From Windmills to Big Ben; Life as a Dutch British Citizen

Introduction

Discover what it is like to be a Dutch British citizen, fully embracing the best of both worlds. Join me, as I explore contrasting cultures, unique experiences that make me…well…me and the duality of identity that comes with being a citizen of dual nationality.

From tulip fields to the white cliffs of Dover, adventure awaits.

Officially a British Citizen after having spent half my life in London.

A British citizen! That is what I can now officially call myself.

Many summers ago, I came to England. In fact, it was so many summers ago that I have now spent half my life living in England.

The other half was spent in the Netherlands, where I was born.

I came to England to live with my now husband, driven here by my mamma in a car packed with some of my belongings (mostly shoes — nothing much has changed there). We left behind the flat lowlands of my country, drove to France, and hopped on a ferry.

The mighty, high white cliffs of Dover were the first sight of my new home country.

Those gigantic cliffs looked even larger after coming from ‘the land where everything is flat’. It was the first of many contrasts that became evident. These contrasts now live within me as a person with dual citizenship, having spent half of my life in each of these countries.

Let me share with you what it’s like to be Dutch and British at the same time:

“I dream in English but swear in Dutch.

I crave Dutch cheese, yet cheddar leaves me cold.

I am too impatient for queues, but too British not to panic when I’m in the Netherlands and there isn’t one.

I wear clogs in the garden and don’t understand wellies.

I flinch at the taste of vinegar on chips and don’t want to eat them without mayonnaise.

I must have a tulip display at my allotment every spring, arranged in rows to mirror the Dutch tulip farm fields.

I am the first to decorate everything with Union Jack bunting for any occasion, even when there isn’t one.

I love salted butter, but I don’t eat it with jam or honey on toast. Why mix salt with sugar?

British rock music makes my heart sing, and Dutch Golden Age oil paintings are a feast for my eyes.

The British consider me direct, while the Dutch perceive me as subtle.

I (think I) speak English with a Dutch accent and Dutch with an English one.

My first name is Dutch, and my surname is British.

I am everything, I am both, I am me.”