Red flags, green flags, orange flags… and apparently even rotten flags. 🚩

In this episode, we’re talking about all the things we hear about dating all the time: love bombing, ghosting, empty promises, consistency, communication and those little behaviors that make you stop and think: Wait… is this actually a red flag?

Because sometimes it’s obvious. Someone makes huge promises, disappears a few days later and suddenly comes back with their ex. Yeah… red flag.

But sometimes it’s much harder to tell.

What if someone is simply really excited about you in the beginning? When does that turn into love bombing? Is talking about marriage and kids early automatically suspicious? And what if you’ve been hurt before and now completely normal behavior suddenly feels like a warning sign?

We also share some of our own dating experiences, including ghosting, situationships, people saying exactly what you want to hear and the moments where past relationships made us question perfectly normal behavior in healthier ones.

And of course, we also talk about the green flags: consistency, actually keeping your word, listening, communicating and — maybe most importantly — changing your behavior when you say you will.

There was way too much to unpack in one episode, so this conversation isn’t over yet.

In Part 2, we’ll go deeper into red and green flags when you’re dating someone from another culture and ask: when is something actually unhealthy… and when is it simply different from what you’re used to?

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Send us your stories or questions:

Email: ⁠[email protected]⁠

Follow us on social media for behind-the-scenes content, updates, and more conversations about living abroad:

Podcast Instagram: @howtobelocal_

Vicky: @avidadavi

Fernanda: @nandafernandes

If you enjoyed this episode, follow the podcast, leave us a rating, and share it with someone who is currently learning a new language or building a life abroad.

Do I really need to learn the local language to survive in the country I now call home?

In this week’s episode, we discuss the story of an American who has lived in Berlin for six years but has never learned more than a few words of German. His reason is simple: everyone around him speaks English anyway.

But is relying on English a practical decision, or does refusing to learn the local language show a lack of effort and respect?

When you are already managing so many other challenges, learning the language can initially feel like the last thing on your mind. Relying on English may be easier, but it can also make you dependent on other people and leave you feeling isolated from everyday life.

Together, we discuss the difference between surviving abroad and actually becoming part of the country, the fear of making mistakes, why locals sometimes switch to English, and how language can affect friendships, work opportunities, independence, and intercultural relationships.

Do you need to speak the language fluently to belong, or is making an effort enough to show that you genuinely want to connect with the country and its people?

What do you think? Should everyone be expected to learn the local language when they move abroad, or does it depend on the person and their situation?

Send us your stories or questions:

Email: [email protected]

Follow us on social media for behind-the-scenes content, updates, and more conversations about living abroad:

Podcast Instagram: @howtobelocal_
Vicky: @avidadavi
Fernanda: @nandafernandes

If you enjoyed this episode, follow the podcast, leave us a rating, and share it with someone who is currently learning a new language or building a life abroad.

What happens when the life you built abroad no longer feels right, but starting over again feels like another risk you cannot afford?

In this week’s episode, we discuss the story of a 30-year-old woman from South America who moved to Europe hoping to build a more stable future. After feeling happy and secure in Germany, losing her job, and moving to Spain for a PhD, she now feels stuck, financially behind, and unsure about what to do next.

We talk about how much the place we live affects how we feel and why one country may fit our personality and the life we want better than another.

We also share our own experiences with comparing ourselves to friends back home and feeling pressured to have a career, a home, financial stability, and a family figured out by 30.

At the heart of her story is a much bigger fear: What if she moves again, invests all that time and energy, and still doesn’t find the stable life she wants?

We discuss whether changing your location can really solve the feeling of being behind, why realistic expectations matter when moving to another country, and the difference between giving up on a dream and letting go of a plan that no longer takes you where you want to go.

Have you ever felt like you were running out of time to make your life abroad work?

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Send us your stories or question to:

Email: ⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠

Follow us on social media for behind-the-scenes content, updates, and more conversations about living abroad: Podcast Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@howtobelocal_⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Vicky: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@avidadavi⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Fernanda: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@nandafernandes

When living abroad starts affecting your mental health, going home can feel like the obvious answer. But will returning home actually fix how you feel?

In this episode, we respond to the story of someone who moved to another continent for a one-year work assignment. What looked amazing on paper slowly became a life shaped by remote work, isolation, anxiety, and counting down the days until it was time to leave.

But when things slowly begin to improve, the decision becomes more complicated. Is going home still the right choice, or are you leaving just as life abroad is finally starting to change?

We talk about:

• The difference between the life abroad we imagine and the ordinary reality

• How remote work can increase loneliness and make building friendships harder

• Why “just find a hobby” is not always as simple as people make it sound

• Why being functional does not automatically mean that you are okay

• Whether going home will actually fix how you feel

We are not mental health professionals, and this conversation is not intended to diagnose anyone. We are simply sharing our personal thoughts and experiences. If you are struggling with your mental health or experiencing specific symptoms, we strongly encourage you to speak with a qualified professional.

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Send us your stories, questions, or episode ideas!

Email: ⁠[email protected]⁠

Follow us on social media for behind-the-scenes content, updates, and more conversations about living abroad: Podcast Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@howtobelocal_⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Vicky: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@avidadavi⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Fernanda: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@nandafernandes

Love may be the reason you move abroad for someone, but is it enough to build a fulfilling life in their country?

In this episode, Vicky is joined by Diego to react to the story of an American woman who moved to Belgium for her partner. She loves him, but she is struggling to make friends, works difficult hours, feels isolated by the language barrier, and misses the freedom and community she had before.

As these struggles grow, she begins to wonder whether everything she gave up could eventually turn into resentment, especially when her partner continues living a life she doesn’t have the same freedom to enjoy.

Vicky and Diego compare her situation with their own experience in Brazil and talk honestly about what moving abroad for a relationship demands from both partners.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Why love cannot replace friendships, independence, purpose, and a life of your own
• How much responsibility the local partner has when someone moves countries for them
• Why missing your old life doesn’t mean you regret choosing your partner
• How unacknowledged sacrifices can slowly turn into resentment

Moving abroad may technically be one person’s decision, but adapting to a new country affects the entire relationship. The person who moved still needs to take responsibility for building their own life, while the local partner needs to recognise that love alone cannot make a new country feel like home.

Do you think love is enough when someone moves abroad for their partner? And how much responsibility should each person carry?

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Send us your stories, questions, or episode ideas:
Email: [email protected]

Follow us on social media for behind-the-scenes content, updates, and more conversations about living abroad: Podcast Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@howtobelocal_⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Vicky: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@avidadavi⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Fernanda: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@nandafernandes

In this episode of How to Be Local, we talk about one of the most painful sides of living abroad: feeling left out because of the language barrier.

Not just in the obvious situations, like ordering food, making appointments, or making grammar mistakes, but in the moments that hurt more quietly. Sitting at a table with people, everyone is laughing, everyone is talking, the energy is good, but you have no idea what is happening. You are there, but somehow you don’t feel included.

We share our own experiences with feeling invisible in group conversations, the pressure of trying to understand everything, and how exhausting it can be to keep up with slang, inside jokes, cultural references, and fast conversations in a language that is not your first.

We also talk about why inclusion is not only the responsibility of the person learning but friends, family, and partners also play a huge role in helping someone feel welcomed, seen, and part of the group while they are still learning.

We also cover what it feels like when your partner becomes your translator, how heavy that can be for both people, and why in intercultural relationships, support sometimes means being the bridge between two languages, two cultures, and two worlds.

If you ever felt left out abroad because you couldn’t fully follow the conversation, this episode is for you. And if you have a friend or partner who is still learning your language, this is your reminder that inclusion can be simple: slow down, explain the context, switch languages for a moment, or just check in.

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Follow us on social media for behind-the-scenes content, updates, and more conversations about living abroad: Podcast Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@howtobelocal_⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Vicky: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@avidadavi⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Fernanda: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@nandafernandes

Every four years, the World Cup comes around and suddenly football becomes more than just football.

It becomes childhood memories, family traditions, national pride, screaming at the TV, preparing food, wearing your country’s colors, and somehow everyone becomes a coach for a few weeks.

In this episode, we talk about what it feels like to experience the World Cup while living abroad. Vicky shares what it was like to experience her first World Cup in Brazil, a country where football is not just a sport, but something people truly live with their whole heart. Nanda shares how it feels to support Brazil from Canada and how different it is when the streets around you don’t stop in the same way.

We talk about growing up with World Cup traditions in Brazil and Germany, how football culture looks completely different depending on where you are from, and why watching your country lose can feel even heavier when you are not surrounded by people who understand it in the same way.

We also get into the funny and complicated side of international relationships during the World Cup. Who do you support when your home country, your partner’s country, and the country you live in are all connected to your life? And what happens when your country plays against your partner’s country?

This episode is about football, yes. But it is also about identity, belonging, culture, and what happens when you have more than one country to root for.

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Follow us on social media for behind-the-scenes content, updates, and more conversations about living abroad: Podcast Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@howtobelocal_⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Vicky: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@avidadavi⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Nanda: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@nandafernandes

In this episode of How To Be Local, we talk about one of the most confusing parts of moving abroad: dealing with guilt and FOMO when you are far away from the people you love, even when you know you made the right decision for yourself.

Moving abroad can bring so much freedom, growth, love and new opportunities, but it also means missing birthdays, holidays, family milestones and all the little everyday moments you used to be part of. Your parents are getting older, your friends continue their lives, your family celebrates without you, and suddenly you find yourself feeling torn between the life you chose and the people you left behind.

We share our own experiences with expat guilt, family distance, FOMO, time zones, missing important moments, and the emotional weight of watching loved ones grow older from far away. We also talk about how distance changes friendships and family relationships, why some connections fade while others become stronger, and how staying in touch looks different when you live abroad.

This episode is not about saying that moving abroad is easy. It is about being honest with the mixed feelings that come with it. You can love your new life and still miss your old one. You can be grateful and still feel sad. You can choose yourself without abandoning the people you love.

If you are living abroad, thinking about moving abroad, or currently struggling with guilt and FOMO because your family and friends are far away, this episode is for you.

If this episode resonated with you, share it with someone who might need to hear this and leave us a rating to support the podcast.

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Follow us on social media for behind-the-scenes content, updates, and more conversations about living abroad:
Podcast Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠@howtobelocal_⁠⁠⁠⁠

Vicky: ⁠⁠⁠⁠@avidadavi⁠⁠⁠⁠

Fernanda: ⁠⁠⁠⁠@nandafernandes

In this episode of How To Be Local, we talk about some of the questions that might come up when you're deciding whether to move abroad and how to find the answer within yourself.

Why do you want to move abroad? Are you building a life that excites you, or are you hoping a new country will fix problems that already exist?

We also talk about the realities that come with immigration: building a new support system, adapting to a different culture, finding work, learning new skills, and living far away from family and friends. Some sacrifices are obvious, while others only become clear once you're already there.

This episode is for anyone who is dreaming about living abroad, considering a big international move, or feeling stuck between staying where they are and taking a chance on something new. If you've ever found yourself asking, "What if I go?" or "What if I stay?", this episode is for you.

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Follow us on social media for behind-the-scenes content, updates, and more conversations about living abroad:

Podcast Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠@howtobelocal_⁠⁠⁠

Vicky: ⁠⁠⁠@avidadavi⁠⁠⁠

Fernanda: ⁠⁠⁠@nandafernandes

What happens when the biggest change of your life isn't your location, but it's you?

In this episode, we talk about the identity shifts that can happen when you leave everything familiar behind. From questioning old beliefs and outgrowing friendships to struggling with uncertainty and discovering new sides of yourself, living abroad can sometimes feel like you're caught between two versions of who you are.

Together, we talk about identity, personal growth, and how living abroad has changed the way we see ourselves. We also answer the question of how we feel about ourselves now that we are living abroad, and why we both feel more like our truest and most authentic selves than ever before. Being away from the expectations and labels we grew up with has given us the freedom to simply be who we are.

If you've ever felt caught between two worlds, or wondered whether you're still the same person you were before moving abroad, this episode is for you.

As always, we'd love to hear your thoughts. Have you changed since moving abroad, or do you feel more like yourself than ever before?

Follow us on social media for behind-the-scenes content, updates, and more conversations about living abroad:

Podcast Instagram: ⁠⁠@howtobelocal_⁠⁠

Vicky: ⁠⁠@avidadavi⁠⁠

Fernanda: ⁠⁠@nandafernandes