Home is not only about fancy design and fully equipped kitchen. Home is mainly about the people. In [rezidentz], we prioritize the community and strive to make everyone feel home away from home. Below, you can find a short interview of Martina, one of our first tenants of Sainte Catherine apartments.

MARTINA 24, Ukraine, Growth Consultant

Meet Martina! One of the first Rezidentz in our Saint Catherine building. Tina (that’s how she prefers to be called) has quite an international background: she was borned in Italy and at the age of three moved to Ukraine. At the age of seventeen, she decided to do her bachelors in the US, and two years ago, ended up doing her master’s degree in Belgium. Now she is working for a startup in Flanders, and falling in love with Brussels each day even more.

Even though Tina has been on the move since a young age, having a feeling of home is extremely important for her. She specifically values coziness and community, wherever she lives and Rezidentz matched those two perfectly. “All I had to do was buy a new candle, and place my books on the shelves. Everything else design wise was there. It felt like home from the first time I virtually visited the apartment. Without even seeing it in real life.”

Every morning Tina starts with a short yoga session and a cup of matcha before work. If it’s the weekend, she often starts her day at the coffee shop right around the corner or treats herself with a delicious waffle next door to her apartment. Those rituals might sound pretty basic, but it’s the most peaceful time of the day, when the email box is not full yet and Slack channel is not exploding from work messages. On the weekends, a cup of coffee is also a perfect companion for long journaling sessions or phone calls with her mom telling about the highlights of the week.

Martina our rezidentz member in her studio

Tina is very outgoing and enjoys her social life to the fullest. “I don’t like clubs or big gatherings, but I would trade everything in the world for a long and deep conversation with the closest friends and a glass of wine”. She also enjoys exploring Brussels: everything from museums to stand up shows is of her interest. Her favorite bar is Monk, which is a stone throw away from the apartment and is considered the most Flemish bar in the whole Brussels. Regarding coffee shops, Tina has a long list to give, but we picked three of her favorite ones: My Little Cup, Wide Awake Coffee and Belga & Co. “It’s amazing that Rezidentz also organize cool events at least once a month. Last time, we did ceramics, and now I want to take more classes. It was so cool and relaxing! Moreover, it gives you an opportunity to meet people from the other buildings and experience a community life which is so important to me.”

Tina considers traveling her passion. “It does not have to be a far trip somewhere. Sometimes, I just take my car and a friend, and we start driving in the random direction wondering where it is going to lead us. Ofcourse, planned long travels are wonderful as well. During those trips I have the time to fully recharge and come up with tons of future plans and to do lists. However, my favorite part about traveling is meeting people from all over the world and hearing about their backgrounds and cultures.”

When we asked Tina to complete a phrase “A world without .. would not be a world” she immediately answered “books”. “No matter what books you read, be it fantasy, romances or self help books, I truly believe that a book can be our best friend at times. There is a famous quote by J.Green which I wholeheartedly agree with: “Great books help you understand and they help you feel understood”.

Would you also like to find your home away from home? Check out our recent openings and fill out the form to pick the most matching location!

By Martina itself, member of [rezidentz]