August 24, 2020
Minisode. My summer vacation ended up consisting of me visiting friends in Cologne, Berlin, and Amsterdam. Because I was outside of German borders, I qualified for a free Coronavirus test upon my return. I share what my experience was like.
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July 2, 2020
Season 4, Episode 14. Getting divorced abroad is complicated and challenging in just about every imaginable way, and Katia Vlachos is here to talk to us about it all.
Katia, a longtime expat, got divorced from her Austrian husband in Switzerland. She shares what she learned through the challenging process.
For more about Katia's experience and the resources she mentioned, head over to the blog.
FIND KATIA
Visit her website
Read her book, A Great Move
Check out her coaching services
On Facebook @KatiaVlachosCoach
On Twitter @vlachosk
On Instagram @vlachosk
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April 23, 2020
Season 4, Episode 5. Expat & life coach Julia inspired me with her blog post, "How to feel at home while you're abroad." Although "home" can seem like it's something that just exists, separate from us, home is actually a feeling created actively by an individual.
But how?
Julia and I map out various strategies that have worked for us to make us feel at home, no matter where we are in the world.
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April 16, 2020
Season 4, Episode 4. Coronavirus is a global pandemic that's got many of us trapped at home. Aspen and I team up to bring you a podcast/YouTube cross-over to help you find the good in this bad situation. Our status as expats in Germany has given us plenty of practice at maintaining relationships and creating a sense of community from afar, and we share our favorite tricks to feeling connected despite the distance.
Check out the video of this collaboration on Aspen's YouTube channel here.
Read the blog post to find out more here.
FIND ASPEN
On YouTube at AspenAbroad
On Instagram @Aspen.Abroad
Our last episode together called Moving Abroad or Running Away?
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![Counseling for Cross-Cultural Relationships with Katie]()
April 9, 2020
Season 4, Episode 3. Being in a cross-cultural relationship comes with many strengths and many challenges, especially if one partner moved to a new country and learned a new language to make the relationship work. This week's guest has lots of experience with that, both personally and professionally.
Katie Rössler is an expat couple's counselor. Working with couples in person and online, through sessions as well as online courses and guides, Katie helps her clients navigate the tricky waters of miscommunications, conflicting expectations, and more.
We discuss common isuses in relationships involving two or more cultures, and we also get into how couples and families can use the lock-down during Coronavirus to their advantage. Katie helps us reframe the situation as an opportunity and offers concrete ideas on how to succeed during quarantine.
This episode is a nice complement to the episode Intercultural Relationships.
For more resources, check out this blog post.
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![Getting Married in Germany with Natalie]()
January 23, 2020
Season 3, Episode 24. Natalie left her home country of the UK and was backpacking in Australia when a handsome German man caught her eye in a hostel. Cue a whirlwind year of traveling together throughout Australia and Asia before moving together to Freiburg, Germany.
When the two got engaged, Natalie had plenty of big dreams for how she wanted her wedding. But quickly, it became apparent that putting on her dream English wedding in Germany wasn't going to so easy. On top of that, a surprise cancer diagnoses landed Natalie in chemo around the time of the wedding, leading to additional complications, both logistically and emotionally.
Natalie is a force of nature, though, and she didn't let any of this keep her from putting on a unique wedding that had her fingerprints all over it. We discuss how she settled on her wedding venue in the Black Forest, the challenge of finding a wedding videographer, and the different wedding formats offered in Germany.
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December 12, 2019
Season 3, Episode 18. Germany is famous around the globe for their apprenticeship program, or Ausbildung. Did you know that foreigners are also eligible to do an apprenticeship in Germany?
We talk to two Americans doing apprenticeships in Germany, one in beer brewing and the other in pottery. The best part? During the whole three-year program, they get a salary! It’s not much, but it’s livable!
They explain to us how they got their positions, what it’s like doing an apprenticeship as foreigners in their late 20s, and what opportunities will be available to them upon completing their programs.
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November 28, 2019
Season 3, Episode 16. Happy Thanksgiving!
Here at The Expat Cast, we're thankful for taxes. Or at least the services & programs that taxes provide. And we're thankful for people like Nathalie Goldstein, who founded MyExpatTaxes, a company whose software makes filing your US expat taxes fun and cute.
"Fun" and "cute" and "taxes" all in one sentence? Hold your gasps! With the MyExpatTaxes software, it's actually totally true.
Nathalie tells us about starting MyExpatTaxes and shares TONS of information that can help you avoid common tax filing mistakes among US expats.
For all the tips and resources mentioned, click here.
FIND MYEXPATTAXES
Use the promo code EXPATCAST at check out to save 10% on your filing!
On their website
Instagram @myexpattaxes
Facebook @myexpattaxes
Twitter @myexpattaxes
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November 21, 2019
Season 3, Episode 15. The days are getting shorter, the weather is getting colder, and we're all getting lonelier.
The normal November blues are made that much more challenging when you're facing them in a foreign country. But fret not! You're not alone, even if you are lonely. Every expat has experienced a season of loneliness, and, dare I say, we'll all face them again at some point.
This week's guest is fellow expat and life coach Gabriela Encina, who brings us stories from her own life as well as the experiences of her clients. Gabriela talks us through some of the tips that have helped her and her clients as they navigate expat loneliness and strive to feel more connected in their new home country.
Click here to read her tips.
FIND GABRIELA
On her website
Instagram @gabriela.expat.coach
Facebook @psgabrielaencina
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![Imposter Syndrome as an Expat with Melissa]()
November 7, 2019
Season 3, Episode 13. You know it's going to be a good episode if it references Brene Brown AND Maya Angelou! This week, we're diving into the nitty gritty of imposter syndrome, or the deep feeling and/or fear of being a fraud. Maybe you've heard of it before, maybe you've admitted to feeling it before, but MAN does expat life intensify the experience of imposter syndrome!
Melissa, aka Intentional Expat, lived in Spain and the Netherlands for a decade before moving back to her home state, Washington in the US. Melissa has a PHD in Clinical and Health Psychology, which she uses in her work as an expat life coach - making her the perfect guest for this topic. Melissa shares with us the 5 types of imposter syndrome, how to identify it in your life, and what to do to succeed in your expat life despite feeling this way.
For resources and more, check out the blog.
FIND MELISSA
On her website
On Instagram @IntentionalExpat
On the Expat Hour podcast
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October 17, 2019
Season 3, Episode 10. It's the episode no one wanted, that no one needed - yet here it is! It's Snacks & Toilets!
In the first half of the episode, we discuss snacks - the snacks we love and hate in Germany, and the snacks we miss most from home.
Then comes part two: toilets. Have you encountered the elusive German toilet phenomenon, the poop shelf? We dish out the pros and cons of the strange design, then we give some well-deserved hate to our home country, USA, for having public bathroom doors that have cracks large enough to see people through.
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July 11, 2019
Season 2, Episode 25. Welcome to the Season 2 finale episode! To celebrate 50 episodes, 10,000 downloads, and 1 year of podcasting, we've called up a good friend to answer listener questions and quandaries in a brand new format called Ask the Expat. We give our best go at answering questions sent to us from expats all over.
For a full list of questions and resources mentioned in the episode, click here.
We'll be back with season 3 soon. Keep your eyes on social media and stay subscribed to get updated about when the next season will hit your feeds.
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May 30, 2019
Season 2, Episode 19. Riana spoke to us when she had one month left in Canada before she, her partner, and their dog moved to Prague. As a Canadian under the age of 30, Riana was able to take advantage of the Youth Mobility Visa, which allows Canadians to life and work in 35 countries for one year. She talks us through how she decided that life abroad in Prague was the right choice for her.
Riana shares what kind of preparation she's been able to do pre-move abroad, as well as what it's been like emotionally preparing for her year in Europe.
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May 2, 2019
Season 2, Episode 15. You last heard from friend of the show, Ashley, when she was pregnant with her son, and now she's back to share what it's like with her young son.
Ashley is now 7 months into motherhood, and she shares with us what it's been like adjusting to her new role. What was it like for her to give birth in Germany? How has she handled being an ocean apart from her family in the US? And how is she planning on keeping her American identity alive with her son?
Ashley's go-to book recommendation for new parents-to-be is:
The Shit No One Tells You: A Guide to Surviving Your Baby's First Year by Don Dais
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March 7, 2019
Season 2, Episode 7. Iceland skyrocketed to the top of the Must Visit list of many eager travelers over the last 5 years, but what's it like to actually live there? We chat with American expat Alex Illes about how she ended up with Iceland, how she managed to move her cats with her, and what it's taken to make life there work.
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January 24, 2019
Season 2, Episode 1. It's 2019! Is one of your goals for the new year to learn German? Super, then buckle up and brace yourself for some German-learning resources, tips, & venting. Of course, to learn German, or any language, a course is a great idea. But if you can't take a class due to money, access, or whatever, no fear. Our discussion focuses on free methods that are available to everyone.
We explain why Tandem partnerships are so effective, advocate for labeling everything in your room/apartment/home/office/life auf Deutsch, vent about akkusative and dativ, and swap our favorite German-language TV shows, podcasts, books, and more.
For a full list of resources mentioned in the episode, click here.
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![A Plethora of Resources for Living in Germany with James]()
December 6, 2018
Season 1, Episode 23. When host Nicole was preparing to move to Germany, one of the websites she frequented was Live Work Germany. It seems like they've got a resource guide for every bump in the road of moving to Germany, from registering your address to navigating a foreign qualification recognition process - all up-to-date, all in English. As a librarian who loves a good resource, Nicole has long been a huge fan. So it was an honor to sit down with the man behind it all, James!
James moved to Germany from England 12 years ago for a job after studying the language in university. He didn't expect to find a new home to the extent that he did. Lucky for us all, his career evolution led him to launch a website and blog to help other expats and want-to-be expats figure out the practicalities of moving to Germany. He also chats with us about his new service, where users can send in their German correspondence and get, in English, a short run-down of what they need to do.
LIVE WORK GERMANY
Check out all of James' incredibly helpful resources at Live Work Germany
Sign up for James' new German Correspondence service
WEAREXPATS TWITTER
Nicole will be tweeting @wearexpats from December 10-17.
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Got questions, comments, topic ideas, funny anecdotes? Email us at theexpatcast@gmail.com
