But since moving to London, I’ve stopped waiting to see if someone will be around long enough to be worth the effort. I’ve stopped being hesitant and learned to dive headfirst because, while the essence of time is somewhat guaranteed back home, on your OE, it isn’t.

For example, a couple of weeks ago, a friend, Zoe, sat me down and told me she’d booked her flight home. Not for a holiday but for good and, selfishly, my first response was, “No”. She laughed because that particular conversation is all part and parcel of life overseas.

In the almost two years I’ve lived in London, I’ve said goodbye, usually disguised as “See you soon”, more times than I can count. Friends head home, flatmates move on and, at some point, you realise that the phrase “People come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime” has a bit more meaning. Naturally, that changes the way you love people.

Now, I don’t play it cool, I don’t downplay friendships or pretend I’m too busy to care. I say “Yes” more, and I show up properly. I soak in those ordinary moments like midweek dinners, coffee and a walk. I also let a quiet drink turn into a long night and put up with the headache the next day more than I should because I know those are the moments that aren’t guaranteed.

It makes my friendships with the girls I met in July even more special, even if the dynamics of our trio come with an expiry date I can’t ignore. One is from India, another is from Northern Ireland, and I know the chances of them ever moving to New Zealand or Australia are slim. I also know my own time in the UK is limited. So when we spend time together, there’s an unspoken understanding that this is precious.

Other Kiwis in London feel the same. A friend told me recently that, in the past three months, six of her closest friends have packed up and gone home. Six. That’s an entire friendship group just gone. It’s confronting, and sometimes it hurts because every goodbye feels like the end of a small era.

Between you and me, though, it’s also quite freeing because when you stop trying to hold onto people forever, you learn how to love them properly while they’re here.

You learn that friendship doesn’t need permanence to be real, and you realise that, years from now, you’ll have people all over the world who once mattered deeply, and still do, even if you don’t see each other every week.

So if you live around the corner from your friends or family, or they’re just a short trip away, remember how lucky you are, and if you’ve done the OE thing and made friends you’ve since lost touch with, maybe give them a call. There’s something so special about remembering the people you loved in other versions of your life, and realising that, for a season at least, you were exactly where you were meant to be.

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