🌿 Can You Hear Them?
Can you hear them? The birds.
That’s the sound of my garden here in Glendowie, Auckland, and it still surprises me that I get to call this place home.
Welcome to Almost Local. I’m Maria, your host, and today I’m podcasting from sunny, super-warm Auckland, New Zealand.
If you’re new here, Almost Local is a space where we talk about life abroad — the messy, beautiful, sometimes lonely, and always transformative parts of building a home far from where you started. It’s about connection, belonging, and the small stories that remind us we’re not alone in figuring it all out.
🎧 Listen to the full episode here, or in Apple or Spotify
✈️ Reflecting on Four Months
It’s been four months since we landed in New Zealand — four months of learning, wandering, and slowly finding my footing again.
Four months ago, I was in the Netherlands, listening to the same birds over a phone call with a friend who lived here. I remember that deep ache of homesickness — not for a house, but for a feeling. Hearing those birds made me think, “One day I’ll be there again.”
And now I am—same birds, different chapter.
They remind me to slow down, to notice, to be here.
🌪️ Embracing the Chaos
Those first weeks?
Chaos. The kind that’s both exciting and exhausting.
So many unknowns, and a constant whisper — “Was this the right decision?”
Even small things — finding a car, a doctor, or a favourite supermarket — felt like small victories. I’d catch myself wondering when life would start to feel like home again.
And then something shifted.
Not suddenly, but quietly.
While the questions stayed, life began to take shape around them.
💬 Building Connections
I found a group — The Friday Circle — a small community of almost locals like me.
We meet every third Friday of the month, and those gatherings have become a rhythm, a reminder that connection doesn’t have to wait until you feel settled. Connection is what helps you get there.
And then there were new friendships.
One of them, Andrea, became both a dear friend and my creative partner for Almost Local.
We began working on new workshops, exploring short trips, and reconnecting with what initially drew us to New Zealand.
Those shared moments — laughter on the road, creative sparks, deep conversations — made this chapter real.
🌞 Finding Joy in Small Things
Now it’s November.
The sun is stronger, the days are longer, and the air feels lighter.
I go to the beach almost every day at lunch.
I do yoga in the garden.
I let the birds soundtrack my mornings.
These small things are the difference between living in a place and living with it.
You can have all the beauty and still miss it if you don’t pay attention.
So I’m learning to notice.
To appreciate.
To actually be where my feet are.
💛 Gratitude and Belonging
With awareness comes gratitude — for the people who helped along the way.
Friends who were waiting for us with open arms.
The ones who helped move our things.
The new faces who didn’t know us before but somehow make it feel like we’ve always been here.
And for the sunlight, the rhythm of the waves, and the birdsong I once missed so deeply.
Because when I stopped fighting the not-knowing, I started to belong again.
Sometimes belonging isn’t about understanding everything — it’s about staying long enough to find beauty in what you don’t yet understand.
🌍 Moving Forward
If you’re listening or reading from somewhere new — maybe you’ve just moved or you’re still figuring things out — take a moment to listen.
Listen to the sounds around you, the small joys that remind you why you came.
And maybe ask yourself:
Who helped you settle?
Who made your new place feel like home?
Four months in, I’m still learning, still adapting, but I can finally say I feel my feet on the ground.
When I sit in the garden, with the sun on my face and the birds singing, I think: This is it.
This is what Almost Local feels like.
☕ Thanks for reading and listening.
If this story resonated, share it or tag the person who made your new home feel a little more like yours.
🎧 Listen to the episode → Four Months In — The Sound of Belonging 🎧 Or listen in Apple or Spotify
💌 Subscribe to the newsletter → Stories & Notes from Almost Local