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“There are some similarities between ‘Brussels’ and a religion. You share a certain set of core beliefs. I am a believer!” Joelle Fiss, a former colleague and nowadays a politician in Geneva The European project had always fascinated me, and my adventure began with a school visit to the European Parliament in Strasbourg. This was soon followed by an exchange programme with a Belgian school. During this time, not only did I get drunk for the first time in my life − my Belgian

“You have to keep an open mind in Brussels. Often you don’t find the job, but the job finds you.” Constantin Gissler, director general at a tech association Following my internship, I returned to Groningen to complete my thesis. While it was nice to be back with my friends, I felt a strong urge to return to Brussels as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, the application letters I sent from the Netherlands had little impact. To be exact, zero impact. I didn’t receive a single

“Everybody is ambitious. The question is whether he is ambitious to be or ambitious to do.” Jean Monnet, one of the Founding Fathers of the European Union For most people coming to Brussels, a permanent job as a European civil servant is the Holy Grail. However, for many, it seems like a mission impossible to achieve this coveted status. The selection competitions are often seen as too challenging, leading some to give up and return home before making a serious attempt....

“There is not a lack of friends, but a lack of close friends.” Reid Whitten, international trade lawyer Probably the biggest challenge we all face when we are building our lives in Brussels is that we came for a job in Brussels, but not necessarily for a life in Brussels. We are expats, but at the same time we are different. Where expats typically are sent by their company or government to a country for a fixed period (often around four years), we chose ourselves to move and

“First I resisted it, then I fought it and now I accept it.” An anonymous interviewee about living in Brussels Donald Trump called Brussels a “hellhole”. Most Eurobubblers would not go that far, but most feel little love for the city. To see how integrated its expats were, the City of Brussels conducted a survey among around 8,000 people who work in the European Bubble. The results will have led to little joy. The vast majority described the city as “filthy” and would return.

“In Brussels people are interested in one another. That makes me happy.” Edmon Oude Elferink, Partner at the law firm CMS Brussels and Belgium-bashing is a sport in the Brussels Bubble. But the more you complain, the more you start to believe your own story. Gareth Harding wrote an uplifting article in Politico with the title “How to fall in love with Belgium – a convert’s guide.” He admits he turned moaning about his adopted home into an art form. If he could become a Bruss