would you leave
#52
#53
If I end up on the floor having a seizure your avatar will still be on the screen.
#57
The eldest is in third year high school Spanish. She has trouble pronouncing English correctly (I swear this is an LD that she compensates for). The youngest speaks clearly and is far more interested in speaking Dutch. The language makes me laugh sometimes though, it sounds comical and I can't explain why. German doesn't have this effect on me; it just sounds "strict". I've never seen a comedy in Dutch or about the Dutch so I have no idea why it makes me laugh!
#58
arrrgh, now I read:
U woont niet in het land waarvan u de nationaliteit bezit.
My bad Dutch translates this as:
You live not in the land where you the nationality <some verb>.
It doesn't define "living" or how long you must "live" there. But I imagine it would entail having the legal right to live there. Now I need a country in which we can legally live for a short and inexpensive period of time.
U woont niet in het land waarvan u de nationaliteit bezit.
My bad Dutch translates this as:
You live not in the land where you the nationality <some verb>.
It doesn't define "living" or how long you must "live" there. But I imagine it would entail having the legal right to live there. Now I need a country in which we can legally live for a short and inexpensive period of time.
#59










Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 6,669








Portugal. Toon can speak the language 
I love the Dutch language - it is very musical compared to Afrikaans which is guttural like German.

I love the Dutch language - it is very musical compared to Afrikaans which is guttural like German.
#60










Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 6,848











Snowbunny; I actually think that there may be a way for you to reside in the UK if your spouse is Dutch, even if you don't have a Dutch passport.
When I lived in Singapore we had neighbours on our condo where the husband was Israeli, the wife was Dutch and their four children were all born in Israel.
The husband's work contract was coming to an end but the family did not want to return to Israel; one of their teenage sons had severe ADHD - put it this way, you wouldn't want to put this kid in charge of a gun - but the mother told me that in Israel if a young person does not do their national service, even for medical reasons, it is seen as a huge personal slur/shame and badly affects future job prospects for the rest of ones life etc.
The family didn't want to live in Holland; the husband and none of the kids could speak any Dutch but were all fluent English speakers. Instead, the family chose to live in the UK and they were able to do this as the wife and kids had the Dutch EU passport. The husband didn't have a Dutch passport - he only held an Israeli one - but he was able to reside in the UK due to being the spouse of an EU citizen.
In fact, the son with the severe ADHD was actually given a boarding school place at a specialist school in Cambridgeshire (Eastern England), all paid for by their local authority - they had moved to Herefordshire on the England/Welsh border and opened up their own business for boarding dogs and cats. I went to visit them there and they were all very happy.
It may be worthwhile getting Toon to contact either the British Embassy in Washington DC to see if this may one day be an option for you both (and for your kids if they chose to go with you). Personally I would write to them as it costs a fortune to make a phone call LOL!
When I lived in Singapore we had neighbours on our condo where the husband was Israeli, the wife was Dutch and their four children were all born in Israel.
The husband's work contract was coming to an end but the family did not want to return to Israel; one of their teenage sons had severe ADHD - put it this way, you wouldn't want to put this kid in charge of a gun - but the mother told me that in Israel if a young person does not do their national service, even for medical reasons, it is seen as a huge personal slur/shame and badly affects future job prospects for the rest of ones life etc.
The family didn't want to live in Holland; the husband and none of the kids could speak any Dutch but were all fluent English speakers. Instead, the family chose to live in the UK and they were able to do this as the wife and kids had the Dutch EU passport. The husband didn't have a Dutch passport - he only held an Israeli one - but he was able to reside in the UK due to being the spouse of an EU citizen.
In fact, the son with the severe ADHD was actually given a boarding school place at a specialist school in Cambridgeshire (Eastern England), all paid for by their local authority - they had moved to Herefordshire on the England/Welsh border and opened up their own business for boarding dogs and cats. I went to visit them there and they were all very happy.
It may be worthwhile getting Toon to contact either the British Embassy in Washington DC to see if this may one day be an option for you both (and for your kids if they chose to go with you). Personally I would write to them as it costs a fortune to make a phone call LOL!






buried in his posts...
now should I be laughing
