Meet the Expats

Meet Denison Smith, an American novelist who recently traded the wide-open landscapes of New Mexico for the rolling countryside of Portugal’s Alentejo region. In this episode, Denison shares the story behind her move from the United States to Portugal, a journey that was years in the making thanks to Portugal’s Golden Visa program. What started as an “insurance policy” gradually became a life-chan...

Meet Amanda, Who at the age of 17 started a nomadic lifestyle, bartending across 10 different countries, seizing every opportunity, before settling down with her family in Copenhagen. Amanda shares her reverse culture shock when moving back to the US, and more about life, culture shocks and the wonderful work-life balance in Denmark. Follow for more expat stories: 📘 Meet the Expats Blog 📹 Youtub...

Meet Maddalena, an Italian relationship and dating coach now living in London, whose expat journey took her from a small town in Southern Italy to Dublin, Rome, and eventually London. In this episode, Maddalena shares how living abroad transformed not only her life, but also her approach to love, dating, and emotional connection. Dublin became her turning point. What started as an exciting new cha...

Meet Yolanda, a global expat who has relocated six times across the world before eventually settling in California — what started as a one-year adventure turned into 16 years, two children, and a deep journey of rebuilding home from scratch. In this episode, Yolanda shares how she and her husband moved to the U.S. after winning the Green Card lottery, chasing sunshine and a new adventure. But beyo...

Follow for more expat stories: 📘 Meet the Expats Blog 📹 Youtube Channel 📱 Instagram 📱TikTok Credits: Intro outro Ice tea, Not the king Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Meet Shannon, an American expat who followed love to Germany—and ended up building a thriving small business in Baden-Württemberg. Originally from the San Francisco area, Shannon moved to Germany for what was meant to be a temporary chapter. Fourteen years later, she’s still there, raising a family and running her own aesthetics business from the ground up. In this episode, we talk about navigatin...

Meet Josh, Entrepreneur, community builder, and Dutch expat who turned isolation on the French Riviera into connection, and a thriving international community. Joshua moved to the South of France in 2018 with his wife, chasing a better quality of life, sunshine, and a slower pace. What he didn’t expect was how isolating life abroad could feel, even in one of the most beautiful regions in the world...

Meet Zach and Anna, Serial expats and founders of StartAbroad , a relocation company built from real-life experience moving abroad, sometimes with support, sometimes completely on their own. From the Dominican Republic to Kenya, Rwanda, an unexpected year stuck in the US during Covid, and finally settling in Costa Rica, Zach and Anna share the highs, lows, and emotional rollercoaster of expat life...

Meet Tracey, Relocation coach, somatic practitioner, and six-time expat who has turned “trying it for three months” into a life philosophy. In this episode, we explore what it really means to build home within yourself —especially when life (and identity) keeps shifting with every move. Tracey takes us through her first unexpected opportunity at just 16, the resilience she discovered in herself, a...

Meet Nancy, After two decades of living abroad in Switzerland and Denmark, Nancy opens up about navigating grief as an expat — balancing a global career in biotech with the heartbreak of losing loved ones from afar. She shares how returning to the U.S. reshaped her sense of home, what helped her cope with loss overseas, and how she found purpose again by building a new life (and business) back in...

Meet Megan, From starting out as an au pair in Germany to running her own language coaching business, Megan talks about how travel shaped her career, changed her mindset, her top tips for learning languages, and why confidence is the secret to better communication. We discuss: Building confidence when learning a new language The difference between language lessons and coaching Overcoming “learned...

Meet Dr. Elefant Yanni , a Swiss psychologist now based in Singapore, who has built a career helping expats and international couples navigate the highs and lows of life abroad. From her first move to Canada, then Korea, and now Singapore, Dr. Yanni shares how each relocation shaped her understanding of relationships, resilience, and the invisible bonds between expats. In this conversation, we div...

Meet Rehka, Co-founder of Boundless Life , a program that helps families live, learn, and work abroad together. From childhood trips and student exchanges to creating a whole new way of schooling on the road, Rekha shares her journey to building a community where children thrive and parents connect while traveling the world. She tells us about the spark that inspired Boundless Life, what a day in...

Meet Tim, Who met his Mexican wife at work in the US, at the time none spoke each other's language, but still they pushed through one word at the time. His wife, who already had children back in Mexico, had to go back to take care of them, and that's when their 18 year long distance relationship started, with children that he did not see grow up. During those 18 years, Tim managed to go visit her...

Meet Tsahia, After years of working in the healthcare sector in the US, it was time for a change: a Luxury Marketing Masters in Paris, her dream city. In this episode Tsahia shares her culture shocks regarding life in Paris and differences in the educational system. We also discuss the similarities and differences with Emily in Paris, the fashion style and how she made friends through communities...

Meet Natasha, She left Russia with her family to move to Boston, despite the US not being her dream country. After finding a contract there, and trying to fit in to the culture, she moved on her own to New York, where she discovered a vibrant and buzzing city. 4 years in, it was time for a change and to live her dream: move to London. In this episode we discuss The differences when moving with you...

Meet Angela, New Yorker now living in Brussels, Belgium. After a layoff as a teacher in the US, Angela decided to make her first move abroad to South Korea. As South Korea did not "feel like real life", as in she did not see herself settling there for good, The Netherlands seemed like a good option for her. She moved there, and set up her business discovered the local culture for a few years befor...

Meet Tu-Oahn, Half French half American, she grew up between France and Tahiti where she had family, before moving off to Los Angeles living the American teenage and college dream. She is now back in France, where she joined Ayoub as co-founder of Carom, a unique social networking app designed to connect you with like-minded individuals who share your interests and activities. As an expat and as a...

Meet Fiorenza, Expat in London for 14 years now, she shares her love for languages and how she is juggling her Italian and french roots while living in London bringing up two kids who are embracing all the cultures and languages they are surrounded with and making them their own. We dive into education differences in France, Italy and the UK. how Fiorenza has become so attached to vibrant London a...

Meet Taha Siddiqui, Pakistani award-winning journalist, he has been living in exile in Paris since 2018, following a kidnapping attempt. Listen to his journey from fleeing Pakistan, to finding exile in France with his family, and building a new life by founding the Dissident Club , a Parisian cultural bar open to all. His recommendations: 🥩 Eat at a Bouillon in Paris (Bouillon Chartier, Bouillon...

Meet Marc, Fellow Expat podcaster he has moved his life twice now, in two very different situations. In this episode he shares how he left is native Spain, to settle in Frankfurt, Germany, with only 2 weeks notice 😱, as a job opportunity came up, and then a few years later, this time in a remote job he followed his partner who had an opportunity in Athens. Now settled in Athens he shares his insi...

Meet Mariam, Pakistani, TCK and eternal expat, Mariam has lived in over 10 countries: moving alone, moving with her husband, and later moving as a multicultural family with their three children. Together, with her German-Italian husband, they have found different ways to bring their own cultures into their children's lives, creating traditions and some stability, all while embracing what each coun...

Meet Sibylle Eschapasse, After living the island life during part of her studies, she moved to New York to start a new life and settle. In this episode she shares her arrival to the city by sea, on a cargoship just like immigrants would how she made her dream of working at UN a reality the changes New York has been through Expat song: Empire State of Mind by Alicia Keys Hosted on Ausha. See ausha....

Meet Daniella, Half American, half Swedish, and part Malawi, she is the definition of multi-cultural. In this episode she shares her struggle to understand her identity and the multiple moves she made as a young woman eager to discover the world and what it has to offer. After a couple of years in the US running after bills, she made the move to Sweeden for a new start in life, enrolled in Univers...

Meet Josh and Kalie, In their 20s they decided to go live abroad together, and then expat life just never stopped. They traveled from country to country, leveling up as English teachers, until it was time to move on to a new project and go back to Europe. They are now living in Portugal, and have launched Expats Everywhere, helping aspiring expats make the move. Recommendations: ☕ SO coffee roast...