It took me a long time to go from the idea of this podcast to the first episode. I’m glad that when I finally did decide to pull the trigger on the Expats, I had a good friend (and fellow podcaster) living in a very interesting part of the world. I hope you enjoy this encore presentation of Expats Episode One.

Iris Dias had the opportunity to leave Canada in 2013 to pursue her career in Dubai. It seems like something that would be very difficult to say no to. So Iris took the easy way out: she said yes to the United Arab Emirates.

Find out about her experiences trying to become the Sultan of Swing in Dubai!

Jane Morrison’s seen many parts of the world. But in pursuit of her PhD, and partly because her partner was pursuing his education in Barcelona, Spain, she decided to do the same. Learn about her adventures so far, and some of the perhaps familiar challenges of living in a part of the world where cultural perseveration is paramount.

Arlo Matisz made a quick decision: he planned to live abroad. Not a week later, he was on a plane to South Korea. When he arrived, he made his way to the nearest bar, bought a round of drinks, and made friends with another friendly Canadian, a man named Michael Simning. That chance meeting has had a massive impact on Arlo, and that impact continues even following Michael’s passing after a long and brave fight with cancer.

Find out more about Arlo’s life in South Korea from the Gwangju Blog.

Learn more about Micheal Simning’s legacy and impact on South Korea here:

Chris Mitchell is no stranger to the expat lifestyle. He’s an experienced traveler, and lately he’s hanging his hat in Istanbul, Turkey. In this episode, Chris shared his experiences around culture, food and the amazing travel opportunities within Turkey.

Check out Chris’s travel blog TravelingMitch.com — after you’ve listened to this episode, of course. He recently launch a new podcast called Into Istanbul. You can check out the first episode on his website.

You can also follow Chris on Twitter @travelingmitch.

Pierre and Deborah Boileau were bit by the travel bug early on. From casual adventure travel, to now living the expat life in Africa, they’ve seen and experienced quite a bit. And they’ve been able to have successful careers and raise a family in the process.

Find out about their experiences living in both France and Kenya!

You can find out more about Jaimee’s life abroad on her blog Travel Pray Love.

Ana Alcantara was my second ever guest, and she was very generous with her time, and the stories she shared about her life in Japan. I know there are quite a few new listeners out there, so this is a little throwback for the Christmas break — find out about Ana’s life in Japan and how her journey has allowed her to learn about herself, and to build a family of great friends in the Land of the Rising Sun.

We’ll be back with brand new content on January 15th. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Image of the Hakone Shrine by Ana Alcantara.

Lisa Stadnyk-Webb left Canada as a trailing spouse, giving up a job she enjoyed to begin an expat adventure in France. It’s taken her to many interesting places — most recently The Congo. Find out about her experiences living abroad with two young kids. You can read about Lisa’s adventures on her blog CanadianExpatMom.com.

Ali Ahmad’s parents immigrated to Canada from Pakistan. He was born and raised in Canada, and after finishing his education at home, Ali’s now living the Expat life with his wife and their children in Doha, Qatar. Find out in this episode about the transition from Canada to Qatar, and learn about some of the things that Ali misses about Canada (spoiler: shoveling snow is not one of those things).