Practical Tips for Coping with Homesickness in Belgium

Published on April 30, 2026 and written by Cyril Jarnias

Moving to Belgium, whether to study, work, join a partner, or seek asylum, is often an exciting adventure. But beyond the clichés of fries, beer, and chocolate, many newcomers discover a less glamorous reality: homesickness. Between gray weather, an unfamiliar language, confusing social codes, and feelings of isolation, nostalgia for “home” can quickly become overwhelming.

Understanding Homesickness in the Belgian Context

Homesickness is not a whim or a sign of weakness. Psychologists sometimes speak of “separation anxiety”: a normal emotional reaction to the loss of familiar references, connections, and routines. Studies show that, in their first year abroad, between 20% and 90% of expatriates experience some form of homesickness, and that nearly 70% of international students report feeling homesick within the first week.

In Belgium, these feelings are often mixed with other specific factors.

Climate, Light, and Mood: A Sensitive Trio

Belgium has a temperate maritime climate: rather mild winters, cool summers, but above all a lot of rain and clouds. Brussels has about 190 rainy days per year. In winter, light is particularly scarce: in the first two weeks of December 2024, the country recorded only about six hours of sunshine in total. Unsurprisingly, the winter period is often cited as a time when homesickness and gloom intensify.

Loneliness: A Widespread Phenomenon in Belgium

Your feeling of loneliness is not an isolated case: the Belgian figures are telling. In 2018, 46% of the country’s inhabitants reported feeling lonely. In Flanders, 59% of adults say they feel lonely sometimes or often, and more than one in five adults (21.3%) experiences severe loneliness. This is a public health issue, not just an individual problem.

Flemish and Brussels research on “Caring Neighbourhoods” and the major project “A Lonely Planet” shows that there are strong differences in loneliness from one municipality to another, and that neighborhood characteristics (infrastructure, public spaces, social mix, presence of meeting places) play a decisive role.

A table shows loneliness among older adults in the cross-border Meuse-Rhine region, which includes part of Belgium, before and during the pandemic:

These figures show two useful things for you: loneliness is common, and it increases in difficult contexts. In other words, if you combine moving, gloomier weather, language barriers, and distance from your loved ones, it’s logical that homesickness takes up space.

Culture Shock and Emotional “Roller Coasters”

Homesickness is often one face of culture shock. Expert Steven Rhinesmith, who described a ten-step cultural adjustment model, compares this process to a roller coaster: euphoria of discovery, first frustrations, superficial adjustment, phases of depression and, gradually, acceptance of the host culture.

– initial excitement (Belgium seems charming, everything is new),

– a phase of “shock” (bureaucracy, language, weather, reserved social codes),

– a surface adjustment (you know where to shop, how to take the train),

– a period of doubt or frustration (you still feel like an “outsider”, you idealize your home country),

– then, with time and effort, true emotional integration.

Understanding that these phases are normal helps avoid dramatizing “bad” days and seeing homesickness as a step on the journey, not a failure.

The Role of the Neighborhood and “Third Places” in Feeling Less Alone

Research conducted by Belgian universities (KU Leuven, VUB, Thomas More) closely examines the link between neighborhood characteristics and loneliness. The major project “A Lonely Planet” seeks, for example, which types of neighborhoods expose people most to the risk of loneliness, how these characteristics affect residents, and what can be done locally to address it.

One concept often returns: that of “Caring Neighbourhoods”.

“Caring Neighbourhoods”: When the Neighborhood Becomes an Antidote to Homesickness

In Flanders and Brussels, the idea of “Caring Neighbourhoods” has been developing rapidly since the first initiative launched in 2014. The Flemish Ministry of Welfare describes these neighborhoods as places where people live comfortably, help each other, easily find services and infrastructure, and have opportunities to meet.

– a local service center organizing neighborhood activities in Poperinge (“Tegoare in de Stroate”),

– a virtual currency system to valorize volunteering in Roeselare (“Talento”),

– outdoor sports activities in Oudenaarde (“Buurtsport”),

– an artistic project based on personal narratives in Menen (“The Box in My Front Garden”),

– a traveling coffee bar in Laarne, a neighborhood grocery store managed by people with disabilities in Ledegem,

– a community garden in Sint-Truiden (“Warm Garden”).

These projects show that a neighborhood can become a powerful antidote to homesickness, provided there are multiple opportunities for connection: activities, welcoming places, key people (neighborhood ambassadors, community workers…).

“Third Places”: Cafés, Libraries, Hair Salons…

Sociologist Ray Oldenburg speaks of “third places” to describe these spaces that are neither domestic nor professional, where people can meet without consumption pressure: simple cafés, libraries, cultural centers, hair salons, neighborhood houses…

These places are defined as spaces that bring people together without requiring consumption, making them accessible to people on a low budget. In Belgium, they are particularly valuable for newcomers: few formal codes, regular presence of regulars, possibility to talk with strangers at your own pace.

German Körber Foundation

Identifying a few third places near you (municipal library, cultural center, not-too-fancy neighborhood café, neighborhood house, open church or mosque, local sports club) and going there regularly is a simple but very effective strategy to combat homesickness.

Understanding Belgium Helps Put Things in Perspective

When you arrive in Belgium with your own national references, you can quickly be confused: three official languages, two main regions, a very international capital, a fragmented national identity. Understanding a bit of this landscape often allows you to interpret certain attitudes differently and avoid misunderstandings.

Flanders, Wallonia, Brussels: Three Worlds in One

Belgium is a federal state with:

– a Dutch-speaking region: Flanders,

– a French-speaking region: Wallonia,

– an officially bilingual region: Brussels-Capital.

In eastern Wallonia, a small minority mainly speaks German. Identity is therefore very regional, even local, and many Belgians feel as much, if not more, Flemish, Walloon, or Brussels as “Belgian” in the abstract sense.

Reserved, but Not Hostile

Studies on expatriates show that in Belgium, only 25% of foreigners find it easy to make Belgian friends, and almost half describe the inhabitants as distant. The reality is more nuanced: many Belgians have circles of friends built in school or university and maintain them throughout their lives. They plan meetings in advance, are attached to their family life, and don’t always like improvisation.

This style of sociability can be interpreted as coldness when coming from more spontaneous cultures. In fact, it’s more about a thicker initial boundary, which cracks slowly but solidly over time. Understanding this helps avoid taking a refusal or lack of response to a spontaneous invitation personally.

Useful Cultural Codes to Avoid Faux Pas

In a country where integration is already a structural challenge for migrants, knowing a few unwritten rules helps avoid adding unnecessary tensions:

Accepting these rules as cultural differences rather than flaws helps lighten the culture shock. And this does not mean renouncing your own culture: it’s about knowing how to navigate between the two.

Building a Network: A Central Pillar Against Homesickness

All research on homesickness converges: the factor that makes the most difference is social connections. Since loneliness is recognized as a massive problem in Belgium, many initiatives exist to facilitate network creation. The challenge is to use them.

Relying on Student and Expatriate Networks

If you are a student, you have a major advantage: Belgian universities and student associations are very active. The Erasmus Student Network (ESN) has dynamic sections in Brussels, Leuven, Ghent, etc. It offers parties, language tandems, weekend trips, sports activities. University international services also organize welcome weeks, information sessions, sometimes “buddy” systems with Belgians to accompany newcomers.

A table summarizes some typical entry points according to profile:

The more you multiply these points of contact, the more your daily life fills with familiar faces – which, mechanically, leaves less room for homesickness.

Volunteering and Neighborhood Projects: Making Yourself Useful to Feel at Home

“Caring Neighbourhoods” projects show that you feel more anchored in a place when you feel you are contributing to collective life. Participating in a shared garden, helping in a social grocery store, becoming a street “ambassador”, lending a hand at a local festival: these are all ways to create a place for yourself that is no longer just “temporary” or “tolerated”.

Language and Integration: A Barrier, but Also a Lever

Language is a key factor for integration in Belgium. On paper, more than half of the population has a good command of English, but many don’t dare speak it for fear of making mistakes. Result: without some basics of Dutch in Flanders or French in Wallonia and Brussels, it’s hard to enter certain social circles (local clubs, associations, elderly neighbors, parents at school).

Flemish integration policies are very focused on learning Dutch via “inburgering” (civic integration) pathways which include between 80 and 240 hours of language classes, 60 hours of social orientation, 20 hours of professional orientation. In Wallonia, an integration pathway is also organized for non-EU nationals.

Beyond administrative obligations, seeing language as a connection tool rather than a constraint is valuable. A simple phrase learned to chat with a neighbor, a “thank you” or “dank u” at the baker, a joke in the local language: these are small victories that strengthen the sense of belonging and reduce homesickness.

When Integration Meets Reality: Discrimination, Employment, Discouragement

For some migrants in Belgium, homesickness mixes with a broader feeling of injustice or rejection. Research shows that people of immigrant background, especially from outside the EU, face notable discrimination in access to employment, housing, and sometimes education.

These obstacles can reinforce homesickness: you feel not only far from home, but also rarely welcomed. It is then all the more important:

– to rely on equality defense structures (anti-discrimination bodies, migrant associations),

– to seek mentoring programs (like the MESH project, which developed networking and mentoring models for people with an immigrant background),

– to distinguish, mentally, society as a whole from discriminatory behaviors of certain individuals or structures.

This nuance allows you not to reject everything outright and to spot the many Belgians and organizations who, on the contrary, are actively working to make society more inclusive.

Personal Strategies to Tame Homesickness

International research on homesickness and culture shock converges with what is observed in Belgium: to prevent nostalgia from taking over everything, you need to act on several fronts at once.

Creating a Reassuring Cocoon in a New Country

The feeling of loss of reference points comes largely from the disappearance of your routines and familiar objects. It is therefore useful to rebuild a stable base:

– furnish your home with a few items from home (photos, textiles, books, spices, music),

– reproduce certain rituals (family meal once a week, movie night “like at home”, regular call with your loved ones),

– create a daily routine with set sleep, meal, work or study times, and a dedicated moment for a pleasant activity.

Managing the Link with Your Home Country Without Cutting Yourself Off from Belgium

Technology makes contact with family very easy. It’s a blessing, but also a trap: spending entire evenings on WhatsApp, FaceTime, or social media can prevent building real connections locally.

Specialists recommend:

– planning specific communication times (for example two video calls per week, messages every morning or evening),

– avoid spending hours watching stories of friends who stayed back home, if it fuels the feeling of “missing out on real life”,

– using these exchanges to also share your discoveries in Belgium, not just your difficulties.

The goal is not to cut ties with home, but to avoid your “Belgian” life being just a virtual parenthesis between conversations focused on your home country.

Taming the Climate and Light

Since Belgian weather is a real factor for low morale, you might as well face it head on:

– invest in suitable clothing (good waterproof coat, rain-resistant shoes, hat, gloves) so you don’t give up going out when it rains,

– take advantage of rare sunny spells to get some fresh air, even for 20 minutes,

– consider, if needed, a light therapy lamp or a medical check-up if you suspect seasonal depression,

– organize small getaways to brighter regions during winter if your means allow it (many expats go to southern Europe for a few days to “recharge” their vitamin D).

Many people say that by learning to love certain facets of this climate (cozy time at home, warm cafés, Christmas markets, misty forests), their perception gradually changes.

When Homesickness Derails: Spotting the Time to Ask for Help

Most of the time, homesickness subsides within the first weeks or months. But sometimes it lasts, worsens, or turns into real psychological suffering: depression, severe anxiety, extreme isolation. In an unknown country, you don’t always know who to turn to.

Warning Signs

Specialists recommend not waiting if you notice:

In these cases, it’s no longer just “normal” homesickness, but psychological suffering that deserves real support.

Navigating the Belgian Mental Health System

Good news: in Belgium, you don’t need to go through a general practitioner to see a psychologist or psychiatrist. The mental health system is dense, even if waiting times in the public sector can be long.

The main points to know:

Several organizations facilitate the search for a professional speaking your language or English:

– the Commission of Psychologists maintains a searchable registry by location and language,

– networks like Community Help Service (CHS) in Brussels offer a 24/7 helpline in English as well as a multilingual mental health center,

– platforms list French-speaking, Dutch-speaking, or English-speaking therapists.

Waiting times average about six weeks in the public sector, often less in private practice.

A summary table can help you find your way:

Do not hesitate to try several interlocutors: the quality of the therapeutic relationship matters as much as the method used.

Drawing Inspiration from European Best Practices Against Loneliness

Belgium is not alone in facing a high level of loneliness. Across Europe, pilot projects have tested original approaches from which you can draw inspiration, even on an individual scale.

The euPrevent PROFILE Project: Three Levers to Remember

In the Meuse-Rhine Euregion (part of which is in Belgium), the euPrevent PROFILE project worked specifically on loneliness among older adults. It was based on three pillars:

– promoting intergenerational exchanges,

– raising awareness about the subject of loneliness,

– developing guidelines and best practices.

These principles are transferable to your situation:

The project brought together examples of initiatives classified by theme: digitalization, activities “on the move”, individual support, network creation, socio-cultural events. Thinking about your own Belgian agenda with these categories in mind can help: one “movement” activity per week, one “cultural” activity, a moment of “individual connection”…

The Experience of Pau in France: The Importance of Small Things

A French city, Pau, carried out an interesting anti-loneliness plan: citizen workshops, an online tool to connect residents, animation caravans moving from neighborhood to neighborhood, simple urban amenities (benches, small convivial squares), “buddy” systems, and listening telephone lines.

Accepting That the Process Takes Time

Scientific models of loneliness and homesickness – like that of Lim and colleagues – show that there are triggers (life events, migration), risk factors (social isolation, language, discrimination), but also protective levers (social support, relational skills, access to meeting places).

In Belgium, these dimensions are particularly visible: a highly urbanized country, but where 72% of the population lives in their own family home, with social networks sometimes very locally anchored; sometimes rigid integration system, but also a multitude of associative projects; a climate unforgiving in winter, but a rich indoor cultural life.

Settling into this puzzle requires:

At the same time, it is important to admit that there are cases where life abroad, including in Belgium, does not suit everyone, despite all efforts. Deciding to return can then be a legitimate choice, not a failure, especially if your mental health is at stake.

In Practice: Gradually Turning Belgium into “Home”

If we summarize the most solid leads from research and field experience, three common threads emerge to tame homesickness in Belgium:

1. Building Connections Actively seek relationships, even fragile at first: neighbors, colleagues, association members, volunteers, other expatriates, residents of your neighborhood. Accept that most connections are built slowly, especially with Belgians, but that every encounter counts.

3. Taking Care of Your Mental Health, Without Waiting Normalize seeking help: talk to other expatriates, friends, a therapist if needed. Use available resources (helplines, care networks, mental health centers) before homesickness turns into major depression. You are neither the first nor the last to go through this, and the Belgian system, despite its slowness, offers real possibilities for support.

Between the rains of Brussels, the forests of the Ardennes, the streets of Antwerp or the bistros of Liège, there are a multitude of paths for this country to gradually become a place to live, and not just a place to pass through. Homesickness is part of the journey; it doesn’t have to write the final destination.

Cyril Jarnias

Cyril Jarnias is an independent expert in international wealth management with over 20 years of experience. As an expatriate himself, he is dedicated to helping individuals and business leaders build, protect, and pass on their wealth with complete peace of mind.

On his website, cyriljarnias.com, he shares his expertise on international real estate, offshore company formation, and expatriation.

Thanks to his expertise, he offers sound advice to optimize his clients' wealth management. Cyril Jarnias is also recognized for his appearances in many prestigious media outlets such as BFM Business, les Français de l’étranger, Le Figaro, Les Echos, and Mieux vivre votre argent, where he shares his knowledge and know-how in wealth management.

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