The Time Is Now

Pursuing a career while moving from a country to another is indeed one of the most difficult challenges for expat partners. And it is also one of the main topics of Tandem Nomads, so I have to say that it was very difficult to pick just 4 extracts from all previous episodes that can be valuable to you, because all the guests on Tandem Nomads shared some amazing inspiration regarding this topic, so if you haven’t already, I really hope you will take the chance to listen to the past and future episodes on a regular basis if you are looking for solutions to build your portable career.

For this episode, what I tried to do, is to select some of the factual points and advice that I think every expat partner should consider when they feel lost with their career and when they are working on building a portable career.

We will start with Marilyn Gardner is a clinical nurse liaison, consultant and author of the blog and the book Communicating Across Boundaries. Her profile is very interesting as she managed to blend her nursing profession with her multicultural background to create a career that is very unique, as she helps doctors and patients from different cultures communicate more efficiently. In this extract, you will hear some of her important insights on what it takes to go through that career transformation. Marilyn has shared so much valuable advice in her interview that I had to divide this interview into two parts. Check these episodes on www.tandemnomads.com/47 and www.tandemnomads.com/48

Now, here is the extract with Asetila Koestinger, she is a consultant in business and international development. Asetila is a real hustler, always looking to improve her skills and create opportunities wherever she goes. I think what she shares here is so crucial to many expat partners, she shares about how she managed to fit in professionally, gain new skills and develop her business one country after the other. Check out the full version of Asetila’s inspiring but also really fun interview on www.tandemnomads.com/27

Anna Sparks is an expat partner from the USA and this is just a glimpse of the powerful tips she provides on how to write the resume that will get you the job you want. If you haven’t updated your resume for a while, which I know so many of us are in this situation, and if you are looking to apply for a position, you absolutely have to check out the full version of this episode on www.tandemnomads.com/24

To give you some tips on how to master at a networking event, I invited Stephanie Ward, from Fire Fly Coaching, she is a marketing and business mentor. I can tell you that she is one of the greatest networker I have ever met! In this extract she shares with you how she does it, and the first question I ask her, is how to answer when people ask you “What do you do?” A question that I know a lot of expat partner struggle with when they are not stabilized in the career, it is the question. Check out the full version of this episode with even more insights on www.tandemnomads.com/34

I hope that you will take full advantage of these powerful tips and also  share this episode with the friends and expat partners you care about!

Also, get ready for the next episode, as we will continue to talk about portable careers, but more on an entrepreneurial aspect, we will figure out together what does it take to build a portable business.

Stay tuned to turn your challenges into great opportunities!

While enjoying the amazing experience of living across the globe, a lot of serial expats, and particularly expat spouses, end up after few years completely detached from the safety net that is very difficult to build when not being geographically attached to one place. For example, having a proper retirement, health care and tax plan, building a secure estate or building savings, dealing with children’s education challenges abroad and the costs that go with it, but also fostering the relationship in the tandem and remaining on the same page despite all these transitions. These are all the areas of life that can have some harmful outcomes when living abroad if not planned and thought through ahead of time.

This episode is not about painting a disastrous picture of expat life, in the contrary it is about fully enjoying it as long as possible. As the expression says, "better be careful than sorry"!

We also have to address the elephant in the room here, trailing spouses are very often in a situation of financial dependence. And although they manage most of the time their household’s finances and the family plans, they often take care of their needs last and have a very small cushion or fall back plan for themselves if for example their marriage falls apart, or something happened to their partner.

To start this conversation, I couldn't think of a better expert than Rachel Yates, who spent all these years advocating for expat partners' rights and educating them on how to create their safety net while building a healthy foundation for their families. She is the founder of Expat Life Line that provides resources and trainings to plan your expat life. In this extract she shares some very important messages and knowledge about expat life. You will also find many additional valuable insights in the full version of her interview on Tandem Nomads, www.tandemnomads.com/14.

Along the same line, Hui-Chin Chen brings her valuable perspective as a financial advisor. She is the co-founder of Pavlov Financial Planning and writes about money and financial planning on Money Matters for Globe Trotters. Hui-Chin insists on the importance of looking at the common values and goals with your partner to plan your financial security. She shares with us more tips to deal with money on www.tandemnomads.com/30.

The following extract is with Jeremy Piccoli, he was an expat partner himself when he followed his wife to Switzerland. He shares his experience as a male trailing spouse, but I mainly interviewed him in his capacity as a tax expert for AIR INC, a global mobility services company. In this extract, Jeremy shares a list of important information employees should ask their employers regarding their expat packages and taxes when getting a job offer abroad. He also shares more details in the full version of this episode, on www.tandemnomads.com/42.

We end this best of series on Expat Life Planning with a topic that is very touchy among expats, and yet very crucial to be aware of. What happens when expat couples divorce? As you will see, if not properly thought through ahead of time, the implications of a divorce can be quite dramatic, especially when children are involved. In fact, in some cases trailing spouses, whose visas are dependent on their marital status, do not know that they are legally prohibited from taking the children back home without an official approval of the ex-spouse. In some extreme cases, spouses who do go back home with the children without a clear authorization end up facing child abduction charges under international law. Needless to say that on top of that, in case of divorce, trailing spouses have to consider the fact that if they do not get the parental custody, they might not be able to stay in the foreign country, where the children are, if they wish to, because their visas are depend on their marital status.

Here is a great extract with Lucy Greenwood, lawyer and partner at International Family Law Group , who tells us how to handle effectively these very complex situations and avoid getting in these kind of troubles with international law. In the full version of this episode, you will hear some crucial information to know about international family law. So please make sure to check this episode on www.tandemnomads.com/38

Also, as I believe that it is so important to make sure to know about these regulations on international marriages and international family law, I summarized for you some of these major points in this blog article, click here to find it.

Be it regarding relationship challenges, money, administration, taxes or anything related to your future and the future of your family, it is very important for me that you fully embrace the fact that researching and educating yourself on your rights and obligations should never be a tabou, but rather a responsibility you take and an empowering thing to do for yourself, for your partner and for your family.

The only way to be able to build a healthy and sustainable relationship in your tandem while taking care of your needs, it is by discussing, planning and agreeing with your partner on these important fundamentals. The earlier you do that, the better outcome you might get to fully enjoy your life abroad.

In the next episode, we will focus even more on you as an expat partner and your needs to build a portable career.

If you found this episode valuable, please make sure to share it with your friends who might need to know about all these important factors of expatriation!

Building a strong identity and self-confidence is probably the central piece of what is often at the origin of expat partners challenges when moving from a country to another.

In the episode 51, we talked a lot about the general challenges of defining home and our identity when living on the move and adapting to so many different cultures.

In the particular case of expat spouses, identity has a lot to do with finding on top of that the balance between being a parent, and particularly a mom, dedicating time for the family while trying to pursue our own dreams, aspirations, careers and building a strong self-confidence.

In this episode, I have chosen some extracts that explain really well where this challenge comes from, but also some great insights and important advice to turn this challenge into great opportunities.

We start with Evelyn Simpson, an ex banker, expat partner and co-founder of the coaching company, Thriving Abroad. In the extract of her interview, you will have a glimpse on some important advice she shares on the importance to not bury your own needs, even if you decide to give up your career when moving abroad. To find out more about Evelyn and her great insights in the full version of this episode, go to www.tandemnomads.com/23

Kristin Louise Duncombe explains why she insists on using the term "trailing" and how she managed to build her self-confidence over the years, even if the first years she really felt that she was indeed just "trailing" along. Kristin is a psychotherapist and the author of “Trailing: a memoire” and “Five flights: Sex, love and family”. In the full version of her two-part interview, Kristin takes us through the really tough journey she has experienced and how she managed despite that to find her source of happiness. To know all about it go to www.tandemnomads.com/43 and www.tandemnomads.com/44

Rashmi Aggarwala Zimburg is an ex business consultant, an expat partner and a coach. She shares in this extract some of her challenges giving up her career goals, building her identity while taking care of her family and how she managed to reinvent herself and her skills along the way. She shares even more details about it on www.tandemnomads.com/31

Lisa Webb is the blogger of Canadian Expat Mom and author of the books series The Kids who travel the World. She also put together the anthology Once Upon an Expat, a book with fascinating stories from 39 expat women across the world. In this extract, Lisa tells us about her journey to finding her identity and balance between being a mom and building a professional career. You can also know more about it on www.tandemnomads.com/33

After this episode, Lisa gave me the opportunity and extreme honor of writing a chapter of the anthology Once Upon an Expat. In this chapter, that I called Lost and Found Between Homeless and Homefull, I write about my journey defining home. This book is a collection of inspiring stories from expats who share their adventures and very moving stories across the globe.

If you are looking for a fun book to read, relax and relate to your own stories, get it now with a simple click here! Also, know that if you purchase this book, you will participate to a really important cause, as all the proceeds will be donated to Books Abroad, an NGO that supports literacy in the developing world.

Did you like this episode? Comment and share it with your friends!

Hello Nomad Nation, I hope that you enjoyed your summer break!

As I took the time to rest, enjoy family time but also reflect on my own path as an expat partner and reflect on all previous Tandem Nomads episodes, I realized something very important that I share with you in this episode (press play to know all about it!).

In fact, as you know, one of my main focus through Tandem Nomads is to provide all the inspiration and tips for expat partners who feel the need to build their own source of fulfillment and portable career while moving from a country to another.

So after reflecting a lot on this topic, I realized something that can seem quite obvious but so crucial for expat partners career abroad, and yet very often this is the exact thing that causes an important loss of confidence and strong identity for a lot of expat partners. In this episode, I share with you what for me is the secret and first step to finding a purpose and building a successful  portable career.

I will share with you the concept of the "Zone of Genius" and some tips to find yours.

Along our journey together on Tandem Nomads, I continue to provide you with the ideas and exercises that will help you transfer your talents into a portable career.

Here is an important message though: TAKE ACTION!

Don't let time and your important role as a mom and dedicated wife to prevent you from taking responsibility for your own happiness. If you listened to most Tandem Nomads podcast episodes, your know that the majority of these inspiring expat partners are very busy moms and spouses, and yet, they invested the necessary energy and ressources in their personal and professional development while moving from a country to another and taking care of their families.

So take responsibility! You can already start now by a simple click here to sign up to the newsletter so that I can provide you on a regular basis with all the guidance you will need to turn your wishes to build something for yourself into reality!

Nomad nation, "see you very soon" and stay tuned to turn your challenges into great opportunities!

Amel

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When we go through so many transitions and change, I really think that it is very important to learn how to deal with our emotions and believes to make the best of each experience, even the most challenging ones. I have selected for you some of the best insights that have been shared by previous guests on Tandem Nomads. You will discover how mindfulness can be practiced and be helpful in many different difficult situations.

Let’s start with one of the main challenge we discuss in Tandem Nomads, building our source of fulfillment as expat partners through a portable career. In this extract from episode 21, Jodi Harris shares how she practiced mindfulness to handle her identity and career challenges when she moved abroad with her husband. Jodi is the founder of World Tree Coaching, she helps expats find the balance they need to enjoy their life abroad. Jodi shares so many more valuable insights of how she managed to build her portable career and deal some very challenging moments of her life in the full version of this episode, to get some great inspiration from her check out this episode on www.tandemnomads.com/21

We have another example of how mindfulness can be practiced in a situation that every expat goes through, the crazy days before and after a move. Leah Evans shares some really good tips here to include the whole family in making the best of these times. Leah is also an expat partner who managed to build a great a portable business; she founded After School Plans that provides fun resources, classes, and games to expat children. Leah is also the editor of the book she mentions in this extract "Raising kids in the Foreign Service". In the episode 25, Leah tells us more about her journey living abroad but also about how she built her portable business, you can get some inspiration from her story on www.tandemnomads.com/25

Now, here is an example from episode 20 of some effective exercises to practice mindfulness, it is a method called Personal Leadership or PL that Pari Namazie explains us here. Pari is a great friend and an intercultural management specialist; she is also the Managing partner of the consulting firm Atieh International. As I have experienced it myself, I can tell you that once you start practicing PL, it makes a huge difference in the day to day life and the way we deal with some of the frustrations that can stop us from evolving in our personal lives and careers. I really encourage you to check out the full version of this episode, where Pari explains in more details how to practice Personal Leadership, check it out on www.tandemnomads.com/20

Speaking of practicing mindfulness, here is an example where you realize that if you take the habit to do it regularly, you can develop the right natural reaction when cases of extreme emergencies happen. Sundae bean is an intercultural specialist and an expat coach. She will share some amazing insights on how she dealt with one crisis after another when she moved to Burkina Faso, a country that unfortunately was challenged months after month with various health, political and security crisis. Sundae is full of great resources for expats who get stuck with their careers or with difficult situations related to expatriation, get inspired and check them out on www.tandemnomads.com/28

Make sure to share this episode with your friends who are looking to build a portable career or thrive in their global nomadic life!

Last week, was Gentlemen’s Week where I interviewed male expat partners. Additionally to sharing their experience adjusting their careers to their spouse’s, many of them also shared some great inspiration on how to be happy in a relationship. This week we continue along this topic with the Nomad Couples Week, we discuss tips and insights on how to keep a healthy relationship while moving from a country to another.

This first extract is from the episode 11 with Jodi Ballard. Jody is an expat partner who managed to build an inspiring portable business, as a therapist, author, speaker and founder of the Women Heritage Walk. In the full version of this episode, Jodi tells us more about her career journey while traveling the world, she shares some really inspiring insights and tells us about how she created the Women Heritage Walk, a fascinating annual project where women cross the desert in the United Arab Emirates from Al Ain to Abu Dabhi. Check this episode on www.tandemnomads.com/11

We will then hear Helene Reiter share her experience. The episode with her is quite a unique episode because it is the only interview I did with both partners at the same time. In fact, they both alternatively gave up their jobs to follow the other. We actually had the chance to hear her husband’s experience in last week’s Gentlemen’s Best of series. Helene is now the HR manager at the Shanghai American School. In this extract, she shares here her perspective of a healthy relationship when living this nomadic lifestyle. Helene and Manfred have a fascinating story and great tips to share on how they kept their relationship strong despite the challenges they had, you can check it out on www.tandemnomads.com/35

This is my dear friend Katja Tschoepe from the episode 12. Katja is an expat partner and communications controlling consultant; she is also now launching a new exciting startup in the collaborative space. I’ve always admired Katja not only for being a true feminist and women’s rights defender, but also for making sure to apply her believes to her own life. You will be able to hear in this extract how. This conversation came up when Katja and I were discussing the pros and cons of working from home, which was the topic of this episode 12. In fact, a lot of portable careers involve working from home and we have to be careful to set strict rules to not get distracted with all the domestic and family tasks. If you are also working from home you might enjoy some of the great other tips Katja shares with us on www.tandemnomads.com/12

It is Gentlemen’s week!! Best of series with short extracts from previous interviews of male “Trailing spouses”, or as I prefer to say male expat partners.

They will share with us in just few minutes how they perceive their role as expat partners and how they manage to maintain their careers while following their spouses abroad. We will see that most challenges are definitely very similar to female expat spouses; however, you will notice in these short extracts some differences compared to the ladies I interviewed. We might indeed have few things to learn from our male friends

The first extract we are going to hear is from Jeremy Piccoli, episode 42, an international tax expert who works for the global mobility consulting company, AIRINC. He managed to keep his job while joining his spouse for her assignment in Switzerland, he tells us how. Jeremy wrote an interesting blog post about the resistance of certain expat spouses’ clubs to integrate men. This is an issue that I heard of on many occasions. However, Jeremy explains in details in the full version of this episode why this isn’t according to him such a big issue. Also, the main purpose of the episode 42 was to use his expertise to bring us guidance on how to plan our taxes and expat packages when accepting a job assignment abroad, it is an episode full of important tips to know, so please make sure to check it out on www.tandemnomads.com/42

You will then hear the testimonial of Igor Koscak from the episode 19, he shares his experience as he decided to quit a great engineering position in a major German automotive company to join his future wife wherever her career would take her. I have to say this episode is one of my favorites, as Igor has such a positive energy and shares with us his emotions so generously and openly. I also recommend to listen to the full episode if you or a friend of yours is looking for a job abroad, he brought up some really great points that can be helpful in this search, check it out on www.tandemnomads.com/19

The next one is Manfred Girkinger, episode 35, a quite unique episode, as it is the only interview I managed to organize with both partners at the same time. They both alternatively gave up their jobs to follow the other. We will hear Helen Reiter, his wife, who shared her story in another best of series. But you already might want to know that she joined him the first time in South Africa where is has been living for 15 years. After a couple of years, she decided she wanted to go back home as she couldn’t find a job there that made her happy. In this extract we focus on Manfred’s testimonial on how he experienced giving up his successful business in South Africa to join Helen back to Austria where they both originally comes from. I really enjoyed every bit of what Manfred and Helen shared about their experience in the full version of this episode, great insights on how to keep a relationship healthy in these circumstances, you can find it on www.tandemnomads.com/35

Last but not least, you will hear is a glimpse on Oliver Caudron’s interview in episode 5. Olivier is a life coach. He actually coached me when I arrived in New York and this how I got to meet him! He takes us through his journey how he went from being an actor and theater director to becoming a life coach. He also explains in this extract his perspective on his position as an expat partner. Olivier shares some great practical tips for expat partner who go through career transitions, or want to find their source of happiness. Check out this episode on www.tandemnomads.com/5

This week’s best of series is dedicated to parents abroad and TCKs. You will find extracts with great tips about giving birth, raising and educating kids abroad, but also about building an identity and sense of home when being a TCK.

Karen Wilmot, interviewed in episode 40, is a midwife that created the fantastic concept of The Virtual Midwife. She brings online support for mothers who live far from their support system. She can additionnally offer VIP packages where she flies in once moms are close to giving birth and support them after birth. She also takes part in the first baby center launched in Oman, nine.om. In this extract, she shares some powerful insights about the challenges and solutions for women who become moms and give birth far from their home, without any immediate available support system. There are also many more insights and some very practical tips about giving birth abroad that Karen shares in the full version of this episode, check it out on www.tandemnomads.com/40

In this extract, you will be able to hear the touching testimonial of a young mother abroad, Olga Mecking from episode 45. Olga has three children and is a writer, translator and journalist. She writes for a variety of publications about raising kids abroad, traveling and multiculturism. I also asked Olga to share with us her experience blogging and tell us what has helped her be successful at it, check out her great answers  and the full version of the interview with her on www.tandemnomads.com/45

Once the kids are no longer babies, there comes usually another set of challenges, especially when moving regularly from a country to another. In episode 18, I invited an expert on TCKs school education. Rebecca Grappo, the founder of RNG International Consultants, shares in this extract some great practical tips on how to make the best choices of schools and educational systems for TCKs. Rebecca also shares more insights and tips on TCKs education across the world but also on her own experience as an expat partner who managed to build a portable business. Do not miss her inspiring story on www.tandemnomads.com/18

Fast forward to later on when TCKs grow up, start becoming adults, building their identity and sense of home, there are two very interesting extracts on this topic.

Nicholla Henderson Hall was my first guest on Tandem Nomads! I am so grateful that she trusted me sharing her inspiring story! Nicholla is the founder and host The Learning Curve Podcast, a great podcast where she interviews inspiring women entrepreneurs in the Middle East. In this particular extract, I asked her about her biggest culture shock. It was really interesting to me how she related it with the challenge that I know a lot of TCKs experience when they go back to their passport country. In the full version of this first episode of Tandem Nomads, Nicholla also shares with us her journey as an expat spouse and how she used her natural talent and voice to build a portable business. Check out this episode where you will find all the information about Nicholla on www.tandemnomads.com/1

I interviewed Tayo Rockson on episode 16 where he shares his journey growing up in 5 countries. Tayo is the founder of UYD media and the podcast show As Told by Nomads. In this extract, I selected some of his lessons from growing up in a constantly changing environment and how he decided "to use his difference to make a difference". Tayo shares other great inspiration on the full version of this episode, check it out on www.tandemnomads.com/16

In this Best of Series, I will share with you extracts from the first season's episodes. Each series is dedicated to a specific topic.

In this series we focus on topics related to being a Global Nomad, like adapting to new cultures, building a sense of home when moving regularly from a country to another or dealing with some of the challenges that go with it.

We start with Alison Trainer, a talented Soprano singer and the founder of the private Facebook Group Grumpy Expat. She helps us understand some of the frustrations that expats can experience abroad and how she decided to address this issue. To listen to the full episode where Alison tells us more about her experience and how she created Grumpy Expat go to www.tandemnomads.com/22

We also have extracts with Clara Wiggins, a global nomad who lived across 5 continents and 11 countries. Among many things, she is the author of a great book that I highly recommend that is called the Expat Partner's Survival Guide. As she has researched this topic for her book, I asked her to help us define Culture Shock and give us some tips on how to deal with it. Clara Wiggins shares with us many more great tips in the episode 4 to identify culture shock and deal with it, she also shares with us her own experience with culture shock in the different countries she lived, so don’t hesitate to listen to the full episode on www.tandemnomads.com/4

Naomi Hattaway is the founder of 8th and Home, a housing company for expats around the world. She is also the founder of for the movement I am Triangle, a Facebook group that counts over 5000 members and that keeps growing everyday. The group is designed to bring comfort and sense of belonging to those who traveled fare from home and don’t feel home anymore once they come back. I love Naomi’s positive energy and wisdom, she has many more stories and insights to share on the full version of her episode that you can find on www.tandemnomads.com/8

Last but not least, here is a little glimpse of my conversation with Alison Cavatore, a TCK, global nomad and founder of Global Living Magazine. We discussed the specificities of having a global living lifestyle and why do expats tend to stick together no matter which country they move to, although their expat friends may be from different countries too. I was also asking Alison about her fascinating background and the great story of how she created Global Living Magazine, you can find about more on www.tandemnomads.com/26

I am truly humbled and filled with joy by all the messages I’ve received from listeners and past guests of Tandem Nomads. Thank you for sharing your insights and incredible support! Tandem Nomads wouldn’t exist without you.

Also, Tandem Nomads wouldn’t exist without all of you who are downloading on a daily basis Tandem Nomads podcast episodes and listening to these stories and tips from inspiring expat partners around the world. Thank you!

The 50th episode marks the end of the 1st season. The 2nd season of Tandem Nomads podcast episodes will start in September. However, you will still be able to listen to short episodes during the summer. Previous episodes will be revisited, with some "best offs", and organized by theme for each week. So stay tuned during the summer to enjoy the little nuggets that you might have missed

I can’t wait to continue this journey with you and continue to share ressources and inspiration to help you turn challenges into great opportunities and build your portable career!

In this voice party, I will take few minutes to share with you my future goals for Tandem Nomads. However, you will also hear the voices of these inspiring expat partners who share with you their insights from living abroad and their experience listening to Tandem Nomads episodes.

Here is the list of these lovely ladies <3 and their websites:

Once Upon An Expat

Creavilia

Mothers Abroad

Expat Dream Builders

Money Matters for Globetrotters

Parenting Abroad

World Tree Coaching

Sharing Seeds

Clarity Compass Career Coach