My husband Martin and I met in Brussels in 2012, when I stepped on his toes at a nearby farmers market. At the time, I was working as a security manager at NATO headquarters and he was traveling from his home in the Netherlands.
Three days later we went on our first date. Five weeks later, I moved to Washington, D.C., to take a position at the Pentagon.About a year and a half later, we decided to get married and he would come to Washington to be with me
As a Marine Corps Reserve officer, I used VA loan benefits to buy a small house in 2014.
But we always knew we wanted to move back to Europe eventually.
Find “the one” in Brussels
When the pandemic hit, we had time to pause and plan our long-awaited return to Europe.
When my husband’s in-laws in his hometown of Rotterdam age, we want to be just a short drive away from them. We finally chose Brussels, the capital of Belgium and the administrative center of the European Union.we calculated We can live there for less than Washington, D.C. or this Netherlandsonly a 90-minute drive from Rotterdam.
I also already had a solid network of friends in Brussels, which helped me a lot.
Jessica calls Martin her “90 Day Fiancé.”
Courtesy of Jessica Van Dorp DeJesus
In 2021, we sold our Washington, DC home for $899,000, a 67.7% increase from the price we paid for it. After a year of renting in Brussels, we started looking for a place to buy a house. Our two main requirements: It had to be within walking distance to our daughter’s school and have an outdoor space large enough to eat outside.
After six months of searching and 20 apartments, we finally found “the one” in Saint-Giles, the neighborhood south of the city center where I used to live.
I fell in love with the 14-foot ceilings, the Art Nouveau architecture, and the large park nearby.
One of Jessica’s favorite things to do in Brussels is go to the markets. There are a few cafes nearby where she likes to order a cup of coffee or, “if I’m feeling a little festive,” a glass of wine.
Federico Campanale
We offered €547,500 ($586,767) for an apartment in Brussels, used cash from the sale of our Washington house to pay a 10% down payment of $58,677, and obtained a 20-year mortgage with an interest rate of 3.59%.
Take a look inside our apartment
We lived in a street-facing duplex in a building with only three apartments. It’s a little smaller than our home in Washington, but worth it.Our neighborhood is the equivalent of Washington, D.C.’s Logan Circle, where there are places like ours Easily cost twice or more. We’ve been able to add our own style.
The front door leads to our dining room – one of my favorite parts of the apartment because it has high ceilings and plenty of room for our long dining room table, where we host many dinner parties.
Jessica is a food and travel content creator who cooks almost every day. She loves that she and her family can host dinner parties at the restaurant.
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Next to the dining room is our living room, where I made a “workout nook” with a stationary bike and weights so I could watch TV and work out at the same time.
We added an American stove and oven to the kitchen that was perfect for my Thanksgiving turkey, as well as a wine refrigerator. We installed terrazzo floors as a nod to my childhood home in Puerto Rico.
“In Europe, ovens are usually small, but that’s not the case for me because I like a big turkey for Thanksgiving,” Jessica said.
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There is a small room at the back on the first floor that doubles as an office and living room. Large sliding doors lead to our two-story patio, one of which has a large table that we use during the warmer months.
During the warmer months, Jessica and her family enjoy eating outside on the patio. Above the terrace and beyond, she said, “we have a beautiful view of City Hall.”
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Bedrooms, laundry, storage room and bathroom are located on the ground floor.
Lack of closet and storage space is common in European apartments. Luckily the previous owner had a storage system built under the stairs which we used to store extra clothes, household items, wine and photography equipment.
“My daughter’s room still has the original tiles from the home, which we love,” Jessica said.
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We had a medium sized bedroom with a walk-in closet and a small guest room with a full size bed.
Our bathroom is large to European standards with shower and bath and we plan to renovate it in 2025.
The bedroom is “very simple,” Jessica said.
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Our monthly housing costs in Brussels currently include the mortgage ($2,931) and apartment fees ($65) as well as electricity ($73), gas ($70), water (about $50), and internet and cable TV ( $68) and other utility charges.
Our life in Brussels
I miss being within driving distance of my family living in Western New York. The main sacrifice of this move was being so far away from those close to me. But we are happy to be in Brussels.
Our neighborhood, San Gil, has always been one of my favorite areas of the city, filled with Portuguese, Brazilian, Eastern European, Italian, Latin American, and North African restaurants and shops. Last year, we even had a Latino-themed Christmas market with Colombian food stalls and live salsa music sponsored by City Hall!
Our now seven-year-old daughter is a third culture kid who is half Dutch, half Puerto Rican, so we want her to grow up in a diverse community.
Jessica’s seven-year-old daughter already speaks English, Dutch and Spanish, and will also start learning French at school next year.
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Belgium borders four countries: the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg and France. Such a close location makes it easy to take a quick weekend trip to explore more of the place and culture.
I can’t say that leaving the United States for Europe means the end of all our problems. But I feel more content and at home here. For example, I’m not too worried about school shootings, or the potential loss of employer-sponsored health care. We are able to live, provide childcare for our daughter, eat and cook like I do, and travel regularly.
We can embrace a slower pace of life and a culture that values friends and vacations at least as much as work.
Jessica (from Dop DeJesus) is a freelance journalist, digital media strategist, and founder dining traveler, a multimedia digital platform covering food and travel. Jessica grew up in Puerto Rico and began traveling as a young Marine 25 years ago. She currently serves as the Latino Coordinator for Bunker Labs’ Breaking Barriers to Entrepreneurship program, providing mentorship to aspiring veteran entrepreneurs.follow her Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, interestand Youtube.
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