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Expats of Brussels - #24 Ceyhun (22), from Turkey Expats of Brussels - #24

Ceyhun (22), from Turkey, in Brussels since 2020

“Studying abroad has always been my plan. At the start of high school, I decided to take the International Baccalaureate track, to acquire a diploma that is recognised around the world. It was part of my long-term plan to move abroad, discover new things, meet people, and learn about other cultures.

Looking around for a suitable higher education, I found KU Leuven. They have a campus in Brussels, where I study Business Administration. The quality of the degree is high, and the cost is low. 

I have lived in the same neighbourhood for nineteen years of my life and letting go of my friends and family, of everything I was used to, was very hard. I had never before been separated from my parents. Suddenly I had to learn how to cook and do the laundry. It felt like diving into an ocean, without any snorkelling experience – but I am handling it quite well. 

I grew up in Istanbul, a city with 20 million inhabitants. Compared to that concrete jungle, Brussels feels very small and green. In Istanbul, it takes at least two hours to get somewhere. Here I can just walk and everywhere I look, there are parks. 

People go jogging before or after work – that is a lifestyle that I had not seen before. Where I grew up, big city life felt too exhausting to add sports to the equation after a tiring work day."

(part 1)

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This week, we got to know Sabrina 🤩 Want to re This week, we got to know Sabrina 🤩

Want to read more stories?

The book #expatsofbrussels is out now!

Portraits of 50 different expats in images and text. Some of them have lived here for ages, some just arrived and some are on the way out. They are between 8 and 51 years old and come from every continent and corner of the world.

Get the book now ➡️ livinginbrussels.eu/book
Expats of Brussels - #23 Sabrina (30), from The N Expats of Brussels - #23

Sabrina (30), from The Netherlands, in Brussels since 2015

"I never thought I would stay that long in Brussels. After graduating, I had fallen in love with the city – it became like a second home to me. Despite that, I still feel very Dutch. In The Netherlands, you identify with being Dutch from a very young age. That is something which is different from Belgium, it is hard to pinpoint what it means to be Belgian.

Even if I stay here for another twenty years, I will always feel Dutch and be proud of my identity. I miss the openness, the lack of drama, the talking to strangers on the street. When I am ‘too Dutch’ here, it kind of drives people away. They are not used to the directness, the talking without a filter of politeness. 

I am comfortable here. I have a wonderful life, a good job, and a circle of close friends. It would take a tempting job offer or an intense urge for adventure to lure me out of Brussels. But it would need to be a good place – I do not think it is easy to find the diverse environment that Brussels has anywhere else.”

(part 2)

📸 @cem.pictures 

#expatsofbrussels book out now
📖 livinginbrussels.eu/book
Expats of Brussels - #23 Sabrina (30), from The N Expats of Brussels - #23

Sabrina (30), from The Netherlands, in Brussels since 2015

“I was born and raised in The Netherlands, as a child of Moroccan parents. My sisters and I were raised in a liberal Islamic household, and I never thought I would leave my home country, which I loved so much. 
 
When I was 13 years old, my mother sent us to a Belgian Catholic boarding school. Looking back, I realise her reasons were rational and manyfold. The level of education was much higher in Belgium, she wanted us to learn French because of our roots and she wanted to expose us to a different lifestyle and upbringing.
 
She was not the only parent to consider a better education, because about eighty percent of the students at the boarding school were Dutch. That decision changed my life, it was one of the best decisions my parents ever took for me and I am grateful they invested their savings into our education.
 
My sister convinced me to continue my higher education in Brussels. At the time, Brussels had a negative connotation for me – I thought it was dirty and unsafe for a young girl. But she took me around, showed me the cultural side and the student life, and changed that image in just three days. So, I started studying here, and have not left since."

(part 1)

📸 @cem.pictures 

#expatsofbrussels book out now
📖 livinginbrussels.eu/book
This week, we got to know Saquib 🤩 Want to rea This week, we got to know Saquib 🤩

Want to read more stories?

The book #expatsofbrussels is out now!

Portraits of 50 different expats in images and text. Some of them have lived here for ages, some just arrived and some are on the way out. They are between 8 and 51 years old and come from every continent and corner of the world.

Get the book now ➡️ livinginbrussels.eu/book
Expats of Brussels - #22 Saquib (36), from United Expats of Brussels - #22

Saquib (36), from United Kingdom and Pakistan, in Brussels since 2017

“Brussels is very diverse and welcoming – for white Europeans. When you look like me, it is not necessarily the easiest place to live. Being male, from a certain background and a native English speaker, I get away with a lot of things. But as multicultural as it seems, it is still so very segregated. Passing comments like “what is a good area to live?”. 

I personally have not ever had any troubles in Brussels so for me it is relatively safe. But I have lived in London and Paris, so Brussels seems like a walk in the park from a safety perspective. 

This view of good and bad neighbourhoods creates divisions, where all expats move into the same neighbourhoods. It gives them a narrow perspective of what life in Brussels is and makes them avoid other parts. There are nineteen communes in Brussels, but only two of them have a dominantly expat population - that doesn’t make sense.

When you live in Brussels, you don’t have that glamourous lifestyle like you would have in London or Paris, but I have lived that way before – and it is exhausting. I am so happy I traded that for the excellent quality of life you find here.”

(part 2)

📸 @cem.pictures 

#expatsofbrussels book out now
📖 livinginbrussels.eu/book
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