One Year as an American in Amsterdam

This past weekend, Jon and I celebrated what we have been calling our “Amsterdamiversary” – the one year anniversary of beginning life as an American in Amsterdam. It’s so crazy to me that one year ago we were packing up all of our things in our sixth floor Brooklyn walk up and taking a one-way flight to Amsterdam.

The offer to move to Amsterdam came in the spring of 2017 when Jon’s company asked him to help set up a new office in Europe. We had only been living in NYC for a little over a year at that point. While a part of me wasn’t ready to let go of life in New York, there was no way in hell I would turn down an opportunity to live in Europe as an American expat. It’s one of those things in life that people always talk about doing, but never actually follow through with. And we got the opportunity to really do it.

When I sat down to write this post reflecting on our first year, I started by reading my very first blog post as an American in Amsterdam. I was so excited and so naive. To be honest, that excitement hasn’t worn off. I still get excited about biking around the city, about taking long walks among the canal houses, about European fashion, and about all the travel. But I have learned quite a lot, both about living abroad and about myself.

Living abroad isn’t for the faint of heart. There’s a whole new culture to adjust to. Little things like paying your bills or going to the grocery take much more work. And making friends isn’t as easy as chatting someone up at a bar. But it’s totally worth it. Being immersed in another culture and seeing the way that they live life is an experience unlike any other. I’m so glad to have made this move because of how much it has opened up my world view.

One thing that most marks my time in Amsterdam at this moment is the struggle I’ve had with finding work. I got incredibly lucky to land a job with one of the world’s top advertising agencies mere weeks before we moved. I spent half of the past year working for them and loving every minute of it.

Unfortunately, because of my status as an American, I wasn’t able to continue beyond the original contract. The EU has rules in place that make it more difficult for Americans to work abroad in order to keep jobs for EU citizens. This means visa sponsorship and salary requirements that many companies don’t want to take on.

So I spent the other half of the year unemployed. This meant many things for me. It meant that I was constantly stressed about what my next move would be and losing hope every day that I would find a new job. But it also meant that I was able to get closer to my friends here. It meant more opportunities to explore the Netherlands. And it meant getting to put my heart and soul into this blog.

Now that I have finally begun working as a freelancer, I can look back at my unemployment abroad with a clearer head. I realize now that I put a lot of my self-worth on my job status, especially when it comes to feelings of success. For me, being a 26-year-old who can’t find a job was the equivalent of failing at life. But now I realize that my job doesn’t have to define me. Instead I can be defined by my passion (writing this blog), my experiences abroad, my relationships, and my voice.

Beyond just the experiences I’ve gained from living as an American in Amsterdam, I am so incredibly grateful for this year because of the lessons it has taught me about myself. I wouldn’t give this experience up for the world, and I encourage you to jump if you ever have the opportunity to live abroad. It won’t be easy. There will be tears and frustration. But what it will be is the best experience of your life. You will learn things that you will carry for years and years to come. You will become a more open person after living in another culture. And you will know exactly how strong you really are.

I’m so blessed to have been able to spend this past year here as an American in Amsterdam. It now feels like my true home. I’m so blessed to get to share this experience with the love of my life. And I’m so blessed that you are all interested in following along.

Cheers to the next year!

Xx, Kelsey