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Life in The Hague can be vibrant, international and full of opportunity.  Yet for many English-speaking residents — whether newly arrived or  long settled — there’s often a quieter reality beneath the surface:  feeling truly connected isn’t always easy.   You can be surrounded by colleagues, neighbours and activity, and  still miss a deeper sense of belonging.  Bezuidenhout Social Club (BHSC) was created to gently bridge that  gap.   From Living Here to Belonging Here   Found

Most of us want deeper connection — with neighbours, friends, new people we meet, even colleagues. But in daily life, it’s easy to stay at the surface:“How was your week?”“Busy.”“Same.” So here’s a surprising idea from psychology: Closeness doesn’t only happen by chance. It can be intentionally created — through the right kind of conversation. One of the most well-known examples is what people often call “The 36 Questions Experiment.” Where it came from In 1997, psychologist

Over the past weeks, many of you took the time to fill in our community survey, join waitlists, and share your thoughts, wishes, ideas, and reflections. Thank you. Not as a formality, but because reading your responses felt less like reviewing data and more like reading a shared story. As we moved through the answers, a clear pattern kept returning. Different words. Different people. The same underlying need. What your responses told us was this: We are not missing events. We

[Introduction:This morning I had a really interesting conversation about the upcoming local elections. It unexpectedly sent me down memory lane—into all sorts of reflections about belonging, feeling at home, and how that has unfolded for me over the years, and it felt worth sharing here in a blogpost.] Feeling at Home In the first years, after I moved to the Netherlands, there was a long period when I felt like I was living "on the trenches of life". I was living in society,

The Haagse Bos has been protected for 450 years this year. It is the oldest protected forest and the oldest city park in the Netherlands. This is thanks to William of Orange, who decided in 1576 that the forest should remain protected forever. The city of The Hague is celebrating this special milestone with various activities centered around the Haagse Bos. On Saturday, 24 January, you can receive free plants: one small tree and two shrubs. Later in the year, you can join gui

Bezuidenhout Social Club gathering (photo: Hans Overduin) This article was originally published in Dutch in Bezuidenhout Nieuws, December 2025. From her own experience, Zeyda Erol knows how important it is to have a personal social support network in order to truly feel at home in a new country and a new environment. To support internationally oriented neighbours in building such a network, she launched the Bezuidenhout Social Club this autumn. The interest has been significa

Most of us understand that community is important. But very few of us know exactly why it matters so deeply, or what’s happening beneath the surface when friendships shift, fade, or flourish. How many relationships should we maintain, and what kinds of friendships do we need anyway?  Recently, I listened to a powerful podcast episode from the TED Audio Collective called “Am I Normal? — How many friends do I need?” by data journalist Mona Chalabi, where she explores friends

The longest ongoing study on human happiness from Harvard (87 years and counting) found something simple yet profound: When we have a strong community and good relationships, everything gets better. We’re healthier. We’re happier.   We live longer. And yet, many of us no longer feel that sense of belonging.  We can be busy, surrounded by people at work or school, and still feel that something is missing. If you’re anything like me, you know how life in a new country—or even