Home Podcasts How to Move Abroad: Your Guide to Start Living Abroad
How to Move Abroad: Your Guide to Start Living Abroad

How to Move Abroad: Your Guide to Start Living Abroad

Mistelle Godlewski - Move Abroad Expert 84 Episodes Aug 17, 2026

A podcast for Americans who want to move abroad, hosted by Mistelle Godlewski, a move abroad expert. It covers practical topics like visas, budgets, timelines, jobs, kids, healthcare, paperwork, and the emotional challenges of relocating. The show aims to help listeners create a realistic plan rather than just dreaming about moving.

Episodes

The Dragon, the Lake, the Maze: What Harry Potter Gets Right About Moving Abroad
The Dragon, the Lake, the Maze: What Harry Potter Gets Right About Moving Abroad Aug 17, 2026 00:14:38 My daughter and I are reading Harry Potter right now. Goblet of Fire specifically. And somewhere between the dragon and the lake and the maze I realized ... this is exactly what moving abroad feels like.Quick note upfront: JK Rowling has said and done things I don't agree with and won't pretend otherwise. The story belongs to the readers now. So we're talking about the story.This week I'm mapping
Moving Abroad Is a 10K. Here's What the Training Actually Looks Like
Moving Abroad Is a 10K. Here's What the Training Actually Looks Like Aug 11, 2026 00:17:32 Nobody goes from the couch to running 10 kilometers without training. It doesn't matter how motivated you are, how badly you want it, or how expensive your shoes are. The distance requires training. The training takes time. And the time is not optional.Moving abroad is exactly the same.This week I'm using running — actual running, the specific experience of sitting in the driveway wondering if you
The Honest Debrief: 12+ years, Here's What I'd Do Differently in my Move Abroad
The Honest Debrief: 12+ years, Here's What I'd Do Differently in my Move Abroad Aug 3, 2026 00:21:55 Twelve years in and three moves later, I'm going back to 2013 — the Switzerland move, the one that started it all — and telling you exactly what I'd do differently.The good stuff first: negotiating to keep my job across an ocean, moving the cats the right way, and doing a scouting trip to find our apartment before we arrived. All of it worth it.And then the honest part. The queen size sleigh bed t
You Can't Read Your Way Into Being Ready to Move Abroad
You Can't Read Your Way Into Being Ready to Move Abroad Jul 30, 2026 00:16:11 I cannot swim. I know the theory. I've watched people do it my entire life. I could explain the mechanics to you in detail.And if you threw me in a pool right now the outcome would not be good.This week I'm talking about why moving abroad is the same — why you cannot read or research your way into being ready for something you can only learn by doing. Why the not knowing yet is not the problem. Wh
Stop Trusting Google. Here's What It's Getting Wrong About Your Move Abroad
Stop Trusting Google. Here's What It's Getting Wrong About Your Move Abroad Jul 20, 2026 00:19:32 You've been googling moving abroad for weeks. Maybe months. And the information you've found is — some of it useful, some of it outdated, and some of it confidently, specifically wrong in ways that are sending your planning in the wrong direction.This week I'm going through the biggest things Google gets wrong about moving abroad. The money number that doesn't apply to you. The digital nomad visa
True Crime, Cold Coffee, and Why Nobody Talks About the Middle
True Crime, Cold Coffee, and Why Nobody Talks About the Middle Jul 15, 2026 00:11:41 I've restarted this episode three times. I've made coffee I didn't drink. I've listened to approximately four true crime podcasts this week and I know more about cases in rural Ohio than I do about my own content plan.And I'm guessing you have a version of this too. Not about a podcast. About the move. The research you've been doing. The applications you've been sending. The thing you've been work
I Miss Being Good at Things: The Competence Grief of Moving Abroad
I Miss Being Good at Things: The Competence Grief of Moving Abroad Jul 6, 2026 00:20:37 I am, in English, reasonably funny. Quick. Articulate. I can read a room.In German, even after years, I am a flattened version of myself. I can express the basic version of an idea. I cannot do nuance. The jokes don't translate. And in social situations I go quiet — not because I have less to say, but because the gap between what I want to say and what I'm capable of saying is genuinely embarrassi
Stop Hitting Apply on LinkedIn. Here's What Actually Gets You a Job Abroad
Stop Hitting Apply on LinkedIn. Here's What Actually Gets You a Job Abroad Jun 29, 2026 00:15:23 You've optimized your LinkedIn profile. You have the right keywords, the right headline, the right summary. You're applying to listings that match your experience. You're posting content to stay visible.And nothing is happening.This week I'm telling you why. LinkedIn is not a job hunting platform — it's social media for people who are at work. And the difference between those two things matters en
The Privilege Conversation Nobody in the Move Abroad Space Is Having
The Privilege Conversation Nobody in the Move Abroad Space Is Having Jun 22, 2026 00:14:58 Moving abroad is a privilege. I'm going to say that clearly and then spend the whole episode explaining what I mean by it — because I don't mean what you might think I mean.I moved to Switzerland with less than $2,000 in the bank. I also had a relocation package, a transferable job, a university education, and a US passport. Both of those things were true at the same time. And I think that's actua
You've Been Googling the Wrong Words for Moving Abroad. Here's What They Actually Mean
You've Been Googling the Wrong Words for Moving Abroad. Here's What They Actually Mean Jun 15, 2026 00:22:46 You've been using visa, permit, and residency like they mean the same thing. They don't. And it's sending your research in the wrong direction.This week I'm walking through the vocabulary of moving abroad — not in a glossary kind of way, just in a these words matter and here's why kind of way. Visa vs. permit. Temporary vs. permanent residency. Citizenship vs. naturalization. Schengen vs. EU. Domi
Unscripted: What's it really like to live abroad?
Unscripted: What's it really like to live abroad? Jun 8, 2026 00:12:37 In this episode, I'm just chatting about what it's really like to live abroad and what I miss most about the US. There's no task on this one... just me and you sharing how it actually feels to live abroad.
What Healthcare Actually Looks Like When You Move Abroad
What Healthcare Actually Looks Like When You Move Abroad Jun 1, 2026 00:17:49 I had cancer at thirty. I've navigated healthcare in two countries with that history, including a high-risk pregnancy in Switzerland that cost me nothing beyond my regular insurance premium.This week I'm talking about what healthcare in Europe actually looks like — how most of Europe's systems work for legal residents, what makes Switzerland different, whether doctors speak English, and what to do

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