These are just my honest opinions. Overall, I would say I received a good education, and would have loved to stay to contribute to the Belgian economy / society, but immigration office wasn't too open to non-EUs. I would also like to invite Belgians to reflect on themselves and their attitudes.
- On Belgian snobbishness
You know how Europeans thinks of Parisians / Paris as this snobbish city, where the locals kind of "look down" on outsiders? Maybe because of some perceived lack of fashion sense, or inability to French, or the general sense where they think outsiders lack class or chic or elegance etc...
Well whatever snobbishness it is, I feel that Belgians as a whole treat non-Belgians with a similar attitude. Except that while Parisians can be "forgiven" for such an attitude as they really are the city of Art / designer fashion / musuems etc, Leuven is well, just Leuven. Almost every week you see a post here on Reddit complaining "HoW dO I mAkE FrIeNdS?"
Yeah, that's not normal, and I think deep down everyone knows it. No other student city or reddit sub I've been to have such a trend. Speaking from personal experience, no Belgian ever dated me while I went on regular dates during my Erasmus. When trying to make friends at the Fakbars / Fakulty Bars, there is this impression that Belgians are judging you for not being on equal terms as them on some kind of metric.
Ermmm hello, Belgians realize that international students have to pass rigorous entrance exams or selection processes to enter the Master's programme, right? Its so ironic that local undergrad Belgians do not need to pass through some sort of selection criteria, and yet they turn their noses up at internationals.
- On not speaking Dutch / "Language Barriers"
I personally agree that true assimilation into a culture or country requires one to learn the language. But do Belgians not realize that this takes time and commitment? Not to mention that most Master's programme are already quite rigorous in workload and intensity.
Its also ironic that at the Master's level, everyone speaks English fluently. And its also anti-academic in spirit to insist that internationals speak the local language, just imagine how the Sciences would stagnate if i.e. every nation in the world gatekeeps their scientific journal or findings in their local language.
What's the issue honestly? Internationals and locals speak a common language fluently; why not just simple let things and communicate in English? Why do Internationals get judged or looked down for not speaking Dutch?
I get the sense that most Belgians are so attached to their country that they have never done an Erasmus or lived abroad. Imagine perhaps, studying in a foreign country like Italy or Poland, and then being judged for not speaking Polish or Italian despite English being a common mutual language at the university level, or among young people. Yeah, it isn't logical, is it? We all watch the same 67 memes, the same tiktok trends, the latest Marvel Endgame movies, grew up with Harry Potter and Pokemon...possibly all in English...but suddenly language becomes an issue? Anybody who has ever done an Erasmus will tell you that its weird to judge someone on not speaking the local language.
And also, no offense, but Dutch is perhaps only useful in Netherlands and Belgium. Even learning Mandarin / dialects of Spanish is more beneficial as your chances of running into an expat speaking these languages is more likely.
3. Economic Contributions
I see this argument a lot on how internationals do not contribute back to the Belgian economy after they have finished their education.
In the case of non-EUs, it is simply due to difficulty in being hired due to the necessity of a sponsored work permit after a year AND the need to prove that they have 12,000 euro in their bank AND to rent an apartment, most of which require 2-3 months of advance.
Most internationals simply live paycheck to paycheck while juggling part-time work. In fact, I would say through my own personal experience that the Belgium economy is more likely to be "parasitized" by locals themselves who exploit the welfare system. One of the laziest person I ever had the misfortune of meeting in my entire life was this Belgian who claimed to suffer from "chronic illness", and refuses to work OR attend university. Basically just a 20 year old NEET who survives on welfare check despite being physically healthy. Last I checked, she had a GoFundMe page for people to pay her rent in Leuven. Other cases I personally know of are people with "disabilities" like walking a cane or in a wheelchair that refuse to work. Errrmmm hello, an office job doesn't require you to run a 2.4k marathon, right??
Here's an honest question all the local Belgians can also ask themselves - do they have 12,000 euro saved up in their bank + 2-3 months of advance available for rent + a stable job lined up graduation? Or do your parents fund your Kot bills while you return every weekend to stock up on microwaved food to bring back to Leuven?
The truth is that most Internationals would love to stay in Belgium to contribute back to the economy, but immigration offices and work permits make things hard. Sure, maybe Belgians aren't the most open or friendly people, but nature is great here, musuems are decent, the big student cities are fun at times. So the impression of people leaving Belgium after they receive their degree is an act of pragmatism rather than a voluntary act.
