Last August, we celebrated my 50th birthday in New York City.
Nine months later, we flew to London for hers.
If you had asked me back in 2017 if I’d move abroad, enroll my children in a British prep school, and develop a friendship that would eventually lead to milestone birthdays celebrated on both sides of the Atlantic, I would have laughed.
Actually, I nearly said no to the expat opportunity altogether.
What began with uncertainty, fear, and more than a few anxious Google searches became one of the most transformative experiences of my life. Not because of the places we visited, but because of the people we met along the way.
One of those people was another mum standing in a school parking lot during morning drop-off.
Years later, she’s one of my closest friends.
And somehow, that friendship has become the backdrop for two unforgettable 50th birthday celebrations in two of the world’s greatest cities.
The Unexpected Gift of Expat Life
When people think about moving abroad, they often focus on the destinations.
The castles. The weekend trips. The passport stamps.
What they don’t tell you is that the greatest souvenir might be the friendships you bring home with you.
When you’re living overseas, especially in those early years, relationships form differently. You’re far from family. You don’t have decades of history with the people around you. It’s just you and your immediate family…forcing you to say “yes” to everything and a polite “hiya” to mums you don’t know at school drop-off.
The result is a level of intentional friendship that is hard to replicate.
School runs become coffee dates. Coffee dates become dinners. Dinners become years of WhatsApp messages, shared milestones, celebrations, and support through life’s harder seasons too.
The friendships become family.
First Stop: Turning 50 in New York City
Last summer, it was my turn.
My closest London friend flew across the Atlantic to celebrate my 50th birthday in New York City.
Ironically, she ended up being the tour guide in my own country.
Instead of the usual Midtown itinerary, we explored corners of the city that felt entirely new to me. We wandered through DUMBO, crossed the Brooklyn Bridge, browsed our way through Soho, and spent hours wonderfully admiring the West Village.
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One of my favorite memories was simply walking with no agenda.
Admiring brownstones.
Stopping at tiny cafés.
Passing Carrie Bradshaw’s famous stoop.
Discovering places I never would have found if I’d been rushing from attraction to attraction.
And because my original plans for a Greece birthday celebration had fallen through, my friend secretly decorated my hotel terrace with Greek-inspired touches so I could still have a little piece of the trip I’d imagined.
That’s friendship.
Not grand gestures.
Just incredibly thoughtful ones.
Then It Was Her Turn: London at 50
This spring, we crossed the Atlantic for her celebration.
And what a celebration it was.
The weekend started with everything I love about London—the architecture, gorgeous blooms, infectious energy and catching up with friends near our old home I hadn’t seen in far too long.
We explored King’s Cross, browsed the shops at Coal Drops Yard, enjoyed a pub lunch at The Bunch of Grapes, and made our way through Knightsbridge for a few classic London stops. Saw The Thin House, too.
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But the real highlight came that evening.
Her 50th birthday party was held at Sweeties, perched above The Standard Hotel with sweeping views across London.
As the sun set behind the city skyline, old friends reunited.
There were canapés, cocktails, a DJ, a sparkling disco ball, and the kind of energy that only comes from gathering people who genuinely love one another.
One of my favorite parts of the evening wasn’t even the party itself.
It was watching my daughter connect with my friend’s daughters – all teenagers now.
Confident, independent, and reconnecting with friends from her years abroad while effortlessly making a new international friendship with the Belgian cousin.
That’s when it hit me.
This is what being an expat kid does to you.
The world feels smaller.
Friendships stretch across countries.
Goodbyes become “see you later.”
More Than Two Birthday Parties
Looking back, neither birthday was really about turning 50.
They were about celebrating everything that happened because of one decision nearly a decade ago.
A decision I almost didn’t make.
Moving abroad wasn’t always easy.
There were lonely days.
Moments of uncertainty.
Times when I questioned whether we’d made the right choice.
But standing in New York with a friend I met in England, and then standing in London celebrating her milestone birthday months later, I was reminded of something important:
Some of life’s greatest gifts arrive through doors you almost didn’t walk through.
For me, one of those doors was an expat assignment in 2017.
The other was a British prep school parking lot.
Who would have thought that would lead to two milestone birthdays, celebrated in New York and London, with friendships that continue to span an ocean?
I’m endlessly grateful it did.