Expatability Chat
47 episodes - English - Latest episode: 5 months ago -Supporting expat parents and partners to navigate their move and life overseas, with Carole Hallett Mobbs: Expat Life Mentor and Consultant, founder of ExpatChild.com
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Episodes
Moving with Teens with The Teen Confidence Coach
November 21, 2023 10:00 - 54 minutes - 30.8 MBMoving overseas with teens - again! As my most downloaded podcast episode last season was about moving abroad with teenagers, I thought it was a good time to bring in an expert! So, this is an absolute mega-episode, where I have brought in the wonderful Emma Cochrane, Teen Confidence Coach. The wisdom and insight she has about this age group of children is astounding. Even if you don't have teens yet, you soon will do! You will be even better placed to prepare your children to move overse...
Expat Homesickness
October 18, 2023 04:00 - 33 minutes - 23 MBHow to cope with feeling homesick as an expat Moving abroad is an exciting adventure filled with new opportunities, cultures, and experiences. An incredibly rich experience, offering opportunities to immerse yourself in a different culture, perhaps learn a new language and make new friends. However, expat life is not without its challenges and there are bound to be a few bumps along the way. One of the most common emotional challenges faced by expats, particularly those who are new ...
Expats and emotional overwhelm: when everything just gets too much.
September 13, 2023 04:00 - 24 minutes - 16.7 MBExpats and emotional overwhelm: when everything just gets too much. It’s all just TOO MUCH! Emotional overwhelm that catches us at times regardless of where you are on your expat journey, whether this is your first move, or your 21st . Emotional overwhelm can hit anyone, at any time, in any place, and wherever you are in your expat journey. It can also be particularly strong at the start of a new school year as you work out new routines, timetables, expectations and challenges. When you...
How to Expat!
August 16, 2023 04:00 - 35 minutes - 24.2 MBSo, you want to move abroad? You're dreaming of retiring overseas? You've had enough of this country's weather/cost of living/government [delete as appropriate]. You want to live somewhere else. But how do you make it happen? And where is the best place for expats, anyway? In this episode I will take you through all kinds of ideas and delve in to the 'Where', 'Why', and most importantly, the 'HOW' to make your expat dream come true, It's never too soon to make plans, but it may be too ...
Stuck Parents - and What to Know Before You Go
July 12, 2023 04:00 - 33 minutes - 21.4 MB“I had to leave my baby in Dubai and return to the UK” No, this isn’t me being dramatic: this is the TRUTH for far too many expat parents. 😭 If you move overseas with your child, then spilt up with your partner, you may not be allowed to return home with your child. Immigration laws may also forbid you from staying in that country. You are stuck between a rock and a hard place. There is no happy ending. In this very special podcast episode I have the greatest honour to interview Roz Os...
Language Learning for Expats
June 14, 2023 04:00 - 32 minutes - 22.3 MBIn this episode I dip my toes in to the world that is learning a new language. With a few quick tips on language learning for both you and your children. Even if you’re moving for just a couple of years or so, you’ll get so much more out of your stay if you can speak the lingo. I’ll share 5 reasons why an expat should learn the local language, however long you’ll be living in that country. And especially if you’re moving to an expat hub – get yourself out of the expat bubble and thrive! ...
How to Prepare for Unpacking Day
May 17, 2023 04:00 - 20 minutes - 14.4 MBHow to prepare to receive your shipment – all the items that you packed into a lorry for container shipping. Or, to be more accurate, Preparing for the day all your shipped items get delivered. Because the actual unpacking takes way longer than a day… How to organise yourself before the lorry arrives so your unpacking day can go as smoothly as possible. What you need to have and do before the unpacking crew arrive. Tip: Don’t panic. And always know where your inventory is… 😉 Get expat ...
From Malawi to Mannequins
April 12, 2023 04:00 - 37 minutes - 24.3 MBFrom Malawi Expat to Mannequin Lady! This episode is a little different from all my others, as for the very first time, I have a guest on my show! This won’t be a regular thing, by the way, which makes it even more special. So, please meet the lovely Roz Edwards! Roz lived in Malawi for 10 years before repatriating, quite suddenly, to the UK back in 2004 with her two sons and four cardboard boxes. We talk about lots of aspects of expat and repat life, such as, raising kids overseas, ent...
How to Find New Friends As an Expat
March 15, 2023 05:00 - 37 minutes - 25 MBHow to build an active and fulfilling social life for yourself overseas. When you live abroad an important element of your life is your social circle; your network, your support system. AKA Friends! “So, no one told you life was gonna be this way” Sometimes we can feel so lonely overseas that it causes big problems such as depression, wanting to go home and more. In fact, a lack of a support network is often cited as the number one reason for expat failure. So, let's prevent this fro...
Moving Overseas for Love
February 14, 2023 05:00 - 18 minutes - 13.1 MBDid you move abroad for love? Long distance love stories for Valentine’s Day! Falling in love with someone while travelling or living in another country can be a magical experience. The thrill of adventure combined with the excitement of a new relationship can create memories that last a lifetime, and a relationship built on a mutual adventurous spirit. People move overseas for many, many reasons. Most move for a better life; however that may look for them. Some move abroad to study. Som...
The Comedown and How to Get Through It
January 11, 2023 05:00 - 35 minutes - 24.3 MBHow to cope with the comedown when you’ve moved overseas. Not long after you’ve arrived in your new country, there comes a time when it suddenly hits you – ‘Oh, is that it? Now what?’ You feel quite down and flat and wonder if you’ve made a terrible mistake. We all know that moving overseas is really exciting. It heralds great change, perhaps the hope of a better future and a better life. To most families it represents a new start in their lives both professionally and personally. But man...
Culture Shock and the Holiday Season
November 16, 2022 05:00 - 27 minutes - 17.3 MBExpect the Unexpected Culture Shock Expats and the Holiday Season These three topic were planned for separate episodes, but life events meant it made sense to see if I could fit them all into one episode, just in time for the Holidays! I think I succeeded 🤪 I wanted to talk about how strange and different, and sometimes upsetting these special holidays can be for expats living away from their home countries and families. And the reason these special, family-oriented dates feel so differ...
Expat Guilt
October 19, 2022 04:00 - 21 minutes - 14.7 MBExpat Guilt. The one topic guaranteed to fire some people up, the one topic that’s tormenting many of my readers, my groups, my tribe. The topic that gets the most attention, the most comments, the most bitterness, the most sadness and causes every shade of angst you can possibly imagine. Expat guilt can ruin your life overseas as you’re so busy thinking of others that you can’t truly live your own life. But you're not alone - believe me! Discover what expat guilt is about, what it’s for,...
Expats and Emergencies Back Home
September 21, 2022 04:00 - 22 minutes - 14.6 MBThe very worst part of expat life. The Dreaded Phone Call telling you of the death of a loved one back home. And yes, this episode was prompted, and triggered, by the death of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth 2nd, as it came less than a week after the funeral of our own family member. That Dreaded Phone Call triggers a whole heap of thoughts and emotions, that pile on quicker than your brain can process. When you're living overseas and receive that call, the world feels huge and impassable, ...
Reverse Culture Shock and The Ex-Expat Club
August 17, 2022 04:00 - 20 minutes - 14.3 MBTalking about reverse culture shock; the peculiar, alienating feeling you get when you move back home after living the expat life. And I do realise that I’ve not actually spoken about normal culture shock on this podcast yet (that’s a topic for the future!) but I wanted to get this one in now after the visiting home episode last month. Because a form of reverse culture shock can hit you even when you make a short visit to your home country after moving overseas. I’ll tell you what revers...
Planning a Trip to Your Home Country
July 20, 2022 04:00 - 17 minutes - 12 MBVisiting your home country, maybe for the first time since you moved overseas, and how to plan it so you don’t have a nervous breakdown or fall out with everyone! For many expats this is the first opportunity you’ve had to visit your home country since the world turned upside down: since it shut down due to the COVID pandemic. Now the world is rebooting and you’re planning a visit to your home country – maybe for the first time since you moved abroad and will see your families and friends f...
Welcome Back! A Bit About Me and Expatability
June 27, 2022 04:00 - 20 minutes - 14.2 MBStarting season 2 of the Expatability Chat Podcast with an episode all about me! Giving you a little insight into me, my life and what I do. Plus an explanation of what Expatability is, what that word actually means. Yes, I should have explained all that when I first started my expat podcast back in 2020 but I forgot! I also explain why I use the word ‘expat’ when it still upsets a lot of people – it will make sense when you listen, I promise. And I reveal a couple of case studies that g...
Moving Abroad with Teenagers
April 12, 2021 00:00 - 30 minutes - 20.1 MBHow to help your expat teen cope with moving A teenager is a young person in a transitional life phase – and you’re adding another transitional life phase on top of all this with the move abroad! This can be 'interesting'! Adolescence can be tricky at the best of times. However, if a teen is moved from their comfort zone and close friends without a lot of preparation and discussion, this stage of development can be more difficult to handle while in a strange place. Learn why moving is hard...
How to Prepare Kids for Moving Overseas
March 29, 2021 00:00 - 30 minutes - 21.1 MBFor very young children, moving house can be very hard indeed. They have become accustomed to their home, their room, their friends and their routines and to leave all this can throw them into confusion. Try to see life from a child’s-eye view. Without the benefit of years of life experience, with some extra imagination and knowing YOUR child’s foibles. The world of a child is unexpectedly complex and the things they worry about are not always the things we might expect. Added to this, the...
When is the Best Time to Move Abroad with Kids?
March 15, 2021 01:00 - 32 minutes - 22.6 MBMoving abroad with children; what to expect, how to prepare them and how to support them. When I started writing ExpatChild.com back in 2012 there wasn’t much information on moving overseas with kids. As I wanted a kind of guidebook to relocating with children, I decided to write one myself! This episode will be the start of a kind of series about this very topic: how to help your children have a smooth move into expat life. We all want the best for our children, and we all want them to e...
Living With Uncertainty
March 01, 2021 01:00 - 29 minutes - 20.4 MBLive and Thrive in These Uncertain Times Dealing with uncertainty: how to regain a sense of control when everything feels so up in the air. Not only are we dealing with ‘unprecedented’ times, we are also dealing with a huge amount of uncertainty on a daily basis. Uncertainty about the future is normal; we cannot see what is likely to happen in our lives. These days, however, we are also living with uncertainty about the present, which causes all kinds of horrible feelings and emotions. ...
It's The Final Countdown (to Packing Day)
February 15, 2021 01:00 - 25 minutes - 17.1 MBPacking Day! It’s the final countdown. Don’t worry, I’m not singing anywhere in this episode! Starting from about 3 weeks before Packing Day with advice, hints and tips on what needs doing now. Including a few items to make sure you get now. Then some experienced tips on how to make Packing Day run smoothly for both you and your packing crew. Plus how to cope with the big day itself. Once that’s done, the hardest part is over, and you’re on you first leg of the journey to your new, expa...
Paperwork and The In-Home Survey
February 01, 2021 01:00 - 24 minutes - 16.9 MBSorting out Your Paperwork and What to Note During Your In-Home Survey Two distinct but connected topics as your path towards Packing Day is one way; and it’s coming up soon. You may be a supremely organised person who deals promptly and efficiently with all your paperwork as soon as you have some. Or you may be like me; stuffing it randomly into a drawer to file another day… most likely, that ‘another day’ is when you next have to move house… The first part of this episode is all about o...
Clearing the Clutter
January 18, 2021 01:00 - 29 minutes - 19 MBDecluttering Before a Move Overseas Or just decluttering... you don't need to be moving home to have an occasional clear out of excess 'stuff'. Decluttering is actually stage one of your preparation to move overseas! Start as soon as you know you’re moving abroad. Whether that’s two years in advance or two months. Getting started is often the hardest part. With tips, tricks and advice from someone who hates decluttering, but has had to do it often! Find out how to declutter with kids ar...
Happy New Year!
January 04, 2021 01:00 - 25 minutes - 17.8 MBHappy New Year! Well done on making it to 2021 – possibly the most anticipated and longed for year in history. A brief look back at 2020 and a couple of things I learned about myself. Also, an introduction to something I call The Expat Blues, which can hit many of us – expat or not, to be frank, around this time of year. A melancholia about the end of the holiday season. I’ll give you a couple of tips on how to shake off this rather flat feeling. You may also feel a need; a somewhat sel...
An Expat Christmas
December 07, 2020 01:00 - 19 minutes - 12.4 MBWell, it’s December. What a year this has been. And there is no denying that it’s been probably the most difficult year most of us have ever experienced. Christmas overseas in general is a bit weird if you’ve spent most of your previous Christmases in your home country. And this is often a difficult period for expats, due to expectations from our families in our home country and the pressure we put on ourselves to try to make everyone happy. We often place a lot of significance on this fes...
Finding your New Home Overseas
November 30, 2020 01:00 - 21 minutes - 14.8 MBTips for finding your ideal home overseas Something I’d highly recommend is to move into somewhere temporarily. It’s a great way to trial run the neighbourhood you are considering. Spend a few weeks or months getting settled into the country and the lay of the land and work out where and how you want to live. If you’re prepared to live out of boxes for a while, then you can take your time to find the perfect home with some detailed local research. It’s not just about choosing the right p...
Know Before You Go - The Legal Stuff
November 16, 2020 01:00 - 28 minutes - 19.6 MBSome of the legal aspects of moving and living overseas. Vital information on what you need to know before you move overseas, from a legal point of view. Including crucial information about moving overseas with your children. What you need to know before you move abroad with kids, in relation to international law on habitual residence, The Hague Convention, and paperwork needed when travelling with your children. Taking a look at your relationship and whether it will be recognised in you...
How to Choose a School Overseas
November 02, 2020 01:00 - 37 minutes - 26 MBAn overview of the main types of expat education options available and how to choose the right one for your child. Tips and advice on what to keep in mind when choosing a school abroad. Do you choose a local school or an international school? Home education or virtual school? How to find a school for your SEN child and more! Sometimes parents put too much emphasis on trying to find a ‘good’ school. This is very hard to judge as a parent as it depends on the curriculum, the teachers and dif...
Choosing a removal company for your move overseas
October 26, 2020 01:00 - 25 minutes - 17.4 MBChoosing a removal company for your move overseas How do you find the best international removal companies? How much is a removal company? How do you know you are choosing a reputable firm? Start looking early! Plan a long way ahead because there is a lot involved. And don’t go for the cheapest option. There’s more to this big move than price. Tips on the extras to look out for, so you’re not taken by surprise later on. You've got an awful lot on right now, and moving house is one of t...
The Proactive Expat Partner
October 19, 2020 00:00 - 27 minutes - 18.9 MBWhy being proactive is important for the accompanying expat partner Don't live as a shadow in somebody else’s life. Live your own life; one that feels right to you. As an expat partner, the emphasis is on you being proactive. Why? Because all the people you’re (hopefully) meeting will probably already have established lives. They aren’t waiting for you to slot into their lives, so you must be the proactive one; to go out there and make friends and create your life. You simply can’t just r...
The Expat Partner's Identity
October 12, 2020 00:00 - 26 minutes - 18.5 MBWhy being the expat partner makes such a difference and what extra challenges the accompanying expat partner faces. These challenges can lead to a loss of confidence and a rapidly disappearing self-identity. To start with, we get labelled as ‘the trailing spouse’… We don’t like that. Our identity is immediately stripped from us and we are given a demeaning and disempowering label. We are so much more than a label. However, some communities consider the label itself to be the sole cause o...
Expat Mental Health
October 05, 2020 00:00 - 26 minutes - 18 MBExpats are at double the risk of mental health conditions compared to people who never move abroad. And over half of those who are unhappy living abroad say that not having a personal support network in the host country contributes to their unhappiness. We have great hopes for our new expat life, but reality often lets us down. We realise that expat life is not the Instaperfect dream we expected and this can hurt. Expat life is an emotional rollercoaster. Many say it, many agree – you have ...
Plan Your Packing
September 28, 2020 00:00 - 24 minutes - 16.7 MBHow to organise your packing and shipments efficiently An overview of how to organise your possessions into the different transportation options you have for your move overseas. Tips on what to pack into shipping containers, air freight, luggage and carry-on. Plus information about taking your vehicle overseas. Get expat life support at every stage of your expat journey - from home to away and back again! Join The Expatability Club: the one-stop-shop for everything expat. Plan And Pac...
Nailing Your 'Look-See' Trip
September 21, 2020 00:00 - 18 minutes - 12.9 MBHow to make the most of your look-see trip The "Look-See" Trip is an exploratory visit to the country you’re moving to - an exploratory visit or a pre-location visit. It is important to make sure that your look-see trip is planned efficiently so you can get as much done as possible on the visit There’s a lot to achieve in a relatively small period of time, so I hope this guide will help you to make a fool-proof plan. Hopefully, you'll come away from the "Look-See" trip armed with valuabl...
Decision Fatigue and Expats
September 14, 2020 00:00 - 23 minutes - 15.9 MBDecision, Decisions, Decisions! Making the decision to move overseas in the first place is huge; it starts with ‘should we stay or should we go?’ And just spirals from there. All this decision-making pressure can become too much, particularly when we are moving overseas and there are so many unknowns to factor in. We make between 1000-5000 decisions every single, normal day. Which is why making extra, life-changing choices on top of leads to O.M.G ARRRGH! Or, to give it an official name,...
Researching Your New Life Overseas
September 07, 2020 00:00 - 29 minutes - 20 MBHow to research effectively I expect the first thing you did as soon as you heard you may be moving overseas was to start researching your potential destination. Sounds obvious, but you would be surprised at how many people make assumptions about a country and don’t bother to research it. People who make the most successful transition abroad are those who are fully prepared and have done their research. You need to work out if a country will be a good fit for all members of your family....
What to Expect When You're Expatting
August 31, 2020 00:00 - 28 minutes - 19.7 MBWhat to expect when you’re expatting. And why preparation is SO important to prevent the possibility of ‘expat failure’, ie returning home sooner than expected. There’s obviously a lot more to this topic than I’ve covered in this episode, however, any information is better than no information in this subject! Being properly prepared for expat life, and going into it with an open mind, managed expectations and reining in your assumptions will give you a really good basis for making your exp...
Overcome Overwhelm
August 24, 2020 01:00 - 26 minutes - 18.2 MBOverwhelm - that paralysing feeling you get when you look at the huge amount of stuff you need to do before you move and have the pressure to get it all finished in time. Being overwhelmed and exhausted leads to poor decision-making. You have too many decisions to make, and a finite time in which to make them, and that can cause ‘decision fatigue’. Overwhelm is an emotion caused by feeling out of control and unable to manage your circumstances. I can help you manage all of this. In this e...
Happy kids = happy mum!
August 17, 2020 01:00 - 15 minutes - 10.5 MBJust a quick episode today – all about how to settle your kids quickly into their new home overseas and how to recognise culture shock in children. There’s a saying that “a happy mother means happy children”, and that is true. However, when you first arrive in a new house, it’s much easier for mother to be happy if the kids aren’t playing up. On the whole, most children are more resilient to change than adults. However, culture shock can strike children in its own special way. The more ...
Moving overseas with pets
August 10, 2020 01:00 - 22 minutes - 15.6 MBHow to move overseas with your pets Moving abroad with pets can be done; it’s not really difficult, but you need to think this through this very carefully for both you, your family and your pets’ well-being. Pet relocation is not a cheap undertaking, and the paperwork can be an absolute nightmare. And it’s not something that can be planned at the last minute. Some countries have a process as long as six months in advance of the move, sometimes more if you haven’t kept up to date with cert...
First Day of School Tips
August 03, 2020 01:00 - 26 minutes - 18 MBTips for starting a new school, returning to school after the COVID lockdown interruption and advice for helping your child start school after home education. Starting a new school is very daunting. Starting a new school in another country can be even more overwhelming. Sharing tips to help make the first day of school a less stressful event for your child AND you! Also, taking a look at how you can help your home-schooled child move smoothly into formal education. My book, ‘Expat Educati...
Arriving Well
July 27, 2020 01:00 - 22 minutes - 15.4 MBThe key to success from the start of your expat life is to prepare before you leave your current home. With insider tips on what to pack in your suitcases to make sure your entire family settle quickly to expert advice on what to do in the first day or so after arriving at your destination. The tips and tricks in this episode will ensure you’re ready to hit the ground running in your new home country, and help you and your family’s smooth transition to expat life. For a one to one chat ab...
Expats and Isolation
July 20, 2020 01:00 - 22 minutes - 15.8 MBThis episode is dedicated to everyone who is feeling isolated right now – expat or not. I’ve been hearing from many expats recently that this topic - isolation - is particularly poignant right now. And this goes for recent repats, and non-expats too, of course. When you move overseas, you’re expecting a fabulous new life. Moving overseas is exciting. It heralds great change; perhaps the hope of a better future. To most families it represents a new start in their lives both professionally a...
Before You Say 'Yes' to a Move Overseas
July 13, 2020 00:00 - 28 minutes - 19.9 MBBefore you say yes to a move overseas. Conversations to have with your partner before going for an international assignment. Most problems arise from assumptions and unfounded expectations. So deal with those before you agree to move. Maybe you're not completely 100% sure about this massive decision just yet. Maybe you’re not sure if expat life is right for you? Maybe you have concerns about the destination? Perhaps it’s a timing issue? Have you discussed the future? What happens once...
Covid, Lockdown and Culture Shock
July 06, 2020 07:00 - 16 minutes - 11.6 MBExploring the culture shock of COVID19, lockdown and comfort zones. In the past few months, life around the globe has changed beyond recognition as an invisible and deadly enemy has forced us all into varying degrees of lockdown. The dramatic changes to our daily lives caused by the COVID19 pandemic happened so fast that we didn’t have much time to contemplate the effect it would have on us, leaving us feeling shaken, afraid, and disoriented. Nothing could have prepared most people for th...
Repatriation Blues
June 29, 2020 19:00 - 37 minutes - 25.5 MB“Every goodbye calls for preparation, but most times, life takes us by surprise.” - Elisabetta Gnone Repatriation after an expat assignment is hard for everyone. It's even more difficult when your move back home is unexpected, unplanned, and unwanted. This time of year (June/July) is traditionally the time expat families move on. But this year, the COVID19 pandemic has forced many expats to move back home suddenly, without notice and with little time to plan. So, this first Expatability...