Hey, my friend. It's so good to be back. In this episode, I am sharing the reasons why I left England and returned with a family to the USA in 2025, and what's been on my mind these past few months. Welcome to starting over in the USA, the Expat Woman's Guide to overcoming homesickness, embracing cultural differences, and creating a new home away from home. On this podcast, we talk about leaving behind the familiar, you know, the pangs of homesickness and culture shock to the journeys of reinventing yourself. I'm Yolanda Reshemah. And after relocating six times, I know firsthand what it's like to start from scratch, feeling like both a foreign child and a foreign adult in a new world. You are going to take away from this episode the positive that still exists in the USA today for you. And why you should never give up hope. Despite its imperfections and challenges, this place still holds a kind of promise that's worth talking about. We just returned. From a year abroad with the family. We went to England to spend time with my parents because, well, they're at that age and. I took a break from recording to slow down and pay attention and to reflect, and that pause led me into some deep thinking about where I've been, what I've learned, and who I've become. But the one thing that's really stood out is the fact that I've been relocating since I was 10 from the Caribbean to England, from England to France as a young adult. Then back again, then over to the USA as a newlywed and now. Back to Europe with a child and husband and each move came with its own demands, its own lessons, different attitudes, different responsibilities. But through all that, I have remained me. Just evolving. And yet with every move, some feelings always seem to follow. There are familiar questions that just seem to echo again and again. Will I be okay? Will I thrive here? Am I gonna feel the same? Will I still love it? Will I, will I feel lonely? Have I changed much? But. When we moved back to England last summer, I was expecting to feel grounded. I was returning to the place where I was raised, surrounded by old friends and blood relatives, and the comfort I belonged for not as a visitor, but but as somebody who belonged. But what caught me off guard was how deeply I missed the life we'd built in the USA. I missed the fellow moms who walked with me, the quiet spots that we shared, the people who cried with me when my sister passed suddenly 18 months ago. I miss the community that knew my dreams and the people who cheered me on, and who held me accountable to this podcast. I even missed the herb garden at the back. Who would've thought California had become my home. Not just a place where I live, but the place where I grew into myself, the person that I am right now, it's where I became a mother. It's where midlife found me. It's where I stopped caring so much about what others thought. It's where I dance in the supermarket aisles and embarrass my poor kid. It's where I found the courage to bring my ambitions to life, and that realization actually snuck up on me. I thought about whether or not this place is actually more home than England, even though my oldest friends and closest relatives are in England. The answer is, I don't know right now, but I do know it is home. I really, truly feel strongly that we are not defined by our locations, by our country. We are defined by our values, our humor, our resilience, our humanity, the stuff that is at our core. These things don't disappear, when we move, they show up. They just adapt, they expand., now we are settling into a new school or, well, we're trying to settle into a new school and to get to grips with everything that's going on here. But so far, so good. And I, I'm so very aware that that is not the story for everyone. For us right now. I can say so far so good. And When that changes. I will be here to let you know. And incidentally, whilst we were packing our house up and getting ready to move and letting everybody know that we were moving back. So many people said to us, why are you going? Your daughter loves school here. You love it here. Why are you moving back? Just stay. And they were so happy to give her many reasons why we ought to remain, and I could think of many myself. However, this is home. And these are some of the reasons why we did actually choose to come back to the us. First, there's a, a, yes you can energy here. And it's not perfect. Nowhere is certainly not in England, in France, Switzerland, Germany, anywhere that we've traveled, I would never say that anywhere is absolutely perfect. But most definitely, it's persistent Here, the people that I've had the courage to be around are generous with their encouragement, and they are persistent with their expertise and their belief in what's possible. Here, you'll find people who want to build with you, build businesses, communities, rituals. You'll meet minds that match your fire. There's space to invent, to start again, to fail and try again. And here that feels okay. There's no shame in it. There are people here I find who understand you, who want to know you. Who will help bring your value to the surface. true. Belonging comes from the right relationships, not geography. And I've also learned that you can be surrounded by people you've known all your life and still somehow feel like an outsider. Home is where you grow. And i've Definitely grown here, I'm excited to be back dreaming again connected again and co-creating again. It's been a pleasure to hear from some of you already your stories are fascinating. Interestingly, during our travels I met with people who are curious about our decision to move for a year. Remember episode 22 when we talked about the reasons we use to tell ourselves. Not to move abroad. That episode was actually inspired by a group of women I met in a spa in England, and their emotions were real. If you haven't listened to episode 22 yet, go and take a listen. Next week I'll be sharing a conversation with a clinical psychologist, somebody who reached out to me all the way from Singapore, to expand on so many of the topics we've already touched on, the tips and the strategies I've shared with you to overcome homesickness and feeling isolated, dealing with cultural differences, but from the perspective of a psychologist. talking about the impact of locating what we go through, how it shows up, and practical steps in how to navigate. You'll hear her insights alongside my lived experiences and more from my guests who will be sharing the truth about their relocation stories, how they have grown, where they now call home the positives and the challenges that they have experienced, just so that you will never, ever have to feel like you are starting all by yourself. That's me for today. I love sharing with you, and I would love to hear from you, your stories, your reflections, your questions. Email me, just message me and let's connect. So until next time, remember. You are not defined by your location. Countries change and things go up. Things go down. You know how it is, you are defined by your values. By humor, and by your resilience. Those parts of you. They travel and they travel well. Have a lovely day.