749 episodes

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).

The Bittersweet Life Expat, Repat, Travel, Rome, Seattle, Books, Art, Italy, Wonder

    • Society & Culture
    • 5.0 • 2 Ratings

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).

    Episode 534: Trying Something New: It's Supposed to Be Hard

    Episode 534: Trying Something New: It's Supposed to Be Hard

    The difficulty is the point.
    How often have we been seduced into thinking that something we've never tried must be easy, simply because experts make it look that way?
    On this episode, we talk about the new things we've recently tried, and how often we underestimated how difficult they would be.
    As Katy dips her toes into the art of pottery, she learns that failing is a crucial part of the learning process.
    If you liked this episode, don't miss Episode 517: Could You Miss Discovering Your Passion?
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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!
     

    • 36 min
    [PATREON PREVIEW] You Can Move to Italy—But Should You?

    [PATREON PREVIEW] You Can Move to Italy—But Should You?

    Want to hear more?
    Become part of the Bittersweet Life community by supporting just on Patreon! For as little as $5 per month—less than the price of a coffee in some places—you will have access to multiple bonus episodes every single month. 
    You'll hear conversations that would never take place on the main show, you'll be part of our new chat community, you'll have access to Patreon-only content in addition to bonus episodes, and you'll be invited to join us for regular live meet-ups. 
    But most importantly, you'll be doing your part to help keep this show alive—an independent podcast with no corporate support. (You'll also help keep it virtually ad-free!)
    Check our our Patreon page for all the details, and consider joining us at the $5 level or above. We are eternally grateful!
    -------------------------------------
    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!
     

    • 2 min
    Episode 533: Italy Welcomes the Digital Nomad

    Episode 533: Italy Welcomes the Digital Nomad

    If you've been dreaming of moving to Italy but thought it was impossible, your chance has finally arrived!
    Italy has just launched the so-called "Digital Nomad Visa" which enables non-EU-nationals who are self-employed or remote workers who derive their income entirely outside of Italy, the chance to live in Italy on a year-by-year basis.
    For Italaphiles and wannabe expats around the globe, this may just be a dream come true.
    Tiffany and Katy discuss the details of this new visa, what the requirements are, and if it's a good or a bad idea for Italy's economy.
    -------------------------------------
    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!
     

    • 37 min
    Episode 532: Same Same but Different: Katy Visits Bali

    Episode 532: Same Same but Different: Katy Visits Bali

    In a world that is becoming ever more homogenized, what sets places apart? What are the blaring indicators that communicate we are in a place vastly different from anywhere we've ever been before?
    After a magical and sometimes maddening week in Bali, Katy lays out the ways the island delighted and surprised her, the aspects that felt wholly different from what she is used to, and discusses with Tiffany how they compare with the cities of Rome and Seattle.
    -------------------------------------
    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!
     

    • 44 min
    Episode 531: Life as a Sociopath (with Patric Gagne)

    Episode 531: Life as a Sociopath (with Patric Gagne)

    What's it like to be a sociopath?
    This week's guest tells us. On this episode, Katy sits down with author and self-described sociopath Patric Gagne for a LIVE interview with audience at Seattle's Town Hall venue, whose recent book Sociopath has been acclaimed as a "fascinating, revelatory memoir revealing the author’s struggle to come to terms with her own sociopathy and shed light on the often maligned and misunderstood mental disorder."

    Hear from Patric about her experiences since childhood realizing that she didn't feel the same way other people did, what it was like to be diagnosed with this daunting disorder, and how she over came sociopathy to go on to have a life full of love and hope.

    Don't miss this fascinating author interview! Order Sociopath here or find it wherever you buy books. Find Patric Gagne on Instagram.

    This interview has been reaired on this podcast with permission of Town Hall Seattle.
    -------------------------------------
    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!
     

    • 49 min
    Episode 530: Revisiting a Long-Lost Place

    Episode 530: Revisiting a Long-Lost Place

    What happens when you go back to a city you used to live in after not stepping foot there for twenty years?
    Tiffany finds out on this episode.
    After spending some of the most formative years of her life, her univeristy and post-univeristy years, in Boston, she moved to Rome and never went back. Earlier this month, she finally got a chance to visit Boston again, now with a husband and son in tow, and on this episode we capture her reactions to how the city has changed and how it hasn't changed—and how her time there changed her.
    And it begs the age-old question: can you ever go home again?
    -------------------------------------
    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!
     

    • 37 min

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