Relocurious Podcast – Détails, épisodes et analyse

In this episode of Relocurious, your hosts Michal and Kathy explore the emotional and psychological side of moving abroad—this time through the lens of a couple embracing relocation as an adventure rather than a permanent move.

Michal sits down with Georganne and Anne, a married couple who have spent the last 20 years in Canada. With dual citizenships spanning the U.S., Canada, and the U.K., they’ve recently made the leap to relocate to the U.K. Their move is open-ended, fueled by a desire to reconnect with roots, experience European living, and travel more deeply.

From navigating identity to dealing with unexpected events, this episode offers a candid look at the joys, surprises, and emotional layers of starting over in a new place.

If not now, when? Sign up to hear many more inspiring stories as a free or paid subscriber!

The Relocurious Podcast shares real stories from people who have recently relocated to a new country. Through open and honest conversations, we’ll explore the emotional journey behind moving abroad—what sparked the idea, what pushed it from dream to reality, and how life is unfolding in their new home.

Moving abroad isn’t just about visas, packing, and finding a place to live—it’s a human experience that challenges identity, expectations, and resilience. By sharing these stories, we hope to normalize the emotional ups and downs and provide a space for reflection and learning.

Whether you’re just starting to consider a move or already in the process, these stories will offer inspiration, insight, and practical advice for navigating the highs and lows of relocation.

As you ponder that big move in your life, enjoy the treat of a personal story or reflection once a week as a free or paid subscriber.

In this episode, join Kathy and Michal as they speak with guests Jim and Vickie Berkley. Jim and Vickie moved from Denver, Colorado, USA to Porto, Portugal in 2023 in their search for a culture that valued relationships ahead of wealth.

This episode inspired a further reflection on the power of planning. Check it out:

The Power of Planning. Check it out!

The Relocurious Podcast shares real stories from people who have recently relocated to a new country. Through open and honest conversations, we’ll explore the emotional journey behind moving abroad—what sparked the idea, what pushed it from dream to reality, and how life is unfolding in their new home.

Moving abroad isn’t just about visas, packing, and finding a place to live—it’s a human experience that challenges identity, expectations, and resilience. By sharing these stories, we hope to normalize the emotional ups and downs and provide a space for reflection and learning.

Whether you’re just starting to consider a move or already in the process, these stories will offer inspiration, insight, and practical advice for navigating the highs and lows of relocation.

In this episode, meet your hosts, Kathy and Michal, as they share their experiences with relocation, and why they started this podcast!

A free or paid subscription will help you stay on top of all things Relocurious!

In this episode Kathy speaks with Anushka, a young woman who grew up in India and now lives in British Columbia, Canada.

As a young girl Anushka fell in love with the city of Vancouver, Canada when she visited as a tourist with her family. Years later, she returned to Vancouver as a masters student, and now lives there as a newly graduated working professional. She thinks that the city is a wonderful place for people wanting to relocate for experience, beauty, or diversity. Although with her fair share of mountains to climb, she’s found the city to be welcoming and abundant in opportunity and kindness, and has spent the last three years since her relocation on a journey to make as many discoveries about herself and the world as she possibly can. On being asked of what she thinks her future in this journey holds, she replies with the spirit of embracing uncertainty, “Vancouver, I’m not going anywhere; but World, here I come!”.

Don’t miss future episodes of the Relocurious podcast — become a free or paid subscriber.

To find resources mentioned in this episode, please check out our Resources page.

In this episode of Relocurious, Michal sits down with Alex, who shares his deeply personal story of leaving Romania and building a new life in Canada. What started as an impulsive leap during a time of emotional burnout became a journey of transformation.

Alex opens up about the creative roots that shaped his identity, and the period of disillusionment that led to his decision to relocate. He reflects on the honeymoon phase of immigration, the loneliness that followed, and the unexpected moments of connection that helped him feel at home in a new land.

This episode is a heartfelt exploration of how moving abroad can not only change your surroundings—but also who you are at your core.

Would a few more stories about relocating help you make your big move? Why not become a free or paid subscriber to Relocurious?

In this special three-part series, Relocurious explores relocation through the perspectives of three members of the same family.

When Darren joined the Canadian Foreign Service, it set in motion a series of international moves that would shape the lives of his wife Heather and their son Nick as well. Across three episodes, we hear each of their perspectives on the same family relocations — revealing how differently a shared experience can be lived and remembered.

In the first episode, Darren reflected on relocation through the lens of career and public service. In this episode, we hear from Heather.

Part 2: A Life in Motion – Heather’s Story

While Darren’s work determined the family’s postings, Heather’s experience of relocation centered on building a life within each new place.

With every move, she helped create stability and continuity for the family — establishing routines, building community, and helping their children navigate the emotional realities of leaving one home and adapting to another.

At the same time, Heather was also shaping her own path. Over the years, she built a rewarding career for herself while adapting to the constraints and opportunities of life across multiple countries.

In our conversation, Heather reflects on:

* The importance of making decisions together

* Helping children process loss and adjustment

* Balancing the excitement of international life with the practical considerations of moving a family abroad

* Finding purpose and identity while repeatedly starting over in a new country

Her story offers a powerful inside view of the quieter work that makes international family life possible.

About Heather

Heather Johnston is an educator, trainer, and interculturalist. She has worked as a special education teacher in Canada, a volunteer English teacher in Malawi, an in-country orientation coordinator in Honduras, and an intercultural education specialist for the Canadian International Development Agency and Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada. She has also taught online for UBC. She is a diplomatic spouse, mother of three boys. She has lived in Canada, Malawi, Honduras, the US, Egypt, and Ghana. She self published a book called Please Be Upstanding about her time in Ghana. She also has a rather large bead collection.

Links:

Please Be Upstanding: Letters from Ghana - Book

Where are you on your relocation journey? Got a big dream, or are you already “there”? Follow others’ stories — and share yours when ready!

For the first time on Relocurious, we’re exploring relocation through the unique lenses of individual members of a family.

When Darren joined the Canadian Foreign Service, it set in motion a series of international moves that would shape not only his career, but the lives of his wife, Heather, and their children. Across three episodes, we speak with Darren, Heather, and their son Nick individually to understand how the same relocations were experienced from three very different vantage points.

Darren moved for work.Heather moved as a partner.Nick moved as a child — before he was old enough to choose.

Together, their conversations reveal the nuance, complexity, and emotional layers of family relocation: questions of agency, belonging, identity, sacrifice, and adaptation. What does it mean to share a life in motion? And how differently can the same experience be lived and remembered?

Part 1: A Life in Motion – Darren’s Story

In this first episode of the series, we hear from Darren.

Darren’s story of relocation began long before his diplomatic career. Having grown up between countries, movement was already part of his identity. Later, after teaching in Malawi and Canada, he joined the Canadian Foreign Service.

Rather than one defining move across borders, Darren’s life unfolded through a succession of postings — from Canada to the United States, Honduras, Ghana, Egypt, and beyond — before eventually returning to Canada.

In this conversation, Darren reflects on:

* The importance of shared decision-making

* The trade-offs embedded in career-driven mobility

* The challenges of feeling a sense of belonging in each new place

* The ongoing longing for a place you no longer live

His perspective offers a thoughtful look at what it means to build a life shaped by service, movement, and responsibility, and how those choices ripple through a family.

About Darren

Darren Schemmer grew up in Canada, Germany, and the United States. After teaching in Malawi and Canada, he joined the Canadian Foreign Service in 1989. He served abroad in Egypt, Honduras, Kenya, and at the Organization of American States, and later as High Commissioner of Canada to Ghana and Ambassador to Togo.

Since retiring from the federal government in 2014, Darren worked for three years as Executive Director of Simon Fraser University International and has served on the boards of four non-profit organizations. He and his wife now live in Vancouver, with their three sons and two grandchildren nearby.

Where are you on your relocation journey? Got a big dream, or are you already “there”? Follow others’ stories — and share yours when ready!

This week we talk with Catherine Stratton, a writer and filmmaker from Hoboken, New Jersey whose dream to explore the world has brought her to Paris, France.

When her marriage ended, and her grown children moved out of the family home, Catherine stepped out of her comfort zone to embark on new life adventures. She remembers telling herself at one point, “I gotta get out there, make more memories!”

Catherine journeyed through the UK, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and France, experiencing the highs and lows of being a solo traveller. These days, she is enjoying life in Paris — yet her journey may not be over. As Catherine says, she is “still figuring it out,” “always looking for the belonging,” continuing her search for that place to call “home”.

For Catherine, inspiration to live a life of her dreams came from an unexpected source: an advertisement for a red Ferrari that caught her eye in a magazine years ago. The ad said, “Only Those Who Dare … Truly Live,” and she still remembered these words perfectly! After the interview, as Michal found this framed poster of the old ad online, it seemed to take Catherine all the way back to those original sparks of her life dream!

What makes relocating so rich in emotions and insights? How does it transform people’s lives? Follow powerful stories as a subscriber.

P.S. Would you like to share your story of moving across borders? Get in touch.

This week we speak with Madeline Wahl, who shares her emotional journey from the United States to Scotland.

Madeline relocated to Glasgow on a study visa, along what turns out to be a deeply personal and transformative journey. During COVID-19, she moved back home to Florida to be a caregiver for her mom. She wanted to pursue the dream of living abroad, but life didn’t unfold the way she expected. What started as a dream to travel became a journey through profound grief and self-discovery.

Madeline Wahl is a writer and an alumna of the MLitt in Fantasy Literature program at the University of Glasgow in Scotland. While living in the States, she worked as a journalist for publications including HuffPost and Reader’s Digest.

She writes about her caregiving experience on her Substack:

She is also planning on sharing more experiences about solo travel and her years abroad on her Instagram @madelinewahlwrites.

Photo credit: Zoë Lintzeris

What makes relocating so rich in emotions and insights? How does it transform people’s lives? Follow powerful stories as a subscriber.

In most episodes, our guests are speaking with us from the place they had relocated to. They are reflecting back on the move, new experiences, and the journey toward feeling a sense of belonging in their new home. Today’s guest, however, has faced obstacles in her quest to relocate from Canada to Scotland, the country that has won her heart.

Tineke is a professional photographer who travels the world capturing the people, places, and cultures she experiences. In 2017, she took a group of photography students to Scotland and thus began a love affair with the wind and the sea and the land. She has returned to Scotland for several months every year since 2021, actively seeking a way to immigrate permanently, but has faced obstacles that have prevented that dream from coming true.

While caught between the two countries, Tineke has learned to create home within herself. In this episode, she shares her story of hope, resilience, and a determination to find a way.

Help us bring you more stories of the ups and downs of moving — by becoming a subscriber.

N.B. In the discussion at the end of Tineke’s interview, Michal references the Bridges Transition Model that outlines how we may transition through big changes in three stages: endings, neutral zone, and new beginnings. In the context of relocating, the model invites advancing gently, with self-compassion and self-care. See if it helps you make sense of your experience: https://wmbridges.com/about/what-is-transition/