Belong NL

14/10/2026

A lot of people assume our guide to Almere is a tourist thing. It isn't.

The Insider's Guide to Almere covers the parts of daily life nobody hands you on arrival — housing, healthcare, education, local systems, culture, and how the community actually works here. Written in English, for internationals at any stage of settling in, whether you landed three weeks ago or three years ago.

I built it because I remember exactly what it's like not to have this — figuring it all out one confused Google search at a time.

€24.95, available now: https://belongnl.org/the-insiders-guides/

09/10/2026

Friday Night Drinks goes Oktoberfest this round.

October 16, 8:00-11:30pm at Bierfabriek Almere — same relaxed evening to meet people and start the weekend together, with an Oktoberfest theme this time around.

Come as you are, stay for the company.

07/10/2026

Kids growing up between cultures carry something most of their classmates never have to think about — which language to speak at home, which holidays belong to which side, which country actually feels like theirs.

On October 14, 7:00-9:00pm, Growing Up Between Cultures: The International Family Experience is a discussion for families navigating exactly that — multiple cultures, multiple languages, one household.

€5. For parents who want the language and the space to talk about it, not just live it.

Details at https://belongnl.org/events/.

05/10/2026

Starting as a freelancer or opening a company here means a string of decisions most people only make once, and figure out as they go.

On October 13, 7:00-9:00pm, we're running a workshop that walks through it properly: what to decide before you register anything, the registrations themselves, and the financial responsibilities that come with either path.

€10. Built for anyone standing at that decision right now, not after they've already guessed wrong once.

Register at https://belongnl.org/events/.

Freelancer or company — which way are you leaning, and what's making it hard to decide? Tell me below.

30/09/2026

There's a specific kind of relief that comes from paperwork, when the paperwork means something you've been carrying in your head just became real.

The day I received the documents confirming Belong Holding and the BV were officially incorporated, I remember sitting with them for a minute before doing anything else. Up to that point, it had all lived in plans, guides, and conversations. That day it became a company, on paper, with my name on it.

Incorporation day doesn't make headlines. But it's the day a lot of founders quietly point to as the one that made everything after it feel possible.

What's the unglamorous milestone that made your own work feel real? Tell me, I'd love to hear it.

29/09/2026

🔎 Job hunting? Make AI work for you.

Join The Happy Expats’ FREE online session, How to Use AI in Your Job Search, tomorrow (30 September), 11:00–11:45.
It’s a useful tool to understand, and you can join from home or during a break at work.

👉 Register here:

Join The Happy Expats online on 30 September at 11:00 for a practical conversation about using AI during your job search.

26/09/2026

Our Dutch Conversation Café returns October 3, 3:00-5:00pm — a relaxed space to practice Dutch with people who won't mind if you get it wrong.

All levels welcome, same as always.

Details at https://belongnl.org/events/.

23/09/2026

Somewhere along the way I stopped thinking of belonging as something a place hands you, and started thinking of it as something you choose, on your own terms.

That shift changed how I think about the company I built too. Belonging isn't a status a passport or a postcode can grant you. It's closer to a decision you keep making, in a place, with people, until it feels true.

That's a far more useful idea to build a community around than "fitting in." Fitting in asks you to shrink to match a shape that already exists. Choosing where you belong asks you to bring your actual self and find where it connects.

Do you think belonging is something you find, or something you decide? I'm curious what you think.

21/09/2026

Back on August 25 we ran a free webinar on the Dutch education system. A lot of you told us you wanted more time to actually dig into your own situation — so here it is.

On September 29, 6:30-9:30pm, join our extended session: Understanding the Dutch Education System. Same ground as the webinar — school levels, advice moments, learning routes, secondary school choices — with real time to go deeper and ask what's specific to your own child.

€25. If the free session left you with more questions than answers, this one's for that.

Register at https://belongnl.org/events/.

20/09/2026

Fearless & Unstoppable is back September 27, 1:00-4:00pm — our Women Only Circle for honest conversation and real connection.

Same safe space. New conversation.

Spots are limited — details at https://belongnl.org/events/.