Self-Made Expats with Lucy Jeon – Détails, épisodes et analyse

In this episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Professor Danny Kessler, an American expat 🇺🇸 who has built an incredible career and life in South Korea 🇰🇷.

Professor Kessler is an Assistant Professor at Dongseo University’s International College, where he teaches, mentors, and develops innovative programs like the Workplace Wellness Micro-Degree and the Workplace Wellness Research Lab. Recently, him and his student won an all-expenses-paid trip to Dubai for their winning idea at the Shark Tank of Wellness competition!

Before entering academia, Danny was an entrepreneur, and he’s also the author of several books.

In this episode, we talked about what it’s like to live and work in South Korea as an expat, how his early entrepreneurial spirit shaped his approach to teaching, and why he continues to explore, learn, and inspire others through everything he does.

🎧 Listen now to here Professor Kessler's journey from the US to South Korea!

⏰ Timestamps

00:00 Intro

00:32 Meet Professor Kessler

01:27 Life in South Korea

03:14 From Entrepreneurship to Academia

06:22 The Journey into Wellness Tourism

18:11 Preparing Students for Success

22:18 The Drive Behind Continuous Learning

26:00 Daily Rituals and Life Mantras

👉 Connecting with Professor Kessler on LinkedIn

👉 Connecting with Lucy on LinkedIn

In this episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Gabriela Encina, a psychologist for expats and internationals, who helps people navigate the emotional and psychological challenges of living abroad.

Gabriela walks us through the 4 chapters of expat life that so many of us quietly experience, and whether you’re in your first year abroad or ten years in, you’ll likely recognize yourself in one of these stages. If you're going through any of these emotions, be sure to know that you're not alone. 💛

If you want to hear more about Gabriela's expat journey, be sure to listen to the Season 1 Episode 31! She shared her journey from Chile 🇨🇱 to Austria 🇦🇹 and now Spain 🇪🇸 and brings fresh insights to help expats name their challenges, embrace change, and move forward with confidence.

🎧 Enjoy :)

⏰ Time Stamps

00:00  Meet Gabriela

02:02 The Honeymoon Phase of Expat Life

06:00 Emotional Preparation for Moving Abroad

09:33 Navigating Cultural Differences at Work

22:27  Is This the Right Country for Me?

32:36 Adapting and Settling In

37:57 Deciding Between Staying or Moving Back

45:35 Final Thoughts and Advice for Expats

✨ Connect with Gabriela ✨

Website

LinkedIn

Instagram

🌎 Connect with Lucy 🌎

Website

LinkedIn

Hey Dreamers!

In this episode, I interviewed Lena Rekdal, the Sweden Relocation & Immigration Expert and the Founder of Nimmersion, an employment-based immigration and relocation company where she and her team help companies successfully move employees to Sweden.

Lena is currently based in Sweden, but she grew up and lived in many different countries including Sweden, Tunisia, Switzerland, the US, and the UK. In this episode, we talked about her expat journey, and what you can expect as a newcomer in Sweden. If you're considering relocating to Sweden or have always been curious about life in Sweden, this episode is perfect for you. The episode is jam-packed with useful information.

I lived in Sweden for around 1 year and was thrilled to have this interview with Lena. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

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🇸🇪 Connect with Lena on LinkedIn

🇸🇪 Follow Nimmersion company page on LinkedIn

🇸🇪 Nimmersion Website (so many free resources!)

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💚 Learn more about your host, Lucy here: LinkedIn I Youtube I Website

💚 Learn more about HeyGlobally, where you can find a job abroad in tech 🌎

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🕰 Chatpers (because your time is precious, but I highly recommend listening to a full episode!)

00:00 - 11:34 Lena's expat journey

11:35 - 17:34 How Immersion was born *30 years* ago & Her inspiring entrepreneurial journey

17:35 - 26:27 Life in Sweden & Why Sweden is an attractive country for foreigners to relocate to

26:28 - 47:22 Expected challenges for newcomers in Sweden & things you must know before moving to Sweden

47:23 - 55:38 Lena's Life motto

Hey Dreamer!

In this episode, I interviewed Nina Cataldo, the founder of Hafu Ladies, a global community for hafu and mixed-Japanese womxn. (1,200+ members around the world!)

Nina was raised in a bi-cultural and bilingual household and grew up both in Japan and America which allowed her to embrace two cultures and languages. Now, Nina is based in London.

In the podcast, we talked about her experience living in Japan and America, her life as a bi-cultural and bilingual, her entrepreneurial journey, and her passion for traveling, writing, and storytelling.

It was such a wonderful conversation, truly enjoyed every second of speaking with her, learned so much, and felt so much. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

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00:00 - 14:19 - Travel stories (traveling on a ship for 90+ days)

14:20 - 14:30 - Being a travel writer

14:31 - 20:40 - Cultural differences between Japan and America

20:41 - 41:03 - Being a bi-cultural and bilingual

41:04 - 58:03 - Entrepreneurial journey

58:04 - 01:05:45 - Living in London

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Learn more about Nina

Connect with Nina on LinkedIn

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Learn more about your host, Lucy here: LinkedIn I Youtube I Website

Learn more about HeyGlobally, where you can find a job abroad in tech 🌎

Hey Dreamer!

To honor the mental health awareness month, in this episode, I interviewed Gabriela Encina, a licensed psychologist who is specialized in helping expat women discover themselves and their happiness in a new country.

Gabriela was born and raised in Chile, and after working in Chile for 10 years, she moved to Austria and lived there for 8 years. In 2017, she moved to Spain and she's based in Valencia, Spain.

Gabriela brings 20+ years of experience as a psychologist she has helped more than 300 expat women from all around the world. If you're an expat woman, an immigrant, and a new comer in a new country, I am certain you'll resonate with many tings that we discussed in this episode. Please enjoy!

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00:00 - 11:16 Gabriela's journey living in Austria and Spain as an expat woman

11:17 - 57:09 Gabriela's experience as a psychologist and her advice to expat women

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Gabriela's website

Gabriela's Instagram (@gabriela.encina.psychologist)

Connect Gabriela on LinkedIn

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Learn more about your host, Lucy here: LinkedIn I Youtube I Website

Learn more about HeyGlobally, the platform to find a job abroad in tech 🌎

Hey Dreamer!

In this episode, I interviewed Joey Li, a social entrepreneur and the co-founder of Leiho, the social enterprise where every purchase helps to fund basic essentials for those without a home.

Joey is currently based in London, but before she moved to London, she lived in Hong Kong, Singapore, LA, and Vancouver which allowed her to connect with lots of people from different backgrounds and cultures.

We talked about her experience living in different places, her entrepreneurial journey, work-life balance, imposter syndrome, and self-love. Joey reminded me how important it is to connect to ourselves and be really kind to ourselves.

It was such a wonderful conversation, truly enjoyed every second of speaking with her, learned so much, and felt so much. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

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00:00 - 10:22 - experience living in different places/cultures

10:23 - 24:40 - entrepreneurial journey and Joey started Leiho

24:41 - 1:03:31 - work-life balance, imposter syndrome, self-care, self-love, and connecting with ourselves

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Leiho website

Leiho Instagram (@leiho_uk)

Leiho LinkedIn

Connect with Joey on LinkedIn

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Learn more about your host, Lucy here: LinkedIn I Youtube I Website

Learn more about HeyGlobally, where you can find a job abroad in tech 🌎

Hey Dreamers!

In this episode, I interviewed Lindsay Davis, the founder of FemTech Association Asia, Asia's first industry network for professionals in FemTech.

Lindsay was raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in the U.S., then she moved to Austin, Texas to attend the university. After living in Texas for a while, she moved to London in the UK and lived there for more than 10 years. In 2020, she moved to Singapore and founded One Bee Consulting, a management consultancy company, and then in 2021, she founded FemTech Association Asia.

She is one of the most empowering female entrepreneurs with such a big heart and I enjoyed our genuine conversation so much! Hope you enjoy this episode as much as I did.

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Connect with Lindsay on LinkedIn

Follow FemTech Association Asia on LinkedIn

Learn more about FemTech Association Asia

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Learn more about Lucy here: LinkedIn I Youtube I Website

Learn more about HeyGlobally, where you can find a job abroad in tech 🌎

Hey Dreamers!

In this episode, I interviewed Zakaria Jaiathe(Zak), the co-founder and CEO of WAANDA, the SaaS-enabled B2B marketplace that facilitates trade between African SME producers and European retailers.

Zak was born and raised in Safi, Morocco, and in 2012, he moved to France for his study, and now he is based in Berlin in Germany. Before he started WANNDA in 2021, he founded Xibit in 2016, an award-winning augmented reality startup, and before founding Xibit, he worked as a technology executive advisor for the SAP leadership. Zak also won several prestigious international awards and was mentioned several times in top magazines such as Forbes. 

His journey is so so inspiring, so if you want some booster to go after your dream, THIS is the must-listen episode. Please enjoy!

Connect with Zak on LinkedIn

Learn more about WAANDA

Book recommendation by Zak: Alibaba: The House That Jack Ma Built, How Asia Works, Sapiens

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Learn more about Lucy here: LinkedIn I Youtube I Website

Learn more about HeyGlobally, where you can find a job abroad in tech 🌎

Hey Dreamers!

In this episode, I interviewed Matthieu Zeilas, an entrepreneur and the co-founder of Palma Coliving in beautiful Mallorca, Spain. Matthieu was born and raised in France and in 2020, he moved to sunny Mallorca in Spain and opened Palma Coliving, a conscious coliving place for remote workers and digital nomads. 

In the past 12 months, Palma Coliving opened 3 premium coliving properties in Spain and hosted 150 international remote workers, and now they’re looking to extend towards 10 sunny global locations in the next 24 months near the sea for the remote worker community. 

Before he opened Palma Coliving, he worked with management teams for global luxury groups in the hospitality, real estate, and digital media industries. He also created the french startup called “luxury-technologies” which was incubated at Station F, the world’s biggest startup company in Paris. I’m a huge advocate of remote work and absolutely love digital nomad life, and I enjoyed every minute of our conversation.

If you're dreaming of digital nomad life, definitely highly recommend tuning in! :)

Connect with Matthieu: LinkedIn

Palma Coliving: Instagram (@palmacoliving.co) I Website

Listen to Matthieu's Podcast, Digital Nomads behind the scenes

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Learn more about Lucy here: LinkedIn I Youtube I Website

Learn more about HeyGlobally, where you can find a job abroad in tech 🌎

Hey Dreamers!

In this episode, I interviewed Daniela Redondo Vélez, the Founder Scout at Slimmer AI.

In 2019, she moved from Colombia to the Netherlands to study masters and now she is the Founder Scout at SlimmierAI, a venture studio based in the Netherlands. Recently, she also made it to the TNW’s list of the Top 500 most talented people under the age of 30 in the Dutch tech space which is a huge achievement! Before she moved to The Netherlands, she founded three startups in Colombia in her early 20s, and in one of her startups, she negotiated an exclusive partnership with Ubereats which doubled the revenue, and in another startup, she won the pitch competition and traveled to Switzerland to start summit 2018.

She shared lots of brilliant insights and practical tips, so if you're thinking of moving abroad or starting a business or a founder at an early-stage startup, I definitely highly recommend listening to this episode. I was so inspired by her story.

Feel free to connect with Daniela on LinkedIn

Learn more about Lucy here: LinkedIn I Youtube I Website

Learn more about HeyGlobally, where you can find a job abroad in tech 🌎