The Bittersweet Life

Katy's sisters, Dana and Sara, join us again this week!

They discuss what tethers people have (real or invented) that tie them to the city they are currently living in. Whether it's a stable job, a family support system, or simply force of habit, what is holding you back from imagining a new life for yourself in a new place? Dana has a special needs child, but that didn't stop her from uprooting her family not once but twice in the first five years of his life, and as it turns out, he grew and flourished from these new experiences. Sometimes the excuse for why you shouldn't go may just be the reason you should.

Katy and her sisters also chat about old friends vs. new: what does it take to keep decades-long friendships thriving despite distance and different lifestyles? And how do you make new friends as an adult, especially when you are living in a new city?

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SPONSOR THE SHOW: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started.

DONATE: Click here to send financial support to The Bittersweet Life via PayPal. (You can also find a Donate button on the desktop version of our website.) The show needs your support to continue.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email at [email protected].

You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram – Better yet, tag #thebittersweetlife with your story for a chance to be featured!

NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET

SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode.

WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.

BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.

TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!

© The Bittersweet Life – Web and show content can only be used with written permission

This week we're joined by two of The Bittersweet Life's most ardent listeners: Katy's own sisters, Dana Zahler and Sara Johnson. The three sisters chat about the things that prompt you to change where you live, and what—if anything—your upbringing has to do with it.

Hear from Dana what it takes to move a family of four across the country and back again at the drop of a hat (surprisingly little, in her case), and how living in her "dream house" was actually a bad thing for her family.

Learn from Sara the tricks for getting the most out of life in a small town, and why living far from her sisters means she gets to see them more.

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SPONSOR THE SHOW: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started.

DONATE: Click here to send financial support to The Bittersweet Life via PayPal: PayPal.me/thebittersweetlife. (You can also find a Donate button on the desktop version of our website.) The show needs your support to continue.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email at [email protected].

You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram – Better yet, tag #thebittersweetlife with your story for a chance to be featured!

NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET

SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode.

WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.

BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.

TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!

© The Bittersweet Life – Web and show content can only be used with written permission

Our super summer Share-a-thon came to an end a few months ago now, and today is the big day (***fanfare***) that our super-fun, super-secret Truth or Dare episode hits the airwaves!

If you've been paying attention, you know that that episode is only available to listeners who managed to get at least 5 of their friends to subscribe to the show.

HOWEVER! We've decided to be generous and let a few more of you in on the show. Listen to this mini-episode teaser to find out how you can get access to this exclusive (and highly embarrassing!) episode.

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SPONSOR THE SHOW: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started.

DONATE: Click here to send financial support to The Bittersweet Life via PayPal: PayPal.me/thebittersweetlife. (You can also find a Donate button on the desktop version of our website.) The show needs your support to continue.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email at [email protected].

You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram – Better yet, tag #thebittersweetlife with your story for a chance to be featured!

NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET

SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode.

WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.

BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.

TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!

© The Bittersweet Life – Web and show content can only be used with written permission

Every so often, just when you find yourself alone and vulnerable in a foreign place and in desperate need of help, an angel comes into your life...a very special kind of angel. A travel angel.

This episode is dedicated to those rare and wonderful strangers who come into our lives just when we need them most. Because of their selfless and often unasked for help, disaster is averted, our vacation is saved, and often our lives are enriched in the process.

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SPONSOR THE SHOW: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started.

DONATE: Click here to send financial support to The Bittersweet Life via PayPal: PayPal.me/thebittersweetlife. (You can also find a Donate button on the desktop version of our website.) The show needs your support to continue.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email at [email protected].

You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram – Better yet, tag #thebittersweetlife with your story for a chance to be featured!

NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET

SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode.

WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.

BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.

TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!

© The Bittersweet Life – Web and show content can only be used with written permission

In a re-airing of one of our most fascinating interviews, Amy Herman joins us to talk about visual intelligence. How can looking at fine art, or rather learning how to truly notice what it is you are seeing, change, or even save your life? Herman has trained police officers, doctors, military, and special operatives to hone their observation skills by studying visual art. On occasion of her recent Ted Talk reaching half a million views, we've decided to repost her thought-provoking interview on our show in which she shares the secrets of how practicing perception in art can help keep you safer.

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SPONSOR THE SHOW: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started.

DONATE: Click here to send financial support to The Bittersweet Life via PayPal: PayPal.me/thebittersweetlife. (You can also find a Donate button on the desktop version of our website.) The show needs your support to continue.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email at [email protected].

You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram – Better yet, tag #thebittersweetlife with your story for a chance to be featured!

NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET

SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode.

WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.

BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.

TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!

© The Bittersweet Life – Web and show content can only be used with written permission

What happens when you dig out the resolutions you made at the beginning of the year just as you are about to make some new ones for the year to come? Tiffany and Katy find out the hard way. Plus, in honor of Tiffany, Katy takes on a few extra resolutions, and Tiffany takes a page out of Katy's book by resolving to do something that can be accomplished in a single day. And they both try not to cringe at last year's often-over-ambitious resolutions. What will you resolve to do in the year ahead?

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SPONSOR THE SHOW: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started.

DONATE: Click here to send support The Bittersweet Life via PayPal: PayPal.me/thebittersweetlife. (You can also find a Donate button on the desktop version of our website.) The show needs your support to continue.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email at [email protected].

You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram – Better yet, tag #thebittersweetlife with your story for a chance to be featured!

NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET

SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode.

WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.

BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.

TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!

© The Bittersweet Life – Web and show content can only be used with written permission

Merry Christmas from your friends at The Bittersweet Life!

This Christmas, we're gifting you with a sweet, sentimental, and surprising piece of radio created by your host, Katy Sewall the Christmas she spent in Rome, way back in 2013.

If you love the song White Christmas and have always wondered about its origins (or maybe you've never wondered, but now we've piqued your interest), listen to this show.

So grab a comfy seat (ideally in front of a roaring fire with snow falling right outside), cuddle up to your favorite person and/or your favorite hot beverage, and reminisce with us about a Christmas long past.

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SPONSOR THE SHOW: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started.

DONATE: Open your laptop and visit The Bittersweet Life and click the donate button on the right side of the page. The show needs your support to continue.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email at [email protected].

You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram – Better yet, tag #thebittersweetlife with your story for a chance to be featured!

NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET

SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode.

WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.

BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.

TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!

© The Bittersweet Life – Web and show content can only be used with written permission

When you move abroad to be with a significant other—not because it was your own dream—what do you do when you don't find expat life satisfying? Whether it's because you struggle to learn the language, feel isolated, don't really love the place where you live, or—god forbid—are not sure your partner is the right person for you, not every expat experience is right for every person. Sometimes you just have to cut your losses and go home.

On this week's episode, we respond to a listener questions that asks: when is it time to give up the expat life?

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SPONSOR THE SHOW: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started.

DONATE: Open your laptop and visit The Bittersweet Life and click the donate button on the right side of the page. The show needs your support to continue.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email at [email protected].

You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram – Better yet, tag #thebittersweetlife with your story for a chance to be featured!

NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET

SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode.

WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.

BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.

TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!

© The Bittersweet Life – Web and show content can only be used with written permission

This week, we chat with expat, author, and vlogger Dana Newman, an American living in Germany with a book out next week!

Dana moved to Europe back in 2008, first to Prague, then later to Munich, where she married a German and still lives today.

On her YouTube channel, Wanted Adventure, she talks about her experiences living abroad in general and living in Germany in particular, including the culture, the food, the traditions, and, of course, mastering the German language. (The infamously difficult-to-learn German language! Do you know how many ways there are to say "the" in German? We don't either, but it's a lot.)

In fact, the German language is the subject of Dana's new book. The full title of the book contains some German, so we'll let Dana tell you the whole thing, but the first part is You Go Me on the Cookie!, a literal English translation of a German expression.

The book is available for pre-order now, and release day is just around the corner on 17 December. You Go Me on the Cookie! is available as e-book on amazon.com, and in both paperback and e-book format on amazon.de. You can also find it on GoodReads. For now, the book is only in German, but hopefully it will be out in English one day soon. (Don't worry, the interview is in English!)

Follow Dana on Twitter, Facebook, and on her YouTube channel, Wanted Adventure. (Here's a video where she talks about The Bittersweet Life podcast!)

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SPONSOR THE SHOW: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started.

DONATE: Open your laptop and visit The Bittersweet Life and click the donate button on the right side of the page. The show needs your support to continue.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email at [email protected].

You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram – Better yet, tag #thebittersweetlife with your story for a chance to be featured!

NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET

SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode.

WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.

BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.

TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!

© The Bittersweet Life – Web and show content can only be used with written permission

It's December and Advent is upon us! With this unofficial kick-off of Christmastime, we discuss the different ways Italians and Americans prepare for the holiday season. And how have Italians ceded some of their native traditions to the global consumerism that has taken over the American Christmas experience?

We also debate contentious topics such as: when is it too early to put up your Christmas decorations? How much of our own holiday preferences are based on the traditions we were taught in childhood? And how do you create traditions in your own home if you are out of town for the holiday?

In the second half of the episode, we discuss Tiffany's conversion to Catholicism. How much does living in a country influence your religious beliefs and customs? Sometimes it's just easier to assimilate, but is that the right thing to do?

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SPONSOR THE SHOW: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started.

DONATE: Open your laptop and visit The Bittersweet Life and click the donate button on the right side of the page. The show needs your support to continue.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email at [email protected].

You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram – Better yet, tag #thebittersweetlife with your story for a chance to be featured!

NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET

SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode.

WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.

BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.

TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!

© The Bittersweet Life – Web and show content can only be used with written permission