Starting Over In The USA: The Expat Woman's Guide to overcoming Homesickness, Embracing Cultural Differences, and Creating
The Places We Call Home LLC
54 episodes
1 week ago
What if this holiday season didn’t leave you overwhelmed, overspending, or quietly homesick? Yolanda explores how you, expat and immigrant woman, can create a cozy, joyful holiday season that actually feels like yours — even while living far from home. This episode brings 10 expat‑approved tips gathered from communities in the USA, the UK, and online expat spaces. Hear about: Creating your own mini holiday world at homeBlending yours and American cultural traditionsBuilding micro‑communities ...
All content for Starting Over In The USA: The Expat Woman's Guide to overcoming Homesickness, Embracing Cultural Differences, and Creating is the property of The Places We Call Home LLC and is served directly from their servers
with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.
What if this holiday season didn’t leave you overwhelmed, overspending, or quietly homesick? Yolanda explores how you, expat and immigrant woman, can create a cozy, joyful holiday season that actually feels like yours — even while living far from home. This episode brings 10 expat‑approved tips gathered from communities in the USA, the UK, and online expat spaces. Hear about: Creating your own mini holiday world at homeBlending yours and American cultural traditionsBuilding micro‑communities ...
What if this holiday season didn’t leave you overwhelmed, overspending, or quietly homesick? Yolanda explores how you, expat and immigrant woman, can create a cozy, joyful holiday season that actually feels like yours — even while living far from home. This episode brings 10 expat‑approved tips gathered from communities in the USA, the UK, and online expat spaces. Hear about: Creating your own mini holiday world at homeBlending yours and American cultural traditionsBuilding micro‑communities ...
What does Christmas look like when your life stretches across many countries? If you’re an expat or immigrant woman navigating the holidays in the USA, this episode offers something deeper than tips—it offers recognition. You’ll hear the mix of nostalgia, joy, longing, and connection that comes with celebrating Christmas far from home. You’ll come away with: A reminder that home isn’t lost — it’s carried with you, recreated, and reimagined Permission to let your traditions ev...
Have you created your dream expat life abroad? Life as an expat is no joke! Moving to the USA can mean new opportunities, growth, and the inevitable personal changes for the better. For you. Here is why you should not expect to walk in the front door to find the same attitudes that wished you well years ago. The new version of you is critiqued, the old version still expected. And then there's the guilt of having achieved more. If you're in a season of feeling like you're stuck between w...
Have you immigrated away from your home, feeling foreign and a little lost? The first months abroad can feel like a whirlwind—joy, then the crash, then the ache of missing home. In this episode, host Yolanda revisits her interview with guest Dr. Veronique Elefant—Yani, Clinical Psychologist, and creator of 3D Human Therapy®. You will get: Gentle ways to steady yourself: journaling, presence, and letting go of the pressure to “fit in”, and Holistic perspectives on resilience,...
How to protect your identity, set boundaries, and create meaningful traditions when creating a new life in the USA. You’re not imagining it. For expat / immigrant women in the USA, the holidays often bring a unique mix of homesickness, cultural pressure, and the quiet fear of not belonging. This episode takes an honest look at what women like us are really experiencing: the overwhelm, the financial expectations, the social scripts, and the emotional weight of navigating American holiday cultu...
How do you avoid isolation and create connection, community, and belonging during the Christmas holidays? The holidays can be a season of joy but for immigrant and expat women, it can feel like an extra layer of homesickness and longing. In this episode, we explore how to transform that loneliness into connection by blending traditions from back home with new rituals that feel authentic to where you are now. Our guest today is Manuelita Antonio Rangel Sosa. She is a Venezuelan-American ...
Feeling the dread of holiday loneliness because you live abroad? Host Yolanda knows what Christmas feels like for expats and immigrants—when familiar traditions are far away, and the season that’s supposed to bring joy can instead spotlight what you're missing. If you're wanting to create community, start simple. Listen for the practical ideas, encouragement, and emotional grounding. In this episode, you’ll learn: Ways to blend old traditions with new ones so the holidays feel comfortin...
What would you do if you had three days to leave mum, dad, friends, career ... even the home you just built—Knowing you may never return? This is part 2 with Anna and Sergey. He had 72 hours to make his escape for freedom. They chose to move to the USA, remembering the freedom they once enjoyed here. What they met was a challenge they hadn't expected ... detention centers, separation, uncertainty. But this is not a hard luck story. Tune in for the ultimate in transforming your lif...
Expat woman, ever wondered if resilience means holding on… or knowing when to let go of a life that no longer fits? Pushing through homesickness, cultural differences, and corporate challenges becomes second nature. But sometimes resilience isn’t about enduring — it’s about choosing a new chapter, even if that means returning home. In this episode, you’ll learn how to recognize the emotional and practical signs that your expat journey may be complete, why redefining resilience can release you...
How do you rebuild an entire life from zero—no job, no family, no network—after fleeing a country you can never return to? If you’re an expat woman trying to feel grounded, connected, or at home in the USA, this episode reveals the real emotional, practical, and spiritual challenges that come with starting over—and the one element that makes the transition radically easier. You are going to discover How genuine community can dissolve fear, isolation, and the emotional weight of starting over....
This one if for every expat woman who's asked herself, "is it me? Am I the problem? No. It's not you. It's the journey you take when you move into a new country, town, and social circle. The problem isn’t your personality—it’s the hidden assumptions, unintentional patterns, and narrow circles that quietly make new friendships feel impossible for women starting over in a new country. You learn: How to redefine connections on your termsWhy and how to cast your net wider ...
Are you an expat woman struggling to make real friendships in America, feeling out of place, or wondering if you need to change who you are just to belong? Dasha moved to the USA from Russia for love. She landed in Lubbock, Texas. I want you to hear what my guest Dasha has to say about her Journey from small town rejection to San Francisco connections, and it shows me that the expat experience comes to all of us. Your origin, doesn't make you immune to it. You just need some strategies and to...
Done with shallow interactions or unsure how to build real connection? You’re not alone. How do you become part of the social circle when you keep getting the cold shoulder, where friendship isn’t spontaneous, and emotional safety isn’t guaranteed? This episode unpacks what’s really behind the struggle—and how to bridge the cultural gap with clarity and courage. You’ll walk away with three things: Key cultural insights into how Americans form adult friendships—and how to use that ...
Wondering where to find the kind of female friendships that actually feed your soul? You’re not wrong for craving more than surface-level connection. We're talking about loneliness, cultural shifts, and the quiet ache of being unknown in a new country. Forming meaningful friendships can feel like a second full-time job. You’ll walk away with: Science-backed reasons why female friendships improve mental health, reduce stress, and protect your wellbeingA practical first step to identify t...
What if I fail? What if I don't belong? Are these questions keeping you from moving abroad for the life you dream of? Yes? Well here's your expat woman's masterclass on moving abroad without letting fear win. Host Yolanda shares real experiences, strategic planning and mindset transformation that helped her and her husband prepare for a new life in the USA, and overcome the big 'what if?' If you can't shake your own fears or answer the 'How you gonna make it work?' questions from well-meaning...
Hands up if you want to stay stuck in a job you hate, with dreams unfulfilled! No soul wants that. We want to succeed. We want adventure, to be seen, heard, felt. We want purpose, love. And most of all, we want to be remembered. I'm sitting down with guest and new friend, Samira Kawar, who left Jordan when there were no universities, and political unrest in neighboring countries cut short a bright, ambitious girl's vision. Her connections brought her to the USA but it was he...
Why does starting over hurt so much when you move abroad? Dive into the emotional truth behind relocation and how expat women can turn that pain into personal growth, confidence, and belonging. If you’ve ever relocated, battled homesickness, or struggled to find your place in a new culture, this episode speaks directly to you. Drawing insights from the 2024 Global Expat Survey, host Yolanda reveals how expat women in the USA and around the world can transform the challenges of cul...
Feeling lost, lonely, or disconnected after moving abroad? Yolanda sits down with Samira Kawar—a trailblazing immigrant woman from Jordan who arrived in the U.S. in 1968 and built a life of legacy, leadership, and belonging. If you’re an expat woman navigating homesickness, culture shock, or isolation, this episode offers more than validation—it offers a blueprint. You’ll learn how to use education as a tool for empowerment, how to build meaningful community, and how to shift your minds...
Feeling homesick after moving to the USA? You’re not alone—and you don’t have to figure it all out by yourself. In this Friday episode host Yolanda Reshemah shares three powerful ways expat women can use the wisdom of others to feel grounded, connected, and at home again. Whether you’ve just arrived or have been living abroad for years, this conversation will help you: Learn from other expat women’s stories so you can avoid common mistakes and settle faster.Turn shared experiences into ...
Feeling like you don’t belong yet? In this heartfelt episode, Yolanda Reshemah and guest Karen Giva share the truth about starting over abroad—why belonging takes time, how healing helps, and what every expat woman can do to truly feel at home in a new country. You'll learn why vulnerability matters, how to rebuild community, and what it really takes to feel at home in a new country—no matter where you are in your journey. Press play. Uncover the truth about belonging abroad...
Starting Over In The USA: The Expat Woman's Guide to overcoming Homesickness, Embracing Cultural Differences, and Creating
What if this holiday season didn’t leave you overwhelmed, overspending, or quietly homesick? Yolanda explores how you, expat and immigrant woman, can create a cozy, joyful holiday season that actually feels like yours — even while living far from home. This episode brings 10 expat‑approved tips gathered from communities in the USA, the UK, and online expat spaces. Hear about: Creating your own mini holiday world at homeBlending yours and American cultural traditionsBuilding micro‑communities ...
