ME29: From Surviving to Thriving Abroad! (With Guest: Louise Wiles)

Today’s Mindful Expat Guest is Louise Wiles!

Louise is an expat coach who works with international assignees, expat partners, and international organizations to help expats and their families not only survive but thrive in their lives abroad!

Louise is originally from the UK, but she has spent much of the last 18 years living in Spain and Portugal. Three years ago, she repatriated back to England with her husband and 2 daughters.

When Louise first moved abroad for her husband’s career, she left behind a corporate career of her own, so she is intimately familiar with the challenges that dual career couples face when deciding to move abroad and navigating their expat experience. Along with her (former) business partner, Evelyn Simpson, both trained coaches, she began a business called Thriving Abroad, to help expat partners and expat assignees navigate these challenges and create a life they love.

Louise also has her own podcast, also called Thriving Abroad, where she interviews guests and covers topics related to helping expats face personal and professional challenges in their lives abroad, and I highly encourage you to check it out.

What you’ll hear in this episode:

• About Louise's experience of navigating multiple overseas moves and her professional journey of creating her coaching business, supporting expats and expat partners.
• The importance of our expectations and really thinking through our decision to move abroad ahead of time.
• Some tips for people already living abroad who feel like they're in survival mode to help make the shift from just surviving to actually thriving in their lives overseas! 

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Early in our discussion, Louise mentions a book (although not by name) having to do with building a portable business. The book she is referring to is called A Career In Your Suitcase, by Jo Parfitt and Colleen Reichrath-Smith.
• Louise mentions some of the work of social psychologist Barbara Frederickson on positivity. To learn more about some of her work, you can check out her website, book (Positivity: Groundbreaking Research Reveals How to Embrace the Hidden Strength of Positive Emotions, Overcome Negativity, and Thrive), or this TED Talk.
• Louise also mentioned the book The Mobile Life, by Diane Lemieux and Anne Parker.
• Louise also mentions some research on the importance of morning routines. To learn more about some of this research, check out this article from

More about Louise and how to follow up with her:

To learn more about Louise and her coaching business, Thriving Abroad, you can visit her website at www.thrivingabroad.com.

To check out her book that recently came out (co-authored by Evelyn Simpson), you can read more on the website or find it here on Amazon.

You can also follow Louise's Thriving Abroad podcast here on iTunes.

You can also find Louise on Facebook or Twitter, and you can email her directly at [email protected].

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