Expat Focus: For anyone moving or living abroad

Do you have your eye on a rundown old property in the French countryside? Are you planning to leave your big city life behind for a simpler one? Do you really know what to expect? Best-selling Author and Editor Janine Marsh gave up her city life in London and made the move to a neglected farmhouse in Northern France more than a decade ago.

Find out what attracted her and husband Mark to the Seven Valleys, the creature comforts they had to leave behind in the big smoke, what they've learnt in their many years of renovating their home and trying to be self-sufficient, and the point at which they truly started feeling like locals.

Today's guest is an accidental social media influencer. American, Kacie Rose Burns has amassed a community of over one million people across TikTok and Instagram. And it all started with a little video she posted on her way to her new life in Italy. When I told a friend I was going to interview Kacie, she said "I just want to meet her in Italy and eat gelato together." And that's exactly the vibe you get watching Kacie's social media videos.

We chat about what led her to leave her career in New York and move to Florence, Italian culture and food, including what you should never do to pasta, and some of the opportunities that have come her way thanks to her social media fame.

Joining me today is award-winning podcaster and Business Strategist, Christine Job. She has spent the past five years living in Valencia in Spain, and her podcast, Flourish in the Foreign, celebrates the voices and stories of black women, and women of colour, who are - just like her - living and thriving internationally.

We talk about Christine's own journey abroad, passport privilege, and how her experiences differ as a woman of colour in a foreign country. Christine also discusses how life in Spain has healed her, and helped her to become the person that she is today.

We chat in this episode about his repatriation process, feeling like a stranger in the country he grew up in and how, in the process of returning home, Arthur had a realisation about his next path.

Whether you're doing it solo or as a family, a lot of energy goes into planning an international move and getting settled in a new location. And it can take a toll, both physically and mentally. So, what can you do to help keep your overall health in check?

I'm chatting to an expert from one of our health partners - Cigna - in this episode, to get some insight into recent trends, and recommendations on how to make good health a priority, no matter where you are in the world.

In the summer of this year, 2022, Max Lee, his wife and their two young kids will leave the USA for Taipei in Taiwan. In the lead up to their much-anticipated overseas adventure, they're nomading around North America. I caught up with Max when they were in Mexico to talk about their plans and expectations.

My guest today moved to Sweden from the UK, for love. But she felt a connection to the country long before meeting her partner. Katy Hetherington has quickly accumulated loads of first-hand experience in how to navigate different aspects of Swedish life - everything from getting set up, to getting a job, becoming a citizen, having a baby and even building a house. She's going to share her top 5 things to know before moving to Sweden.

Are you dreaming of just packing up your life for an adventure abroad? In this episode, you'll hear from a couple that did just that. They made the decision to move from the UK to Oman, and in just a few weeks, they were off.

Teacher Sheri Lennon and Author Matt Jardine will explain how they navigated getting the right visas, adhering to the local dress code, and working culture. You'll also find out about the cost of living in Oman, how easy it is to make friends with locals, and what they believe makes the country such a great place for expats.

Before the pandemic hit, American Jake Doherty was running two very successful tour guide services in Bavaria. When Covid-19 completely decimated the travel industry, he had to find another way to put food on the table.

In this chat, find out what motivated Jake to become a tour guide and settle in southern Germany, and why he set up his interactive cooking experience platform called Deri Dari.

American, Crissy Whalin is my guest to chat through these questions. In 2018, she started travelling the world full-time with her then 10-year-old son, Zephyr, and together they've visited 40 countries and more than 100 cities, documenting their adventures on the Instagram account, singlemombudgettravel.

Covid grounded them for a bit, but they recently took another trip, and Crissy is going to share her perspective on travelling during a global pandemic, while looking after yourself and the locals.