Friendship IRL
Alex Alexander
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The Tricky Balance of Friendships as an Expat
• 55 minWhen some of your closest people move across the world, there are so many things to learn - whether it’s a new appreciation for the beauty that can come out of people you love moving far away, or even getting to witness the new communities they built. Travel blogger Amber Haggerty is here to talk about the balance of building intentional expat friendships and making a new community of friends after you move. It's actually a pretty wild story - Amber was on vacation when lockdown happened and decided to make a permanent move to Ireland, where she’s now been living for the past two and a half years. Today’s conversation is filled with so many honest moments and I hope it helps you approach long-distance relationships with your friends in a whole new way, with a little more intention and thought. In this episode you’ll hear about: The constant pull of navigating your relationships back home, vs. the new people you’re meeting when you move away (and why Amber works under the assumption that she’ll be in Ireland “for the foreseeable future”)Amber shares how she sets boundaries with out-of-town guests who want to visit her, while offloading some of the emotional and non-emotional labor of hosting to avoid resentmentApproaching travel itineraries with curiosity - sometimes it’s not as straightforward or easy to get from one European country to another! Consider asking yourself, “is there a version of this that would be fun?”How to create enjoyable “workcations” with friends to maximize quality time together. Plus, how to be a great guest.The sometimes complicated dynamics of making “couple friends” and what to do if you prefer to invest more into one person within the couple.How Amber curated an “intentional friend group” on Bumble that she can invest into outside of her relationship.Resources & Links Check out Amber’s travel blog, Amber Everywhere (especially if you’re planning a trip to Ireland), and follow her on Instagram at @amber.everywhere. Like what you hear? Visit my website, leave me a voicemail, and follow me on Instagram! Want to take this conversation a step further? Send this episode to a friend. Tell them you found it interesting and use what we just talked about as a conversation starter the next time you and your friend hang out!
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