A blog about the good expat life

Guest posts occasionally bring perspectives and expertise that differ from my own work as a psychotherapist and expat therapist. I believe there is value in exploring different lenses on expat life – including financial, practical, and logistical realities that can shape a family’s experience abroad. The article below was written by guest contributor Camille Dubois for NetLifeValue and is shared here in its original form. The views, financial interpretations, statistics, and

When I first moved abroad, I thought I was prepared. I had the language. I had the professional identity. I knew how to build a life. What I had not anticipated was the quiet, relational impact of living between cultures. The way that your sense of self shifts depending on where you are. The way belonging becomes layered and, at times, fragile. The way your nervous system has to work harder when everything familiar is no longer around you. Having lived as an expat in three di

Living abroad can look exciting from the outside: new places, new languages, new people, new possibilities. And it truly can be all of that. But having lived abroad myself for many years, I also know how quietly heavy expat life can feel. One of the things that surprised me most was loneliness that didn’t always look like loneliness. I could be busy, productive, surrounded by people – and still feel deeply unseen. Not because anyone was unkind, but because connection often ta

Introduction Before moving abroad, did you ever think about the concept of identity? Did you ever consider what it may feel like to have this shattered all over the place and to feel at a total loss? If you are anything like me and most of my clients, then probably not – yet, it’s likely that you are sat abroad feeling confused, scared, fragmented, and at a loss of what’s going on and what to do about it – perhaps you are even considering if moving abroad was the biggest mi

Story Time: hearing personal stories from other expats is a window to new worlds. Worlds of new meaning, understanding, and depth about ourselves, each other, and lived experiences – in other words, it’s a window to life! In this case, expat life in its many ways, shapes, and forms. The story of this blogpost takes us to depression and loneliness that can follow a divorce abroad when you are not able to relocate with your child(ren). “We are all storytellers. We all live

Story Time: hearing personal stories from other expats is a window to new worlds. Worlds of new meaning, understanding, and depth about...

... unfortunately, isn't always the adventure that you had hoped it to be. This blogpost will explore why and what to do to prevent...

Being a mum is one of the most challenging and rewarding roles in life – I imagine being a dad is the other one! Before motherhood, if...

Story Time: hearing personal stories from other expats is a window to new worlds. Worlds of new meaning, understanding, and depth about...

Story Time: hearing personal stories from other expats is a window to new worlds. Worlds of new meaning, understanding, and depth about...

Story Time: hearing personal stories from other expats is a window to new worlds. Worlds of new meaning, understanding, and depth about...