Blog & Journal

Real stories, interviews, personal journeys, and practical tips to make life abroad feel more like home.

Almost Local Podcast Episodes, Expat Life and Dilemmas

Time Zone Chronicles: Staying Connected While Living Abroad in New Zealand

Four months into life in New Zealand, I’ve learned that living abroad means living across time zones — and learning to love people on a delay. Here’s how expat friendships ...

by Maria Barciela • October 31, 2025November 7, 2025

Almost Local Podcast Episodes, Expat Life and Dilemmas

Navigating Tsunamis and Transitions: 3 Lessons for Life Abroad

Happy Friday, fellow almost locals! It’s another day here in Cloudy, Auckland, New Zealand, and I’m coming to you with tales of navigating life from the world’s edges. Whether you’re ...

by Maria Barciela • September 26, 2025October 10, 2025

Expat Life and Dilemmas

Biking Worlds: Lessons on Belonging Abroad

Happy Friday, Almost Locals! I’m Maria, your host, writing from the quaint, cloudy city of Auckland, New Zealand. If you’re new here, welcome to Almost Local—a community for anyone navigating ...

by Maria Barciela • September 12, 2025September 12, 2025

Expat Life and Dilemmas

Relocating to New Zealand: Finding Home, Community, and Connection

Welcome Back I’m Maria, your host here at Almost Local. Today I want to share a deeply personal and universal story—the experience of relocating to New Zealand and rediscovering what ...

by Maria Barciela • September 5, 2025September 5, 2025

Expat Life and Dilemmas

Coming Home: A New Edge of Place

Moving countries is never just about geography. It’s about identity, change, and the messy in-between of leaving one world while stepping into another. This July, my husband, our two teenagers, ...

by Maria Barciela • August 27, 2025August 27, 2025

Expat Life and Dilemmas

A Free Journaling Workbook to help expat women navigate life abroad

Discover Maria’s free journaling workbook for expat women + listen to Episode 3 of the Almost Local podcast about the 5 big dilemmas of expat life.

by Maria Barciela • May 5, 2025September 19, 2025

Expat Life and Dilemmas

20 Tips for expats Building Community Abroad (That Actually Work)

Moving abroad and feeling isolated? Discover 20 honest, practical tips for building community and making real friends in a new country—without the awkward small talk.

by Maria Barciela • April 23, 2025April 23, 2025

Expat Life and Dilemmas

The Expat Dilemma: 5 Biggest Challenges of Life Abroad

Everyone’s experience abroad is different, but these are five dilemmas I’ve personally faced as a woman navigating expat life—challenges I know many others have experienced, too. And they’re exactly the ...

by Maria Barciela • April 3, 2025September 19, 2025

Expat Life and Dilemmas

Why I Created Almost Local: The Expat Dilemma

When does a place stop feeling temporary? When do you stop calling it ‘this city’ and start saying ‘home’? I’ll never forget the first time I gave someone directions in ...

by Maria Barciela • April 1, 2025May 5, 2025

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