people: for studying, for going around.”
Can you think of initiatives that Brussels can do to make the integration of the different nationalities in Brussels better?
“You always have to compare with your roots. I already find the integration really good to be honest. I see a lot of events, like food markets or food events where you see a lot of different offerings. Any kind of festival that happens in Brussels I feel like people can easily integrate, they can meet each other. I personally didn’t need a specific event for getting to know foreign people, the city already offers you that opportunity”
“But for example when I was studying Dutch people were talking about something called conversatie tafels. It’s an initiative where you can speak with other people from other countries and you can exchange your language knowledge with them.”
Any last comments?
“You can see that even though Brussels is a multicultural country, depending on the nationality of the people you notice that people will try to gather with people from their own country. People have this tendency, you see it with everyone. Even if we try to mix groups of people, you will always see that Greeks will be mostly with Greeks and so on. In my opinion foreign people should try to adapt to the country’s habits and take advantage of this multicultural environment”
Dit is het verhaal van Alex (27) en David (29), een koppel uit New York.
Can you tell us a little bit more about why you chose to move to Brussels?
‘So I met my boyfriend in 2013, we did an erasmus in Denmark when we were in our bachelor. When we came back to the United States, we thought it would be really cool to go back one day. First we were looking to go back to Denmark but it was too expensive. My boyfriend had been to Brussels on vacation before so he decided to look into Brussels more because he thought it was really nice. So we wanted to do a masters in Belgium. The VUB had the best programs for both of us. He does civil engineering and I am doing a master in Biology so for us it was the best location in Belgium and the best price. We also could do it in English because we don't really speak Dutch (laughs) so it was the best choice for us. We have been here for 3,5 years now.’
What do you think of Brussels? What is the best thing about Brussels? What is the worst about Brussels?
‘There are not really things I don't like. There are just very subtle differences that I didn't think would be there. Because I think a lot of things about American culture and Western European culture are similar. But I didn't realize how different they are before coming here. People in the US are a lot friendlier to strangers. When you come here in Brussels it's not better or worse, it's just different. But the quality of life is a lot better than in the United States. The pace of life is a little bit slower, but in a good way. People aren't trying to do 8 millions things at a time. In Brussels it's a more natural rhythm of life. It's better here (laughs).’
So is it fair to say that you also really like the diversity of people in Brussels?
‘I think it's really great. I don't come from a super diverse area in the US, I'm from New York but a small town so it's not that diverse. I think the integration that happens in Brussels is great. There are free or very cheap language courses that are available for anyone to take. There's programs to help you integrate so there's a lot more effort placed on creating and helping people to feel 'Brusselaar'. If you ask other immigrants where they're from they would say 'I'm from Brussels'. Everyone is part of Brussels, no matter where they came from, it doesn't matter, it's a really good identity as a whole.’
Do you feel like locals take an effort as well to integrate other nationalities?
‘Yes and no. So young people, I don't think it's a problem. But with older people I noticed... when I came here my French wasn't as good. People were not very helpful. But as soon as I started French classes, even though I'm not fluent yet, I can speak much better, people are much more likely to help and talk to you so I would say yes... some people aren't as open to maybe speak English but I don't blame them because if you move somewhere you should try to speak the language.
David, what are the good sides and downsides of Brussels according to you?
‘I guess the positives are... it is a really eclectic city, so diverse, especially where we last lived in the United States. It was really boring and Brussels is definitely not boring. It gives us the opportunity to push ourselves in French where otherwise we wouldn't. But it is also making life more difficult because it is different and doing different things is always harder.’
‘(Alex continues talking about the integration) I feel like integration in Brussels is great, but at the VUB it's very difficult. The support for international students is pretty poor at the moment. There is an international student office but we received very little help. The education here is also very difficult and there is no preparation at all before you come here. Maybe they should make the international students arrive earlier to familiarize you with everything because for a lot of people the Belgian education system is very good, but very hard as well, especially for non EU students.’
Would you ever go back to New York?
‘We really love Brussels, but it's just really hard with our families being so far away. For us finding a job... David has a job for a year, he has a one year contract. But when my visa ends... it's nog necessarily our choice if we want to stay in Brussels. We might not be able to…’ (David continues) ‘Yeah I think the hardest is Belgium because I think Brussels has a lot to offer compared to where we are from. But it's difficult being apart from our families, especially during covid.
We spraken met Nico, een Zuid Afrikaan van 28 jaar die in Brussel kwam wonen omwille van zijn job.
Can you tell us a little bit more about why you chose to move to Brussels?
‘So I arrived in Brussels in 2018, I think around April. Basically it was actually my first job after university. So I studied in South Africa and I did my masters there as well, I'm a mechanical engineer. I was just looking around for something applicable because I was working on vehicle engineering. I knew a previous student that also worked at this company that I was applying for so I knew a little bit about Belgium already. But still... I didn't really know a lot about Belgium so I mainly applied for the work. So it's not specifically because I like Belgium or something. And I got the job in Brussels so I'm now working voor Toyota. I've been working there for almost 3 years now.’
What do you think of Brussels? What is the best thing about Brussels? What is the worst about Brussels?
‘It's very different from South Africa. I'm Afrikaans so I can understand a bit of Dutch but they laugh at me if I try to speak Afrikaans. One guy said it sounds like a small toddler trying to speak Dutch you know (laughs). But I really enjoy Brussels but like I said it's quite different, the weather is very different, especially winter. In South Africa we don't really have so much of a winter. So I am living in Brussels, close to the Montgomery area. The area is more French speaking so I do struggle with that honestly. I haven't made an effort yet to speak French but I think I will try to learn in the future to communicate better and engage more. Maybe it is just my perception but if you speak the language you get more accepted in a way, because you are adjusting yourself to fit in more. But generally people speak English so that is nice. Yeah I think Belgium is an interesting country.’
What do you think of the diversity of people in Brussels?
‘I really like it. Especially in my company itself, it is quite an international company with lots of cultures from people all over the world. Even South America and so on. And most of my friends in Brussels are actually expats so that's something I really like, we can really learn a lot from different cultures because people act and think differently, they do things differently. For me I think that's a very valuable thing, to be in contact with different cultures.’
Would you ever go back to South Africa?
‘I sometimes think about it. It depends on the situation in South Africa. There is a lot of corruption so it's a bit safer if I stay in Brussels. In South Africa you have to be more cautious about where you go. So in Brussels you have a bit more freedom, I definitely feel safer walking around in Brussels than in South Africa. So safety is one thing. Of course salary is another thing. I am well paid in Brussels so... In South Africa I have to get a really good job. The salaries aren't always good but of course it's a beautiful country so that's something I'll always miss. The sunshine, the beach and everything... I am from the Northern Area close to Kruger Park. At night you hear the hyena's and hippo's so that is something I really miss. But actually I am very happy where I'm living right now, close to the city center of Brussels. Personally I chose an area a little bit outside of the city center so it's more quiet, so that was one of the reasons why I chose the Montgomery Area. I did have to get used to so many people walking around me. At first I was afraid to get robbed (laughs). But people just walk everywhere and the shops are so nearby. In South Africa everyone takes the car because everything is so open and far away.’
Do you feel like there is something Brussels can do to make the integration of immigrants better?
‘I think generally, being an expat, it's more comfortable making friends with other expats, you probably have that everywhere. I would've liked to... to really get to know more locals and Flemish people. I have contact with people from work but generally it's colleague based. So of course if I plan to stay longer that would probably be nice to meet more locals. But in terms of integration, I can't think of anything that has to be improved... Generally Brussels or the city center area, like if you say Schuman... it's quite international so I actually think it’s quite integrated already.’