How to Move Abroad: Your Guide to Start Living Abroad

podcast artwork

Podcast by Mistelle Godlewski - Move Abroad Expert

How to Move Abroad: Your Guide to Start Living Abroad

Welcome to How to Move Abroad (because Google is not a plan) — the podcast for Americans who are done “considering it” and ready to actually make the move happen. I’m Mistelle. I’ve moved abroad three times, I don’t have a magic second passport, and I’m not here to sell you a fantasy life on a cobblestone street. We’re talking the stuff that actually decides whether you can move: visas, budgets, timelines, jobs, kids, healthcare, paperwork, and the emotional chaos that shows up the second you try to do this with a partner (or a bank account that’s already tired). If you’ve been doom-googling, panic-saving Reels, and ending every research session with “well… that was horrifying,” you’re in the right place. Because moving abroad isn’t a vibe. It’s a project. And I’m here to help you build a plan that works in your real life.
Listen onApple Podcasts
Listen onSpotify

Latest episodes

episode artwork

06 April 2026

You're Overcomplicating Moving Abroad. Here's Proof.

Last week I made you cry. This week I'm giving you a break.

No frameworks, no heavy stuff, no seventeen-step process. Just the honest, slightly unhinged truth about why you're overcomplicating this — and the only three things you actually need right now to move this whole situation forward.

Spoiler: it's not a perfect plan. It's not a fully funded savings account. It's not a remote job and a signed lease and a detailed spreadsheet.

It's a country, a visa lane, and your actual number. That's it. We're covering all three and then I'm sending you away with exactly one thing to do this week.

You've got this. I promise you've got this. Now stop researching and let's actually move.

00:00

16:26

episode artwork

30 March 2026

The Real Cost of Moving Abroad — And Why It's Still Worth It

I found out I had breast cancer at thirty years old. That's the real reason I moved abroad — not the job offer, not the adventure. The diagnosis that made one day stop being an option.

This week I'm telling you the actual story. The cancer. The friends I lost. My best friend of twenty years I haven't spoken to in eleven. The moment every single time I say goodbye to my mom at the airport. The weight of being far from home when things go wrong.

And then I'm telling you why I'd do it again. Every single time.

This one is for the person who is scared and wanting out and feeling guilty about both. You're not crazy. You're not ungrateful. You're paying attention. And the life you want is more buildable than you think.

00:00

21:13

episode artwork

23 March 2026

How Much Do I Actually Need to Move Abroad? Hint... It's not $20K.

Everyone on the internet has an opinion about how much money you need to move abroad. Most of them are wrong — or at least, wrong for you.

This week I'm giving you a simple formula to calculate your actual savings target based on your specific situation: where you're going, which visa you're using, and how long you need to float yourself before income kicks in. Because your number is built from those things — not from a Reddit thread and not from what someone else paid to move to Barcelona in 2019.

I'm also getting into why the visa you choose changes everything about what you need financially — and how picking the right pathway for where you actually are right now might make this possible a lot sooner than you think.

This is the last money episode. We're closing this chapter with a real number, a real timeline, and zero excuses.

00:00

18:24

episode artwork

16 March 2026

Moving Abroad on a Budget: How to Make Trade-Offs without a Shame Spiral

Moving abroad means making trade-offs. Every single person who has done it has had to make them — there is no version of this where you don't. The goal isn't to avoid them. It's to make them on purpose instead of by accident, because the accidental ones are the ones you end up resenting.

This week I'm breaking down the two trade-offs that trip people up the most — do you move now with less money or wait and keep saving, and do you ship your stuff or sell it all and start fresh. I'm also getting into how to stop treating every financial decision like a test of how serious you actually are about this move.

Spoiler: it's not. It's just math with feelings stapled to it.

Free download: 10 Money Hacks for Your Move Abroad

Instagram: @iammistelle

00:00

18:11

episode artwork

09 March 2026

How People Accidentally Make Moving Abroad Way More Expensive Than It Needs to Be

Once people realize moving abroad might actually be possible, this is where things usually go sideways.

In this episode, I talk through the exact places I see people overspend when they’re scared, where they cheap out and regret it later, and how fear quietly drives a lot of money decisions during an international move. This isn’t about perfect budgeting or cutting everything fun — it’s about making trade-offs intentionally instead of panicking your way through them.

If you want to move abroad without burning cash, burning out, or resenting every decision you make along the way, this episode will help you slow down, get honest, and spend in ways that actually support the move.

00:00

17:30

episode artwork

02 March 2026

The dreaded F work... Finances for Moving Abroad

There’s a moment in the move-abroad process that almost no one talks about — and it’s not the exciting beginning or the adrenaline-filled end.

It’s the messy middle.

In this episode of How to Move Abroad, I talk about the exact point where most people quietly bow out of their plans — not because they ran the numbers and the numbers said no, but because they didn’t run the numbers and let fear fill in the blanks.

We’re talking about money in a way that actually helps you move forward — not finance-bro advice, not Pinterest budgets, and not “you’ll figure it out when you get there” nonsense. Money feels personal because it carries history, stress, shame, and responsibility — especially for women and parents — and when it stays vague, it becomes overwhelming fast.

Free Guide to Savings

00:00

20:38