Today marks five years since I packed up my life in London and moved across the North Sea.

I originally planned to stay here for six months as a kind of ’emigration alpha’, to see how I liked it. Half a decade has passed and I’m still here. So I guess I’ve passed the assessment and Sharon In Amsterdam is officially a Live Service.

The city marked the occasion – intentionally, I’m sure – by taking the scaffolding down off the Westertoren after 18 months of repairs, so I have this wonderful view from my front window again. 🥰

Moving abroad for the third time has been one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences of my life.

It wasn’t just about adapting to a new country or sloooooooowly learning a new language—it was also about discovering who I am when all the comforts and familiarity of home are stripped away.

Here are five lessons I learned about myself in these last five years:

1. I’m more resilient than I thought 💪

Living in a foreign country tested my limits in ways I never expected. There were days when everything felt overwhelming and I lay in bed thinking “what the hell am I doing here?”. Especially during Covid when home was no longer just a short flight away.

But I discovered a well of resilience and adaptability within myself that I didn’t know existed. I realised that I could handle uncertainty and find solutions to problems, even in unfamiliar situations.

2. My values became clearer 🔎

Being far from home forced me to confront what truly matters to me. Without the familiar surroundings and support networks, I had to rely on my core values to guide me. I found myself reflecting on what I need to feel happy and fulfilled—whether it’s a sense of community, meaningful work, or the simple pleasure of exercise. This experience taught me to prioritise what truly matters and let go of what doesn’t.

3. I learned to be self-reliant 👊

Unlike my previous move to Singapore, I had to navigate this on my own, without any corporate relocation package. Navigating life admin and building a new social circle all forced me to step out of my comfort zone. I learned to trust my instincts and rely on myself more than ever before.

This newfound self-reliance gave me a sense of empowerment that I had never felt before. That’s given me confidence in other areas of my life too, and I can see how this has propelled me to grow the business to a whole new level.

4. Embracing uncertainty became my new normal 🤷🏻‍♀️

Moving abroad taught me to let go of my need for control. Things often didn’t go as planned—whether it was a bureaucratic hiccup, a language barrier, and the small matter of a global pandemic messing with my shiz.

Over time, I learned to embrace uncertainty and go with the flow. That shift in mindset made me more flexible and open to new experiences, allowing me to see setbacks not as failures but as opportunities for growth.

5. I discovered the joy of solitude 🧘‍♀️

Living in a new place, especially when you’re far from friends and family, can be lonely at times. But this solitude also taught me a valuable lesson: I discovered that I enjoy my own company. I learned to find comfort in quiet moments and appreciate the freedom that comes with being alone. Whether it was exploring my new city by myself, enjoying a solo coffee at a local café (not that kind!), or learning to love exercise, I found that solitude isn’t something to fear—it’s something to embrace. It allowed me to reflect, recharge, and become more comfortable with who I am.

I know this sounds cheesy, but moving abroad was far more than just a geographical change; it was also a journey of self-discovery. I’m grateful for the opportunity to learn and grow.

If you’re thinking about making a similar leap, know that it’s not just a change of scenery—it’s a chance to learn who you truly are, and what you can be if you push yourself out of your comfort zone.

Some things I did this week

• We’re working to identify content needs for a future intranet. As part of this process we have a team reviewing existing sites to identify valuable content that really needs to exist on the future site. This is useful, but intranet programmes should look forwards not back. We should work with users and stakeholders to understand what content people need, will value, or for whatever reason needs to exist (eg compliance). We need to be careful not to over-index on content audits, as this risks merely moving indentiying stuff over from one site to another. These should inform the discussion on user needs, not be the primary source of insight on user needs.
• All that said, on another project we don’t have an audit of existing content at all. That makes it difficult to understand what content is widely used in practice. We shouldn’t base content decisions on hunches and vibes, so we’ll need to think creatively on how we validate these. On the plus side, it gives a good opportunity to start all over again – greenfield – with content. That so rarely happens and I’d like to think the outcome will be better as a result.
• Developed a proposition and vision for a client’s intranet. It’s critical to co-create this with stakeholders up front, so everyone has a shared understanding of what the site is, what it should do – and what it will not. This helps to ground and guide stakeholder comms and engagement later, bringing conversations back to what we’re trying to deliver for users.

Some non-work things I did this week

It was a pretty quiet one. No gigs. I saw French arthouse film Daaaaaalí at the cinema, which was predictably, enjoyably surreal. Plus the usual gymmage and enjoying the summer weather we’re finally having.

Went to a talk on the opportunities and risks of AI. The speakers (from Google amongst others) were great, but overall I felt like this was covering the same ground rather than moving the discourse around AI on. I’m getting rather tired of pronouncements about 30% productivity gains, rarely based on actual real-world examples, that overlook the impacts on quality, accessibility and performance and skirt over the risk questions.

Like much of Britain’s middle-aged community I spent my Saturday trying and failing to get Oasis tickets. It made me yearn for the simple, stress-free experience of getting into Glastonbury.