Ten years on: what the last decade has actually felt like as a European national living in the UK

[Goldf1nch]

I came to the UK in 2001 and have lived and worked here since. On the ten-year anniversary of the result I wrote about what this decade has actually cost me - not a political argument, just an honest personal account. The TV remote I can't put on volume 52. The citizenship ceremony I fled. The passport I never wanted and have just been forced to get. I'd be curious whether any of this resonates with people here.

I am the other way round - but you sound so so so bitter (is this your substack? if not, sorry, then the writer sounds so bitter) i wonder why the writer stayed.

The necessity of having two passports irritated me so much i seriously considered renouncing my British citizenship. But i am not at all bitter about the country that has welcomed me, given me my home and made the process to obtain citizenship as painless as possible.

i am also the other way round ( Brit in Europe) Brexit cost me around £1500, in terms of citizenship. It’s been a destabilising influence and for what?

i read the sub stack and recognise some of the feelings, but my approach was more shoulder shrugging and getting on with it. Shit happens when you have arrogant odious idiots in charge.

I’m struggling to see why you stay in a country you clearly hate.

Citizenship can’t be a matter of the heart. International law has to be structured somehow.

Triggered by the number 52?

Bit baffled by your article, I’m sorry.

I was just about to write the same thing. If you don't like it why don't you move elsewhere, you are not a tree!

Bitter is fair. I'd rather call it unresolved. The piece isn't asking anyone to feel the same way - it's documenting what this specific experience has felt like for one person. I'm truly glad yours has been different.
As to why I've stayed - it wasn't always this pronounced, I have a career here, a partner here, and honestly - I don't want to let this defeat me. But it has been, and still is, painful.

It's good you could have a double citizenship. I can't and it really sucks. I'm at such a loss and don't know what to do.

You did not have to get British Citizenship - you had been here long enough to have applied for and got settled status. I find your attitude rather strange. Are you seeking attention/pity?

To clarify, I am dual nationality UK/European, which I'm sure you also have, and am very anti-Brexit. My DH is solely European and doesn't have an issue with living here.

I mean, I voted remain, I have an European sister in law and many friends, I have never wanted any of you to have to leave because of Brexit ….. but I am also wondering why you don’t go home then of its so bad here?
Bit of an overreaction to not be able to have your TV on 52??

The EU Settlement Scheme opened in 2019. I naturalised in 2018 — it wasn't an option available to me at the time.
And yes, life involves doing things we'd rather not. I'm no different. But that doesn't mean we can't be honest about what those things cost us. This is my honest account of what it cost me — others will have experienced it differently, and that's equally valid.

You sound really sad OP and it might be time to reflect on what you want as it clearly isn't a life in Britain. You say you hold a Spanish passport. Could you return to begin again in your home country or another EU country - what about Ireland?

The world has changed and in another 10 years, the EU could be fragmented or it could be huge encompassing other East European countries which could be an option for you, but don't wait for it to happen. Get out there and change things for yourself. Life it too short to hang around Britain which you hate and spend time with Britons who you don't seem to like much.

But we are all European, just that the UK is not in the political bloc.

It only cost a hundred quid and a year to get naturalised? What are you complaining about? Go and read about the brits in france where the administrative process for naturalisation takes years and years

Polite no thank you from Ireland. We don’t need any more whingers! Try Canada (joking!!!).

Ye gods, OP. You had to do a bit of admin. Imagine if you were an importer or exporter and were impacted in some meaningful way. As a PP said, you are not a tree, you can move if you are so desperately unhappy. Brexit PTSD. Lols. You could learn a bit from the stiff upper lip culture of the British.

Not a tree. Love it! 😆

Only read the linked article to find out what on earth 52 was about!

My husband is an EU passport holder, he's been no more impacted by Brexit on a personal level than I have. 10 mins spent getting settled status is about the sum total of it.

Well I read it. Can’t tell if it was written seriously or as a parody tbh. So difficult to tell these days 🤣

The cheese counter at my local farm shop is a sad shadow of what it used to be before Brexit. They used to have all sorts of wonderful and obscure French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch cheeses that they used to get shipped directly from the makers. The single market made this straightforward - sending a shipment from Bilbao to Guildford was no different to sending a shipment from Carlisle to Guildford.

Now, all those small makers have lost their UK market because the taxes and paperwork make it completely uneconomical to ship to the UK. And that's before you even look at time-sensitive food - fishermen in the SW have pretty much given up on shipping to Europe because they have lost so many shipments due to time delays with paperwork, and are now left with fish and seafood that there is no local demand for. It's made everyone poorer, on both sides of the channel.