My Expat Journey
It wasn’t until I moved abroad that I felt defined by my marital status. When I left the UK and moved to South Africa, I was working as a global HR professional. I had hoped to continue my HR career, but that didn’t work out. Forget culture shock.
For me, the biggest shock was that I didn’t have a job anymore. What happened to my career!? Work was always a big presence in my life – it was part of who I was. And then suddenly, it wasn’t. It was like losing a huge part of my identity and, subsequently my self-confidence: “Who am I, if I’m not a career woman?”

With this loss of identity, came the resentment: am I just an Expat Wife now?
I started to resent my husband’s work and felt angry that the reality of his days hadn’t changed much. Whereas I was navigating a new place, with no friends, whilst coming to terms with the numbing realization that I was no longer sitting in company meetings making important decisions but instead was sitting on the sofa watching Netflix. I heard myself jumping at every opportunity to tell people that I used to have a successful, global career: that I used to be something other than an “Expat Wife”.
For a while I played the victim; feeling like all this change had been done to me and telling myself that I sacrificed my career and my life for my husband. I eventually realized that I had to stop telling myself that this dream had turned into a nightmare and reset my mind. This was an opportunity for me to finally listen to the voice that had been whispering for years, “start your own business”. It was a gift.
I succumbed to my entrepreneurial passion and built a thriving business. But life is the ultimate improvisation and before too long we were relocating for a second time – to Canada. And just like that, I found myself having to dig deep again…
I understand your journey because it was my journey.
I know what it’s like to succeed as an Expat Spouse, but boy is it hard!
All the things I read online didn’t teach me what I really needed to learn to transition overseas and build a successful and meaningful life for myself.
But I learned.
That’s why I created NLH
It’s a space for ambitious Expat Spouses and Partners to be guided through their integration journey. A place where you have access to coaching, tools and strategies to help you build self-esteem, courage and a positive mindset to define and move towards the life you want.