Hello, Goodbye

Two years ago today I got on a flight in Boston with all of my worldly possessions (which, at the time, only amounted to a few bags and backpacks, a dog crate and dog) and moved to Amsterdam.

Two years ago. In some ways, it feels like only yesterday. In others, I feel a lot a older and two years seems too short a time.

I feel like I haven’t achieved an awful lot in the last two years, but then when I look at where I am now compared to when we touched down at Schiphol Airport, a lot has changed, almost all for the better. And I do feel wiser – something that I didn’t think was possible after travelling for the previous two years. I thought that the world had taught me all I needed to know. Turns out I was wrong.

But this isn’t a post about the things I’ve achieved (or not) in the last two years. It’s about a goodbye.

Because, by the end of this month, I’ll no longer be an Amsterdammer.

I have mixed emotions writing that sentence. Part of me feels extremely sad to leave behind this amazing, eclectic, wonderful city. Part of me feels excited to move on, to make another change.

You may have thought (or hoped?) that I’d fallen off the face of the earth the last few months. I kind of did, but only when it came to my social media and blog life. The rest of my life has been a whirlwind of stress, deadlines and paperwork.

In February, Scott and I applied for his visa to live and work in the UK. Last week, he got it.

By the end of the this month, I’ll no longer be an Amsterdammer. I’ll no longer be an expat. I’m going home.

After two years of living in a foreign country and helping other people do exactly the same, it’s time for me to hang up my expat shoes. I’m done.

I have loved living in the city of bikes and canals, but I miss my family. I miss my friends. I miss sarcastic English humour. Fish and chips. Ridiculously over-the-top politeness. Good curries.

It’s time for Scott and I to be near to at least one of our families (always going to be a problem for international couples) – to have a support network around us, to build a life in a country where we speak the language.

I’m scared – just as I was when we first moved here – because it feels like we have just become comfortable, gotten into a groove. I’m scared to make another big jump into the unknown, but I’m also really excited.

By the end of the this month, I’ll no longer be an Amsterdammer. I’m going home.