The Expat Repat Podcast Lindsey McLean

Katia is an experienced expat, coach and speaker. Her advice is essential for first time expats, seasoned expats and repeats alike. She walks you through the critical preliminary decision making stages using 5 core principles as guideposts. Katia and I talked about the best and worst ages to move with children, she shared with me her philosophy on the importance of the preliminary decision stage of a move - regardless of whether that is a move away from, or back to one's "home", and she shared with me her theory on what home means and why it's so important for each of us to really know what we're talking about when we talk about home.
You can learn more about Katia at her website: www.katiavlachos.com
And purchase her book here: https://amzn.to/2RIKgE5
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Read my blog, Swiss Lark: www.swisslark.com
If you have an idea for an episode, or would like to be a guest on the show, please email me on expatrepat@gmail.com or reach out on Twitter @expatrepat.
Consider becoming a Patreon member at www.patreon.com/expatrepat and don't forget to subscribe, rate AND review wherever you get your podcasts. Of course, share with your friends. Thank you for listening!

In this Mini, I read a blog post "Repat: Would Visits Be Enough?" that was published on my blog, Swiss Lark, on July 30, 2018. I chose this post for today because I'm actually feeling a great deal of trepidation regarding my upcoming visit to Zurich in January. I started a conversation about visits home as an expat, or visits back to our expat home as a repat, on Instagram. Given the responses and how this is such a clearly charged issue, this seemed like a good post to share in read-aloud story format. Enjoy!
So that we can stay connected between episodes, please:
Join the Expat Repat mailing list: https://forms.gle/6Y3644HCqaWCwBfA8
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Follow the Expat Repat Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/expatrepatpod/
Join the Expat Repat Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/expatrepat
Read my blog, Swiss Lark: www.swisslark.com
If you have an idea for an episode, or would like to be a guest on the show, please email me on expatrepat@gmail.com or reach out on Twitter @expatrepat.
Consider becoming a Patreon member at www.patreon.com/expatrepat and don't forget to subscribe, rate AND review wherever you get your podcasts. Of course, share with your friends. Thank you for listening!

Jessica Drucker went to study abroad in Costa Rica as a student at the University of Illinois and didn't return to live in the US for 15 years! During that time she lived in Guatemala, The UK, Germany and then spent 8 years traveling all over the world as a travel blogger.
When extenuating circumstances led to a hasty return to the US from Cusco, Peru, in 2014, Jessica found herself confronted with all sorts of American adulting that she had never known until that point. Getting an apartment, health insurance and even a phone were all new. However, within about six months, it hit her that she was back.
Through self-care, therapy and a lot of self-help, Jessica grew and attained the next level of herself and self awareness. She married, became a parent and wrote her first book, Why You Should Move Abroad and Why It's the Best Thing You'll Do, coming out in January 2020.
You'll love Jessica's earnest talk about what it means to come home, not only to your country, but to yourself.
Learn more about Jessica and her book at www.jessicadrucker.com
Resources from today's episode:
- Tara Brach www.instagram.com/tarabrach
- Psychology Today Therapist Finder www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists
If you're enjoying The Expat Repat Podcast, join our mailing list: https://forms.gle/PWtamNdPa8vVw28SA
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Don't forget to share with your friends, and do subscribe, rate AND review wherever you get your podcasts. Thank you for listening!

This week, I'm sharing with you a post from my blog, Swiss Lark, which Rhiannon referred to in last week's episode. Rhiannon described finding my blog during her repatriation like "finding a pot of gold!" and it was this post that I'm reading aloud for today's mini episode that she first found through a random Google search.
If you'd like to see the photos that accompany the post as well as all of my other posts from our time as expats, and since becoming repats, just go to www.swisslark.com
And if you're enjoying Expat Repat, please remember to subscribe, rate AND review! And consider joining our Patreon campaign. To learn more, just visit www.patreon.com/expatrepat Thank you so much for listening!

Rhiannon is an Australian-Swiss dual citizen who left the land down under to move to Switzerland directly after finishing school. Many years, a Swiss partner and some life experience later, she felt immense pressure to return to Australia and obtain a degree as she had always planned to do.
With a countdown set on her phone, Rhiannon enrolled in a midwifery course, and then for one reason and another, her repatriation ended up lasting way longer than she had originally planned. Because she had not expected for repatting to be so difficult or painful, Rhiannon took to the internet and happened upon my blog around three years ago. Thankfully for both of us, a virtual connection centered on a shared struggle was formed.
Rhiannon and I talked about how we get comfortable where we are and the reality of confronting what we must in turn give up when we make a move; she got into the nitty gritty of the comparison trap that is so impossible to avoid when first repatriating. And, finally, Rhiannon shared her best advice for expats preparing to repatriate back home, including what to do if you discover that moving back home wasn't the right move for you.
If you're enjoying Expat Repat and the show is worth a cup of coffee or a nice cocktail to you (and I think it probably is!) then please join our Patreon campaign. Just go to www.patreon.com/expatrepat to enroll. Thank you in advance!
And, if you're curious to see my blog after today's episode, just head on over to www.swisslark.com to read up on my time in Switzerland and to see all of my posts on repatriation.
Thank you so much for listening, and don't forget to subscribe, rate AND review wherever you get your podcasts!

Lindsey takes a trip down memory lane, looking at old videos and photos from their time in Switzerland. In doing so, she realizes that this is something she never does, and ponders why.
As expats and repats, we share many commonalities. One big one is that we learn to erase our expat lives after we return home. Does this sound familiar to you? Do you avoid photos and videos of your time abroad, too?
If you're enjoying The Expat Repat Podcast, please consider becoming a patron and making a monthly contribution to keep the show going. Learn more at www.patreon.com/expatrepat. Thank you so much for listening and don't forget to subscribe, rate and review. And share with your friends!