742 episodes
The Bittersweet Life Expat, Repat, Travel, Rome, Seattle, Books, Art, Italy, Wonder
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- Society & Culture
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5.0 • 11 Ratings
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Life doesn't have a script. At least, it doesn't have to. Hosts Katy Sewall and Tiffany Parks explore the challenges and joys of moving abroad and moving home. Whether you’re living overseas, or not — or not yet — join us weekly for unadulterated conversation. Get to know Rome. Laugh at our embarrassments and insights. Most of all, imagine the possibilities for your own life (and meet some famous authors along the way).
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Episode 528: Going Native
What happens when an expat "goes native"? How long does it take, and is it inevitable? Is it a conscious choice or does it just happen?
Today we chat about this idea, and Tiffany lays out the ways she has gone native—eschewing American culture and habits entirely in favor of Italian ones—as well as the aspects of Italian life that she staunchly resists and rejects, even after two decades in the country.
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ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started.
BECOME A PATRON: Pledge your monthly support of The Bittersweet Life and receive awesome prizes in return for your generosity! Visit our Patreon site to find out more.
TIP YOUR PODCASTER: Say thanks with a one-time donation to the podcast hosts you know and love. Click here to send financial support via PayPal. (You can also find a Donate button on the desktop version of our website.) The show needs your support to continue.
START PODCASTING: If you are planning to start your own podcast, consider Libsyn for your hosting service! Use this affliliate link to get two months free, or use our promo code SWEET when you sign up.
SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode. Click here to find us on a variety of podcast apps.
WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.
JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email here. You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Tag #thebittersweetlife with your expat story for a chance to be featured!
NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET
BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.
TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!
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Episode 527: Moving to Rome—Sight Unseen (with Brie Ripley)
Would you move across the world to a country without ever having been there?
That's what this week's guest did. We sit down with Brie Ripley to talk about her decision to take a 4-year contract with the World Food Program, which meant a relocation to Rome—a city she had never even visited.
She talks about the challenges of adjusting to life abroad as a brand-new expat, struggling to speak the language, searching for an apartment, missing her new husband who will be joining her soon, and quickly acquiring an unquenchable dependence on espresso.
She also talks about what it was like to move her cats here, and how that came with its own set of challenges.
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ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started.
BECOME A PATRON: Pledge your monthly support of The Bittersweet Life and receive awesome prizes in return for your generosity! Visit our Patreon site to find out more.
TIP YOUR PODCASTER: Say thanks with a one-time donation to the podcast hosts you know and love. Click here to send financial support via PayPal. (You can also find a Donate button on the desktop version of our website.) The show needs your support to continue.
START PODCASTING: If you are planning to start your own podcast, consider Libsyn for your hosting service! Use this affliliate link to get two months free, or use our promo code SWEET when you sign up.
SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode. Click here to find us on a variety of podcast apps.
WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.
JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email here. You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Tag #thebittersweetlife with your expat story for a chance to be featured!
NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET
BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.
TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!
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Episode 526: An Unbelievable Discovery in Rome!
An exciting discovery out of Rome has recently rocked the archeological community! We have the details on this week's episode.
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ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started.
BECOME A PATRON: Pledge your monthly support of The Bittersweet Life and receive awesome prizes in return for your generosity! Visit our Patreon site to find out more.
TIP YOUR PODCASTER: Say thanks with a one-time donation to the podcast hosts you know and love. Click here to send financial support via PayPal. (You can also find a Donate button on the desktop version of our website.) The show needs your support to continue.
START PODCASTING: If you are planning to start your own podcast, consider Libsyn for your hosting service! Use this affliliate link to get two months free, or use our promo code SWEET when you sign up.
SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode. Click here to find us on a variety of podcast apps.
WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.
JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email here. You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Tag #thebittersweetlife with your expat story for a chance to be featured!
NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET
BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.
TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!
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Episode 525: A Question of Season
Last week we talked—among other things—about what it would be like if the year started in March, as it used to do in ancient Rome.
This got us thinking about seasons and how they effect our lives.
On this week's episode we talk about what we love about certain seasons, how where you live can vastly affect how you experience the seasons (and therefore which ones you prefer), and the drawbacks of living in a place without distinct seasons.
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ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started.
BECOME A PATRON: Pledge your monthly support of The Bittersweet Life and receive awesome prizes in return for your generosity! Visit our Patreon site to find out more.
TIP YOUR PODCASTER: Say thanks with a one-time donation to the podcast hosts you know and love. Click here to send financial support via PayPal. (You can also find a Donate button on the desktop version of our website.) The show needs your support to continue.
START PODCASTING: If you are planning to start your own podcast, consider Libsyn for your hosting service! Use this affliliate link to get two months free, or use our promo code SWEET when you sign up.
SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode. Click here to find us on a variety of podcast apps.
WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.
JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email here. You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Tag #thebittersweetlife with your expat story for a chance to be featured!
NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET
BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.
TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!
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Episode 524: What if New Year's Were in March?
Is early January—the deepest, bleakest, darkest moment of winter—really the best time to make New Year's Resolutions? Isn't early spring a more fortuitous time for new beginnings? (And did you know that March used to be the first month of the year?)
We mull this and other season-related questions on this episode (including a check-in to see how Tiffany and Katy are getting on with their resolutions for this year).
We also talk about what we love about certain seasons, how where you live can vastly affect how you experience the seasons (and therefore which ones you prefer), and the drawbacks of living in a place without distinct seasons.
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ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started.
BECOME A PATRON: Pledge your monthly support of The Bittersweet Life and receive awesome prizes in return for your generosity! Visit our Patreon site to find out more.
TIP YOUR PODCASTER: Say thanks with a one-time donation to the podcast hosts you know and love. Click here to send financial support via PayPal. (You can also find a Donate button on the desktop version of our website.) The show needs your support to continue.
START PODCASTING: If you are planning to start your own podcast, consider Libsyn for your hosting service! Use this affliliate link to get two months free, or use our promo code SWEET when you sign up.
SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode. Click here to find us on a variety of podcast apps.
WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.
JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email here. You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Tag #thebittersweetlife with your expat story for a chance to be featured!
NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET
BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.
TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!
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Episode 523: Legacy and Loss (with Kaila Merrill)
Today we explore a story of one woman whose family legacy—in particular her close relationship with her mother whom she lost suddenly to cancer—brought about a life pivot that she was never expecting.
Kaila Merrill joins us today to tell her moving story, from growing up in tiny island town in northern Vermont to a carefree life on the beaches of Australia where she met her future husband, to her whirlwind wedding on Lake Como—one of the last joyful moments she was able to share with her mom—to realizing, while she greived her loss, that her destiny was to run an agrigurismo in Umbria with her Italian husband.
Join us for this insightful, vulnerable, and touching interview.
Stay at Kaila and her husband Ludovico's agritursimo, Poggio Belvedere, or let hem help you plan the most unforgettable Umbrian vacation at Vero in Italy.
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ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started.
BECOME A PATRON: Pledge your monthly support of The Bittersweet Life and receive awesome prizes in return for your generosity! Visit our Patreon site to find out more.
TIP YOUR PODCASTER: Say thanks with a one-time donation to the podcast hosts you know and love. Click here to send financial support via PayPal. (You can also find a Donate button on the desktop version of our website.) The show needs your support to continue.
START PODCASTING: If you are planning to start your own podcast, consider Libsyn for your hosting service! Use this affliliate link to get two months free, or use our promo code SWEET when you sign up.
SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode. Click here to find us on a variety of podcast apps.
WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.
JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email here. You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Tag #thebittersweetlife with your expat story for a chance to be featured!
NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET
BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.
TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!
Customer Reviews
Like listening to my friends
I’ve been listening to this podcast for a while now and recently subscribed as it brings so much pleasure to my days. I love the interesting things that are covered and the interaction between Tiffany and Katy. Although I’ve never spoken to them they feel like friends.
Sweet sweet life
Thank you ladies for taking me along on your journey. I first found you when my dream of living in Italy seemed so far off. But your podcast soothed my impatient soul and now in 2020 I find myself living in Lucca, Tuscany.
My Italian escape
I would love to give these 2 ladies more than 5/5. I only discovered the podcasts a few months ago, and since then I have been listening to them on my way too and from work. I have a variety of podcasts that I listen to about life in Italy, but this podcast is more that that. It’s entertaining, thought provoking, but with just the right amount of Italian flavour...I particularly love the episode when they are interviewing on the street and Tiffany starts chatting in Italian...that’s my end goal to be able to do that. Thanks girls, keep up the awesome work!