Dear Expats

This time we continue experimenting with the new format and challenge the notion of immigration being a way of improving one’s live quality by giving a score to different aspects of our life. Tune in to hear our before/after marks for:

- social life;

- career perspectives;

- mental health and freedom;

- daily routine;

- feeling of home.

And share your before/after scores in the comments or via email, so we can do a part two!

Write us at [email protected]

Our website dear-expats.com

This time we try a new format, and instead of your letters we read the ones from our bank — aka go through our account statements to see, how our relationship with money changed in immigration. Tune in to learn about:

- How much do you have to spend on groceries and transportation in Amsterdam

- How our top spending categories changed

- Taxes and another unexpected expenses we had

- Do we manage to save in immigration

- And what do we feel about?

As usual, we are glad to hear back from you and learn your stories and most unexpected spendings you’ve had since moving abroad!

Our website: https://www.dear-expats.com/

Write us at [email protected]

This turned out to be a rather slavic episode. But don’t worry if you are from other culture – as usual we cover the topics well recognisable by any immigrant, such as:

- Having to spend more on essentials and struggling to find services you are used to;

- Unexpected ways of finding friends when you’ve just moved;

- Acquiring new personality when you move and hesitating to accept it.

Write us you letters at [email protected]

Our website: https://www.dear-expats.com/

Jumping from country to country sounds exciting – until you realize you’re always starting over. In this episode, we talk about what it’s like to constantly move, miss the taste of your favorite products and celebrate holidays that don’t really feel like yours.

How do you find comfort when the food, people, and even calendars feel foreign? And how do you build a life when your suitcase is always half-packed? Join Polina and Julia for an honest talk about homesickness, migration fatigue, and finding your rhythm in a world that keeps changing.

Write us at [email protected]

And don't forget we have a website: https://www.dear-expats.com/

What if the “better life” you built abroad starts to feel like hard mode? 

Today’s topics:

- moving to Barcelona without speaking the language (and crying in the rain about it)

- rediscovering lightness in Asia after five heavy European years

- why working in English sometimes feels like writing with someone else’s hands.

When is it time to slow down? Can you reinvent your expat life without burning it all down? And why do the sea and a cheap flight sometimes matter more than ambition? Polina and Julia are here – with stories, questions and no perfect answers.

Do not forget to write us at [email protected]

Our website: https://www.dear-expats.com/

What is my tax id, where to buy a mop, how do I pay for my insurance? These are only the tip of the iceberg of questions immigration poses to us. 

So this time we go deeper and ask ourselves:

- How immigration changed our attitude to trains, airports and hotels?

- Stages of adaptation to a new country and what we could have done differently?

- Living in the Netherlands and never traveling abroad — whaaaaat? Why people choose a more emotionally regulated lifestyle.

Join us on this reflection journey, write comments and share your stories in a letter!

Our email: [email protected]

Our website: https://www.dear-expats.com/

Packing boxes, still being in love with the place you left and refusing the “expat” label? Same. In this episode, we try to stop moving, silence the nostalgia and escape that expat feeling. Grab your coffee (or wine) – we’re here for an honest talk.

Thank you for staying with us, don’t forget to send us your letters to [email protected]

Our website: https://www.dear-expats.com/

Welcome back to the new episode of Dear Expats podcast!

In this episode you’ll find:

- Polina’s practical tips for learning foreign languages;

- Reasons for Julia’s obsession with getting a cat;

- Discussion on whether immigration spoils travelling for good.

Thank you for staying with us, don’t forget to send us your letters to [email protected]

Our website: https://www.dear-expats.com/

Missing homemade food, complaints about everything – even the weather – and the chaos of long‑distance love: say hello to the second episode of Dear Expats!

Today we chat about:

- How to find new friends (and what to do if they move away);

- What to tell colleagues who don’t like your new country;

- And how to keep the rhythm when you and your partner live in different countries

Be with us, stay with us, and send us your letters – Polina and Julia are ready to talk!

Send us your letters to [email protected]

Our website: https://www.dear-expats.com/

Episode 1 tackles the ugly truth of mice invasions, the art of reinventing yourself in a new place, and the fear of missing out on future opportunities.

Send us your letters to [email protected]

Our website: https://www.dear-expats.com/