For lack of a better term and fully aware that many consider it derogatory and an indication of a life without responsibility, direction and meaningful activity, the following is a piece on the possible challenges of trailing spouses. Irrespectively of term used to describe the partner moving along, there is no doubt that being a trailing spouse comes with a whole host of issues. Writing this piece, I have gathered personal accounts of trailing expats from around the globe. I have used my own contacts and social media to invite people to share their experiences with me. It has be ..read more

Essentially, identity is a question of who you are. Identity reflects your values that guide your choices in life. When you make choices consistent with your true self, you set yourself up for success and harmony in life. This blogpost will explore the concept of identity and expat identity crisis, how identity relates to attachment, and why expats are often facing identity crises and loss of sense of self, as well as advice on how to handle these. What is identity? Originally, the term identity originates from the Latin “idem”, meaning “the same”. A person may hold several identities, such ..read more

Essentially, identity is a question of who you are. Identity reflects your values that guide your choices in life. When you make choices consistent with your true self, you set yourself up for success and harmony in life. This blogpost will explore the concept of identity, how identity relates to attachment, and why expats are often facing identity crises and loss of sense of self, as well as advice on how to handle these. What is identity? Originally, the term identity originates from the Latin “idem”, meaning “the same”. A person may hold several identities, such as: child partner parent fr ..read more

Essentially, identity is a question of who you are. Identity reflects your values that guide your choices in life. When you make choices consistent with your true self, you set yourself up for success and harmony in life. This blogpost will explore the concept of identity, how identity relates to attachment, and why expats are often facing identity crises and loss of sense of self, as well as advice on how to handle these. What is identity? Originally, the term identity originates from the Latin “idem”, meaning “the same”. A person may hold several identities, such as: child partner parent fr ..read more

Many, if not most, couples experience disagreements, conflicts, and crises at some stage of their relationship.  These can break trust, harm communication, and take couples apart - as an expat couple and/or multicultural couple, you may be more vulnerable to such as living in a foreign country and/or not sharing the same cultural foundation as your partner come with a whole host of challenges that place greater demands on couples when caught up in the rat race of modern day life. When disagreements, conflicts, and crises hit, it can be difficult and challenging to find your way back ..read more

When living in London, I studied and trained to become a psychotherapist. Doing so in my second language, I experienced frustration, isolation, and shame. Studying to become a therapist involved being in weekly therapy for three years and applying the psychological theories to myself for academic as well as personal developmental reasons; at times, it felt like being put through the wringer again and again. And again! At the time, I had divorced and was living alone with my three young, teenage children. I touch on the challenges I experienced as a single parent in London in other blogposts; b ..read more

When living in London, I studied and trained to become a psychotherapist. Doing so in my second language, I experienced frustration, isolation, and shame. Studying to become a therapist involved being in weekly therapy for three years and applying the psychological theories to myself for academic as well as personal developmental reasons; at times, it felt like being put through the wringer again and again. And again! At the time, I had divorced and was living alone with my three young, teenage children. I touch on the challenges I experienced as a single parent in London in other blogposts; b ..read more

At Christmas, we feel a stronger urge to belong and a more enhanced sense of appreciation of family values; and for those of you who aren’t going home for the festive season and won’t have visitors from home either, you might feel more than just a pang of loneliness and as such, experience a strong fear of missing out. Below you’ll find some of my own experiences alongside tips on how to enjoy Christmas if you are in your current country without visitors from home. We have spent more than a handful of Christmas holidays in London; some with family flying in, some on our own. Initially, we stuc ..read more

For many expats, Christmas of 2020 and 2021 were particular difficult times as they were forced to cancel their plans to travel over the holidays and as such, couldn't spend the festive period with their friends and family back home. This year, it looks like we will be in the all clear to travel as we fancy over the festive period. If you are going home for Christmas, it's likely that you have mixed feeling about it. On one hand it's lovely to be reunited with your loved ones, on the other hand it can feel a little like speed-dating, running around trying to catch up with everyone. It may have ..read more

In my expats days, we were often blessed with family and friends coming over for visits. Blessed in the sense that not only did they come over to spend time with us, they were also interested in experiencing our new lives, seeing the sights, the children's schools and our local amenities, learning something different about a city (London) which up until our expatriation had just been a regular holiday destination. For us, it meant the world to have people from back home engage in our new lives. It offered us a much needed connection between our two homes - a connection we still to this day har ..read more