The Thriving Abroad Podcast

Many expat partners feel “stuck” when they move to a new country.  Out of their comfort zone, often not working (by choice or because they can’t get a work visa) they feel lost.  In today’s interview we talk to expat Janice Wiggins who was in just that position when she moved to Belgium 10 years ago.  In this episode of our Inspiring Expat Interviews podcast Janice shares her journey with us including how she used volunteering to get out of her comfort zone, learning new skills and becoming involved in her community. 

One of the striking aspects of Janice’s story is how important her mindset has been in her journey. Janice’s mindset and her approach to living overseas have truly transformed her life. She is now working for Dan Hunter, a fitness and nutrition company, where she provides nutrition advice to clients. She is also studying to be a holistic life coach and by her own admission, she is more confident than she has ever been.

You can listen to the podcast on the player above or if you prefer to read, you can download a transcript here. If you enjoy hearing Janice’s story and want to make sure you don’t miss any future Inspiring Expat Interviews episodes, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast and leave us a review on iTunes.

We hope that, whether you’re feeling stuck or not, you’ll be inspired by Janice’s story of personal growth and transformation.  If you’d like to share your thoughts or your own story, stop by our Facebook Page to tell us what you think.

Culture and adjusting to life in a series of new countries is the subject of this week’s podcast. This is the tenth in our Inspiring Expat Interviews series in which, Louise enjoyed a lively interview with Sundae Schneider Bean.

Sundae’s irrepressible enthusiasm for her life abroad shines through, as do her strategies for coping with a life that has at times taken her far beyond her comfort zone.

Some people relocate to live abroad because they have a desire to explore the world, experience life in different culture and countries, others relocate for work or out of necessity, escaping political or economic hardship and some for love….

Sundae relocated for several of these reasons, and shares her reason why in this interview. Yep, you’ll have to listen to discover what motivated her to leave her mono-cultural life in North Dakota for an expat experience that has been hugely enriching taking her through a number of European countries to West Africa.

Sundae is an executive coach, intercultural specialist and consultant. She says she loves helping internationally minded professionals to find creative solutions to their unique challenges and make important changes that last. Her mission is to help people make the most of their lives abroad. In this interview, Sundae shares both her personal and professional story, insights and strategies.

This interview was recorded as Sundae was coping with the effects of the coup d’état in Burkina Faso in September 2015, and it is with a heavy heart that the publication of this blog post comes just days after the brutal terrorist attack on her home city of Ouagadougou. Sundae confirms that she and her family are safe. Our hearts and thoughts go out to all of those who are affected.

Listen to the interview above.  If you prefer to read rather than listen then please download our transcript of our interview by using this link.

As always we’d love to hear what you think, so please leave a comment on our Facebook page or in the comment boxes below this blog.

If you’re inspired by Sundae’s story and experience, you can find out more on her website

Sundae has a special gift for those who sign up for her monthly insights, the Expat Trump Cards – a unique set of digital cards aimed at helping you tackle the toughest aspects of global life. You can also connect with Sundae via Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

When you’re thinking about starting your own business, you hear a lot of talk about picking one thing, your passion, and focusing on it single-mindedly. But that doesn’t have to be the path for everyone and our Inspiring Expat Interviewee Meghan Fenn is living proof that one size doesn’t fit all when it come to building a business.

Meghan’s an American expat living in the UK with her British husband and three children. She’s the co-owner of Shake It Up Creative, a design and

marketing company which she recently created with her business partner Rachael Dines. Prior to forming Shake It Up Creative she owned web and

graphic design company White Ochre Design Limited.  But this talented expat has more than one string to her bow. Her award winning blog, Bringing Up Brits, and her book of the same name help parents from other cultures who are bringing up their children in the UK.

She is also the co-author, with Heidi Walker, of Inspiring Global Entrepreneurs, in which expat entrepreneurs share their stories of building businesses in foreign countries. More than a glossy ‘success story’ book, it highlights the real challenges that it’s featured entrepreneurs faced and the strategies they used to overcome them.

Evelyn had great fun interviewing Meghan during the summer as she was gearing up to launch Shake It Up Creative. In the interview she shares:

What inspired her to become an expat entrepreneur

The linguistic and cultural challenges and joys of being an American in the UK

What it takes to become an expat entrepreneur

What she’d do differently if she was starting over again today

You can listen to the interview on our blog or you can listen on iTunes. Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast to automatically receive updates and, if you enjoy this episode, we’d really appreciate if you’d leave us a review on iTunes.

For those who prefer to read, here’s a pdf of the interview.

If you’re inspired by Meghan’s story you can find out more on any of her websites and you can order her books on Amazon.

‘Relocating internationally changes everything’. This was one of the quotes we received when asking people about the personal impact of moving abroad, and we agree.

This is certainly true for the career-orientated expat partner. Often leaving with the intention of working once abroad they can find the reality challenging. This is particularly true for partners relocating with children who need the flexibility to be available. In these cases the traditional nine to five can be very problematic.

The alternative for some partners is to start their own business, create a lifestyle business that can work around the family….

Except, speaking from experience it is not so easy, but with the right attitude, drive and determination it is possible. How do we know?

Because this week we are sharing a fabulous interview with the talented business owner Liz Perelstein, founder of School Choice International. Liz has grown her business from one consultant (herself) to over 140 educational consultants operate in 50 countries worldwide. In 2010 Liz was named one of Fortune Magazines 10 most powerful women entrepreneurs.

If you’ve ever wondered what it takes to create this level of business success, then listen to our interview with Liz as she shares:

Why her own personal need for flexibility as an expat partner was the catalyst for her business.

How she discovered her entrepreneurial flair.

How saying YES and then figuring it all out became one of the many of success strategies that she shares.

If you prefer to read rather than listen, then you can download a transcript of our interview here.

This is a real treat. We hope that you enjoy the interview. Please let us know what you think in the comment box below the interview OR on our Facebook page. 

If you enjoyed the podcast and would like to receive podcasts automatically, don’t forget to subscribe.

We never fail to be amazed at the written content that comes from the expatriate experience.

Blogs, articles, books. We feature many on our Thriving Abroad Facebook Page and now in our Podcast interviews.

Russell Ward, author of the blog In Search Of a Life Less Ordinary is the subject of our Inspiring Expat Interview this week.  Russell has been a blogging inspiration to us for many years, in fact if we’re honest we’re a bit envious. Russell’s blog started as his way of communicating about his expat experience with his family when he first moved abroad. Now it is so much more. 

In Search of a Life Less Ordinary has published over 500 blog posts and received over 4,000 comments. 

But most importantly Russell’s blogging journey and exposure has helped him to create his own portable career.

Through his blog, Russell discovered his passion for writing, crafting his skill to a point where he now runs a very successful business as The International Writer.

In this interview Russell shares his personal tips for creating an engaging and highly successful blog. He certainly knows a thing or two about promotion too, with one article on Huffington Post receiving over 90,000 likes and 14,500 shares (if only!).

This interview is for you if you have:

Started a blog or are thinking of doing so OR are using services like LinkedIn Pulse to share content.

A business or an interest that you would like to promote through blogging/engaging articles and would benefit from tips, advice and inspiration on how to do so effectively.

Russell’s says blogging led him to the creation of a business “which is doing really well and is ultimately allowing him to live the kind of life I want to lead, away from the rate race that I was in for years, I’m working to my own schedule and doing what I love most.”

If you already share your experiences through a blog then add a comment below telling everyone what you write about and sharing the link. 

Then go and listen to our interview with Russell Ward: The Power of the Written Word, How a Family Blog Grew and Grew above

If you prefer to read rather than listen, you can download a transcript of our interview with Russell here. Find out more about Russell through LinkedIn.

Remember you can subscribe to the Thriving Abroad podcast series and receive regular updates.

 

Turning Expat Challenge into Opportunity

Sometimes the colour and vibrancy of other people’s stories really makes an impact.

This  blog post  written by Chantal Duke is a case in point. Chantal Duke talks about the valuable role partners play in supporting the expat assignment, the importance of a positive, proactive mindset and describes how she embraced the challenge of difficult locations lived across seven countries on two continents and created wonderful experiences. We were intrigued to hear more.

Chantal’s expat life began at birth in the exotic location of Madagascar. After a brief return to her native country of France, Chantal grew up and was educated in Dijbouti, East Africa. Adulthood saw her relocate between various African and South American countries as the wife of an American Diplomat. Change and transition were major features of her life.

Chantal embraced them both and created rich experiences and memories. Her story shows how `a personal interest or expertise learned in one country can turn into a bona fide business opportunity the next country over’. 

We were keen to learn more.

In this Inspiring Expat Interview Chantal shares her memories, experience and valuable insights. You can access the interview from itunes.

If you prefer to read rather than listen, you can download the edited transcript from Here

You can read more about Chantal`s volunteer work Here

Chantal also shares another blog post about the importance of empathy for the expat partner Here

We love creating these interviews for you and have some fantastic episodes coming up.

To ensure that you don’t miss these new podcasts, subscribe to the series on iTunes Here

Why not leave a comment and let us know what you think! We love to hear from you.

First Steps to Creating an Expat Career and Life You Love.

Recently we had the interview tables turned on us as Rachel  Yates from The Expat Lifeline talked to us about how to thrive abroad. Rachel is running a series of interviews all about career and finding fulfilment as the expat partner when relocating internationally.

We had a lively and enjoyable conversation and you can watch our interview on the Thriving Abroad You Tube Channel by clicking on the image ...

This week on Inspiring Expat Interviews, we’re talking to Apple Gidley.  Many of you may be familiar with Apple as she is a frequent contributor to the Telegraph Expat.

An expat pretty much since birth, Apple’s made 26 moves and has lived in 12 different countries.  She describes herself as Anglo-Australian and is currently living in Houston Texas.  Apple’s CV makes for an interesting read as she’s embraced opportunity of living in different places to turn her hand to all kinds of different endeavors.

At heart though, she is a writer and she has built a successful career with her writing. Her memoir Expat Life Slice by Slice was published in 2012 and she is a contributing author to two anthologies; Forced to Fly and Foreign Flavours. She is currently working on a novel, Anna’s Fancy, but she’ll tell us more about that in her interview.

Apple’s experience has given her a positive ‘can-do’ attitude towards expat life. You can listen to her refreshing outlook on expat life and hear some of the great stories she has to share here.

If you prefer to read rather than listen, you can download a transcript of our interview here.

If you enjoy the podcast and would like to get future episodes automatically, don’t forget to subscribe . We’d also really appreciate it if you’d leave us a great review on iTunes.

This episode of Inspiring Expat Interviews features Andrea Martins.  We’ve known of Andrea for many years and in fact, her experience inspired us and helped us to see that it was possible to create a portable business.  When we first heard of her, Andrea and her business partner were running the website ExpatWomen.com and it had become the go-to resource for expat women around the world sharing stories and resources about all aspects of expat life.  Andrea also co-authored the book Expat Women: Confessions. 50 Answers to Your Real-Life Questions about Living Abroad

Andrea has now repatriated to Australia and has sold ExpatWomen.com but her experience of creating a business while abroad gave her the taste for entrepreneurship and she is now a serial entrepreneur.  In our interview , Andrea shares her story and some great tips for anyone who is thinking about starting up their own business as an expat.

Click here to download the interview from iTunes or if you prefer to read, you can download a transcript here: Inspiring Interviews – Andrea Martins

If you want to see what Andrea’s up to now, you can check out Story Resumés and Green Socks online

If you enjoy this episode or any of our other podcast episodes, please write a review on iTunes and help us to inspire other expats around the world.

Reading “Trailing – A Memoir” I remember feeling a mixture of admiration for the adventurous American wife as she accompanied her new husband on a mission with “Médecins Sans Frontières” to East Africa and recognition and understanding. Whilst way more exciting and challenging than my southern european adventures her search for structure and purpose to her daily existence certainly hit a chord.

When we started our podcast series of Inspiring Interviews I knew Kristin and her book had to be on the list. Kristin describes herself as a chronic American expat, having lived most of her life as a “foreigner”. Daughter of a career foreign service officer Kristin moved regularly as a child. As an adult Kristin has lived in her native America, East Africa and France. She is on the move again this summer as she and her family move from Lyon to Geneva. Professionally Kristin writes and is a psychotherapist and consultant working with international and expatriate families.

In the interview Kristin shares with us

* Her third culture identity and the cultural gaps that reside within and outside of her family.

* How childhood patterns of mobility became Kristin’s adult default mode leading to a life that surprised Kristin in many ways.

* The challenges Kristin faced in creating her new life in East Africa.

* Kristin’s quest to find meaning and purpose and why it was ultimately so important for the creation of balance in her relationship.

* The benefit of creating a portable career and sound sense of personal identity for future mobility.

You can listen to the interview HERE

You can download and read the interview transcript HERE

You can learn more about about Kristin, her books and her work as a psychotherapist and expat consultant HERE

Kristin’s second book, Five Flights Up is due to be published at the end of 2015.

Once you have listened we’d love to hear your feedback and opinions?

How do you relate to Kristin’s experiences?

How and where have you found your own sense of meaning and purpose in your life abroad?

Please leave your comments below.

An interview with Kristin Duncombe about her expatriate life and also her book; Trailing - A Memoir.

Kristin shares stories of her life as a "chronic american expat" as the child of a career foreign service officer and wife of a Doctor working in the field of humanitarian aid