Improved Career Opportunities for Expats in Brussels
- Stellar Careers & Finances
- Belgian Doctors Are Here for You If the Climate Isn’t
- No Big Obstacles to Settling In
- To Learn Dutch or French?
- Further Reading
Brussels jumps 13 spots in the 2024 Expat City Ranking to land in 18th place (out of 53 cities). The city performs best in the Working Abroad Index (3rd) but doesn’t delight as much in terms of Quality of Life (34th) — the Environment & Climate Subcategory (49th) is especially poor. All things considered, expats’ happiness with their life in Brussels ranks 26th, an improvement from 33rd in 2023.
Stellar Careers & Finances
Working in Brussels is a highlight, as the city enters the top 3 of the Working Abroad Index. Thanks to improved performance across all four of the index’s subcategories, the Belgian city sees a 19-point jump from 22nd place in 2023 to 3rd. Good news for the 56% of expats who moved to Brussels for work.
Work Culture & Satisfaction (2nd), Work & Leisure (7th), and Career Prospects (10th) enter the top 10 from last year’s average performance (20th, 27th, and 22nd, respectively). Excellent job security (3rd) and personal career opportunities (9th) can explain why a majority of expats in Brussels (67%) agree moving there improved their career prospects (vs. 56% globally).
Overall job satisfaction ranks 6th, with around three in four respondents happy with their work–life balance (74% vs. 60% globally) and working hours (77% vs. 62%). On average, they work fewer hours per week (40.6 h in a full-time job vs. 42.5 h globally) with increased work flexibility (78% work remotely at least some of the time vs. 68%).
“Living in Belgium gives me hope — hope to expand my career and build a bridge between life in the United States and life in Europe.” – Spanish expat
Expats are not only satisfied with their careers, they’re also satisfied with their financial situation (9th). Though they do have concerns about the general cost of living. More than half (52%) rate this factor negatively, compared to 39% globally. The Personal Finance Index thus ranks 20th.
Belgian Doctors Are Here for You If the Climate Isn’t
On the other end, Quality of Life is Brussels’ the worst-performing index in 34th place — though this is an improvement from its placement in the bottom 10 in 2023 (41st out of 49 cities).
Healthcare is the draw in 14th place, while the Environment & Climate (49th) leaves much to be desired. The high quality of medical care (10th) is important when a larger share than the global average rates the air quality (33% vs. 19% globally) and the climate & weather (55% vs. 21%) negatively. In fact, many expats cited “the rainy weather” as what bothers them the most about living in Brussels.
Travel & Transit (34th) is a mixed bag. Expats praise the opportunity to travel (6th) but aren’t happy with the infrastructure for cars (45th) nor how safe it is to get by on foot or bicycle (47th). The availability (33rd) and affordability (29th) of public transportation can, to some extent, fill in this gap.
Safety & Security lands in 39th place. Expats may feel like they can openly express themselves and their opinions (6th), but personal safety (49th) is a sore point in Brussels: almost triple the global average rate this factor negatively (23% vs. 8%).
Expats can be pleased with their Leisure Options, though. This subcategory sees an improvement of 14 places to rank 28th after seeing the bottom 10 in 2023. Four in five respondents (80%) are happy with the culture & nightlife (vs. 66% globally).
No Big Obstacles to Settling In
Expats can expect a slightly better-than-average experience when it comes to the Ease of Settling In (23rd). The Local Friendliness (23rd), Finding Friends (21st), and Culture & Welcome (22nd) Subcategories all land in the upper midfield.
Expats find that the locals are friendly towards foreign residents (19th), though they may not be as friendly in general (28th). Perhaps this is why a majority of respondents are friends with other expats (56% vs. 37% globally). A similar share of respondents have a personal support network (60% vs. 55% globally) and are happy with their social life (59% vs. 52%) in Brussels.
“I like that there are a lot of expats, and many interesting people you can meet, so in a way you feel home and welcomed.” – Mexican expat
Overall, more than three in five expats feel welcome (67% vs. 63% globally) and at home (63% vs. 58%) and find it easy to get used to the local culture (64% vs. 59%).
To Learn Dutch or French?
In 25th place is the Expat Essentials Index. Digital Life (38th) and Admin Topics (31st) are a bit behind but have at least left the bottom 10 (41st and 42nd in 2023, respectively). There’s an overall improvement in the underlying factors of these subcategories, in particular the ease of getting a visa to move to Brussels, which jumped 25 places to rank 21st.
Expats also see an improvement in dealing with bureaucracy (28th; 39th in 2023) and the availability of government services online (30th; 38th in 2023).
In contrast to many capital cities, Housing (19th) is the best-performing subcategory in the index. Expats in Brussels have an easier time than the average expat at finding (20th) and affording accommodation (18th). But with housing secured, it may be difficult to get high-speed internet access set up (46th).
In terms of language, three in five respondents (61%) find it easy to live in Brussels without speaking the local languages (vs. 48% globally). If they have language-learning plans, it may pose a bit of a challenge (29th). This could be due to the fact that the city is bilingual: Flemish-Dutch and Belgian-French are its two official languages.
“I find it a bizarre that Belgian citizens can rarely speak both French and Dutch.” – Croatian expat
So, choose wisely!
