11 Comments

This is really inspiring, Lucy! I'm realising that taking risks are what makes life exciting. Without them we plod along but don't challenge ourselves to learn or discover. Thanks for sharing your personal story 😊

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Welcome to bonkers Istanbul Lucy. It was 22 years ago that I first set foot amongst cats and seagulls and I’m not sure I understand the city any better now! The love of it never leaves though…

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I fall more and more for it every day (as long as I don't get in a taxi :)

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So cool that you made that choice! I very impulsively moved from Canada to Australia in my early 20s and spent a year. I was an expat in other countries for a combined decade, and settled with my husband no win the US. Now and again I feel the itch to move to another country.

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As an Aussie expat to Japan, there’s a lot different in this experience. Yet it all does seem to feel the same as well!

Loved coming across your work and experiences! I know our “Substack” paths are quite different but I’d love to chat about collaborating if that’s of interest!

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Hi Leon, I'm so sorry it's taken me so long to reply to this —  I somehow missed your message. As you say, our stacks are similar but very different which goes for the expat experience as a whole. But I think people there's enought crossover and our audiences would enjoy reading each others. Maybe we could recommend each other?

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Thanks Lucy that sounds good, I'll start recommending you and would love if you can recommend back!

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I am no stranger to standing on the edge of the abyss and deliberating, so hats off to you for 'jumping into the unknown', and embracing the heady cocktail of fear, excitement and impulse, which so often drives the coolest of life's choices.

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Change can be terrifying but it can also lead to some of life's best experiences, as you well know!

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Totally, totally relate to the finding simple tasks like buying dinner in a new country exhausting! Such a great piece ✨

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Thanks so much Lauren for reading! It's so great to know that I'm not alone on this crazy journey of jumps & hurdles. Look forward to all your columns btw.

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