Working from London - Together with Carlijn we look back on her past three years
It was three years ago this month that our colleague Carlijn moved to London with her English boyfriend and continued her work for us from there. It's high time to reflect on this milestone and hear how she is doing in London.
You moved to London three years ago. How do you like it there?
I like it! London is a beautiful, diverse and lively city where you never have to be bored. There really is something for everyone.
Do you notice many cultural differences between the English and the Dutch?
English people are very friendly people and we share the same humour, so we get along very well. What I did have to get used to is their indirectness. They will choose their words in such a way that you sometimes have to read between the lines to find out what is really meant. In addition, they absolutely do not appreciate it when you are rude or boorish. For the Dutch, who often just say what they think (whether you like it or not), this can sometimes be a bit complicated.
How does remote working work?
That actually works fine. We work with Microsoft Teams, so we can reach each other in various ways. I video call my colleagues a lot, so we still see each other regularly, even if it's digitally. Precisely because you are not in the same room, it is extra important that you make an effort to speak to each other.
In terms of content, the work has not changed much compared to when I was still working from the office in Bussum. Because of the distance, I do see clients less often than before, but before Corona, I used to fly back regularly for client appointments. Now that we are dealing with Corona, that has been put on hold for a while, but hopefully we will find a way again in the future.
In London, you work from a co-working space called Work.Life. How do you like that?
Very nice. Work.Life is a co-working space in London; a workplace for people who work remotely like me, but also for freelancers, start-ups and small businesses. I can do my daily work here, invite (potential) clients, book meeting rooms etc.
But besides good facilities, the social aspect of work is also very important to me. I make social contacts here and it is a good place for networking.
Ambition for the future
We will continue to work together as we do now, and it would of course be great if in the future we could expand our English professional network and serve (more) customers on this beautiful and somewhat stubborn island.
Greetings from London!
