I was homesick, feeling isolated and missing everyone and everything about London and the UK. Covid made expat life even more difficult in a new country where I was unable to make new connections. I was seriously considering moving back which would have had a massive impact on my family, particularly my children who are teenagers. Carole helped me appreciate that what I was feeling was not unusual, and in fact, was quite common when combining a major international move with a pandemic.

With Carole’s personal experience of living overseas in many locations for many years and then returning to the UK she was able to remind me that there are nearly always options. And her honest assessments on the practicalities of moving children of exam school age were invaluable.

Carole is a warm and easy person to speak with. She has tremendous experience in the challenges of living and moving overseas and moving back to the UK. She can give practical insights and to help you think of problems in new ways and potentially see things more objectively.

Brendan - Expat Espresso client

You always raise such pertinent issues… I wish I had read more of your articles before I went to the US as you provide great perspective for newbies

AMW

You are the first ‘Expat Thing’ I experienced! I told one of your friends I was moving to Saudi and she said I should find you on Facebook! I’m not sure at that stage I’d realised I was going to be an Expat myself and had no idea what I was doing!

I was added to your Facebook group with such a friendly welcome and realised there were thousands of people like me around the world and many had left and never gone home!!

Just Carole’s kind and reassuring words and letting me know she or the Facebook community was happy to help if I had any questions was brilliant!! I am now nearly a year into life in Riyadh and always tell people about the group of they are moving on etc!

It really was a milestone joining your group!!

Louise

Thank you very much for all the information you sent me. I’ll check them out!!

I really enjoyed our conversation. Just speaking to you without having to explain my thoughts and feelings was a rare occurrence. This put me at ease straight away, making me feel understood, which allowed me to open up to you easily.

I really appreciated your kind remarks and valuable insights.

I will definitely book another conversation very soon as I have more questions and topics in need of your advice.

A.A - Expat Espresso client

Just more congrats and appreciation for your great content. I wish I’d found you before I had moved over… the resources I found were useless in comparison.

You obviously not only have lived the life, but are very perceptive and analytical with a strong understanding of people.

K

The year is 2020 and the Covid-19 pandemic is doing its rounds around the world and taking my chosen country to live in pretty harshly.

It’s just me, my 9 y.o daughter and her father - and I was suffocating. Why? Because I am here by choice and that brings such a heaviness to my heart that the only way to explain is “Am I going to see this thru?” “Am I going to survive?” If not in the real sense, but in the emotional sense of it.

In order to cope, I booked myself in to an Expat Espresso meeting with Carole; someone who has always been there for me even though she didn’t even know I existed.

Sometimes, the only thing we need, is someone to mirror our feelings back at us, feed us those things that are at the back of our minds but at the same time we don’t know yet.

Carole was a balm to my feelings, a calm and soothing voice that nailed 5 of my major struggles without me actually saying them out aloud. How does she even do that?

That was exactly what I needed and now I am actually googling some stuff and reading more about it and I can feel those knots of anxiety losing themselves by the minute.

If you are like me, an expat navigating these weird times and you can put an hour to talk to Carole, I urge you to do so.

Karina - Expat Espresso client

Hi Carole,

Thanks so very much for the call and it was so helpful to get your experienced counsel on this topic!

Indeed, the experience, tips and solutions which you shared are looking as very positive steps to take. I’ll start implementing a few of those right away.

S.K. - Expat Espresso client