Planning a move? The Bulletin's guide to the 19 communes of Brussels

This overview of the 19 communes, as well as some popular areas in the commuter belt, should help you pin down your ideal neighbourhood. We’ve included a guide price for renting and buying, based on current property websites. If you’re looking to buy, be prepared to negotiate the listed price, as generally the final price can be up to €10,000-€20,000 less.

ANDERLECHT
Two bedroom apartments from €650/month
Shunned by most expats, this is a commune best known for its industrial estates and rough neighbourhoods abutting Midi station, but it is on the way up and offers plenty of housing options. It has calm residential areas, several parks and an excellent metro connection to the city centre.

AUDERGHEM/OUDERGEM
Two-bedroom house, €285,000
With a third of its land covered by the Forêt de Soignes, this is one of Brussels’ most desirable and expensive areas. Though enjoying close access to the Ring and good metro and tram connections, the commune is a haven of quiet residential streets, good shops and schools.

BERCHEM-SAINTE-AGATHE/SINT-AGATHA-BERCHEM
€890/month for a two-bedroom penthouse apartment
This commune of contrasts includes wide thoroughfares and a busy shopping centre north of the city. Still shunned by many, including expats, it nevertheless offers lovely old neighbourhoods alongside recent housing developments. Accommodation is reasonably priced.

BRUXELLES/BRUSSEL
€185,000 for a one-bedroom apartment
Stretching from Avenue Louise to Laeken and from Rond-Point Schuman to the canal, and comprising the Bois de la Cambre and Cinquantenaire park, this is the largest and most populated commune in the Brussels region. Many single expats and, increasingly, young families choose to live here, either in the fashionable city centre or closer to the European institutions.

ETTERBEEK
€975/month for a one-bedroom duplex apartment
A central commune with a homogenous, urban feel and good transport links, Etterbeek borders the Schuman district and is dominated by the EU institutions. It is also home to the elegant Rue des Tongres. Many of the area’s 19th-century townhouses have been converted into offices or overpriced studios, but attractive properties can still be found around Places Jourdan, Saint-Pierre and Saint-Antoine.

EVERE
€324,000 for a four-bedroom family house
Essentially a farming area until the 1950s, Evere is now awash with supermarkets, large apartment buildings and office blocks, not least of which are the Nato headquarters. Its post-war terraced houses and quiet, affordable lifestyle make it a popular destination for families who don’t mind the trek to the city centre. It also has easy access to the Ring and national airport.

FOREST/VORST
€650/month for a one-bedroom apartment
The areas around Parc Duden and Place Altitude 100 (Brussels’ highest point) boast leafy streets and Art Deco buildings. It used to offer excellent value for money, but the commune’s popularity with French expats has pushed prices up. Down the hill is an industrial district where neighbourhoods are still on the way up. The commune is also home to the Forest National concert venue.

GANSHOREN
€725/month for a two-bedroom apartment
Another peaceful and residential commune north of Brussels is Ganshoren. Remaining off the radar for expats, reasonable property prices go some way to compensating for the distance you may have to travel to work or to socialise.

IXELLES/ELSENE
€420/month for a room in a shared apartment
Stylish and lively, Ixelles is where many expats and well-to-do Belgians dream of settling. Property prices are sky-high around Place du Châtelain and Rue Américaine, and a tad more reasonable around the recently renovated Place Flagey. With a large student population owing to the presence of Brussels’ two universities (the VUB and ULB), Ixelles is also home to Matongé, the Congolese neighbourhood.

JETTE
€175,000 for a one-bedroom apartment
Savvy expats have already been snapping up property in this pleasant northern commune, which has plenty of green spaces, good shopping areas and a new European school nearby. It also has a higher percentage of Dutch speakers than many other communes.

KOEKELBERG
€1,700/month for a four-bedroom house
Another northern commune that has yet to make it on to the expats’ wish list. Overshadowed by one of the largest Roman Catholic churches in the world, this diminutive commune has a newly renovated park and beautiful old townhouses at good prices.

MOLENBEEK
€560/month for a studio apartment
Though the name means ‘mill brook’, no trace of either can be found in modern Molenbeek, a bustling and ethnically mixed district to the north-west of Brussels. In recent years, warehouses along the canal have been converted into trendy lofts, attracting a cosmopolitan crowd. Numerous new residential developments have also appeared around Tour & Taxis, the canalside event venue. The commune, which has made international news headlines for the wrong reasons in recent months, is also known for its leftfield cultural scene.

SAINT-GILLES/SINT-GILLIS
€730/month for a refurbished one-bedroom apartment
Another commune of two sides. The elegant upper part around the town hall has grand Art Nouveau mansions with prices to match, while the once derelict lower part near Midi station is slowly being gentrified due to its closeness to the Eurostar and Thalys hub. Between the two, the Parvis de Saint-Gilles cultivates its bohemian allure, with bars and pubs aplenty and a mixed international population.

SAINT-JOSSE/SINT-JOOST
€1,800/month for a three-bedroom apartment
Brussels’ densest commune is a shining, if chaotic, example of multicultural and multipurpose city living. International hotels rub shoulders with ethnic neighbourhoods and office towers, all a stone’s throw from Schuman and the city centre.

SCHAERBEEK/SCHAARBEEK
€550/month for a furnished studio apartment
Schaerbeek offers great value for money if you know where to look. While the streets around North station and Place Liedts may not be ideally suited to the needs of families, there are also plenty of elegant and perfectly safe tree-lined avenues, some of them a few minutes’ walk from Schuman. EU workers and expat families have transformed this part of the commune into a mini-Europe and English is commonly heard on streets. The many parks, including lovely Parc Josaphat, are an extra bonus.

UCCLE/UKKEL
€560,000 for a four-bedroom house
Once a rural retreat for the nobility, Uccle today is highly prized by French families, who gravitate towards the Lycée Français. Dense urban areas to the north and west give way to opulent residential neighbourhoods as you approach the Forêt de Soignes, which fringes the commune’s southeastern border. On the downside, property prices are among the highest in Brussels, there’s very little public transport and traffic consequently dense.

WATERMAEL-BOITSFORT/WATERMAAL-BOSVOORDE
€359,000 for a three-bedroom house
A pretty commune with a laid-back, village-like atmosphere and close to the Forêt de Soignes, Boitsfort is popular with families and expats in search of quiet and authenticity. The campus of the International School of Brussels is here and there’s easy access to the Ring and E411.

WOLUWE-SAINT-LAMBERT/SINT-LAMBRECHTS-WOLUWE
€620/month for a modern studio with parking
One of the most popular expat districts, this commune boasts some pleasant neighbourhoods, parks, excellent metro connections and the Woluwe Shopping Centre. Despite the commune’s efforts to boost its cultural life, however, much of it is commuter land with endless alignments of apartment blocks.

WOLUWE-SAINT-PIERRE/SINT-PIETERS-WOLUWE
€3,225/month for a five-bedroom house with swimming pool
More upmarket and prettier than its neighbour Woluwe-Saint-Lambert, this commune breaks all records in terms of property prices. Its focal point is Place Dumon, which is conveniently situated at the end of the metro line – but with everything on hand including a cinema, who needs to go to town?

This article first appeared in The Bulletin Newcomer guide Autumn 2015