The move… from DXB to AMS

Moving from Dubai to Amsterdam wasn’t just a relocation - it felt like flipping my entire life upside down and then somehow rebuilding it piece by piece.

Dubai was home. Familiar. Fast. Sunny. Easy in all the ways that make you comfortable without realizing it. Then suddenly I was packing up my life, landing in Amsterdam, and trying to understand why the sun sets at 4 PM and why bikes have more rights than humans.

And then life added a twist I never saw coming: a premature birth.
NICU days, uncertainty, fear, tiny victories, and the kind of love that makes everything else fade into the background. Becoming a mom in a new country-from family, far from the comfort I knew changed me completely.

I was still working in consulting back then, still trying to “hold it all together,” still convincing myself I could juggle everything. Spoiler: I couldn’t. And honestly, I didn’t want to. So I walked away from that career to give myself space to breathe, to heal, to figure out who I am in this new chapter.

Amsterdam has been equal parts magical and messy. From daycare drop-offs across the city, to discovering toddler-friendly corners, to learning Dutch weather’s mood swings… I’m just figuring it out as I go. Sharing the real parts-the mom moments, the expat moments, the funny moments-is how I’ve made this place feel a little more like home.

So this blog is my version of documenting a life rebuilt: from Dubai heat to Amsterdam rain, from NICU to toddler chaos, from consulting slides to storytelling, and from feeling lost to slowly finding my rhythm again.

If you’re here, welcome.
If you’ve lived parts of this story, even better.
We're learning as we go-one metro, one tantrum, one tiny win at a time.