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Just like Liz, Angela Vitiello moved away from New York in 2010 and has lived abroad ever since. Liz and Angela chat about the NY responses to leaving NY, balancing visits back home, finding friends, and lots more. She's now married with kids and staying put in Brussels, Belgium for the foreseeable future. She runs Expat Parenting Collective and has lots of advice for folks moving abroad or already abroad. Learn more about Angela: www.expatparentingcollective.com www.instagram.com/expatparentingcollective www.linkedin.com/in/angela-vitiello-mba-ms-ed www.instagram.com/itsangelavitiello

If you're an expat or an immigrant, loneliness will hit you. OK really, if you're a human, loneliness will hit you at some point whether you like it or not. But what do we think of when we think of loneliness? Liz and Ryan share stories of when they've felt most lonely and their backgrounds and experiences shape them into very different perspectives on that same word.

Welcome to Season 2! Is your New Year's resolution to move to a new country? Or to move back to your home country after living abroad? If that's your goal for this year, here are some deeper questions to ask yourself before you buy that plane ticket.

New. More. Different. Expat life is full of excitement, growth and discovery. But what happens when we say goodbye to the life we used to have? We might have lived in a different world with different people while being a different person. And now we are somewhere so far away from there. Today we talk about the things we left behind in order to become expats.

Sometimes you fall in love with a holiday you weren't born celebrating. When Ryan, a South African, started dating Liz, an American, she shared her love for giving thanks and eating an insane amount of butter. Listen to Ryan's experiences with the holiday and what it has come to mean to him. Ryan and Liz also go into lots of detail about the Thanksgiving foods they love and traditions they have created in Portugal.

What you don't know can't hurt you, right? Well, when you think about moving to another place, and especially when you actually make a move, you might not realize that you are opening a giant Pandora's Box where you start to notice things that you never noticed before about your home, about your new home, and everything else. Sometimes it's obvious things (like New York is SUPER expensive) and sometimes more subtle (like Italy is incredibly dog friendly), but you truly do start to look at different elements of life differently and you start to question which things you are willing to have bigger compromises on and which you aren't. #expatlife #pandorasbox #questioneverything

When you move abroad, you are going to feel guilty. For what you left, for who you left, for what you’re choosing and what you aren’t choosing, for dozens of different things surrounding the topic of money, for being selfish and chasing your own dreams, for not speaking the local language “well enough”. You’re just going to feel guilty. A lot. Trust us. Ryan and Liz share a list of 10 forms of expat & immigrant guilt that we’re feeling at the moment. We’re pretty sure that at least a few of these are going to resonate. But what can you do about that guilt? Feeling guilty doesn’t change anything and it sure doesn’t fix anything. Ryan (a therapist for expats and immigrants) shares some advice on what to do about those feelings and how to best support yourself when things get tough.

In this conversation with Josh & Kalie of Expats Everywhere, we discuss the differences between travel in our early 20’s versus our 30’s, their decision to have a baby in the USA after living abroad for a decade, some ways of making friends in their new home of Portugal, and more. We love to chat with other expats, and it was really fun to compare notes with a couple who’s been abroad for so long, who also loves Slovenia, and who is living life with all of the ups and the downs in Portugal.

Just passed in Portuguese Parliament, the path for us expats and immigrants toward citizenship in Portugal is changing. Some people are fed up with how over-immigration is impacting this country and are cheering for reform. Some are livid that these changes will have a tangible impact on their lives, and not a positive one. It seems like everyone in Portugal is having big feelings right now. Online, in person, if you are thinking of moving to Portugal or living here, this is the topic of the moment. We break down what is changing, who's happy, who is unhappy, and why. Then we go through some of the social media posts we've seen. Some advice from Ryan the therapist: if you are coming at this discussion from a place of anger, maybe think about it a little more. We are all entitled to feel our feelings, but to have a fruitful conversation about a complicated topic, it's often really helpful to do your best to try to see both sides.

Fresh off of a trip to the UK, we find ourselves asking, "Could we live there?". So we take a look at some different categories: food, accommodation, transport, weather, and making friends, and try to compare Portugal with the UK. Which would you choose?

Meticulous overplanners, those who throw caution to the wind and come with a dream, lovers reuniting with their loves, career chasers, where do you fit in? We fit into several of these categories ourselves, so we dive into the good, the bad, and the ugly about different expat personas. Spoiler: there is no "best way" to move abroad. Each way has its pros and cons, so use your head and your heart when planning your move!

An appendix removal in Northern Ireland, a heart attack in Portugal, kidney stones in Australia. You never think a medical emergency will happen to you, but what do you do when it does? Fresh off of an appendectomy, Ryan and Liz share their experience with the United Kingdom’s National Health Services, or the NHS. You thought the appendicitis was scary? We also talk through the heart attack Ryan had in Portugal back in 2023 and the life saving care that he received. Why does this man think it’s so fun to have medical emergencies???? He really needs new hobbies… Liz hasn’t been as medically adventurous but helped translate for a Spanish speaking friend in Australia who had kidney stones and talks through that experience. Being an expat often means being far from family, but being in a medical emergency means that you need to have people to help you. Sometimes that can feel impossibly difficult and other times the world can surprise you with just how kind and wonderful strangers can be. We finish with a would you rather about medical emergencies, because who wouldn’t want to play a game about that? Find us on Instagram @expatslisten or send us an email [email protected] to tell us your story!

There are things that you know will be difficult about life abroad- being far from family and friends, language barriers, work, finding friends, visa struggles. But then there are the things that you truly cannot believe knock you down. Where is the place that Liz has been brought to tears the most in Portugal? The Portuguese post office, or the CTT. Liz despises the Portuguese post office. Nothing can ruin her week faster than knowing she needs to pick up a package. Was that on anybody's move abroad bingo card? I can't believe it was! But that's the thing about starting a life abroad- it's full of surprises. Some are good and some might be infuriating. Enjoy Liz's rant, and please, don't mail us anything! 🤣 Join the conversation on Instagram @expatslisten or email us [email protected] #livingabroad #expatlife #rant #movetoportugal

You've heard the things we struggle with on "Don't move to Portugal unless..." (And if you haven't, go listen to that episode!) It's time to talk about some of the things that surprised us about becoming expats in Portugal in the best ways. Whenever you move to a country as an expat or an immigrant, you go there with lots of expectations. Most of your experiences will be very different from those expectations, some in difficult and painful ways and others in delightful and wonderful ways. This week, we are talking about the delightful and wonderful surprises that we found when we moved to Portugal, from fresh orange juice machines to aging gracefully and a lot more. We also hear some of the happy surprises of moving to Portugal from listeners Jane, Gareth, Ena, and Milos. Want to connect? Instagram @expatslisten or [email protected]

What is home, really? As an expat, this answer can be so complicated. If I say that home is where I live now, am I abandoning where I came from? If I say that home is where I was born, am I living in the past and not showing love to the life I have worked so hard to build here? And what about homesickness? We definitely miss people and places and things from our past homes. But we also miss the version of ourselves that was there for all of that. So going back to that place might not give us that same feeling. It's a big one, so let's dive in. Join the conversation on Instagram @expatslisten Or on email [email protected] #expatlife #whatishome #findinghome #expats