Brussels in weird weather made me rethink my whole digital nomad setup (also the wifi is actually good here)

okay so i landed in brussels three days ago and honestly i didn't have high expectations. i was supposed to go to amsterdam but flights were cheaper here and honestly i just followed the money. that's kind of my whole philosophy as a digital nomad - flexibility over planning, cheaper over convenient. my bank account thanked me at least.

Quick Answers

Q: Is this place worth visiting?
A: yeah actually. i was surprised. it's not what you'd call pretty pretty but there's something about the way the city just... exists. no performative charm. just a working city. i got more done here in two days than a week in lisbon. your call though.

Q: Is it expensive?
A: less than amsterdam, more than budapest. coffee is like 3-4 euros which is fine. apartments on airbnb were 50-70 a night for decent spots. groceries are reasonable. i'd say mid-range for western europe.

Q: Who would hate it here?
A: people who need cities to perform for them. if you need that instagram-ready aesthetic everywhere you go, go to prague or whatever. brussels won't hold your hand. also if you hate rain. it rains here a lot actually but not today which is weird.

Q: Best time to visit?
A: honestly? right now. march-april. the weather data says it's around 16-17 degrees which is basically perfect. not too crowded, prices haven't hit summer peaks yet.

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the weather right now is doing something weird. it's supposed to be like 16-17 degrees but it feels colder, you know? the humidity is low which is unusual for this part of belgium. someone told me the pressure is high which explains why the sky looks stretched and pale. i checked three different weather apps because i couldn't trust my own perception. they all said the same thing: clear, dry, mild. but i needed a jacket this morning and i'm not usually a jacket person. locals seem unbothered which means either they have some secret temperature tolerance or they've just accepted that brussels weather is personally hostile to everyone.

i'm staying in ixelles which is apparently the neighborhood where all the startups are. i saw a guy on his laptop at a coffee shop and i swear i felt a kinship. we didn't talk. we just both nodded. that's the digital nomad thing isn't it. we recognize each other. we're all just trying to find outlets and reliable wifi and somewhere that doesn't judge us for ordering one coffee and staying six hours.

The wifi situation

okay this is what you actually care about if you're working remotely. i tested it. i went to four different cafes and ran speedtests because that's the kind of person i am now. the fastest was at a place near etterbeek - 85 down, 40 up, latency 12ms. i almost cried. i was coming from barcelona where i had to work from my hostel room because every cafe had that one guy playing loud music on speakers. here? people actually work. it's like a culture or something.

*brussels has invested in public wifi in a way that actually works. i know that sounds boring but when you're trying to take a client call and your connection drops for the third time, you'll understand why this matters.

The cost thing

let me break it down because i know you're calculating whether you can afford this. i found a coworking day pass for 15 euros. that's cheaper than lisbon. a decent lunch was 12-18 euros depending on how fancy you want to get. beer is 3-5 euros which feels criminal after london prices. i spent about 55 euros a day including accommodation in a private room, food, transport, and coffee. that's doable on a 1500-2000 monthly budget if you're not eating at restaurants every night.

a local warned me that the tourist areas near the grand place are more expensive. she said "if you want real prices, go where the students go" - so i went to la cambre area and yeah, she was right. 2.50 for an espresso. i almost wept with joy.

Safety vibe

i felt safe. that's my actual answer. i walked back to my place at midnight two nights in a row and nothing happened. i saw police around central areas which is either comforting or unsettling depending on how you view police. there were some sketchy parts near the train station but that's every city. i kept my phone in my hand but not in a paranoid way, just in a "i've been to enough places to know" way.

brussels is statistically one of the safer western european capitals for tourists. the crime rate is lower than paris, similar to amsterdam. violent crime against tourists is rare. petty theft happens - keep your stuff close in crowded areas. that's just travel 101 though.

> "everyone thinks they know brussels but nobody actually does" - my airbnb host, who was from lisbon but had lived here eight years. i think about that quote a lot.

The work-life balance thing

this is where it gets interesting. as a digital nomad, you're always looking for places that let you work without feeling like a leech. brussels has this weird energy where everyone's working on something. it felt productive even when i wasn't working. there's a coworking space on almost every block it feels like. i counted seven between my apartment and the coffee shop i went to three times. they all had people in them. all ages, all kinds of laptops. it made me feel less alone honestly.

the thing about being a digital nomad is that you get lonely in a specific way. it's not like regular loneliness. it's the loneliness of being in a beautiful place but having to work through it. of seeing things through your laptop screen. of making friends but knowing you'll leave in a week. brussels didn't fix that obviously but it made it easier. there were other people like me. we didn't talk much but we knew.

the food situation

okay i need to talk about the food because i ate a lot of it. the belgian food thing is real but it's also kind of... much? i had waffles. i had fries. i had mussels which were fine but honestly i'm not a mussel person so that might be a me issue. the best meal i had was at a tiny place near sablon that did some kind of pasta that i still dream about. i don't even remember what it was called. i just walked until i saw something that looked good. that's my method.

brussels has incredible international food for a relatively small city. the immigrant communities have brought serious culinary diversity. i had some of the best Moroccan food i've ever had, and i'm saying that as someone who's been to morocco. the african spots near matonge are also worth your time if you want something other than tourist belgian food.

day trips

i took a train to bruges because everyone told me to. it was 45 minutes and like 15 euros each way. it was crowded but beautiful. i understand why people lose their minds over it. i also briefly considered antwerp but ran out of time. the belgian train system is actually good which is something i didn't expect to say out loud. as a digital nomad, easy access to other cities matters. i need to be able to leave sometimes. i need to know that if this city doesn't work out, the next one is an hour away.

the verdict

i'll come back. that's my verdict. i'm actually planning to come back in summer to see what the weather does when it's supposed to be warm. someone told me it gets genuinely hot here which i find hard to believe based on my current experience. but i also didn't bring a jacket and had to buy one so what do i know.





things i learned:*
- belgium has good wifi infrastructure in urban areas
- 50-70 eur/night gets you a decent private room
- ixelles is the nomad neighborhood
- bring a jacket regardless of what the weather app says
- the food scene is underrated
- you can get by speaking english everywhere
- it's less touristy than amsterdam which might be the point

some practical stuff

if you're coming here to work, get a local sim. i used orange and it was 15 euros for 20gb which was more than enough. the data speeds were solid too. i never ran out of data which is my biggest fear as someone whose job requires being online constantly.

i worked from:
- the coffee shop on chaussee d'ixelles (good wifi, okay food)
- a coworking space called betacowork (15 eur day pass, solid)
- my airbnb (hit or miss depending on the building)
- a library near central station (free, quiet, weird hours)

i heard there are more coworking options in saint-josse which is apparently the up-and-coming area. i didn't make it there but that's where i'd look next time.

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that's the post. i don't know how to end this so i'm just going to stop. i have work to do and honestly brussels made me more productive which is the weirdest compliment i can give a city. go if you need to get things done. stay if you need to feel like part of a working city that doesn't care about your existential crisis. it'll be here either way.


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check brussels on tripadvisor for more tourist info
reddit thread about digital nomad life in belgium
yelp for coffee shops with wifi
wikitravel brussels guide
belgium train times
nomad list brussels