A month as a digital nomad in Brussels
I spent a month working remotely from Brussels. It’s not the obvious digital-nomad city — no one puts it next to Lisbon or Bali — but it quietly works, and in some ways better than the hyped spots. Here’s the honest account.
Where I based myself
I stayed in Ixelles, and I’d recommend it to any remote worker. It’s residential, full of cafés and good food, walkable, well-connected, and far more local than the tourist centre (best neighbourhoods). Dansaert and Saint-Gilles would work just as well — all three have the right mix of café culture and everyday life.
Working from cafés
Brussels has a genuinely good specialty-coffee scene, mostly clustered in Dansaert, Ixelles and Saint-Gilles (breakfast & brunch). Wifi was reliable everywhere I tried, and the brunch culture means café-working over a flat white is completely normal. There are coworking spaces too if you want a desk and meeting rooms.
The cost
Cheaper than London or Paris, pricier than Eastern Europe — squarely mid-range. The big win: as a business city, weekend hotel/short-let rates dip, and everyday eating is affordable if you live on the classics and markets rather than restaurants every night.
The killer feature: weekend escapes
This is where Brussels beats most nomad hubs. Sitting at the centre of Belgium’s rail network, every weekend was a different city — Bruges, Ghent, Antwerp, all under an hour, no car, no planning (day trips). Within two hours I could be in Amsterdam, Paris or London. As a base for exploring Europe between work, it’s hard to beat.
The honest cons
- The weather. Grey and damp a lot of the time. You learn to love the indoor café-and-museum life (rainy day).
- It’s understated. Brussels doesn’t show off, so it can feel low-key if you want a buzzing scene. That’s a pro for focus, a con for FOMO.
- Bureaucracy and languages. Bilingual admin can be mildly confusing, though English is widely spoken.
Would I do it again?
Yes. Brussels is an underrated remote-work base: affordable-ish, walkable, great food and coffee, and unbeatable weekend connectivity. It rewards the kind of nomad who values a calm, liveable home base over a party scene. Live in Ixelles, work from cafés, and take a train somewhere new every weekend — that’s a very good month. Start with our neighbourhoods guide.
