This is a rebroadcast of an episode of "The Germany Experience," hosted by Shaun near Nuremberg. I call in from Freiburg to chat with Shaun and Steph Fuccio in Berlin of Geopats about our experiences with the COVID-19 outbreak in Germany. Find The Germany Experience here , and on Instagram and Twitter . Discuss your opinions on this episode in the The Germany Experience Facebook group ! Find Steph here , on Instagram and on Twitter . CONNECT theexpatcast.com Instagram @theexpatcast Twitter @thee...
Mar 18, 2020•46 min•Ep. 89
Season 3, Episode 25. It's the season 3 finale!!! Thanks to everyone who has made this season of The Expat Cast a smashing success. To celebrate the season wrapping up, I've invited guests from the last 3 seasons to give us an update on where they are now, how things have changed since they last were on the podcast, and what decisions they've been making lately about their expat life. We'll be back with season 4 at some point in the near(ish) future! Bis dann! FIND THE GUESTS 1. James, from Live...
Jan 30, 2020•52 min•Season 1Ep. 85
Season 3, Episode 24. Natalie left her home country of the UK and was backpacking in Australia when a handsome German man caught her eye in a hostel. Cue a whirlwind year of traveling together throughout Australia and Asia before moving together to Freiburg, Germany. When the two got engaged, Natalie had plenty of big dreams for how she wanted her wedding. But quickly, it became apparent that putting on her dream English wedding in Germany wasn't going to so easy. On top of that, a surprise canc...
Jan 23, 2020•39 min•Season 1Ep. 84
Season 3, Episode 23. After I had Katie on as a guest for the episode called Intercultural Relationships , I knew I had to have her on again to talk about her day job. Katie spends her days deciphering and translating old German handwriting from different genealogical documents. Individuals researching their German ancestry - or individuals who just stumble across their great-great-grandma's diary - come to Katie to bring these original documents back to life. With her fluency in German, her kno...
Jan 16, 2020•39 min•Season 1Ep. 83
Season 3, Episode 22. There are an estimated 9 million Americans living abroad. If you asked each one of them how they feel about being American, you'd probably get 9 million unique answers. While we can't ask every single person how they feel, we can - and have! - asked two, and this week, we talk to Zoe, a native Philadelphian who returned to the city after various experiences living and traveling abroad. After her second year abroad in France, Zoe decided to move back to the US - not just tem...
Jan 09, 2020•48 min•Season 1Ep. 82
Season 3, Episode 21. There are an estimated 9 million Americans living abroad. If you asked each one of them how they feel about being American, you'd probably get 9 million unique answers. While we can't ask every single person how they feel, we can - and have! - asked two, and this week, we talk to Gabe, a native South Carolinian living in Amsterdam. Gabe feels a deep sense of shame about being an American. Since moving to Europe, he's become disillusioned about numerous aspects of American h...
Jan 02, 2020•41 min•Season 1Ep. 81
FEGEPADFO. Is that another one of those famous, long, confusing German words? Nein! It's short for the First Ever Germany Expat Podcasters Advent Donation Face Off. The Expat Cast is competing against The Germany Experience to see who can get more donations to their charity of choice over this Advent season. You can participate by donating to either one of their charities - or both! MORE INFORMATION thegermanyexperience.de/charity The Expat Cast's charity of choice: Women's Worth Inc Expat Life ...
Jan 01, 2020•4 min•Season 1Ep. 80
Season 3, Episode 20. Nicole grew up in the US and moved to Germany in her mid-20s, and Christin grew up in Germany and moved to the US in her mid-20s. They both pull from their childhood as well as their years in their new home countries to swap stories about how the holidays are in both countries. Do you know about the Christmas Pickle? Have you ever accidentally set an advent wreath on fire? When you think about a nice hot, alcoholic beverage, do you think about eggnog or about Gluehwein? We ...
Dec 26, 2019•39 min•Season 1Ep. 77
FEGEPADFO. Is that another one of those famous, long, confusing German words? Nein! It's short for the First Ever Germany Expat Podcasters Advent Donation Face Off. The Expat Cast is competing against The Germany Experience to see who can get more donations to their charity of choice over this Advent season. You can participate by donating to either one of their charities - or both! MORE INFORMATION thegermanyexperience.de/charity The Expat Cast's charity of choice: Women's Worth Inc Expat Life ...
Dec 22, 2019•2 min•Season 1Ep. 79
Season 3, Episode 19. This is a rebroadcast from March 2019. It’s being re-released in honor of FEGEPADFO , or the First Ever Germany Expat Podcasters Advent Donation Face Off. The guest on the episode is Berly, one of the founders of Women’s Worth Inc., which is my charity of choice for FEGEPADFO. Listen to hear how Berly’s came to the idea to found Women’s Worth, as well as stories of who the people are that this charity helps. I hope that after listening, you’ll be inspired to take a couple m...
Dec 19, 2019•36 min•Season 1Ep. 76
FEGEPADFO. Is that another one of those famous, long, confusing German words? Nein! It's short for the First Ever Germany Expat Podcasters Advent Donation Face Off. The Expat Cast is competing against The Germany Experience to see who can get more donations to their charity of choice over this Advent season. You can participate by donating to either one of their charities - or both! MORE INFORMATION thegermanyexperience.de/charity The Expat Cast's charity of choice: Women's Worth Inc Expat Life ...
Dec 15, 2019•4 min•Season 1Ep. 78
Season 3, Episode 18. Germany is famous around the globe for their apprenticeship program, or Ausbildung. Did you know that foreigners are also eligible to do an apprenticeship in Germany? We talk to two Americans doing apprenticeships in Germany, one in beer brewing and the other in pottery. The best part? During the whole three-year program, they get a salary! It’s not much, but it’s livable! They explain to us how they got their positions, what it’s like doing an apprenticeship as foreigners ...
Dec 12, 2019•35 min•Season 1Ep. 75
FEGEPADFO. Is that another one of those famous, long, confusing German words? Nein! It's short for the First Ever Germany Expat Podcasters Advent Donation Face Off. The Expat Cast is competing against The Germany Experience to see who can get more donations to their charity of choice over this Advent season. You can participate by donating to either one of their charities - or both! MORE INFORMATION thegermanyexperience.de/charity The Expat Cast's charity of choice: Women's Worth Inc Expat Life ...
Dec 08, 2019•4 min•Season 1Ep. 74
Season 3, Episode 17. Austria and Germany have a sensitive relationship. Picture a sibling rivalry, but with countries and cultures that have coexisted in varying states of war and peace for centuries. Today's guest, Stefanie , grew up in Austria and, against all odds and cultural norms, married a German. *pause for gasps* The two live in Stuttgart, Germany, where Stefanie is experiencing a strange expatriation process after living in the UK for 16 years. Stefanie delights us with a chat that ma...
Dec 05, 2019•38 min•Season 1Ep. 73
FEGEPADFO. Is that another one of those famous, long, confusing German words? Nein! It's short for the First Ever Germany Expat Podcasters Advent Donation Face Off. The Expat Cast is competing against The Germany Experience to see who can get more donations to their charity of choice over this Advent season. You can participate by donating to either one of their charities - or both! MORE INFORMATION thegermanyexperience.de/charity The Expat Cast's charity of choice: Women's Worth Inc Expat Life ...
Dec 01, 2019•5 min•Season 1Ep. 72
Season 3, Episode 16. Happy Thanksgiving! Here at The Expat Cast, we're thankful for taxes. Or at least the services & programs that taxes provide. And we're thankful for people like Nathalie Goldstein, who founded MyExpatTaxes, a company whose software makes filing your US expat taxes fun and cute. "Fun" and "cute" and "taxes" all in one sentence? Hold your gasps! With the MyExpatTaxes software, it's actually totally true. Nathalie tells us about starting MyExpatTaxes and shares TONS of inf...
Nov 28, 2019•45 min•Season 1Ep. 71
Season 3, Episode 15. The days are getting shorter, the weather is getting colder, and we're all getting lonelier. The normal November blues are made that much more challenging when you're facing them in a foreign country. But fret not! You're not alone, even if you are lonely. Every expat has experienced a season of loneliness, and, dare I say, we'll all face them again at some point. This week's guest is fellow expat and life coach Gabriela Encina, who brings us stories from her own life as we...
Nov 21, 2019•39 min•Season 1Ep. 70
Season 3, Episode 14. "You're always going to have one set of parents or family who is sad because they're missing their son or daughter." Katie, an American, is married to an Austrian. Their relationship has been colored by what language they communicate in and where they live - in the US, in Austria, and now as digital nomads. Although sometimes it is as magical as taking twirling in the Austrian Alps, singing songs from The Sound of Music, there are numerous challenges that come up when you a...
Nov 14, 2019•38 min•Season 1Ep. 69
Season 3, Episode 13. You know it's going to be a good episode if it references Brene Brown AND Maya Angelou! This week, we're diving into the nitty gritty of imposter syndrome, or the deep feeling and/or fear of being a fraud. Maybe you've heard of it before, maybe you've admitted to feeling it before, but MAN does expat life intensify the experience of imposter syndrome! Melissa, aka Intentional Expat , lived in Spain and the Netherlands for a decade before moving back to her home state, Washi...
Nov 07, 2019•38 min•Season 1Ep. 68
Season 3, Episode 12. HAPPY HALLOWEEN! What better way to celebrate Halloween abroad than by discussing true murder cases that happened in the town where you live? Inspired by the famous & well-loved true crime podcast, My Favorite Murder , your host Nicole and her guest Megan picked out two suspenseful cases that tie into their new home of Freiburg, Germany. First up, Megan (who loves murder!) tells us the story of The Woman Without a Face. Then Nicole tells us the story of the Frauenmörder...
Oct 31, 2019•37 min•Season 1Ep. 67
Season 3, Episode 11. After using and loving the WunderTax tool for expats in Germany to file German taxes, Nicole was so impressed that she invited them on the show. Fellow expat in Germany, Agnese, works with WunderTax, and she tell us everything we need to know to file our taxes on time, accurately, and painlessly. The episode focuses on general insights into filing taxes in Germany. For more about filing taxes in Germany, check out this blog post . FIND WUNDERTAX On their website Their expat...
Oct 24, 2019•38 min•Season 1Ep. 66
Season 3, Episode 10. It's the episode no one wanted, that no one needed - yet here it is! It's Snacks & Toilets! In the first half of the episode, we discuss snacks - the snacks we love and hate in Germany, and the snacks we miss most from home. Then comes part two: toilets. Have you encountered the elusive German toilet phenomenon, the poop shelf? We dish out the pros and cons of the strange design, then we give some well-deserved hate to our home country, USA, for having public bathroom d...
Oct 17, 2019•39 min•Season 1Ep. 65
Season 3, Episode 9. Moving abroad throws so many things into question - your sense of home, your relationships, your career, your comfort zone. In fact, all of these things are also typically thrown into question during another life period: your 20s. Olivia is 26. She is half-Irish, half-Austrian and has lived in Australia and Sweden. Suffice it to say, she's had her fair share of opportunities to ask these tough questions! In our conversation, we discuss what it was like growing up split betwe...
Oct 10, 2019•37 min•Season 1Ep. 64
Season 3, Episode 8. Look out - a wild podcast has escaped the cage of the basement studio and emerged into the real world! The Expat Cast went LIVE! In honor of International Podcast Day , we hosted an event at the Carl Schurz Haus , the German-American center in Freiburg. Following a quick crash course on podcasting, the audience enjoyed a panel discussion between The Expat Cast and local Freiburg podcast Jung & Freudlos about all things podcasting - how we make our shows, why we make the ...
Oct 03, 2019•41 min•Season 1Ep. 63
Season 3, Episode 7. It's time to get to know your host! This episode, there's no guest - just me, Nicole, the lady behind the podcast. I tell my expat story, from my first experience abroad to today. I discuss how I left my heart in Italy, my long-distance relationship, my career as a librarian, and how I made the move to Germany in terms of career, visa, and cultural adjustment. RESOURCES Long-Distance Relationships The First Few Months Prepping for a Job Hunt in Germany Information about Bund...
Sep 26, 2019•36 min•Season 1Ep. 62
Season 3, Episode 6. Today, the expats in Germany podcast worlds collide - because Shaun from The Germany Experience is a guest on The Expat Cast! Shaun moved to Germany from South Africa years ago with his wife, in search of adventure and new experiences. They now have German citizenship and are raising two - soon to be three! - kiddos in their rural German village. Their oldest son has a special need called SYNGAP-1, and Shaun shares with us how they've navigated the situation as foreigners an...
Sep 19, 2019•36 min•Season 1Ep. 61
Season 3, Episode 5. Linda Kerr grew up as a Third Culture Kid and is now a "trailing spouse" or expat partner. That means she's experienced living abroad during various stages of life - but now, she's doing something totally new. She is living abroad in Germany with her husband and their two teenagers. Linda explains how she's made moving to Europe work with a 14-year-old and a 15-year-old. Although it's not always easy, Linda's family has embraced their 3-year stay in Germany as a chance to ma...
Sep 12, 2019•29 min•Season 1Ep. 60
Season 3, Episode 4. "For us, the number 1 priority was that they would thrive academically, that they would thrive socially, and that this experience would build them up, not suppress them and make them feel like introverts just because they're outsiders." When Lauren moved from the Jersey Shore in New Jersey, USA to Barcelona, Spain with her husband and three small children, she did her research and decided that international school was the right choice for her kids' schooling. She explains to...
Sep 05, 2019•39 min•Season 1Ep. 59
Season 3, Episode 3. Folks, we've got our first New Zealand expat in Germany on the show! Having lived in England during the Brexit vote, Fraser became keenly aware of how some foreigners are referred to as expats while others are immigrants. Expats are often seen in a positive light whereas immigrants are too often seen negatively. Not so coincidentally, "immigrants" are often people of color. We dig into this topic, including considering the German phrase "Menschen mit Migrationshintergrund," ...
Aug 29, 2019•40 min•Season 1Ep. 58
Season 3, Episode 2. "Expat" is short for expatriation, or living in a country other than one's native country, and "repat" is short for repatriation, or living back in one's native country after living abroad. Put them together, and you get Expat Repat, the name of Lindsey McLean's podcast. Lindsey herself is a repat, living back in the USA after years of life abroad in Switzerland. In the years since she's moved back, she's struggled but succeeded at building a life that she's happy with. We d...
Aug 22, 2019•40 min•Season 1Ep. 57
