This Expat Life

Before we start: I share all my woo woo practices (AND SO MUCH MORE) in my new course Touch Base! Get in for just €97 - doors close on 3 July. When I was a busy diplomat trying to excel at my career AND enjoy Brazil to the fullest, I was most of the time living in my head. My head & nervous system were always 'on' and I realised I needed a practice or habit to ground myself more. I started meditat...

What if you're a strong, independent woman with your own career, and your partner of 1.5 year asks you to follow him abroad? Nathalie van Haaren knows all about it. Even though she's been internationally minded from birth, she did have to adapt moving to Senegal now as the spouse of an expat. In this beautiful conversation, Nathalie shares openly and vulnerably what it meant for her identity and h...

I'm halfway into my 6-months stay in Rio and that got me thinking: How am I finding it?  Listen to this episode to hear: - what I've been up to  - how Rio has been treating me (spoiler alert: very good!) - if the fears & doubts before leaving came true - how I deal with lows when living abroad  - what plans I have for my 2nd half in the marvelous city As always I'd love to hear what you thought of...

And following up on the open conversation with Tamara Stroop (see the previous episode), here's part 2... With a plot twist! We had another call about 6 weeks after we first spoke, to see how we were both doing and what had changed for us. Well, for Tamara quite a lot! Listen to this episode to hear what that was.  And are you an expat who's also struggling abroad? Know that I offer a listening ea...

Business coach Tamara Stroop and I had each just moved abroad - Tamara to Barcelona, me to Rio - and as we were talking about our experiences, we figured it would be nice to record an open conversation about journeys! This is not the usual interview but rather a candid conversation between two women in their mid-30s who decided to take a chance and enjoy life abroad. You'll hear us speak very open...

There's one thing that's essential if you desire a big change in your life, which is also often overlooked. If you are ready to achieve a big goal, go off the beaten track or just want to follow your heart, make sure to include this key element. It has been crucial in my own journey. Listen to the episode to know what I'm talking about!

As a seasoned female, latina & expat engineer in tech, Iliana Quiñonez knows what it's like to move abroad and stand out from others in the workplace. Iliana moved to the US in her 20s and through trial and error learned to adapt to - and embrace - the American work culture. Now with over 20 years of experience, this trailblazer is passionate about DEI in the work place. In this episode Iliana giv...

Today I'm sharing two personal stories of my time in London and Brazil when things were NOT going so well. An almost burnout and grief knocked me off course and looking back, I wish I had a coach by my side. Tune in to hear these stories and why I believe every expat should hire a coach at some point in their life abroad. Want to hear how my coaching could work for you? Find more here: https://www...

Today I'm sharing my 'origin story', the story of when a perfect storm really kickstarted my personal growth and made me the person & coach I am today. This is my most personal story as of yet and I'm sharing it in the hopes that it might inspire you. Listen how returning back home, grief, a pandemic, heartache and a coaching training all at once nearly broke me - but in hindsight, really resurrec...

It's one of the things every expat at some point struggles with: friendships. It may be hard to find them abroad, to maintain your friendships back home, or to stay connected to new friends as you or they move again. But here is Sarah Siegert, expat friendship coach who's dealt with all of the above herself. Having moved abroad to the UK for her partner, she found herself feeling lonely as it stru...

When I shared that I was moving to Rio I got the same questions over and over again.. Some of which even made me laugh! In this episode I answer them all, also hoping to inspire you to make a similar move, whether that's to Rio or elsewhere. Listen to this episode to know: - Why I chose Rio - If I'm going to work there - Why 6 months - If I still have a lot of friends here - What visa I'm on - Wha...

Expats do one thing more often than those who stay at home: moving! I feel like organising & clutter are relevant topics for expats simply because they have to go through their belongings more often than others. And plus, all the things you keep because they remind you of when you lived in country X... Because I struggle immensely myself with decluttering and organising (😅), I've invited professi...

Christmas... I LOVE the holidays but they are also a trigger for me. Having grown up with difficult and unconventional family dynamics, the who/what/where of Christmas was always a question mark, bringing up a lot of anxiety. I assumed that things would get better as I got older, but this year as I find myself single & parentless in my mid-30s, I've realised that damn, Christmas is still a questio...

New Year New You... Is it really possible? I think it is! Listen to this episode to hear what has been a game-changing method for me when it comes to reaching my goals and what has helped me to go confidently from diplomacy to coaching & entrepreneurship. I also share the 4 elements that I include in my loooong 'December ritual' every year to create a super strong foundation for myself for the nex...

Careers... One of the main topics for high-achieving expats! But  what can you do to build your professional personal brand, find job leads in the host country, and stay up to date on opportunities in the home country if you know you're returning? LinkedIn is the place to be! According to Nyna Caputi, LinkedIn expert and one of LinkedIn's Top Experts in the San Francisco Bay Area.  In this episode...

The one part of expat life I don't know at all... Moving abroad with your family! I always moved abroad as a solo expat so what it's like to move with kids is very foreign to me. Reason to speak with Betina Pflug, a Brazilian expat in Australia who helps expats & their families to navigate life abroad! Listen to this episode to hear how Betina approaches family life and expat journeys, and the pra...

Taking small decisions in daily life? Not my forte. But the big bold life moves? No problem! I recently decided to move to Rio and I took that decision in just 4 days. Easy peasy! But I know not everyone finds these big decisions easy. So in this podcast I share how I came to that decision and what helps me generally in the decision-making process, hoping to inspire you to decide on your own bold...

Welcoming a guest to This Expat Life, and a very special guest: former diplomat - and my friend - Cinthya Mayorga! Cinthya is from Nicaragua and now lives in Spain, after quitting her diplomacy career 2 years ago. We actually met in Brazil when we were both working there at our respective embassies. We don't only share a working history, but also a passion for personal growth and this is why I bro...

Expat life takes a lot of energy and just like with entrepreneurship, you also need to rely a lot on yourself. Whether it's about finding friends or mentally picking yourself up during a low, it's all down to you. That's why it's KEY to keep your energy in good shape. If you want to thrive in your expat life, you want to ensure your energy supply. In this episode I share about: - the different typ...

In this episode I share some (pretty personal!) examples of the power of community and of having a coach by your side that I saw in my life last week. Listen to this episode how I'm finding working with a coach on some deeply personal issues and on the business decision I took that just opened up SO much space. I'm realising that being so open also feels very vulnerable, but as always I hope that...

Welcoming another guest today: Claudia Arroyo - or better known as latina in The Netherlands! Claudia is Peruvian and has lived in The Netherlands for 18 years, and is famous on Instagram for making funny, relatable videos about life in the Netherlands (this is also how I got to know her!). I invited her to This Expat Life because I wanted to hear more about how she looks at the difference between...

Become the CEO of your expat life, so you can thrive abroad! I want you to thrive & flourish in your expat life - not just survive. And you can do that by adopting a CEO approach to your life abroad: think, act & feel as a modern CEO. How that looks, I share all about it in this episode, as well as the 3 pillars of becoming that CEO of your expat life. If you want to learn more, download my FREE G...

Welcoming a guest of honour to This Expat Life today: retired ambassador Kees van Rij!  Kees was a Dutch ambassador to Turkey, Spain, Greece and Brazil, and was also posted in Brussels, Peru and South Korea. I met Kees in Brazil, where we worked closely together on the topic of deforestation in the Amazon during the Bolsonaro administration - and this is when I learned a lot from him and his stron...

This is a recording of a LinkedIn stream Coco and I did on the personal & cultural dynamics of living abroad (and specifically: in The Netherlands). Listen to this bonus episode to hear more about: ✅ the Dutch directness - and their positive intention behind it ✅ how finding friends on the work floor is difficult in the Netherlands ✅ how constantly having to rely on yourself as an expat can be...

Returning home is definitely the hardest part of expat life - or at least that is what it was for me. Today, as this episode comes out, marks exactly 3 years that I returned home from Brazil 🇧🇷 And with that questionable anniversary I'm looking back on 3 very eventful years in the Netherlands. Listen to this episode to hear how change upon change rocked my boat ever since my return. It's my most p...