My Life Abroad

 

I´m Paul 

In 2019, my wife and I left the Netherlands and moved to Italy. We didn´t have a fixed destination, we simply had a feeling that Puglia might be the place for us.

We started in Martina Franca, then spent three years in the centro storico of Lecce, before eventually settling in Cavallino, a small town in Salento.

Each place gave us a different experience of life here. Over time, the region became more familiar, and we found our own routines and social life.

Some aspects of Italian life have gradually become part of our everyday lives, while others still feel distinctly Dutch.

For us it is about finding a balance, staying connected to our Dutch roots while embracing the traditions and rhythms of life here in Puglia.

 

Today, we feel at home as we find our grounding in Salento.

 

 

Grounding Abroad grew from my own experience of living abroad, but also from something I have always been curious about:

How do you find your own way of living in a different culture?

Living in Puglia has given me many opportunities to notice, question and reflect on that.

Not only through the major experience of moving countries, but also through ordinary, everyday moments. A conversation that goes differently than expected. A small cultural misunderstanding. A different way of dealing with time, responsibility or community.

Some things feel unfamiliar while others make perfect sense. And there are also moments when I simply don't know what to make of something.

Over the years I have become increasingly interested in those moments.

Not in finding the one right way to adapt, but in discovering what adapting means for each individual. Not in deciding which culture does things better, but in becoming more curious about what is happening within ourselves and around us.

 

That curiosity is at the heart of Grounding Abroad.

 

 

Through Grounding Abroad, I share experiences and reflections around expat life.

I also work with expats who want to explore their situation more consciously through conversation, reflection

and gaining new perspectives.

If you recognise parts of this, it might be a good moment to pause and reflect on your own experience.

 

Finding your place abroad takes time, but it can also become one of the most enriching parts of the experience.