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Living and working across borders


You live, work, or study around Aachen, Maastricht, Hasselt, Eupen, or Liège? This website connects information and services across the borders of Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands. Bienvenue, Willkommen, Welkom!

See more in our video.

Information & services

Forty cross-border topics in a one-stop-shop. Find all information, events, and services to make this Euregio youRegion with the help of free public services.

The website is accessible in English, German, Dutch and French. Summaries on living and working across borders, and the most important links for the Euregio Meuse-Rhine are available in: Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Italian, Polish, Russian, Spanish, and Turkish.



Categories


Find your signpost for 40 topics in the three countries of your Euregio:



Arriving


Preparation, visa, permissions. For one country or three.


Onboarding


Arrival and first steps, intercultural differences not only for newcomers.


Living


Free time, Sports, Clubs, Public transport within and across borders.


Studying


English-Speaking studies, Initiatives, Universities in three countries and five systems.


Working


Opportunities across borders, social security and bureaucracy in two or more countries.


Transport


Euregio-Ticket, Tarifs, Cross-border connections, Best Practices


Community


Free appointments, Events across borders, your network to make this work for you.


about the project


General goals
Context
General goals
youRegion is an Interreg V project

that aims to promote living and working in an international top technology region with excellent career opportunities and a high quality of life in the heart of Europe.

Together with our partners we strive for a truly 360° cross-border labour market in the Euregio Meuse-Rhine (EMR) area where borders are not perceived as obstacles to mobility; but are instead a springboard to a broadened labour market. Our intention is to create a sustainable and coordinated euregional advisory and placement structure for the cross-border labour market by linking, harmonising and expanding existing services for job placement and advice within the EMR. In this way we want to reduce unemployment, overcome labour shortages and attract highly skilled and high-potential employees to the region.

By developing a euregional welcome culture

we want newcomers to feel at home in the EMR. The youRegion team is well aware of the multitude of challenges that moving to a new region brings with it. When considering a new position that involves relocation, the question of how to align this with the partner’s career and family life plays a major role.

In order to make it easier

for partners of highly skilled and high-potential employees, we plan to set up a euregional dual career network to enable partners to pursue their careers in the Euregio Meuse-Rhine.
youRegion-flyer-1download file

Your opinion matters! You can help us improve youRegion by filling out the online survey on living and working in the Euregio Meuse-Rhine as a newcomer. Click here to go to the survey.


Context
The consequences of demographic change and its economic effects,

especially on the labour market, are noticeable in all subregions of the EMR and are an important political issue for the future. This development may lead to a shortage of highly skilled workers in just a few years as the working population is ageing and shrinking due to low fertility rates. In addition to that, highly skilled employees tend to leave the region because of a perceived lack of career opportunities in the border areas, mostly in favour of the national core regions.

However, seen as a whole, as the EMR is located in the heart of Europe it offers exceptional career and lifestyle opportunities. It is the youRegion project’s goal to make highly skilled and high-potential candidates more aware of these opportunities, to encourage them to expand their concept of career and lifestyle in relation to geographical borders and to limit the perceived negative effects of said borders. Due to the continuous efforts to address local challenges regarding the labour market and the possibility of learning from already existing best practice initiatives, the entire labour market topic is now seen as a cross-border issue.

Setting up cross-border trilateral placement services

contributes to combating unemployment and activating untapped potential.By establishing and promoting a euroregional welcome culture we hope to attract new highly skilled employees and their families to settle down in the EMR. The euroregional welcome culture should be an addition to already existing national and local efforts to attract talent. Two aspects: cross-border labour market and welcome culture.

the cross-border labour market and the concept of a euregional welcome culture for newcomers. The project will create a sustainable and coordinated euregional, advisory and placement structure for the cross-border labour market.

Through the cooperation of existing services such as the SGAs (service points for cross-border job placement), GIPs (cross-border information points) and expat centres/welcome centres (Expat Centre Maastricht Region ; Newcomer Service of the City of Aachen ; Dual Career Service of the RWTH Aachen University) as well as the establishment of new services – an SGA in Kelmis (East Belgium) and an Expat Centre in Hasselt – the regional shortages of skilled workers are expected to be effectively countered. New employment opportunities should also open up for job seekers across borders, while exceeding and complementing the national offerings.

As a logical consequence

the number of cross-border commuters in the EMR can be expected to increase.There is a real „war for talent“. In various sectors, highly skilled workers can already choose from a large number of vacancies; but what exactly makes a location attractive for the target group? In addition to general workplace conditions, the soft location factors – such as the quality of life in a city and the surrounding region – play an important role in the choice of an area to settle in.

The appeal of a region as a place to live and work

for international skilled workers has become an important factor in the competition between cities and regions. The establishment of a euregional welcome culture will contribute to:








Euregio Meuse-Rhine


Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands meet. They share borders, but also a common daily life and labour market with more than 26,000 cross-border commuters around Aachen, Maastricht, Hasselt, and Liège.

Even natives can turn into foreigners within walking distance. This mosaic of cultures and the diversity of the "near abroad" is core to regional identity across the Euregio.

Residents of the Euregio Meuse-Rhine live the “European idea” as they benefit from all the advantages of living and working in different countries.

 

 

 

 

https://youtu.be/G6VD_Mw9cbk

Entrypoints in your language(s)


Arabic


Hindi


Italian


Mandarin


Polish


Russian


Spanish


Turkish


your language


Facts & Figures


The Euregio Meuse-Rhine stretches with a radius of forty minutes and fifty kilometres. In five distinct partner regions, in three countries with three national languages, you find not less than:


5Regions19Graduate

Schools
110.000Students250.000Companies3Countries
5Universities300Research

Institutes
4,000,000Inhabitants11,000km²

Make it today



Make an appointment


The youRegion welcome culture is built on many pillars


Navigate your way


Find out about services and events in the Euregio Meuse-Rhine. If you are a nervous newcomer or a laid-back local, we are there to support you finding your way – through bureaucratic jungles and social deserts.
youregion community


Make it your way


Find your way on public transport within and across borders


Cross (linguistic) borders


Proximity unites the Euregio Meuse-Rhine. To make your way across borders, utilise our tips and information on onboarding, social activities and language learning. To keep an eye on environment and budget, our information on the accessibility of places, services and events will assist.
Public Transport


Make it your home


We hope that soon you will feel at home here


The cultural lingo


As a newcomer from abroad or even in the neighbouring country you might face some challenges.
Quite a lot of people can relate to your experiences – as many cross and commute our national borders on a daily basis.
You are also invited to become a buddy yourself and share your stories.
Intercultural learning

FAQ



These and many more questions are answered on this website, also note that you can contact info@youregion-emr.eu or any of the contact persons for indidividual questions.



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