This month on my Podcast Living La Belle Vie we are talking about traveling, living abroad, and how to deal with the endless goodbyes we have to face from one location to the next. I chose this subject as it is hitting close to home for me this month in particular. Me and my family have decided to spend a school year in California for my son to learn English. It is something that we had been thinking about for a long time and when the window of opportunity presented itself we decided to jump through it! But once the decision was made it was like time sped up.

As I was getting ready for our trip I came across a post on instagram by Öykü Api where she was sharing her lost of two good friends that came suddenly out of no where and about just how painful that was. Öykü is a wanderlust like me. She has traveled to more than 55 countries and currently lives and works in Dubai. We discuss the pros and cons of living abroad but we really talk about one of the most painful parts of it which is: the constant goodbyes we have to go through over our time away from home. We give some insight on how we deal with those constant goodbyes.

For a lot of us when we leave or take off to a new place we think we are going to have time to spend with our friends and family. To enjoy some trips, dinners, aperitifs, and to have those last playdates with our kids. We want to see everyone as much as we can in hopes that those last moments will fill us up until we can visit our friends and family again. But before you know it the list of things to do to get ready to leave, and all the things you have to do to start your new life in your new destination soon consumes all the free time. It ends up taking up so much space that you spend a large part of the time you thought you had to say goodbye  just organising your departure.

Now, I am seasoned traveller and I have lived in several countries. I use to have a pattern of moving every four years, but since I moved to the South of France things changed a bit.  I have been in Marseille for ten years and forgot a bit how hard it can be leaving behind the people who have become your extended family.

Although I am not saying a permeant goodbye to my friends and family in France, it hit me different this time. You are still losing that proximity to people you care about and talk to on everyday bases. I want to share some tips that have helped my along the way. You can have a listen here: