How can newcomers learn to feel proud of Brussels, not just live in it?

The practical takeaway: if you want Brussels to feel less like an administrative posting and more like home, start smaller than “Belgium”. Learn your commune or gemeente, use both official languages when you can, follow one local media outlet, and build routines around neighbourhood places rather than only EU-quarter or expat circuits. A recent BRUZZ visit to the Brussels figure Red Le Rouge, published under the Dutch headline “Op bezoek bij Red Le Rouge: ‘Mensen moeten trots zijn dat ze van Brussel zijn’”, puts a useful question to anyone living here: what does it mean to be proud of Brussels when the city is so multilingual, mobile and administratively fragmented? For newcomers, that pride rarely begins with slogans. It begins with knowing where you actually live. Brussels is not one municipality but 19 communes/gemeenten: Ville de Bruxelles/Stad Brussel, Ixelles/Elsene, Saint-Gilles/Sint-Gillis, Schaerbeek/Schaarbeek, Molenbeek-Saint-Jean/Sint-Jans-Molenbeek, Etterbeek, Uccle/Ukkel and the rest. Your commune is where you register, collect documents, deal with parking permits, school information, local recycling rules and many cultural activities. The Brussels-Capital Region is the regional authority above them; the federal state handles matters such as residence law and identity documents; language communities shape education and culture. A simple first step is to learn the bilingual names around you. Rue Haute is also Hoogstraat; Place Flagey is Eugène Flageyplein; the canal runs through districts where French, Dutch, Arabic, Spanish, Romanian, Polish, Turkish and English may all be heard in a short walk. You do not need perfect Dutch or French to participate, but you do need enough awareness to understand why a form, school, cultural centre or commune counter may operate in one or both official regional languages. Brussels is legally bilingual in French and Dutch, while daily life is far more multilingual. For an expat or EU-institution worker, a practical “Brussels belonging” checklist looks like this: 1. Confirm your local administration. Use your commune/gemeente website for registration appointments, population service hours, parking rules, waste calendars and local events. Do not assume that a rule in Ixelles/Elsene is identical to one in Woluwe-Saint-Pierre/Sint-Pieters-Woluwe. 2. Subscribe locally. Pick one neighbourhood or city source: BRUZZ in Dutch, BX1 in French, Bruzz International, The Brussels Times, or your commune newsletter. This helps you move beyond national clichés about Brussels and understand local debates about mobility, housing, nightlife, policing, public works and culture. 3. Use official portals for life admin. For regional information, start with be.brussels. For City of Brussels services, use brussels.be. For federal residence, identity and nationality questions, use belgium.be and the relevant FPS/FOD pages rather than social-media advice. 4. Learn the cultural map. Try a Dutch-speaking community centre such as GC De Markten, a French-speaking centre culturel, a neighbourhood market such as Marché du Midi/Zuidmarkt, a museum night, a local football match, or a concert at Ancienne Belgique. Brussels pride is often hyperlocal: Marolles/Marollen, Matongé, Dansaert, Saint-Boniface/Sint-Bonifatius, Cureghem/Kuregem, Flagey and Schaerbeek each feel different. 5. Practise polite bilingual habits. A “bonjour” will work almost everywhere; “goeiedag” is noticed in Dutch-speaking spaces; “merci” and “dank u” both travel well. In official dealings, check whether a service is offered in French, Dutch or both before assuming English will be available. The broader point is that Brussels identity is not a single tribe. It is layered: municipal, regional, Belgian, European, migrant, linguistic and professional. That can feel confusing, especially for people who arrive for a two-year posting and then stay for a decade. It can also be liberating. You do not have to become a textbook Bruxellois or Brusselaar overnight. You can become attached through repeated use: the tram line you know by heart, the baker who remembers your order, the commune counter you finally understand, the square where your children play, the football ground or cultural venue where the city feels shared. There are tensions. Long-term residents may be wary of expat bubbles that raise rents and consume the city without learning it. International workers may feel Brussels is opaque, bureaucratic and linguistically intimidating. Dutch-speaking Brussels institutions often argue that the city’s bilingual status needs active protection, while many residents experience French as the practical lingua franca and English as a working compromise. All of these experiences can be true at once. That is why the Red Le Rouge line matters as a lifestyle prompt rather than a news event. “Mensen moeten trots zijn dat ze van Brussel zijn” is not only a statement for people born here. It is a challenge to residents who use Brussels but never quite join it. The most realistic route to pride is practical: know your commune, learn the names, show up outside your professional bubble, and treat Brussels as a lived city rather than a temporary backdrop.