My Life Abroad Story
From Expat to Immigrant — and Everything In Between
I can still remember getting on that plane to Paris in the summer of 2000.
I had just said some very emotional goodbyes to my family, and as I looked ahead to a new life overseas, I felt an overwhelming mix of sadness, excitement, and uncertainty.
It felt like life was full of endless possibilities. And it was.
Over the past 25+ years, life abroad has been an experience like no other.
I’ve built a life I never could have imagined at the start of that journey.
I’ve found fulfilling work, made meaningful connections, and moved through multiple chapters of life along the way.
I married — and later divorced — my best friend.
I built a career in advertising, then experienced burnout that led me to completely reinvent myself.
I’ve navigated the loss of friendships, grieved loved ones from afar, and learned to live with chronic illness.
All while living abroad.
Looking back, I eventually realized that many of the hardest parts of life abroad had very little to do with the country itself.
They happened during the transitions. The periods where life was changing.
When I was building something new. Letting go of something old.
Or trying to find my footing again after a major life event.
What surprised me was that even when life looked like it was moving in the right direction, I didn't always feel at home in it.
And over time, I started noticing the same pattern in other expats and immigrants.
People who had learned the language. Built careers. Started families.
Created lives abroad that looked successful from the outside.
Yet privately found themselves questioning things they were once sure about.
Including whether moving abroad had been the right decision after all.
That's what eventually led me to develop the Life Abroad Integration Gap™: the space between functioning abroad and truly feeling at home there.
Because adaptation and integration aren't the same thing.
You can learn how to live abroad and still struggle to feel at home in the life you're building there.
If any of this feels familiar, you're not the only one who's experienced it.
Many expats and immigrants spend months — sometimes years — trying to understand why life abroad doesn't feel the way they thought it would.
You don't have to keep trying to figure it out on your own.
If you'd like support navigating this phase and building a life abroad that truly feels like home, I'd love to hear from you.