Very nicely written. I especially like the examples, being Dutch myself. I recognise a lot of what you say, and for a very long time I've also exclusively written in English because of the reasons you outline, studying very hard to overcome the hurdles, working on flow, etc.
Until two years ago, when I found a contest to send in something (story, articles, essay, manuscript, whatever) in precisely my own field (philosophy/psychology). And I immediately had a good idea, but not too much time to spend on it before the deadline (about one month). So I thought, let's just try writing it in Dutch. As an experiment, see where it leads me.
I didn't win the competition, but came fourth and would have won 'if creativity were the main criteria'. That was such a boost of confidence! So I continued working on that idea, sent it to a publisher, was rejected, worked on it some more and did my research, and now it will be published (with some addition chapters written in the meantime to make it into a real book) by a Dutch publisher!
Just posting this as a reminder, to never underestimate yourself and your native tongue. Don't close that door completely, you never know what the future might hold.
(And yes, I've also translated the manuscript in English and looking for an English publisher still... I mean, don't close the door to the English language either, right?)
I haven't given up on Dutch but it might be easier for me if I had a peer critique group like The Writer's Block. Want to start one?
Absolutely! If you know how to do it, I don't have those kinds of skills, but would love to be one of the editors/readers/contributors!
Well, I bet I can find a home for us somewhere. Are you on Discord? My name there is theme as here. Feel free to DM me about this.