Posts

connecting or NetworkingRachel Smets
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Connecting or Networking.

If you want to create a lifestyle doing what you really love, do you practice networking? If you are connecting with people, how is it helping you? As I was speaking for the Women Economic Forum in Portugal (WEF, Tomar) last week, I gained…
dental carehttps://www.pexels.com/@fr3nks
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What You Need To Know About Dental Care For Expats In Haarlem.

Roughly 25.7% of the Haarlem population are foreign expats. There's many important aspects to take care of when you move to a new country and dental care is no exception. Looking after your teeth is important and, fortunately,…
healthhttps://pixabay.com/users/rawpixel-4283981/
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MANAGING A HEALTH CONDITION ABROAD.

It can be extremely stressful when we or someone we love becomes ill abroad. As well as the (very normal) physical and mental turmoil of illness, we often find ourselves dealing with additional challenges that are unique to international life. At…
change your lifehttps://pixabay.com/users/alexas_fotos-686414/
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How you can change your life for the better.

Are you waiting for great things to happen to you, or are you CREATING great things? I believe in creating your life and achieving your dreams, and not waiting for life to just happen to you. Instead of having excuses ''I'm too old, I'm…
friendshipshttps://pixabay.com/en/users/rawpixel-4283981/
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Maintaining friendships as an expat.

To give full meaning to our life, we all need to connect with other people. Certain relationships accompany us through life; others enter and exit as each chapter opens and closes. No matter the type of friendship and who it involves…
stop doinghttps://pixabay.com/en/users/picjumbo_com-2130229/
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WHAT WILL YOU STOP DOING IN 2019? TAKE A DIFFERENT APPROACH

It’s that time when many of us are thinking or talking about our New Year’s resolutions… how we will make up for our ‘mistakes’ or ‘flaws’ in the previous year. But there’s a risk, especially when we put too much pressure…
living abroad
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14 Ways to Survive the Holidays when you’re Living Abroad

December begins and that means the holiday season arrives. If you’re living abroad, spending Christmas away from your family and friends can be a difficult time. For some people, Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year, and for…
travelling alone
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17+ Important Things you need to know when travelling alone.

Wherever you are in the world, some questions always come back: How to meet people? What can I do when I’m alone? What kind of food is common? How can you adjust easily? How can I relax when I’m stressed? The answers are in this post, just…
money for my work
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What should I do? I feel ashamed to ask money for my work.

At the beginning of my freelance life, I completed a task but the client “forgot” to pay for it. I found various excuses for him: the client didn’t have the money, he did not like the result of our collaboration, the customer lost the…
my homehttps://pixabay.com/en/users/Pexels-2286921/
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How I Became My Home

This year marks a decade of me being an expat and I see now that I’ve felt between homes for all this time. Only recently did I realise that this feeling of belonging everywhere and nowhere has created a subtle but constant pressure in my…
pet
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Leaving your pet behind.

Expats often have to leave pets behind and are then taken by surprise by the depth of their grief or guilt. Though some expats do relocate with their animals, for many it’s just not possible. Excessive transportation costs, lengthy quarantine…
tribehttps://pixabay.com/en/users/rawpixel-4283981/
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How finding your tribe can help you succeed.

If you're ambitious and a multi-passionate,  you probably have multiple goals and dreams. Whether short-or-long term, they can vary from improving your health and fitness, change your career path or job, to maybe move abroad and start a new…
motivation
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Tips to stay motivated anywhere in the world.

Are you truly enjoying your experience abroad and completely happy? You may have days when your motivation is completely lost, your courage is below zero and your self-doubt is sky high. I sure recognize that. Over the past years, in every…
home
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In search of home.

Home, Charles Dickens writes, is a word stronger than a magician ever spoke. A word that houses under its roof an entire universe of virtues. To feel at home implies an essential alignment – an ease with the world and with oneself. We all…
homesickness
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9 Tips to Beat Homesickness

It can be difficult adjusting to a new environment and homesickness creeps in. You feel lonely and miss your familiar routine, your family, friends, and neighbourhood. You long for your kitchen with your food and drinks and being able to find…
sleepless nights
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When expat worries become sleepless nights.

“I can’t sleep.” “I don’t sleep through the night.” “I lie awake for hours each night before I fall asleep.” Do any of these sleepless nights sound familiar to you? People suffer from disturbed sleep for different reasons,…
doubting
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What To Do When You Start Doubting Everything.

There you are, in a new country. You decided to live abroad and you made it! Awesome! Then, some weeks go by and suddenly a fear creeps in. Do you start thinking to yourself, “What the heck am I doing here? Is all this hustle even worth…
lonely
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Is social media making us more lonely?

Have you ever felt you can’t wait to get back on your device to check Facebook? Or do you tend to sit on your phone while hanging out with friends? Have you ever sat at a dinner table and been more interested in what’s happening on Twitter…
culture shock
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Returning home for another culture shock!

While many expats expect to experience culture shock when moving to a new country, few of us anticipate the shock of returning home. We assume we will transition smoothly because we have grown up and are already familiar with the culture.  However,…
Myth Sex
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Myths and Truths about Sex in long term relationships

Though sex is not the only ingredient to a happy relationship, it is an important one and can reveal a lot about a relationship. If there is love between you and your partner, your relationship deserves the chance to be rekindled. Distinguishing…
dreams
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Write it down! Dreams vs Plans.

I have never believed in wish lists, although I write them since I was fifteen. There were always quite vague points, such as "pumping up a press" or "get rid of acne," but more recently, I have become more specific in my desires. Sometimes…
goals
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Create goals that you WILL achieve! Learn HOW.

· What will you be doing in 10 years? · Where would you like to be? · What is keeping you from achieving your dream or goal? Many people have resolutions and goals every year, but only a few people achieve them. It seems like somewhere,…
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From a Language of Criticism to one of Compassion and Connection

I grew up with loving parents. Of course, they weren’t perfect, but I just can’t blame my problems on them. They did well and now as a parent, I actually strive to be like them in most aspects. But I grew up in a broader culture of: “Want…
erectile dysfunction
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When it doesn’t get up.

A funny title for an article about a not so funny experience for many men who have difficulties with keeping their erection during sex. I am a man myself and a Sex counselor in Amsterdam and I know how much this topic is sensitive and can cause…
depression

Are You Hiding Your Depression?

Depression is an often silent feeling that creeps up on us and isn’t easy to identify straight away. This is especially true for those who have relocated. Because it’s normal to feel alone or sad while away from “home” or when your support…
comfort zone
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Life Outside the Comfort Zone

“I am alive!” We should always carry this awareness with us as a background melody for each moment of our lives. It gives life a deeper meaning and value. Unfortunately, we often forget this simple fact and begin to take our presence…
loneliness
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Tips on how to overcome loneliness.

Loneliness is an emotional state in which a person experiences a powerful feeling of emptiness and isolation. Loneliness is a universal human emotion, yet it is both complex and unique to each individual. Your experience of it may be different…
Massage
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Zen Through ‘Hands By Ellen’ Holistic Massage

Today I visited the Holistic massage practice of Ellen Goossens, Hands By Ellen. I had never heard of Holistic before and it was completely new to me. But Ellen introduced me to her way of massaging and the meaning of Holistic in a pleasant…
chocolate
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Chocolate can ‘improve brain function’

Good news for chocolate lovers: eating chocolate regularly has been found to have a positive association with cognitive performance, according to a new study. Published in the journal Appetite, researchers used data collected from a Maine-Syracuse…