Expat Focus: For anyone moving or living abroad

Some pretty big life events happened around the time Australian expat Rachael Kowald turned 30. She moved from London to Glasgow for the lower cost of living, returned to school as a mature age student, and then, she decided to buy a house!

Rachael's studying nursing, she also works as a carer for people with spinal cord injuries and - now she's a homeowner.

In this interview, we talk about how she got into college and then university as a foreigner, the different streams of nursing study that you can choose between in Scotland, the house-buying process and local living costs.

What does it take to become truly location independent? Do you have the qualities needed to thrive working remotely? And what boring-but-important admin elements do you need to think about if you intend to work from anywhere?

Find out the top countries hiring remotely today, and the various ways you could go about sustaining a location independent life in my chat with Lucy Jeon. She's an International Career Expert, founder of HeyGlobally, AND she hosts the podcast 'Self-Made Expats' where expat entrepreneurs share their stories.

I have a returning guest today - it's Mia Stewart, who joins me to talk about winning the US Green Card Lottery. Also known as the DV Lottery, or the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program.

If you've listened to my first interview with Mia, you'll recall that she and her husband moved from Australia to the USA a few years ago, to LA specifically, on an O-1 Visa. So we're going to find out the process they've gone through to adjust their visa status, and what made them enter the green card lottery in the first place?

But that's not all that Mia's been up to, she's also had a baby in the States. And if you listened to my recent interview with Cigna Healthcare, you'll know just how important it is to have good health insurance when you live in the USA. So Mia and I are also going to speak about that, and some of the costs related to her pregnancy.

Gabor Holch's relationship with China began two decades ago, on what he thought was simply a two-year sabbatical. As an Intercultural Leadership Coach and Consultant, Gabor has worked with China-based managers at countless multinationals over the years. And he was there for what was dubbed the 'Golden Age' for foreign businesses in China, when loads of expats were moving there on lucrative work packages, for a guaranteed boost in their careers.

Gabor joins me for a chat about how the business landscape has changed, and the key attractions and benefits of China for today's international talent. We touch on China's infamous internet restrictions, and some of the many anecdotes that Gabor gathered on work and life from expat professionals for his latest book, called Dragon Suit.

How easy is it for a foreigner to find a job in Denmark, if they haven't been fortunate enough to line up something for when they arrive? What sectors are they most likely to find work in, and what are some need-to-knows about Danish workplace culture? My guest to answer all of these questions and more is Kate Dahl, a career consultant for internationals in Denmark.

Writer and Editor Kirsten Raccuia is known for her Sand in My Curls blog, which until recently, was all about her expat life in Malaysia. We last spoke at the height of the global pandemic, when she and her husband were closing in on a decade in Penang.

Fast-forward a couple of years, and they're in a new country, Mexico. I'm chatting with Kirsten again to find out what factors influenced their decision to move, and why Mexico? And what it was like to close the Malaysia chapter of their life abroad.

I first spoke to Max Lee just over a year ago on the show, and he was preparing to move his young family from North America to Taiwan. It was a move abroad that they'd been planning for many years, and Max intended to focus on his music career in their new country, while his wife would be remote working for a company back in the States.

One year on, I'm excited to find out where they're at - what went to plan, and what plans changed.

A topic that comes up quite often in our Facebook groups is moving abroad with children. What's the ideal age? Especially if they're going to need to learn a new language? What about the best time of year to move? And how do you make the assimilation process, from learning new cultural norms to making new friends, as smooth and enjoyable as possible?

My guest today is someone who can speak from experience. Sharon Green is the founding editor of online publication SHE DEFINED. And in 1998, just before she turned 12, Sharon migrated with her family from Durban in South Africa to Melbourne in Australia.

Sharon's going to share her experience of being a third culture kid, and how it has shaped her sense of belonging as an adult.

When American, Samaki Dorsey Schneider moved to France permanently five years ago, the last thing the 44 year-old expected was to need to take a driving test. But that's the reality for some expats who can't simply exchange their existing driver's license for a French one. Keep listening to find out why this is the case, what the testing process is like in France, some of the costs involved and the road rules that might be a little different to what you're used to.

Click here to get a quote from Cigna Healthcare for health insurance in the USA.

When you're moving abroad, one of the things at the top of your to-do list should be sorting out health insurance, especially if you're moving to a country like the USA with no universal healthcare system.

So, where do you even start? What's the minimum essential health coverage that you should have in the States? And what does a good health insurance plan there even look like? How much will you be out of pocket for medications? What would a trip to the emergency room cost you? And what health treatments are seen as extras in the USA? To answer all these questions and more, Kate Lambon from Cigna is joining me in this episode.