“In the past, I found people who dressed up completely for Pride to be strange. My view has now turned 180 degrees. The celebration is meant to celebrate that you can be completely yourself, no matter how you are. There are plenty of countries where that is not possible,” says Thom (39). He and his partner Jan think it is great that the province of North Holland allows residents from the community to join the boat. “It is a good signal. Many boats are filled with people with money. That is not bad, but it is nice that this boat is filled with the target group. This way, the celebration is not about us, but with us,” says Jan (36). 

Exploded Kitchen

Thom and Jan met each other via Tinder. Jan comes from Nijmegen and was visiting Amsterdam for a day. That put him within the radius of Thoms Tinder. “I gave him a superlike right away,” he laughs. “We started talking and turned out to live 122 kilometers apart. Thom had a farm in Landsmeer with cows with his father. Within a few days, we were on the phone for 3 hours. The next day, I got in the car and drove to Jan. We had such a nice conversation. I thought: well see where this leads.” Jan: “He texted ‘I’m on my way.’ Within an hour, he was at my doorstep. My kitchen was still exploded, the dishes from yesterday were still there. Actually, everything you dont want on a first date. But we were just immediately who we were. In the beginning, it was good that there was a significant distance between our residences. We are both quite enthusiastic by nature, so we had to take it slow.”  

Dream House

For 2 years, they traveled back and forth. In 2017, they moved in together on the farmyard. Thom already knew he would not continue the farming business.  “The farm is located in the Ilperveld. That means we could not expand because it is a Natura2000 area.” They decided to approach it positively. Part of the land is converted to nature. People can rent a spot in the stables to park their caravans. They also demolish the small house on the yard and build their dream house in its place. Now that he is no longer a farmer, Thom is pursuing a different career: “I have become a deceased caretaker.” Jan is still regularly in the area where he grew up. “Friends were quite sad that I moved to North Holland, but they come to visit regularly, and we really make a party out of it. I now also work in my familys transport company, and I still go to the Nijmegen area regularly. This way, I can easily see my family and friends.”  

Good Village Gossip 

They have also ‘adopted’ a woman further down the dike. Thom: “Marie is 93, her husband passed away 6 years ago. She is still very much alive. Her father was the servant at my grandparents, and she helped my grandmother with the household. What started 10 years ago with mowing the lawn has now grown into doing the household chores and odd jobs around the house. She is a point of rest in our lives and a source of good village gossip. She has a full agenda, but always makes sure to be there when we come. She lovingly calls us ‘the boys’.” 

Without children and pets, the two can go wherever they want. “We love to travel and work a lot. We have always had a small boat, but we also enjoy going on a cruise. Next year we want to travel with the camper,” Thom says. “In the past, we didnt do that; I didnt know any better than that 5 days at a holiday park was a trip.”