Blog: Eline Dingenouts

"From the moment I moved here, I immediately fell a little bit in love with Zeeuws-Vlaanderen."

If someone had told me about 15 years ago that I would one day live in Zeeuws-Vlaanderen, I probably would have thought they were crazy. At that time, I had just finished my studies in Breda and started working there. I was completely settled and saw my future in and around Breda. Although I did have the wish to live in Zeeland with my future family.

Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t have a bad impression of Zeeuws-Vlaanderen, I just never expected to actually live there. How different the world looks in 2024! I have now been living for ten years in beautiful Terneuzen, with my husband and two daughters aged five and seven. I work as a reading and media consultant at the Zeeuws-Vlaanderen Library. It’s a wonderful job, in which I try to pass on my passion for reading to primary school children. I get a lot of satisfaction from this and enjoy interacting and having fun with the kids.

Because my work area covers the municipalities of Hulst and Oostburg, I travel quite a few kilometers through the Zeeuws-Vlaanderen landscape. I absolutely don’t mind, because from the moment I moved here, I immediately fell a little bit in love with Zeeuws-Vlaanderen. Luckily, because I have a rather chauvinistic Zeeuws-Vlaming at home on the couch. It’s also because of my husband that I decided to take the step towards Terneuzen.

I myself grew up in Goes, before moving to Breda. Moving to one of those two places wasn’t really an option for my husband. Mainly from a practical point of view, though it would have been quite a challenge to pull him away from his beloved Terneuzen anyway. Even though I didn’t really know where I would end up, I never hesitated for a second to take the plunge.

My husband and I quickly found a house in Terneuzen, where we have lived ever since. I don’t see us moving away from here any time soon. We live in a lovely house in a quiet neighborhood, close to our daughters’ school. The peace and space we experience here would have been hard to find in Breda. For our daughters, I think it’s the perfect place to grow up.

Terneuzen is often the butt of jokes, for example about its city center. Of course, it’s true that Terneuzen doesn’t have the most beautiful center in the Netherlands. But people often forget that there are plenty of spots that make this a really pleasant and beautiful city. And if the municipality of Terneuzen hurries up with its plans to improve the city center and shopping area, things will definitely move forward. A good start has already been made at the beginning of Noordstraat. With the Terneuzen Library at the head.

In any case, I’m having a great time in Terneuzen and Zeeuws-Vlaanderen. If someone tells me now that I won’t be living here in about 15 years, I’d probably think they were crazy.