The Expat Chronicles

In this episode we cover so many topics from personal relationships to coping mechanisms, and pivotal moments to biggest life lessons. Having found a home in Denmark, Winston's journey covers love, loss, rebuilding, and consistently working toward his passion. Originally from the UK, his journey led him to loving his life and new found home in Denmark not just for the lifestyle, but for the opportunity it brings in everyday life. 

Winston grew up in England, then moved to Denmark in 2007. Since then he has followed his passion in understanding human behaviour. Whilst learning Danish and reading psychology at Aarhus University, he worked with children with social and psychological challenges, as well as adults sectioned in a psychiatric facility after committing violent crimes. At the same institution, he takes care of people who are not criminals, but are extremely challenged by their upbringing or their mental disabilities. He is now collaborating on a project aimed at raising mens mental health awareness (Blue Mind Approach)

Winston has an immense amount of patience, and in this episode reflects on some of his big life lessons as well as some teachable moments he didn't quite notice before.

Highlights of this episode include:
✨moving countries for love
✨rebuilding a social network after divorce
✨throwing yourself into work after divorce
✨a fascination with people which lead to his professional career of psychology and coach
✨a new found perspective on where 'home' is
✨having patients
✨coaching as a two way street
✨pivotal moments and finding balance

Get in touch with Winston on these platforms:
Instagram - Life Coaching, Personal
Website
LinkedIn
Podcast

Get In touch with The Blue Mind Approach:
Blue Mind Approach Podcast
Blue Mind Approach Blog
Blue Mind Approach LinedIn
Blue Mind Approach Instagram

If you have a story you would like to share on the show please send us an email
📧 [email protected]
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This episode covers some sensitive and personal retellings of a story that literally changed the course of someones life. Rona O'Brien has been brave enough to share her story with us, and has done so in an extremely humbling way. The Hague Convention, for anyone who is unaware, is the main international agreement that covers international parental child abduction. It provides a process through which a parent can seek to have their child returned to their home country. After leaving an unsafe home environment and marriage, Rona was at the hand of the courts to return back to Australia after taking her children back to the UK where she is from. It was not what she wanted at the time, but is now grateful for where she is and in her words, she "wouldn't change a thing".

This episode also covers the emotions that come from having elderly family in your home country when you're in another, and the process of grieving when family members pass. This has been discussed in another episode (Ep. #2 with Candice Payne), and seemingly is a common struggle among expats in general.

I want to personally thank Rona for sharing her story, as I know it was not easy to do so. She has become so resilient, strong and tenacious through all of her experiences and it is a joy to be able to share this with you.

If you'd like to read more about The Hague Convention, click here. 

Could you imagine meeting someone from another country unexpectedly, keeping in touch for months via email, and not too long after, having them come visit you. Then deciding to move to their country and get married?! It's a honest and true love story that this weeks guest lived herself. Originally from the capitol of Bulgaria, Maria Ivanova Richardson moved herself and her toddler to Western Australia to be with her husband where they now live happily as a family of four. Their family lives the FIFO (fly in/fly out mining work) lifestyle, and are constantly working on raising their children in a mixed culture home.

There is a calm and relaxing energy about this episode and it comes from Maria herself. As a yoga and pilates instructor, she believes in the importance of finding ways to enjoy life each day in an authentic way. For her, movement is healing, and although she has endured many struggles along her 9 year journey of being an expat, she exudes strength and resilience.

You can follow Maria on Instagram

Highlights of this episode include:
✨ the struggles of finding community in a new place
✨ missing, and keeping in touch with family overseas during covid
✨ living within the Australian culture, especially in regards to raising children
✨ living the FIFO family lifestyle
✨ the importance of authentically finding ways to enjoy life

If you have a story you would like to share on the show please send us an email
📧 [email protected]
📸 Follow me on  Instagram @livia_rismondo
🆓Join our Facebook group TheExpat Chronicles with Livia Rismondo
📝 Subscribe & Review on Apple Podcasts
🎶 Follow on Spotify
✓ DOWNLOAD OUR FREE GUIDE ✓
"Creative Ways to Stay Connected With Loved One's During a Pandemic"

We've all felt lost. In fact most of us likely feel lost more than we don't. This is likely due to the fact that we have yet to find our purpose, our true calling. The important thing to remember here is that we must open ourselves up to accepting what is meant for us. It's having trust during the times when you feel the most lost, as those moments are the catalysts for everything making sense later down the line.

Laura Lopez is a Spanish serial Expat who left home 11 years ago to learn English, since then she has lived in 5 different countries across 3 different continents and built a purpose-driven online business that allows her to impact positively the world in her own way. She is a purpose coach for expats and helps aspiring entrepreneurs gain 100% clarity on their purpose so they can build their own business just as she did. Laura is currently living in Sydney, Australia.

Highlights of this episode include
✨through her coaching experience Laura reflects on what people seem to struggle with the most
✨the importance of getting out of your comfort zone to find your purpose and fulfil your mission
✨combating fear
✨asking yourself better questions, so you can guide yourself

Links discussed in this episode
What is a J1 visa?
A J1 visa is an exchange visitor (J) visa, a nonimmigrant visas for individuals approved to participate in exchange visitor programs in the United States.
⚪️J1 visa for Spanish citizens
⚪️Connect with Laura on Instagram @Longgonelaura
⚪️Find out more about coaching and how you can find your purpose

If you have a story you would like to share on the show please send us an email
📧 [email protected]
📸 Follow me on  Instagram @livia_rismondo
🆓Join our Facebook group TheExpat Chronicles with Livia Rismondo
📝 Subscribe & Review on Apple Podcasts
🎶 Follow on Spotify
✓ DOWNLOAD OUR FREE GUIDE ✓
"Creative Ways to Stay Connected With Loved One's During a Pandemic"

The topics covered in this episode really hit the heart strings for me. As an Expat for 7 years, I have yet to return home for more than just a visit, and there certainly are some fears around that. It was an absolute pleasure to discuss this with Julie, as she moved back to her home country after living abroad for 11 years. If you are an expat who has also moved back home, or you haven't but have questions around this particular topic, this is the episode for you!

Julie E. Thompson is a professional vocal coach, singer and songwriter. Julie returned to the UK in 2016 after a fruitful career in the music industry in Germany. Julie has performed all over Germany, Switzerland and France working on projects with multiple other artist and producers performing at festivals and radio shows. As well as writing and performing she also studied a 3 year singing and teaching Diploma in Copenhagen, during her expat years in Germany, and now works with other artists as a vocal coach. She works with both students and teachers and prepares them vocally and mentally for tours or supporting them in a pressured studio environment. Julie has also started a podcast, with co-host Michael Hill, called The Connected Singer, to support artists with their mental health, and showcases interviews with professionals about how to manage common struggles prevalent in the music industry.
For Julie's full bio, click HERE.
Have a listen to Julie's podcast 'The Connected Singer' on Apple Podcast and Spotify
Connect with Julie on The Connected Singer's Instagram, or on her personal Instagram

Other key topics and highlights from this show include
⚪️ struggles of learning the local language
⚪️specific language barriers
⚪️meeting a partner abroad and having the tough conversation of moving countries
⚪️following your inner voice
⚪️knowing the difference between your fears and your limiting beliefs

If you have a story you would like to share on the show please send us an email
📧 [email protected]
📸 Follow me on  Instagram @livia_rismondo
🆓Join our Facebook group TheExpat Chronicles with Livia Rismondo
📝 Subscribe & Review on Apple Podcasts
🎶 Follow on Spotify
✓ DOWNLOAD OUR FREE GUIDE ✓
"Creative Ways to Stay Connected With Loved One's During a Pandemic"
 

Have you ever gone to a new place and instantly felt like you belonged there? Or that there was something there for you to pursue, a sense of purpose so to speak. That's exactly what happened to this weeks guest speaker after having travelled multiple countries and finally settling in a small coastal town on the West Coast of Australia. Margaret River has been home to Sophie Forbes for 7 years now and she wouldn't have it any other way. Sophie is now a migration agent and is helping others live out their dreams of being able to reside permanently in this beautiful country. 

In this episode we follow the journey Sophie went on over the last decade + travelling all over the Europe and the world. We discuss how just being open to opportunities really can change your life, how being settled in a place far from home is so much different to just travelling, and how sometimes, there does come a point when you need to see your lifelong friends. (It's all about balance baby!)

If you'd like to get in touch with Sophie to discuss your immigration options you can email her or check out the website.
[email protected]
http://www.leeuwinimmigration.com.au/

If you have a story you would like to share on the show please send us an email
📧 [email protected]
📸 Follow me on  Instagram @livia_rismondo
🆓Join our Facebook group TheExpat Chronicles with Livia Rismondo
📝 Subscribe & Review on Apple Podcasts
🎶 Follow on Spotify
✓ DOWNLOAD OUR FREE GUIDE ✓
"Creative Ways to Stay Connected With Loved One's During a Pandemic"

Have you noticed how lot's of expats come from parents who spent most of their life living in a country different to where they were born? Perhaps this is a biological trend. Milena Lehmann is a German born Australian resident who's grandparents were refugees. She knew from a young age that she was meant to explore other countries. In this episode we discuss being multicultural/bilingual, choosing a WORLD career, raising children without the support of your own family, and the German mentality on living.

You can follow Milena on Instagram for some beautiful photography and entertaining captions @milena.leander

If you have a story you would like to share on the show please send us an email
📧 [email protected]
📸 Follow me on  Instagram @livia_rismondo
🆓Join our Facebook group TheExpat Chronicles with Livia Rismondo
📝 Subscribe & Review on Apple Podcasts
🎶 Follow on Spotify
✓ DOWNLOAD OUR FREE GUIDE ✓
"Creative Ways to Stay Connected With Loved One's During a Pandemic"

Would you like to be someone who reads more books? Perhaps you just can't find the time to sit down and do it. Julien Fortuit from Paris is an avid reader and has some really great tips on how to get the most from books and how to make it suit you and your life. As a life coach, Julien recommends books often to his clients and had a website FULL of reviews.

After spending 20+ years in the luxury brand industry, working in multiple countries, and being fluent in multiple languages, Julien now lives in Spain and has been working with people and businesses to get unstuck and find their purpose. He does 1 on 1 coaching to help his clients take control of their future.

Highlights of the episode include:
✰ what covid lockdowns were like in Spain
✰ how moving so often and with a family is really as simple as you make it
✰ his philosophies on coaching
✰ the value books bring to our lives, and the best way to absorb the information based on how you learn

Julien mentions a variety of his favourite publications in the episode:
📖 The E Myth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber
📖 The Dip by Seth Godin
📖 The Incarus Deception by Seth Godin
📖 Presence by Amy Cuddy
              ⇢ he also mentioned a TedTalk by Amy
📖 Flow by Mihaly Csikzentmihalyi
📖 The Art of Possibility by Rosamund Stone Zander & Benjamin Zander
📖 The War of Art by Steven Pressfield

If you're struggling with an issue and would like to have a book recommended directly based on your circumstances please send Julien an email. Other wise you can connect with Julien on LinkedIn and Instagram.

If you have a story you would life to share on the show please send us and email
📧 [email protected]
📸 Follow me on  Instagram @livia_rismondo
🆓Join our Facebook group TheExpat Chronicles with Livia Rismondo
📝 Subscribe & Review on Apple Podcasts
🎶 Follow on Spotify
✓ DOWNLOAD OUR FREE GUIDE ✓
"Creative Ways to Stay Connected With Loved One's During a Pandemic"

Do you find it difficult to connect with friends and family after living abroad for such an extended period of time? It can seem like they just don't understand you, or have any interest in hearing about your journey or the things you learned along the way. It seems this is a common occurrence among people who move to another country and return home either for good, or to visit. It's a difficult one to navigate, but happens so often to so many of us. Cecilie Holter considers herself a double expat after having lived in New York, USA, and also many years living and raising children in London, UK. We talk about this issue and how it resembles unconditional love, we also hear from how she made it through some of her toughest times by flexing a certain muscle and tapping into her inner warrior.

Cecilie is a Norwegian-born former New Yorker living in London, UK. She’s divorced and the mother of two sons. After a career spanning acting, journalism, producing and directing for film and TV, she’s focusing on human rights activism and is about to launch her first podcast: “Off Our Chest: Female Warrior Stories,” a platform for and by women sharing how they have navigated major trials and transitions - from the rocky road of divorce to breast cancer to single life post-children. She is hoping “Off Our Chest” will provide a blueprint for younger women facing some of the same hairy passages. Her podcast is set to launch February 1st!

You can find Cecilie on Instagram and Twitter 
Twitter: @CecilieHolter
Instagram: cecilie_holter

Have you ever thought about moving to Panama? Regardless of your answer, after hearing this episode, you may start to consider it! David Prestage is a 74 year old Master Gardener from Porterville, California. After living on the same property for 40 years, him and his wife took a leap of faith and moved to an area in the Chiriqui Highlands in Panama, and haven't looked back.

David is a true story teller, you can literally see his property in your mind as he describes it, and can feel the community connection when he talks about helping out in the local school, and his wife having the privilege to be dressed in a traditional Panamanian dress called a Pollera. As a gardener the enriched volcanic soil is unlike anything David has worked with before and it exists due to Volcan Baru having errupted in 1550 wiping out nearly everything in its path.

Check out some more external links here:
⚪️ Boquete, Panama where tons of expats reside
⚪️ Teleport, a website to help you research and find a suitable country to emigrate too
⚪️ A photo of the traditional Panamanian dress Davids wife had the privilege of wearing
⚪️ The Chiriqui Highlands in Panama where David and his wife live
⚪️ Porterville, California where they spent most of their life
⚪️ Information on the volcano which threw a rock 7 kms into the spot where Davids garden now grows

Catch all the episodes and transcripts on our website:
www.theexpatchronicles.com.au

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