Life abroad changes you.
It stretches you, surprises you, challenges you, and—if you let it—transforms you.
In this week’s episode of the Almost Local Podcast, Andrea and I dive into the heart of that transformation. We explore what it really means to live abroad: the moments of loneliness, the unexpected cultural shocks, the joy of rediscovery, and the quiet process of building a sense of home far from where your story began.
This episode is raw, personal, and deeply reflective—one of my favourites so far.
Feel free to keep reading the story here, or you can check out the entire episode on our podcast! You can also listen to it directly on Spotify or Apple—whichever you prefer! Enjoy!
If you’re new to the community, you may enjoy reading these related posts in our Life Abroad series:
Finding Community in Loneliness
Most expat journeys begin the same way: with a quiet sense of loneliness.
You arrive in a new country, surrounded by unfamiliar rhythms, customs, and languages. You long for people who understand the emotional complexity of leaving everything behind to build a life elsewhere.
For me, that longing became the seed of Almost Local—a place where expats and immigrants could come together, share their stories, and feel seen. Over the past decade of living abroad—from Argentina to New Zealand, then to the Netherlands, and now back to New Zealand—I’ve learned that emotional connection is what makes or breaks our experience.
That first year abroad?
What saves us is people.
What shapes us is community.
If you’re at the beginning of your expat journey, you might enjoy this earlier reflection:
The Duality of Identity
During my conversation with Andrea, we explored something many expats struggle with but rarely articulate—the feeling of living between worlds.
Andrea describes it beautifully:
You don’t become less Argentinian, nor do you suddenly become fully Kiwi. You become something else—something richer. You expand.
This dual identity is a privilege:
🥄 New flavours
🗣️ New languages
🌍 New cultural lenses
🧭 And a deeper understanding of who you really are
Being almost local isn’t about picking one identity over the other.
It’s about learning to hold both—gracefully, honestly, and with curiosity.
For more reflections on identity abroad, see:
Building Bonds Through Stories
We live in a hyperconnected world, yet so many of us feel more isolated than ever.
That’s why community—and storytelling—matters deeply.
Sharing stories creates bridges:
Between cultures, between experiences, and between people who might otherwise never meet. During my early days in New Zealand, the friendships I built became my anchor. They reminded me that I wasn’t alone in this emotional terrain.
Behind every migration story, there is:
✨ grief
✨ excitement
✨ reinvention
✨ resilience
✨ and a deep longing for home
These stories deserve to be heard.
This is the heart of Almost Local.
You can listen to more expat stories here:
The Transformative Power of Culture Shock
Culture shock is often portrayed as something amusing or trivial—but its impact is profound.
My biggest adjustments?
🇳🇿 In New Zealand: the slower rhythm of life, shops closing early, and the quiet simplicity of daily routines.
🇳🇱 In the Netherlands: the challenge of Dutch, one of the hardest languages I’ve ever tried to learn, and a reflection of a culture that took time to understand.
These moments force us to stretch, adapt, and grow.
They are the hidden teachers of life abroad.
If you enjoy stories like this, you’ll love:
Rituals That Ground Us
When the world around you is unfamiliar, rituals become a lifeline.
For Andrea, New Zealand offered a sense of safety and community that allowed her to create small, grounding rituals with her children—simple routines that made daily life feel meaningful.
For me, rituals are also tiny anchors:
☕ my morning coffee
🌿 time in the garden
📚 journaling
🌧️ rainy Auckland mornings like today
Rituals remind us that even far from home, we can create spaces that feel like ours.
Home: A Feeling More Than a Place
As we wrapped up our conversation, this truth resonated deeply:
Home is not a place. Home is a feeling.
For Andrea and for me, Argentina will always hold our roots, our families, our childhood memories. But New Zealand—its kindness, its pace, its sense of community—is where our hearts have learned to rest.
And maybe that’s the essence of being almost local:
We carry multiple homes inside us.
For more reflections on home, see:
Final Thoughts
Almost Local was born from a need—my own need—to feel less alone and to offer others the comfort I once searched for.
This podcast, this blog, this community… It’s for all of us navigating life abroad.
For the ones reinventing themselves.
For the ones starting again.
For the ones who call more than one place home.
Thank you for being here.
And if you are new to our space, I’d love to invite you to join our growing community:
📌 Subscribe on YouTube
📌 Follow the Almost Local Podcast
📌 Join our monthly newsletter
Because no matter where we are in the world, we don’t have to do this alone.
Now I’m off to enjoy a warm morning coffee ☕
Here’s to new beginnings—today, tomorrow, and every step of the journey.
xx Maria.