tommus, thank you for sharing your story about learning Dutch! I had a rather similar experience with Danish. My husband and I lived in Denmark for 5 years, and the level of English is also very high in Denmark. I have made a lot of progress in Danish since leaving Denmark two years ago. I look forward to going back for a visit in 2019 with my improved Danish.
As for Dutch...
I formed an interest in the Netherlands as a teen (I am in my 50s now) when I first encountered
The Diary of Anne Frank. That was a formative book for me, and I have read it many times. I have also read much of the secondary literature, and I have had the good fortune to visit the Anne Frank House several times (maybe 5 times? I have lost count). I now own the book in English, Danish, Dutch, and Russian.
I thought about learning Dutch when I was young, but I never got beyond the thinking-about-it stage.
We made many visits to the Netherlands while living in Denmark. I fell in love with the country, the language, and the culture. But I didn't put any effort into learning Dutch because my brain was busy learning Danish. And, as most people know, one certainly does not NEED Dutch to get around as a tourist in the Netherlands.
Why am I learning Dutch now? Well, I have a loved one who is living there. I am going to visit them in January. I will probably go again in the fall of 2019.
My learning journey with Dutch:
I started with iguanamon's awsome Free and Legal Challenge. I mostly used YouTube, Duolingo, and the free three-week course from University of Groningen. After that, I started using materials from Pimsleur and learndutch.org and the children's books that I had acquired from my visits. And, of course, continuing with YouTube - I am a big nijntje fan
But, being honest, I do not feel as if I have put in a lot of time yet on Dutch.
I recently discovered that Dutch classes are available in my area. At first, I thought I was out of luck because the beginner class started in September. After I met with the instructor, she gave me permission to join the class. So I guess my limited self-study did indeed have some impact. I do have some catching up to do, but I think I will be fine. I have promised both myself and the instructor that I will work hard to catch up. I have signed up for the 365 day challenge on the Language Challenges subforum. My next class meeting is at the end of January. It meets for two hours, once per week.
Well, I guess that is enough for now. I do hope that Dutch learners will find their way here. I will update the 2nd post (resources) after the holidays end.