How to be Local

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

In this episode of How To Be Local, Vicky and Nanda finally hand the microphone over to Diego, Vicky’s Brazilian boyfriend, to hear the other side of their intercultural love story. After two episodes of talking about intercultural relationships from the women’s perspective, Diego joins the conversation to share what it was really like falling in love with a German, navigating cultural differences, communicating across languages, meeting the family, and building a relationship between two very different worlds.

From their unexpected first meeting and long-distance relationship to the cultural differences that still make them laugh today, Vicky and Diego share an honest look at what it’s like dating across cultures. They talk about German punctuality versus Brazilian flexibility, family dynamics, communication in a second language, and the small everyday habits that reveal just how different two cultures can be. The episode also explores the challenges of intercultural relationships, moving abroad for love, adapting to a new culture, and the lessons they’ve learned from each other along the way.

If you've ever been in an international relationship, dated someone from another culture, or wondered what life is really like in a Brazilian-German relationship, this episode is for you.

If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to follow the podcast, leave a rating and review, and share it with a friend who is living abroad, dating across cultures, or navigating life between two worlds. Your support helps us reach more people and continue sharing real stories about expat life, intercultural relationships, and life abroad.

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 we're joined by our first-ever guest, Johnny, to hear the other side of the story. After hearing Nanda's perspective in previous episodes, it's time to find out what it was like for a Canadian with Ukrainian roots to fall in love with a Brazilian woman and eventually build a life together.

We talk about how they met unexpectedly through work, navigating a relationship during the pandemic, surviving long distance, and the moment Johnny realized this relationship might actually lead to marriage. Along the way, we dive into the realities of intercultural relationships that often stay hidden behind the cute travel photos and romantic social media posts.

From learning Portuguese and meeting the family to adapting to different communication styles, cultural habits, and even debates about how to wash vegetables, this conversation is full of funny stories, honest reflections, and the everyday moments that come with loving someone from another culture.

We also explore the differences between Brazilian and Canadian culture, public displays of affection, family dynamics, culture shock, life as a foreigner, and why keeping an open mind is one of the most important ingredients in any intercultural relationship.

Whether you're in an intercultural relationship yourself, living abroad, navigating long distance, or simply curious about how people from different backgrounds build a life together, this episode is for you.

Follow us for more conversations about life abroad, cultural differences, relationships, and finding your place in a new country.

Podcast Instagram: @howtobelocal_

Vicky: @avidadavi

Fernanda: @nandafernandes

Youtube Channel from Nanda & Johnny: @fernandanagringa

In this episode, we’re talking about the reality of intercultural relationships and all the little differences that come with loving someone from another culture.

From communication styles, love languages and public affection to time management, habits at home and the question every woman seems to ask at some point:
“Is this a cultural difference… or are men just the same everywhere?”

We also talk about:

• the hidden layers of intercultural relationships
• learning how to communicate across cultures
• how our love languages changed over time
• navigating life, conflict and expectations together
• and why relationships abroad can sometimes feel both beautiful and exhausting at the same time

Whether you’re in an intercultural relationship yourself, living abroad, or just curious about the dynamics of dating someone from a completely different background — this episode is for you.

Follow us on Instagram:
Podcast: @howtobelocal_
Vicky: @avidadavi
Nanda: @nandafernandes

Making friends as an adult is hard already but making them abroad? That is a whole different level.

In this week's episode we are talking about why it feels so difficult to find your people when you are starting from zero in a new country, what we both went through in our loneliest moments, and the difference between being alone and actually feeling lonely. We are also sharing our experiences with making local friends, losing old ones along the way, and why friendliness and real friendship are really not the same thing. We get into the fear of always being the one reaching out, whether we are just being too inconvenient or simply not bold enough, and how expat friendships can sometimes go deeper and faster than any friendship you made back home. We also talk about what we actually value in the people who stay in our lives no matter the distance or the time zones.

We also introduce our new segment Local Moment of the Week.

Follow us on Instagram and share your stories with us

@howtobelocal_

Moving abroad can feel exciting, freeing, and like the beginning of the life you always dreamed about. But what people rarely talk about is how emotionally exhausting it can also become once the honeymoon phase wears off.

In this episode of How to Be Local, we have a very honest conversation about the reality of being an immigrant, culture shock, identity changes, loneliness, and the emotional weight of building a completely new life from scratch.

We dive deeper into the psychology behind the four phases of living abroad and explain why so many people feel overwhelmed after moving to a new country. From the excitement of discovering a new culture to the frustration of navigating everyday life in a place that suddenly doesn’t feel so magical anymore, we share our own personal experiences living between Brazil and Canada.

Throughout the episode, we talk openly about xenophobia, missing home, adapting to different cultures, feeling disconnected from your old identity, and the strange experience of becoming “in between” two worlds. We also share funny, stressful, and emotional stories about our own culture shock moments, learning to adapt to new routines, dealing with fear and anxiety abroad, and why even something as simple as comfort food can suddenly feel deeply emotional.

This episode is for anyone who has ever felt overwhelmed while living abroad, questioned whether they made the right decision, missed their old life, or struggled to feel like they truly belong somewhere again. We want this conversation to remind you that you are not alone in those feelings.

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to follow and rate the podcast, and come hang out with us on Instagram at @howtobelocal_ where we share more behind-the-scenes moments, conversations about life abroad, and updates about new episodes.

Sometimes you can be living the life you always wanted… and still feel completely exhausted.

And then the guilt kicks in.

Because you chose this. You worked for this. So why does it feel so heavy?

Living abroad can look like a dream from the outside — beach days, new experiences, freedom. But behind that, there’s a constant mental load no one really talks about. Visas, language barriers, building a life from scratch, figuring out where you belong.

In this episode, we talk honestly about expat burnout — what it actually feels like when the excitement fades and real life settles in.

We share our own experience of moving abroad, the different emotional phases you go through, and why it’s so normal to feel overwhelmed, even when you “have it all.”

If you’ve ever caught yourself thinking “Why am I so tired of a life I wanted so badly?” — this episode is for you.

New episodes every Friday.

Follow us on Spotify & Apple Podcasts.

Instagram: @howtobelocal_