The Bittersweet Life

What do Ernest Hemingway, Pablo Picasso, Paul Gauguin (and so many other artists) have in common? They all reached the apex of their creative output while living outside their countries of birth. An email from a listener, who also happens to be a member of indie band Trash Can Dream, inspired this week's episode. Emma Grace Stephenson is one of two Aussie expats who make up the band that is now ba...

In this week's Bittersweet Moment mini-episode, we tackle a question from a listener: how do you learn a new language effectively? Tiffany draws on her experiences studying and speaking Italian and French (and a smidgen of Spanish and German) to come up with five tips to help you master a new language. Listen in to find out what they are! PS Aurelio has a few suggestions too. To find an online lan...

How many of your life decisions were entirely your own, and how many were influenced by what the people around you wanted, hoped, or expected you to be doing? And what happens when you decide to go off script and live life on your own terms? Today we delve into questions of "should." We discuss whether or not we are living our family's or society's version of how our lives "should" be, Katy's expe...

It's time for our first full Bittersweet Moment! Inspired by Monday's episode, Katy wonders how many people have lived in places they didn't like, and what they did about it. Be sure to listen to Episode 250 {SPOUSE} first, where we chat wtih author Beth Howard about her experiences as a trailing spouse expat while living in Germany...a place she never felt at home. Today, Katy takes to the street...

We often chat with expats on The Bittersweet Life , whether they are corporate expats off to a new country every other year, passion expats who follow their dream of living in a foreign land, or anything in between. But what about the expat spouse? What about the person who never signed up for the expat life but finds themselves living it anyway? This week we talk with Beth M. Howard, author of th...

On occasion of the fifth anniversary of The Bittersweet Life, we're launching Bittersweet Moments, mid-week mini-episodes to bring a little extra (bitter) sweetness to your week. We'll be regaling you with a different nugget every week, from bite-sized art or history tidbits to street interviews, follow-ups on previous episodes, listener messages, travel tips, random thoughts, and everything in be...

This week's episode is inspired by a letter from one of our long-time listeners. Giovanna wonders what to do after hitting an expat "plateau," when the rapid learning and expanding period of being a new expat inevitably slows down. After a little over a year living on the idyllic Italian island of Ischia (by way of New York, London, and Rome), Giovanna ponders what to do when the novelty of expat...

This week, we chat with Lori-Lee Elliott, many-time expat, world traveler, and techie girlboss. Lori-Lee's first appearance on The Bittersweet Life was back in July of 2017 in Episode 166: TIPS , when she pulls from her sizable expat experience to share tips with wannabe or newbie expats. This time, she joins us to talk about a big new venture in her own life. While working full time for an intern...

In this long-awaited epsiode, Tiffany finally reveals how she moved to Rome. It wasn't all a bed of roses (and frankly, it wasn't all legal), but after innumerable requests from listeners, who regularly write to us saying, "I want to move to Italy. How did you do it?" Tiffany is breaking her silence at last to describe what she went through to make her dream of living in Rome a reality. Friendly d...

Whether due to poor planning, penny pinching, or simply laziness, we've all got regrets when it comes to our past travels. You know what we're talking about: the time you didn't cough up the extra 5 bucks to climb the church tower and missed out on the amazing view. The time you missed the museum you most wanted to see because you didn't check the opening times. The time you opted not to visit gor...

Have you ever thumbed through a cookbook only to roll your eyes and wonder, who has the time? And who has all these ingredients laying around? Italian food expert and cookbook author Francesca Montillo joins us for a conversation about her new cookbook. For anyone who loves cooking Italian food but doesn't have the time or the inclination to concoct elaborate meals, The 5-Ingredient Italian Cookbo...

Do I deserve to live a bigger life? If you're asking that question, it's a gift to have parent (or friend) who answers- why not?  Sarah McColl , author of  Joy Enough , joins us to talk about the beautiful life she discovered while living alongside her dying mother. We also explore how fear, loss and the expectations of others can limit our potentially terrific lives and how to get beyond that.  A...

Katy's sisters, Dana and Sara, join us again this week! They discuss what tethers people have (real or invented) that tie them to the city they are currently living in. Whether it's a stable job, a family support system, or simply force of habit, what is holding you back from imagining a new life for yourself in a new place? Dana has a special needs child, but that didn't stop her from uprooting h...

This week we're joined by two of The Bittersweet Life's most ardent listeners: Katy's own sisters, Dana Zahler and Sara Johnson. The three sisters chat about the things that prompt you to change where you live, and what—if anything—your upbringing has to do with it.  Hear from Dana what it takes to move a family of four across the country and back again at the drop of a hat (surprisingly little, i...

Our super summer Share-a-thon came to an end a few months ago now, and today is the big day (***fanfare***) that our super-fun, super-secret Truth or Dare episode hits the airwaves! If you've been paying attention, you know that that episode is only available to listeners who managed to get at least 5 of their friends to subscribe to the show. HOWEVER! We've decided to be generous and let a few mo...

Every so often, just when you find yourself alone and vulnerable in a foreign place and in desperate need of help, an angel comes into your life...a very special kind of angel. A travel angel. This episode is dedicated to those rare and wonderful strangers who come into our lives just when we need them most. Because of their selfless and often unasked for help, disaster is averted, our vacation is...

In a re-airing of one of our most fascinating interviews, Amy Herman joins us to talk about visual intelligence. How can looking at fine art, or rather learning how to truly notice what it is you are seeing, change, or even save your life? Herman has trained police officers, doctors, military, and special operatives to hone their observation skills by studying  visual art . On occasion of her rece...

What happens when you dig out the resolutions you made at the beginning of the year just as you are about to make some new ones for the year to come? Tiffany and Katy find out the hard way. Plus, in honor of Tiffany, Katy takes on a few extra resolutions, and Tiffany takes a page out of Katy's book by resolving to do something that can be accomplished in a single day. And they both try not to crin...

Merry Christmas from your friends at The Bittersweet Life! This Christmas, we're gifting you with a sweet, sentimental, and surprising piece of radio created by your host, Katy Sewall the Christmas she spent in Rome, way back in 2013. If you love the song White Christmas and have always wondered about its origins (or maybe you've never wondered, but now we've piqued your interest), listen to this...

When you move abroad to be with a significant other—not because it was your own dream—what do you do when you don't find expat life satisfying? Whether it's because you struggle to learn the language, feel isolated, don't really love the place where you live, or—god forbid—are not sure your partner is the right person for you, not every expat experience is right for every person. Sometimes you jus...

This week, we chat with expat, author, and vlogger Dana Newman, an American living in Germany with a book out next week! Dana moved to Europe back in 2008, first to Prague, then later to Munich, where she married a German and still lives today. On her YouTube channel, Wanted Adventure , she talks about her experiences living abroad in general and living in Germany in particular, including the cult...

It's December and Advent is upon us! With this unofficial kick-off of Christmastime, we discuss the different ways Italians and Americans prepare for the holiday season. And how have Italians ceded some of their native traditions to the global consumerism that has taken over the American Christmas experience? We also debate contentious topics such as: when is it too early to put up your Christmas...

A powerful, unscrupulous man whose two greatest vices are greed and lust. He's close to his family...perhaps too close (particularly his daughter). He has many children by different women, but the three he loves most are two sons and a daughter...a beautiful blond-haired daughter. He holds a position of great power, although the machinations he employed to get it are mired in scandal. Bribery was...

It's almost Thanksgiving, and if you're anything like us, you're partly dreading sitting down at that big, diverse table because you know the person sitting beside you—while you may love them to bits—has political views that are the polar opposite of yours. You can't pick your family, am I right? And even worse, you can't force them to think like you do, no matter how hard you try! Instead of ruin...

This week we are joined by archaeologist and longtime Bittersweet Life listener Christy Schirmer. In her mid-30s, Christy decided to quit her job and pursue a PhD in Classics, something she had always dreamed about doing. Fast-forward a few years and she now comes to Italy (a country she loves) to work once a year on archaeological digs. What's she looking for in the dirt? And how did she decide t...