About The Square.Gent is a virtual meeting place and an information source for all expats in Ghent, Belgium. We want to showcase what the expat community is up to in Ghent and help newcomers find their way in the city, no matter if they came just for a few months or are here to stay. The Square.Gent is an initiative by expat Gentenaars who have had first-hand experience with what’s it like to get settled in a new city. TheSquare.Gent is a helpful and knowledgable friend we wish we had when had moved to Ghent. Our approach is twofold: we help newcomers with informative articles about practical issues regarding registration with the city hall, finding an apartment and looking for a job. On the other hand we give seasoned expats ideas for further exploration of our beautiful town and its surroundings: we write about activities for children, exploring Ghent off the beaten track, day trips, expat events etc. Expats: Start here If you have just arrived to Ghent or to The Square.Gent, this useful overview will help you get started. Work with us We want to make The Square.Gent a place where expats can share their stories and useful information. We welcome relevant, informative and respectful text and photo contributions from anyone with interest in expat life in Ghent. If you’d like to share your work on the website or have questions for the editors, send us a note. Currently, all the work is done on a volunteer basis. If you’d like to advertise on our website to help us cover the costs, we will be happy to hear from you too. Editorial board Nina Nina came to Ghent many years ago via several other countries, ditching the big city lights for the towers and rivers of Ghent. She has lived in Vienna, Cantabria (Spain), Maastricht, Luxembourg and Brussels. Now she enjoys creating beautiful design, exploring space and talking to people. She is also on a mission to make Ghent and Belgium more welcoming to expats. Heather Heather is a language and travel geek at heart, having gotten the bug for it while studying German and Italian in her home country, England. After managing hotel content for a start-up in Berlin, being an Erasmus student in Bologna and writing for Frommer’s travel guides while in London, she moved to Gent in 2015 for a year. Still here, Gent must have been doing something right! She’s now determined to help other newbie expats settle in and build a great life here in this beautiful city. Our hosting partner Being a Ghent-based initiative, we have of course turned to local help for our hosting needs. Combell, a local company with international reach, has all we were looking for: reliable hosting, specialised in WordPress support, personal post-sale service. Disclaimer Note: the information on this website is based on the information found on official government and local websites, and on the experience of the authors. While we have done our best to make sure it is accurate, rules and regulations change and each individual situation might be different, so it is always a good idea to check with appropriate authorities for the latest information. Consequently, the authors do not assume any responsibility or liability for any issues or damages stemming from the use of the information found on this website. Share on Facebook Share Share on TwitterTweet Share on Pinterest Share Share on LinkedIn Share Send email Mail Print Print
Hi ! I moved to Ghent a little while ago and i would love to take Dutch lessons, but it’s really expensive unless you can find a group to split the cost (which is harder than is seems), and to this day I didn’t find any other option. Maybe it would be nice if you could make a post on where to take Dutch lessons for expats, different options, … Have a great day ! Reply
Hi Mary It’s true – there are some courses that do cost quite a lot, and others that cost slightly less. You can find an overview that might give you some ideas on this page: http://thesquare.gent/newcomers-getting-started/settling-gent/learning-dutch-ghent/ Thanks! Reply
Hi Heather, Nina and Jenny, First off, Great initiative on collecting such useful information and helpful tips/tricks! I’m convinced this supports the international community of Ghent a lot 🙂 Secondly, I would like to suggest an adjustment + rectification on the website. “Via this website (in NL): Swapfiets you can rent a bike on a monthly basis for less than 20€/month” 1) https://swapfiets.be/en/ Our website is available in English as well! 2) 15€ for students, 17,5 for non students. 3) For a fixed monthly fee, you get a Swapfiets! We will make sure your bike always works! No deposit, monthly cancelation + all service, maintenance and repairs are free! Hoping to inform all interested people well through these adjustment. If you have any more questions or would like to try out the bike, please get in touch. Kind regards, Thomas Reply
Thank you Thomas for your comment and lovely feedback! The post is updated with your information! Kind regards Jenny Reply
Dear friends, Just passing by to thank you for this project! It helped me a lot during the first months in Gent, and I still find myself coming back here for tips, sports activities, etc 🙂 Keep up with the good work! Reply