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Moving overseas with teens - again! As my most downloaded podcast episode last season was about moving abroad with teenagers, I thought it was a good time to bring in an expert! So, this is an absolute mega-episode, where I have brought in the wonderful Emma Cochrane, Teen Confidence Coach. The wisdom and insight she has about this age group of children is astounding. Even if you don't have teens yet, you soon will do! You will be even better placed to prepare your children to move overseas with confidence. FIND EMMA HERE EMMA'S STORE Helping expats of all levels of experience build a successful life, career and family overseas. Get expat life support at every stage of your expat journey - from home to away and back again!  Join The Expatability Club - Your 'one-stop-shop' for succeeding abroad!Want independent advice about your move overseas? For a one-to-one chat, please check my calendar for dates and options hereTake a look at my Expatability site for more details on how we can work together to make your expat life the dream life you want! Support the show

How to cope with feeling homesick as an expat Moving abroad is an exciting adventure filled with new opportunities, cultures, and experiences. An incredibly rich experience, offering opportunities to immerse yourself in a different culture, perhaps learn a new language and make new friends.    However, expat life is not without its challenges and there are bound to be a few bumps along the way.    One of the most common emotional challenges faced by expats, particularly those who are new to a country, is homesickness. (Well, the second most common – in my long experience in the expatosphere - the first most common seems to be expat guilt!).    Homesickness - This deep longing for one's home country, family, and familiar surroundings can affect expats at any stage of their overseas journey.    In this episode, we will explore what causes expat homesickness, how it feels, and strategies to cope with it.   Helping expats of all levels of experience build a successful life, career and family overseas. Get expat life support at every stage of your expat journey - from home to away and back again!  Join The Expatability Club - Your 'one-stop-shop' for succeeding abroad!Want independent advice about your move overseas? For a one-to-one chat, please check my calendar for dates and options hereTake a look at my Expatability site for more details on how we can work together to make your expat life the dream life you want! Support the show

Expats and emotional overwhelm: when everything just gets too much. It’s all just TOO MUCH! Emotional overwhelm that catches us at times regardless of where you are on your expat journey, whether this is your first move, or your 21st . Emotional overwhelm can hit anyone, at any time, in any place, and wherever you are in your expat journey. It can also be particularly strong at the start of a new school year as you work out new routines, timetables, expectations and challenges.  When you just curl up into a ball and hide for a while but you can’t, because suddenly you have to do the school run again. When you’ve discovered school finishes at midday on Wednesdays, yet it takes you an hour to do the school run, so what’s the point of going back home…  When your kids are having upsets, meltdowns, tantrums at least once a day and you feel like joining them. When you’re frustrated that your life isn’t the Insta-perfect expat dream you expected, when you’re missing the easiness of home. Discover what causes emotional overwhelm, how it can affect you, and most importantly, how to manage it to reclaim your brain and happiness. Get expat life support at every stage of your expat journey - from home to away and back again!  Join The Expatability Club - the only community you need, supporting you from home to away, and back again!Want independent advice about your move overseas? For a one-to-one chat, please check my calendar for dates and options hereTake a look at my Expatability site for more details on how we can work together to make your expat life the dream life you want! Support the show

So, you want to move abroad? You're dreaming of retiring overseas? You've had enough of this country's weather/cost of living/government [delete as appropriate]. You want to live somewhere else. But how do you make it happen? And where is the best place for expats, anyway? In this episode I will take you through all kinds of ideas and delve in to the 'Where', 'Why', and most importantly, the 'HOW' to make your expat dream come true, It's never too soon to make plans, but it may be too late. So you need to get cracking and listen to find out what to do. Get expat life support at every stage of your expat journey - from home to away and back again!  Join The Expatability Club - the only community you need, supporting you from home to away, and back again!Want independent advice about your move overseas? For a one-to-one chat, please check my calendar for dates and options hereTake a look at my Expatability site for more details on how we can work together to make your expat life the dream life you want!Support the show

“I had to leave my baby in Dubai and return to the UK” No, this isn’t me being dramatic: this is the TRUTH for far too many expat parents. 😭  If you move overseas with your child, then spilt up with your partner, you may not be allowed to return home with your child. Immigration laws may also forbid you from staying in that country. You are stuck between a rock and a hard place. There is no happy ending. In this very special podcast episode I have the greatest honour to interview Roz Osborne, the Founder and CEO of GlobalARRK; the only charity specialising in helping stuck parents. Find out what a stuck parent is, how you can get help if this is you, and how GlobalARRK are working to get the law changed so that abusive and coercive controlling relationships overseas don't damage even more families and children. Please sign & share this petition to be a part of the change needed to ensure survivors reach safety and justice with their children after an abusive relationship abroad https://change.org/protecthaguevictims Visit GlobalARRK for more details. To make a donation to our work supporting Stuck Parents please go to Just Giving: https://checkout.justgiving.com/c/3341832 If you are a Stuck Parent do get in touch: [email protected] Get expat life support at every stage of your expat journey - from home to away and back again!  Join The Expatability Club .Want independent advice about your move overseas? For a one-to-one chat, please check my calendar for dates and options hereTake a look at my Expatability site for more details on how we can work together to make your expat life the dream life you want.Visit ExpatChild.com for more free information about expat life! Support the show

In this episode I dip my toes in to the world that is learning a new language. With a few quick tips on language learning for both you and your children. Even if you’re moving for just a couple of years or so, you’ll get so much more out of your stay if you can speak the lingo.  I’ll share 5 reasons why an expat should learn the local language, however long you’ll be living in that country. And especially if you’re moving to an expat hub – get yourself out of the expat bubble and thrive! Also, I’ll offer you some quick tips to get you up and running. And most of what I talk about will apply to your kids as well as you. Then I move onto talking about what’s known as full immersion language learning, and the pros and cons of that... Whilst it’s generally acknowledged that full immersion into a language is the best way to become fluent, this is pretty stressful and not always possible.  And I’ll share why I don’t believe that full immersion is always a good format for children and can be extremely damaging for some. Not learning the language will make your everyday expat life more stressful – like going to doctors, shopping or getting your paperwork done – simple things you’ve always taken for granted become minefields when you’re trying to navigate them in a foreign language. If you don’t speak the language, you will feel cut off from the country you live in. Remember, learning even a few words and phrases of a new language is inclusive and will open so many doors for you as well as boosting your confidence and giving you a massive sense of achievement. Get expat life support at every stage of your expat journey - from home to away and back again!  Join The Expatability Club so you can get your priority boarding pass when the doors to this very exclusive club are open.Want independent advice about your move overseas? For a one-to-one chat, please check my calendar for dates and options hereAll my articles on Language Learning on ExpatChild hereCompanies who offer Language Courses on The Expat DirectoryTake a look at my Expatability site for more details on how we can work together to make your expat life the dream life you want!Support the show

How to prepare to receive your shipment – all the items that you packed into a lorry for container shipping. Or, to be more accurate, Preparing for the day all your shipped items get delivered. Because the actual unpacking takes way longer than a day…  How to organise yourself before the lorry arrives so your unpacking day can go as smoothly as possible. What you need to have and do before the unpacking crew arrive. Tip: Don’t panic. And always know where your inventory is… 😉 Get expat life support at every stage of your expat journey - from home to away and back again!  Join The Expatability Club.Want independent advice about your move overseas? For a one-to-one chat, please check my calendar for dates and options hereVisit ExpatChild.com for more free information about expat life!Take a look at my Expatability site for more details on how we can work together to make your expat life the dream life you want!Support the show

From Malawi Expat to Mannequin Lady! This episode is a little different from all my others, as for the very first time, I have a guest on my show! This won’t be a regular thing, by the way, which makes it even more special. So, please meet the lovely Roz Edwards! Roz lived in Malawi for 10 years before repatriating, quite suddenly, to the UK back in 2004 with her two sons and four cardboard boxes. We talk about lots of aspects of expat and repat life, such as, raising kids overseas, entrepreneurship, repatriating, the timing of a move and, well, all sorts of things...! You can find Roz and her businesses here: RozEdwards.co.uk Mannakin Get expat life support at every stage of your expat journey - from home to away and back again!  Join The Expatability Club: the one-stop-shop for everything expat. If you'd like independent advice about your move overseas with a one-to-one chat, please check my calendar for dates and options hereVisit ExpatChild.com for more free information about expat life.Take a look at my Expatability site for more details on how I can support you with your move abroadSupport the show

How to build an active and fulfilling social life for yourself overseas. When you live abroad an important element of your life is your social circle; your network, your support system. AKA Friends! “So, no one told you life was gonna be this way” Sometimes we can feel so lonely overseas that it causes big problems such as depression, wanting to go home and more.  In fact, a lack of a support network is often cited as the number one reason for expat failure.  So, let's prevent this from happening in the first place! Let's make sure that you've always got the tools to help you find your own support network, wherever you are in the world. So, how can you build an active and fulfilling social life for yourself overseas? In this episode, I’ll tell you how, and share 10 actionable tips you can use to build an active and fulfilling social life for yourself overseas. Making new friends as an adult can be challenging; making new friends as an expat doubly so, but it is definitely possible. It can take time and effort, but it's worth it. And I’ll share something really exciting to make sure that you always have your own support network with you at all times. So, whoever you are, wherever you are in the world, wherever you’ve come from, wherever you’ve been, wherever you’re going, I’ll be there for you.  🎶 "I'll be there for you (When the rain starts to pour) I'll be there for you (Like I've been there before) I'll be there for you ('Cause you're there for me too)" 🎶 Friends theme song by The Rembrandt Get expat life support at every stage of your expat journey - from home to away and back again!  Join The Expatability Club: the one-stop-shop for everything expat. If you'd like independent advice about your move overseas with a one-to-one chat, please check my calendar for dates and options hereVisit ExpatChild.com for more free information about expat life!Take a look at my Expatability site for more details on how I can support you with your move abroad Support the show

Did you move abroad for love? Long distance love stories for Valentine’s Day! Falling in love with someone while travelling or living in another country can be a magical experience. The thrill of adventure combined with the excitement of a new relationship can create memories that last a lifetime, and a relationship built on a mutual adventurous spirit. People move overseas for many, many reasons. Most move for a better life; however that may look for them. Some move abroad to study. Some move abroad to work. And sometimes those people end up falling in love – either with the country, or a person they meet there.  Perhaps your partner has a career move abroad and you go with them. This is also moving for love, because you may have to sacrifice quite a bit - giving up your own career for example. This is the trailing spouse / accompanying partner story, and is mine – kind of… yes, I’ll share my own love story here too, of course! There are several variations on this theme as we’ll see in this episode of a compilation of love stories. Get expat life support at every stage of your expat journey - from home to away and back again!  Join The Expatability Club: the one-stop-shop for everything expat. If you'd like independent advice about your move overseas with a one-to-one chat, please check my calendar for dates and options hereVisit ExpatChild.com for more free information about expat life!Take a look at my Expatability site for more details on how I can support you with your move abroadSupport the show

How to cope with the comedown when you’ve moved overseas. Not long after you’ve arrived in your new country, there comes a time when it suddenly hits you – ‘Oh, is that it? Now what?’ You feel quite down and flat and wonder if you’ve made a terrible mistake. We all know that moving overseas is really exciting. It heralds great change, perhaps the hope of a better future and a better life. To most families it represents a new start in their lives both professionally and personally. But many new expats are shocked that it isn't all happy days and paradise living and begin to second guess their decision. It’s OK, this is a completely normal experience; and it can often hit harder after the holiday season, which is why I want to talk about it now. Why does this come-down happen? And what can you do to get through this feeling? Yes, through is the word I mean, because it is a transient feeling; it will pass. When it happens after you’ve moved, I call it the comedown, or the 6-month slump. And then we have the ‘expat blues’, which is a similar feeling, and is relevant to this time of year. See the links below for articles I’ve written about these. So, listen to this episode to learn coping methods, and tips to help you get through it, and once you understand why this feeling happens, you’ll be better prepared to power on through! Get expat life support at every stage of your expat journey - from home to away and back again!  Join The Expatability Club: the one-stop-shop for everything expat. Want independent advice about your move overseas? For a one-to-one chat, please check my calendar for dates and options hereRead my article on The 6-month slump on ExpatChild.comRead my article on The Comedown on ExpatChild.comRead my article on The Expat Blues on ExpatChild.comVisit ExpatChild.com for more free information about expat life!Take a look at my Expatability site for more details on how I can support you with your move abroad Support the show

Expect the Unexpected Culture Shock Expats and the Holiday Season These three topic were planned for separate episodes, but life events meant it made sense to see if I could fit them all into one episode, just in time for the Holidays! I think I succeeded 🤪  I wanted to talk about how strange and different, and sometimes upsetting these special holidays can be for expats living away from their home countries and families.  And the reason these special, family-oriented dates feel so different and sometimes difficult is ultimately down to culture shock!  As for the Expect the Unexpected bit? One of my favourite expat-mentoring mantras is 'Expect the Unexpected'. Some of the ‘unexpected’ is funny, some of it can be a bit frustrating, but we can usually steer ourselves through it all.   Sometimes, however, that unexpected is a complete and utter blind-sider that nothing could have prepared me for.  What happened? Well, listen and find out...  Get expat life support at every stage of your expat journey - from home to away and back again!  Join The Expatability Club: the one-stop-shop for everything expat. Want independent advice about your move overseas? For a one-to-one chat, please check my calendar for dates and options hereVisit ExpatChild.com for more free information about expat life!Join my Expat Parents' Support Group on Facebook Sign up to receive my Expat Newsletter to keep up to date and in the loop with everything I do Support the show