What happens when your life abroad looks perfect on paper — but inside, you feel completely empty? ✈️ 🤔

In this episode of the Expat Experts Podcast, host Marc Alcobé talks with Lara Ferreira — a Brazilian-born former corporate high-flyer turned mindful career & life coach, now based in the Netherlands. After a serious burnout, Lara discovered a deeper purpose and founded Mindful Experiences to help expats who feel “successful on paper but empty inside.”

In this conversation, we explore:
🌍 What it really feels like to live abroad and succeed … but still feel disconnected
🔥 How burnout became Lara’s wake-up call and launch-pad for change
🧘 Practical strategies for expats to rediscover purpose, meaning, and fulfilment
💬 Cultural insights: Brazilian warmth vs. Dutch directness — what it means for life abroad
💡 Step-by-step advice for building a life abroad that feels good, not just looks good

💪🏼 Listen now to discover how burnout became Lara’s turning point, what it really means to live mindfully as an expat, and why finding balance abroad starts with slowing down.

🎙️ Guest: Lara Ferreira
Lara Ferreira is a Brazilian-born mindful career and life coach based in the Netherlands, who transformed her own experience of corporate burnout into a mission to help expats find purpose, balance, and fulfilment abroad.

🔗 Guest Links
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mindfulexperiences_/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ferreiralara
Website: https://www.mindfulexp.com/

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Thinking about moving abroad? Wondering why some places feel right and others feel off? Today’s episode will change how you see the world 🌍✨

We’re joined by Isabel Guerreira, founder of Your Stellar Truth — a New York City expat who moved to Spain after discovering the power of astrocartography, the branch of astrology that reveals where in the world your energy flows best.

In this conversation, we explore:
✨ How your birth chart can guide your relocation decisions
🌐 What happens when you move toward the right planetary energy lines
🇪🇸 The emotional + cultural reality of living abroad in Spain
💼 How Isabel launched a relocation-focused astrology business as an expat
🧭 Tips for expats, digital nomads, and anyone seeking a life that feels aligned

If you're curious about expat life, relocating to Spain, digital nomad living, or how astrology and geography intersect, this episode is for you 🌙🧳💫

🎙️ Guest: Isabel Guerriera
Isabel Guerreira is a New York–born astrologer and relocation coach living in Spain who helps people align their life choices and where they live through astrocartography.

🔗 Guest Links
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yourstellartruth/
YouTube:  @YourStellarTruthAstrology-o4h
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@yourstellartruth
Substack: https://practicalastrology.substack.com/
Website: https://www.yourstellartruthastrology.com/

🤑 Voucher code
Astro111 - 15% off any purchase on the website

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👩🏼‍🎓🇮🇹 In this episode, we sit down with Sofia Vrettou, a Greek researcher and expat currently living in Italy, to explore what it really takes to build a life abroad — emotionally, culturally, and personally. Sofia shares her journey from Greece to Bologna as a PhD researcher, the cultural differences she experienced between Greek and Italian life, how identity shifts when you move countries, and the challenges of adapting to new academic and social environments.

We discuss:

• The emotional side of living abroad
• Language barriers & cultural surprises
• How to build community when starting over
• The beauty of blending cultures
• Rediscovering yourself outside your home country

🎧 Whether you're already abroad, planning to relocate, or simply curious about expat life — this conversation is for you.

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https://www.instagram.com/sofiavrettou_/

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🏯 👧🏽 What happens when you sell most of what you own, leave behind stable 9–5 jobs, and decide to slow travel through Southeast Asia? Meet Zanesta & Nabeel, the creators behind Tiny Detour. Originally from Australia, they traded routine for freedom, leaning into lifestyle arbitrage and building a life on their own terms.

In this episode of the Expat Experts Podcast, we dive into their expat journey as a couple:

• Why they left Australia for slow travel in Southeast Asia
• The biggest challenges & surprising moments of living abroad together
• How they balance finances, relationships, and uncertainty
• Their best advice for mid-career professionals considering a similar leap
• Fun cultural comparisons through our travel mini-games
• A hilarious story from their adventures on the road

👉 Whether you’re dreaming of leaving the 9–5, curious about lifestyle arbitrage, or already living abroad, this conversation will inspire you to think differently about work, life, and freedom.

📲 Follow Nabeel and Zanesta on:
https://www.youtube.com/@tinydetour/
https://www.instagram.com/tiny.detour/
https://tiny-detour2024.kit.com/6453a798c5

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Unlock the untold story of Aleksandar Svetski, an entrepreneur who overcame $250K in debt by age 20, lived as a digital nomad, and eventually launched the app Satlantis.io—a radical new vision for social mapping.

In this episode, we dive deep into:

• Aleks’s expat & digital nomad journey: How hopping across cultures shaped his mindset and career.
• From $250K debt to startup hustle: What resilience, discipline, and Bitcoin taught him.
• The philosophy behind Satlantis, and why he believes Bitcoin is more than money—it’s freedom.
• Mini-games like "Nomad Picks: Bullish or Bearish?" and "Pack, Burn, or Stack?" that reveal his expat preferences and values.
• Practical life hacks for other location-independent entrepreneurs looking to thrive abroad.

📲 Follow Satlantis on:
https://www.satlantis.io/
https://instagram.com/joinSatlantis
https://x.com/joinsatlantis
https://www.linkedin.com/company/satlantis.io/ 

📲 Follow Aleks on:
https://www.instagram.com/svetskiwrites/
https://substack.com/@svetskiwrites
https://www.youtube.com/@SvetskiWrites

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🤰✈️ In this episode, Angela Vitiello, founder of the Expat Parenting Collective, discusses the unique aspects of raising kids abroad. She shares insights on navigating culture shock as an expat family and offers valuable parenting tips for those considering moving abroad. Whether you're already an expat parent or contemplating the move, this episode provides essential guidance.

Ever wonder about the intricacies of being an  expat parent? In this week's episode, we have an insightful discussion of raising kids abroad. Angela Vitiello shares her experience as an expat family in different countries, providing valuable parenting advice and strategies for navigating parenting challenges.

📲 Follow Angela on:
https://www.expatparentingcollective.com/
https://vitielloconsulting.com/
https://www.instagram.com/expatparentingcollective/
https://www.instagram.com/itsangelavitiello/

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🇮🇹 🐎 What’s it really like to live in Italy as an American? We talk with Mike Manchester — an American expat who moved from Denver to Siena over 20 years ago and built his life in Italy. Mike co-founded an intercultural study abroad program, raised a bilingual family in Bologna, and even teaches English through improv! Mike touches on the teaching of English in Italian classrooms, pointing out that the current methods don't help students with real english conversation.

Mike shares his personal experience of discovering a talent for english speaking after joining a special program, helping them learn english and improving their english pronunciation. This highlights some nuances of english grammar for beginners.

🎧 In this conversation, you’ll learn:
🔹 How Mike turned a study abroad semester into a lifelong adventure
🔹 The biggest expat challenges and culture shocks he faced in Italy
🔹 Surprising differences between Siena and Bologna
🔹 One Expat Life Hack that helps anyone fit into a new culture
🔹 Why improv might be the secret to learning languages faster
🔹 Funny stories from Mike’s time teaching, traveling, and adapting to Italian life

📲 Follow Mike on:
https://www.improconversation.com
https://www.instagram.com/improconversation/
https://www.mikeallovertheplace.com
https://www.instagram.com/mikeallovertheplace/

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🌍 🥼 What’s it like to live in Baghdad, Beirut, Phnom Penh, Lagos, and Curaçao — all while battling Lyme disease and Hashimoto’s? In this powerful episode of the Expat Experts Podcast, we sit down with Vashti Kanahele, functional medicine practitioner, author, and founder of Passports & Parasites.

What happens when chronic illness meets global adventure? 🌍 In this episode of Expat Experts, I chat with Vashti Kanahele — author and founder of Passports & Parasites — about what it’s like to live in conflict zones, rebuild your health abroad, and find meaning far from home.

💬 We dive into: 
✅ Her experience living in Iraq, Lebanon, Cambodia, Nigeria & Curaçao 
✅ Her battle with Lyme disease & Hashimoto’s 
✅ What functional medicine taught her about survival 
✅ The real truths behind expat life (hint: it's not all beach photos)

📲 Follow Vashti on:
https://passportsandparasites.com/
https://www.instagram.com/vashtikanahele/
https://www.facebook.com/vashti.kanahele/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/vashti-kanahele-2a9b4911a/

📚 Vashti books:
Passports and Parasites

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🌍✈️ Ever dreamed of leaving a high-flying job to travel the world full-time? In this episode of the Expat Experts Podcast, I sit down with Jordi Llonch Esteve, a former airline pilot turned global digital nomad and tech founder. Jordi traded cockpits for co-working spaces, and since then, he’s lived in over 50 cities, from Chiang Mai to Tarifa and Uvita to Lisbon.

This video dives into the guest's unique approach to traveling, emphasising how they now seek out  like minded people during their journeys. They highlight the contrast between being a tourist and someone with a commercial pilot license pursuing entrepreneurship. See how their experiences shape their view of the world.

📲 Follow Satlantis on:
https://www.satlantis.io/
https://instagram.com/joinSatlantis
https://x.com/joinsatlantis
https://www.linkedin.com/company/satlantis.io/

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https://satlantis.io/jordi
https://x.com/jordi_llonch
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordillonchesteve/

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Slate and Key: Thinking about relocating to Portugal? Slate & Key offers step-by-step support to guide you through the process. Start with their free webinar to understand exactly what it takes to make the move. Check out the free webinar!

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🏈🚓 What happens when your dream of living abroad turns into a nightmare? Former American football player Chancellor Jackson found himself arrested and thrown into a Chinese jail for 14 days.

In this jaw-dropping episode of Expat Experts, Chancellor shares the full story—how he ended up behind bars, what jail life in China is really like, and how that experience changed the course of his life forever.

🎧 We talk about:

• The moments leading up to his arrest in China
• Daily life inside a Chinese detention centre
• Coping mechanisms, mental strength & culture shock
• His journey from trauma to publishing “14 Days in Beijing”
• How he's now helping others share their stories

📚 Chancellor books:

14 Days in Beijing
Real love never dies
The power of becoming

📲 Follow Chancellor on:
https://www.korlehpublicationsllc.com/
https://www.instagram.com/korlehj
https://www.youtube.com/@UCxjBpoyF_MloUsN8ljECgPw
https://www.facebook.com/korlehj
https://www.linkedin.com/in/chancellor-jackson29
https://www.tiktok.com/@korlehj14

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Level8: Upgrade your travel experience with luggage designed for people constantly on the move. Durable, sleek, and built to last—Level8 makes every trip smoother. Get 10% off with code LEVEL8Expat10.

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