Lola Akinsiku, 33, is Nigerian but grew up in England and the US. An accountant by trade, she came to Amsterdam as an intern and is surprised to still be here 4.5 years later. More than that, she’s been inspired by the Dutch entrepreneurial spirit to start her own fledgling enterprise. How did you end up in the Netherlands? I came as an intern thinking I’d only be here for six months but then ended up with a full-time position.... More >

Jane Dean is a freelance editor and writer and has lived in the Netherlands for nine years but still misses family and friends. She was involved in the launch of The Hague magazine, The Underground, and is very partial to Luciano’s ice cream. How did you end up in the Netherlands? We arrived here from New Orleans, USA. In 2005, three days before Hurricane Katrina hit the Louisiana coast, my husband was offered a position with his company in Rotterdam.... More >

Paola Montino, 39, gave up everything in Italy three years ago and moved to Amsterdam on the off-chance to make a new start. She bought a house, found a job as a customer service rep for a pharmaceuticals company and loves her new life. How did you end up in the Netherlands? I moved to the Netherlands in April 2012 together with my boyfriend. We were both working in Italy, but we were not really satisfied with our lives. We... More >

Former banker Stephanie Ernst has lived in the Netherlands for three years and volunteers for the International Almere organisation. An Australian national, she misses sunshine and Vegemite but has gone Dutch enough to run a cargo bike  How did you end up in the Netherlands? I fol­lowed my hus­band here so I guess you could say a Boe­ing 737 owned by Cathay Pacific, fol­lowed by a trip on the won­der­ful NS rail net­work. A while back I met this wonderful... More >

Artist Albert Dolmans, 86, was born in the Netherlands but emigrated to the US when he was 11 during World War II. Back now for 32 years, Albert lives near the water close to Rotterdam and thinks the Dutch weather is getting better. How did you end up in the Netherlands? I made frequent visits from the US to my parents who had returned here after the war. I later met my present partner, and together we organised exhibits of my work, art workshops... More >

Music fan Laura Beeby has dual Dutch and Canadian nationality and says she will miss decent public transport when she goes back to Canada later this year after 11 years. How did you end up in the Netherlands? I’m a music lover and my Dutchie is a musician; we met the 21st century way on a Yahoo forum for fans of the Hollies. He came to visit me in Canada in 2004, and since I had just been made redundant... More >

South African Anesca Smith has lived here for 2.5 years and doesn’t think the Netherlands is as flat as people say. About to marry a Dutchman, she says she intends to live here happily ever after. How did you end up in the Netherlands? I worked as foreign correspondent for a South African news group in London and after returning to South Africa I found myself inexplicably restless. To cure my wanderlust I decided to study International Business Administration in... More >

Linguist Ute Limacher-Riebold has lived in the Netherlands for 10 years and describes herself as an expat, a multinational, a European and a Third Culture Kid. She’s partial to stroopwaffels, walking in the dunes and using her diary in the Dutch way. How did you end up in the Netherlands? After some years in Italy (Florence) where I had a research grant, my husband and I applied for several jobs all around Europe. When my husband received a positive reply... More >

Jodi van Keeken-Hamilton came to the Netherlands for love 15 years ago at the age of 51. She recommends a spring visit to the Hortus Bulborum in Limmen, and is annoyed by the lack of facilities for the deaf in the Netherlands. How did you end up in the Netherlands? I am one of those women who met their Dutchie online, way back in 1999. We did not meet in person until eight months later. I decided to move to... More >

Life coach Madeleine Lenagh has lived in the Netherlands for 45 years but refuses to ride a bike. If she ever had to leave, she would spend her last day looking for sea eagles. How did you end up living in the Netherlands? When I was 21, I went walkabout. My money ran out in the Netherlands and I didn’t want to go home yet. I found an au-pair job for six months and sold my return ticket to buy... More >

Russian national Anastasia Loginova, 29, works for a children’s charity. She’s been in the Netherlands for eight months and loves long cycle rides and thinks Amsterdam is a place of many layers, all waiting to be uncovered. How did you end up in the Netherlands? It was actually very un-Dutch and unplanned. While job hunting last summer, I reconnected with a high school friend who had just spent four years in Amsterdam and was preaching about the magic of the... More >

Australian Renée Veldman-Tentori, 39, has been in the Netherlands for seven years off and on. She runs her own company and misses her parents, sunshine and Bouwen mangoes. How did you end up in the Netherlands? I fell in love with a Dutchman. We met when he was backpacking in Australia in 2001, just before I left for a four-year working holiday in the UK. After a year there, I ended up in the Netherlands instead.  After the birth of... More >

Entrepreneur Deborah Carter is a British Canadian dual national and has lived in the Netherlands on and off for 12 years. She fell in love with Amsterdam because of its people and says the Dutch are the most loyal friends you could ever have. How did you end up in the Netherlands? I was working for The New York Times in Manhattan and gradually came to the conclusion that there’s more to life than work, cocktails and ceaseless social climbing.... More >

American Claire Taylor came to Amsterdam almost 30 years ago and now has dual Dutch nationality. A fan of smoked eel sandwiches, she is most proud of her allotment where she grows vegetables. How did you end up in the Netherlands? Love. We met in Queens, New York, and it was pretty much love at first hug. I’d already lived in Sweden and Italy, and I wondered about Amsterdam… so when I visited him, I also went to see if... More >

Amsterdam Mamas founder Emmy McCarthy, 39, is British and surprised by how family-orientated the Netherlands is. For example Amsterdam, she says, has over 400 playgrounds. How did you end up in the Netherlands? True story: my husband accepted a job at head office, and then told me it was head office Amsterdam, not London where we lived at the time. We shuttled between the two countries for a while before settling in Amsterdam after the birth of our son. How... More >

Film maker Leonardo Cariglino has Italian nationality, was born in Germany and has a Greek mother. He came to the Netherlands 10 years ago and won’t tell us the name of his favourite bar in case we all go there too. How did you end up in the Netherlands? I came to the Netherlands for the most pragmatic reasons. As the eldest son of an Italian-Greek household, I was very busy. Too busy to manage my parents business. I didn’t... More >

American Chris Osman, 31, has been in the Netherlands for four years and is surprised by how different all the 12 Dutch provinces are, given the size of the country. How did you end up in the Netherlands? I was finishing a teaching gig in Hong Kong and visited a friend in Maastricht on my way home. I focused on finding a job first in Europe before returning home and received a promising lead that ended up not working out.... More >