I have both French and Russian nationality. I was born and raised in France, but I grew up with Russian culture (language, travel, family, etc.). I’ve always felt Franco-Russian.
If you’re also from two countries, how do you identify? Do you feel closer to one country than the other?
EDIT: The idea of patriotism I have is simply loving/being proud of your country, culture, people and heritage, while still being able to criticize aspects you don't like, just wanting the best for your country. Nothing more. I feel like, in France, 'patriotism' is more of a normal thing, but in other European countries, it’s often viewed negatively, no?
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Italian-German here, during my earlier years until I was in my mid 20s I switched a lot, had minor identity crises, eventually I settled on being of mixed background, meaning that I am not 100% of either cultures, and that is OK! It’s only difficult when people ask questions like “Who would you fight for?” (whichever is on the right side of the war according to my own ideals) or “Which national football team do you support?” (don’t care about football)
I grew up/spent most of my life in Malta and have 3 citizenships, none of which are Maltese. Because all of my friends are Maltese and I’ve been exposed to Maltese geography, culture, norms etc. I identify most strongly with Malta (although frankly I think many Maltese natives would absolutely not claim me, which is understandable because my grasp of the language is pretty bad, which I now heavily regret, and I am not even a citizen). I also identify pretty strongly with the USA since it’s where I was born and I spent a good chunk of my life there, too. It’s just hard for me to identify most strongly with the USA when I have to stop myself from saying “euro” instead of dollar and when Americans talk about college sports etc. I am totally lost and excluded from the conversation.
I’m a Sámi who is half Finnish and half English. I was born and raised in Finland and identify more strongly with Finland than the UK, but identify as Sámi before anything else. I was raised reindeer herding and Finnish culture came almost after the Sámi part when I started school.
I lived in the UK from my late teens and I guess I started to feel more comfortable being both Finnish and English at the same time. Before I felt uncomfortable saying I was English at all despite having the passport and my mother being from there, but I’m not really sure why.
So overall – I feel Sámi first, then Finnish, then English.
US/Spanish here. I was in the US army for 8 years.
I live in Spain now. I’m ashamed of what democracy in the US has become.
Latvian and Ukrainian. Born in USSR, raised in Latvia, live in Ireland. Main language is Russian. I have 0 patriotism towards anything.
Dual citizen with Finnish and Russian passports, lived my whole life in Finland. Neither country will ever accept me as part of their culture so fuck it, Im a democracy enjoyer 🙂
Born in Thailand (mother homeland) but moved to Germany as a baby (father homeland). I know Thailand as a place to visit family and spend summer holidays. I’m definitely a German potato.
Italian and Norwegian. I don’t belong to ether, yet I do. Now I live in Sweden and my daughter has three citizenships.
I make the most of both.
Fortunately in wars etc both countries align so the hard questions are easy.
I am Indonesian – Dutch but grew up in the Netherlands. I don’t feel any of the Indonesian in me but also I don’t feel myself being a typical Dutchwoman. I do think I feel very European.
Czech-American dual national. Grew up in the US, emigrated in 2016 and despise it with a passion now. We tell people we’re Canadian if they ask why we’re speaking English. I don’t really feel Czech but we’re actively trying to integrate and raise our kids to be Czech or at least pan-European in spirit.
Austro-Canadian by birth. Childhood in Canada, 20s in Germany, live now in Austria. Super English forename, very German/Austrian surname.
It’s all situational/contextual when I feel more one thing or the other. I struggle to identify with some of the changes in Canada since my childhood there, and feel a bit like a fish out of water there in both big cities and small towns. My German is influenced by a childhood in English Canada and living/studying/working in Germany, so I occasionally feel self-conscious in Austria as I don’t quite sound it. Germany is sometimes where I feel most at ease about being a mutt and like where the least people give a crap about where I am from/what I am. That said, I like living in Austria and this is where I am raising my children.
A bit taboo in Austria to say, but in some ways I feel a bit generically, culturally “German” in a sense and like going to visit. One’s own mileage may vary, but I find in my circles it’s a combination of people not caring as much about mixed backgrounds and also them not really viewing Austrians as foreign, so I am always quite comfortable when up there.
Born/raised in England with an East African father but I’ve never felt particularly part of either. Patriotism isn’t a concept that really computes to me, maybe if I was from a more rural area instead of London I would have. I find more kinship to other people born to immigrants (though not necessarily in the same country as mine).
I identify as English/British and caveat that with other roots.
Romanian – Italian here, more nationalistic towards the Italian side in some instances but generally EU first.
Polish with some French, Romani and Ukrainian heritage. I weirdly don’t really identify as Polish. I feel patriotic first about the region I come from and my experience growing up there was starkly different than people s from other regions, then Europe and then maybe Polish but it’s quite irrelevant to me.
US by birth, Hungarian by very recent naturalization (so still getting used to the idea). You can imagine, my feelings about both are mixed. Love both places in my heart, feel more connected in Hungary than the US. Still have family and friends there, so feel for them. Hungary has its own issues sadly…
My wife is the same (Russian and Hungarian). So we’ve got three nationalities between us. My daughter is now going through the process to become British as well. So four in our family…she complains sometimes bitterly about the UK, other times proud (like now).
I’m half Spanish / Italian and grew up in London . Always felt Spanish/Italian. Never felt English granted being called Dago/wop by my tutors at college didn’t help. Neither did brexit . Best thing about the UK was the dry wit.
I now divide most of my time between Italy and Spain.I couldn’t wait to leave the UK . Although ironically I writing this in london cos I’m visiting some freinds.
Swedish/Italian, born and raised in Sweden. Had a lot of identity crisis throughout the years, especially since my last name is Italian and everyone (in Sweden) therefore referring to me as Italian rather than Swedish. Not helping that my Italian relatives refer to me as Swedish.
I tried to solve it with cheering for Italy in football, Sweden in hockey and saying I’m equally as much Swedish as Italian.
im half pakistani and half british ( i was raised in England ) and i was raised with mainly Pakistani culture. I feel as if im a mix of both , i feel both cultures have influenced me greatly , I personally see myself as British and then English and then Pakistani
British-Swedish here. Grew up in the UK, spent most of my late teens and adult life in Sweden. I’m so far removed from the UK it’s alien. You’d never tell from my accent that I ”don’t belong there” – so asking for help getting the bus, navigating like, restaurant culture makes people think I’m an absolute idiot/taking the piss. To my UK friends I’m the Swede.
In Sweden I’m ”the Brit” despite me having stronger ties to the country and a mentality that’s probably 70% Swedish. Unfortunately my sense of humour is *very* British and that just doesn’t work in Sweden. I think that’s what makes me stand out the most here, and can cause problems.
But in terms of my own identity, I genuinely don’t know. My overall mentality is Swedish, but my cultural identity is probably more British. I think if I were forced to renounce a passport/nationality it would be British. Nothing to do with passport strength, Brexit, whatever, more to do with what’s ”home”.
Dutch-South African (both English and Afrikaans) here. And I feel a lot more Dutch/European than SA. Struggled/struggling with the worldview my parents have compared to what’s happening around me (could be their personalities, but I think also heavily influenced by Apartheid-doctrine).
Not so much issues on race (per se), but a sense that our heritage should make me/us superior in some way, whereas I (if one needs to compare) would much more argue for the opposite.
I have both Portuguese and British nationality, with my father being from Portugal and my mother from the UK (Scotland to be specific). Grew up and live in Portugal, though I did live in Scotland for the year I studied there. For a long time I saw myself as being equal parts Portuguese and British, but these days I consider myself more the former. While studying in Scotland I felt like I was getting more in tune with that side of my identity, yet at the same time it was a reminder of just how foreign I am. I just feel like my Portuguese identity is more predominant, though I will always have that British side to me as well.
I feel more Czech. In my youth, I went a bit overboard trying to be more Czech than anyone, the Czechest Czech ever.
My parents were migrants from Yugoslavia, most of my family is Bosnian. My mum adored Czechia, she tried hard to learn the language as well as possible and she managed to fit in well. She was quite adorable in her efforts, she had a whole list of Czech movie quotes to learn and use. She pushed us hard to integrate. And no accomplishment at school was good enough to her. She freaked out if I had a bad mark, or if I misbehaved even in the smallest way, she scolded me that I made people turn against migrants. It made me feel very guilty. But although I couldn’t speak Czech when I started going to elementary school, I integrated well. And I was raised as a Muslim, at least in theory, and I ended up as just another Czech atheist.
I love Bosnia and Herzegovina, I love to visit. It feels like a beloved country, but not my country. I have a very Czech mentality, although usually a bit more patriotic. I love my Bosnian heritage, though. My grand-aunt lost her sons and she needs medical care, so I moved her to my house to take care of her. Her attempts to speak Czech language are quite funny, like a parody of a language, but it works, the local grandmas love her. My house is like a grandma knitting club now, I love it. My parents and grandparents are dead, so I treasure the time we have together and the stories I get to hear. I feel like a Czech of a Bosnian heritage, it works for me.
British-American-French-Swiss, born and raised in Switzerland. (I have all 4 passports)
I always get an aneurysm explaining to people where i’m from and why I speak french but sound American in English but then also use British expressions.
Anyways, i try to keep it simple and just say I’m Swiss. It gets complicated when people get to know me more and start asking more questions.
But the weird thing is that hardcore Swiss people see me as a fake ‘international Swiss’
Born and raised French, French I am, though having Algerian origins so both sides will never fully embrace me.
This is a difficult one for me: My parents and all of my family hail from Poland, they were born there and lived there until right after the fall of the Iron Curtain.
They moved to the Netherlands, in particular the very south of the Netherlands where they had me. I grew up in the very southern tip of the Netherlands which has a distinctive culture. I always went to school in Belgium though, right across the border. Now I study in central Belgium, as I have for the last 4 years.
So, I’m an ethnic Pole. I speak Dutch with an accent. I have lived in Belgium for the better part of 4 years. My passport says I’m Dutch, but I don’t relate to most Dutch people at all. Going to Rotterdam or Amsterdam would be like travelling for me. I don’t feel Belgian/Flemish. I haven’t visited Poland in years. What am I really? But I guess I’m first and foremost Polish. Never lived there but all my family is from there. Bloodline is fully Polish. I guess my patriotism is there foremost, probably because I romanticise the country a lot.
Half British, half Malaysian. Born and raised in UK, though have heavy Asian influence through half of my family and due to the fact that I have never worked for a company that isn’t Asian for some reason.
I feel like 95% British though.
We don’t talk about this very often ! And glad this subject opened !
I’m French-Italian born in France raised in the Italian culture.
I have both nationalities and speak both languages.
I’ll always be the Italian in France… even if I grew up here everybody keep bringing back to my se one culture…
In Italy it’s the opposite their Im just Italian even if people know my mother is French they never make remarks about my French heritage they never make imitation of the French like French people do imitation of Italian people saying Italian words with hand gestures…
Growing up it was kinda hard to decide or just to figure where I belong and then once an adult you understand you don’t have to choose and all this is just a big bonus !
My mom was born in america with mixed english/french and “native” american nationalitys, my dad was born in west germany with mixed french/ german nationalitys and i was born in south africa but grew up in the uk, not to mention my kids.
French-Algerian. A very complicated identity. I was born in France, my parents immigrated from Algeria.
For those who don’t know, Algeria was colonized by France for over a century and wasn’t just any overseas territory—it was fully integrated into France as a département.
My ancestors were technically French but without citizenship. My grandma went to a French school at the end of the colonization, had some pieds noir friends, and is part of a generation that is truly weird because she is much more old school french than I am but at the same time Algerian, Arab… Muslim Algerians faced immense hurdles to obtain it, unlike indigenous Jews, who were automatically granted French nationality.
I travel to Algeria once a year and deeply love the country. Yet, I also feel disconnected from it. Being part of a diaspora is strange—you identify with a place that doesn’t necessarily identify with you.
Intellectually, I’m far more French than Algerian. I’ve been shaped by many of the ideals France often prides itself on—liberty, equality… At the same time, I’m Algerian because, well, both my parents are (they became French though). We often eat Algerian food (not always), we speak Arabic and French, often both at once.
So yeah, I’m French—sometimes more than I’d like to admit. But I’m also Algerian, deeply curious about how the country will evolve. If only it were possible to truly have a say in it… (Algeria isn’t a democracy, but calling it a dictatorship feels too harsh. It’s an autocracy.)
I’m both and neither at the same time. My Arabic isn’t fluent, my French accent is strong, and I don’t entirely fit the cultural mold of a typical Algerian. But I also don’t fully align with the French identity either—I don’t eat the same dishes, I’m Muslim, and I have my own take on some of the country’s values.
The only place where I truly belong? Somewhere in the air, in the limbo above the Mediterranean, between both worlds. That’s what being a member of a diaspora feels like. You feel like a traitor to History and to your ancestors if you identify too much with France but at the same time, you are French in how you see the world with an Algerian prism.
Reading this thread, what surprises me is how strongly people identify with their nationality. I am Swedish, no dual background, and Sweden is over all a very good country and obviously I am shaped by being born and having grown up here, and I would participate in its defense if it was attacked, but being Swedish is not a very important part of my self-identity.
Im European, first and foremost. I grew up in Madeira, Portugal and have been living in London UK for the past 12 years. My daughter is British, my partner is Australian.
I don’t really feel strongly attached to my Portuguese roots, or try to deeply integrate in British culture. I don’t care for Portuguese traditions or British expectations. I don’t feel closer to one country or the other, I have no allegiance or fealty for either, but man do I miss and long for the quiet island life I grew up in. My cultural and social behaviours are guided by Western democracy and European liberal values. I guess living in London has accommodated me to this melting pot of different cultures. We’re all the same humans, living in a thin, fragile layer of breathable air. A few miles above and our imaginary borders stop making sense. The differences between our people are overly exaggerated and our similarities are often disregarded.
I think that patriotism and nationalism are a weakness/sickness of the human spirit and collective thinking. I wouldn’t fight for the Portuguese or British army but would for a united European military defence force if Europe was under attack.
While I can’t answer this question that well, as I am fully Hungarian, some of my friends have roots in other countries. I have noticed that they actually tend to be the most patriotic Hungarians, especially those who come from immigrant parents or have at least one parent who’s an immigrant. One of my friends is partially African, yet he is a proud Hungarian through and through. He also did embrace his “other” culture as well, but it’s moreso a plus addition to him alongside being Hungarian. Same goes for people with Chinese and Vietnamese roots as well, we have an (unfortunately somewhat racist, although unintentionally) term about them being “bananas”, meaning yellow on the outside, white on the inside (yeah, I know that it’s a bit offensive, but to be fair, we had very few immigrants when this phrase was coined together, so a lot of us didn’t know any better).
Born in Ukraine, ethnically Ukrainian-Romanian, live in France
I am feeling rather European than any specific individual nationality at this point
Im American but have lived in France for 10yrs. My wife is French Vietnamese and ive been to Vietnam a few times. We have 3 kids so they are a mix of the 3. As a kid in the US watching US movies full of heroes etc.. i had of course been instilled with a sense of pride to be American. Now im old and have seen the US fall from grace its hard to watch. As much as its a shitshow right now its still one of the best countries in the world just has a lot of problems with the political divide. The regular joe is still a good person for the most part and i dont think that will ever change. However my 10yrs in France have really opened my eyes to how a more peaceful country can be. You dont realize how violent the US is until you dont live there for awhile. France has been very kind to me. I have never once had an argument with anyone and the only time ive ever seen “violence” is during the world/euro cups and when they protest. When Frenchies protest they protest proper. If i had to choose today between the 3 countries i love id have to go with France as its allowed me to raise my kids in a safe environment and ive known nothing but peace and quiet since moving here.(i do live in a small “village” tho and avoid Paris,Lyon,Grenoble etc as much as possible).
Can’t contribute to this but I want to say: as a teen I was always jealous of people who had parents of different nationalites. I really envied their multicultural background and the natural multilingualism. I still kinda do. I am as unseasoned chicken as one can be.
I feel like I’ve moved around too much to really identify as either of my possible nationalities. A lot of my nostalgia is vaguely German, though.
And honestly, in my opinion patriotism is a cancer. Just because I’m from somewhere doesn’t make that place better or more worth loving than anywhere else.
I’m half Dutch, half English.
I moved countries a lot until I was 9 and moved to the UK. I lived there until I was 18 but don’t feel very British when I’m in the UK. I’m studying in the Netherlands right now, and I definitely don’t feel Dutch here.
To me, the concept of nationalism or patriotism feel way more abstract than my European identity, so I guess that’s my answer. I’m European.
However, when I’m outside of the UK, because of my accent I am by default seen as the British guy.
I sometimes get asked who I would side with if the countries ever came into conflict with each other, but I think it would be very situation dependent. If Reform UK came into power and started throwing some eurosceptic bullshit, I would probably side with the Netherlands. It’s a little harder to imagine the Netherlands becoming unreasonable with the UK, but if it was, I would probably side with the UK.
French/Czech here, would call myself European more than French or Czech even if I’m both very proud of my nationalities
NL/DE mix here. The countries are really similar so it’s not really a big difference.
However, I’d say my patriotism lies in being European. I feel just as connected to French, Belgians and Italians as I do to Germans or fellow Dutch
I’m Dutch and Spanish. My family is part Caribbean and part German, part European Dutch and part Spanish. I identify as a Brabander first, then Dutch.
I don’t do patriotism.
My family is German, Austrian, Czech, and Slovakian. That makes me Croatian. o7
Icelandic father, Danish mother, grew up in Denmark, and I am Danish.
If I’m in Austria, I tell people I’m Dutch, if I’m in the Netherlands, I tell them I’m Austrian.
Abroad, the one I pick is random if it’s a quick encounter, if I’m properly introducing myself I’ll take the time to explain.
I think about this a lot, actually. I grew up in Poland with a French father and a Polish mother. As a kid, we visited France regularly and spoke both languages at home. I watched cartoons and read books in both French and Polish.
When I was six, my parents divorced, and my dad moved to the U.S. My mother, deeply hurt, stopped speaking French with me, while my dad insisted I learn English so I could split time between them. Over time, I became native in Polish, fluent in English, and proficient in French. I also hold two citizenships and a U.S. green card.
Polish being my first language played a major role in shaping my cultural identity. However, my career is closely tied to France, which led me to actively engage with the language and culture, far more than through my father’s influence. At the same time, having spent a significant part of my life in the U.S. has greatly shaped my sense of identity by highlighting cultural differences on a broader scale.
At the end of the day, I consider myself European above all else.