.png)
Almost Local
Kind Conversations about embracing Life Abroad; Honest reflections of expat life, one coffee and story at a time. Read more in our Journal at www.almost-local.com
Maria’s ‘Almost Local’ podcast tackles something many of us experience but rarely discuss—the complex process of making a foreign country truly feel like home. Maria creates space for both the vulnerability and resilience that shape the immigrant journey. Thank you, Maria. Your podcast fills an important gap—giving voice to stories that connect us across cultures and borders. Karina from New Zealand.
Almost Local
EP 4 — Coming Home: A New Edge of Place
🎒 Grab your free Little Expat Workbook – your pocket guide to navigating expat life with more clarity and confidence! [Download it here]
🌍 Follow @almosttlocal on Instagram – where expats connect, vent, laugh, and build their second (or third!) homes together.
🎙️ Wanna be part of the crew?
Got a voice, a story, or just a love for mics and meaningful chats? You could co-host an episode with Maria or share your journey on the blog! Slide into our DMs or visit almost-local.com to pitch your idea.
💌 Join the newsletter for sneak peeks, behind-the-scenes moments, and upcoming workshops.
🎧 Loved this episode? Share it with a friend or leave a review—it helps more than you know!
Welcome back to Almost Local. I'm Maria, and this is where we share stories about navigating life abroad, the unfiltered truths, expert life as it release, and this is also where we discover and explore where and what home really is. The last time we spoke it was May. A lot happened between May and July. Since then, life has been a blur. In July, my husband, our two teenagers and I packed up and left the Netherlands. So we are no longer living in Europe where we spend our last three years. Together we moved back to New Zealand. It's been hectic, messy, beautiful, and honestly, we are still cutting our breath, but here I am as I promised back with you and ready to share the edges of this new chapter. So today, episode number four, we begin with coming home what it feels like to return to a place you left and realize both the place and you have changed. I still can't believe we are here. I still couldn't believe. That we were doing this, we were standing at Amsterdam airport, passports in hand, and I kept thinking, are we really doing this back to New Zealand? After three years in the Netherlands? Then our first stop Doha, and there it was on the screen Auckland for the first time. I'm seeing a flight to Auckland. On a screen and I got these weird, joyful shivers, I'm not gonna lie to you. Suddenly a group of guys in shorts appeared. Middle of the transit terminal. It was like a sign. The Kiwi are here, we are going home. There is something wild and full circle about returning to a place you once left. You think you know it, but you've changed. You've changed so much. This move, it feels like a new beginning. A return, yes, but also a new edge. So where is home? For us, it's starting to take shape here in New Zealand. The routines, the neighborhoods, the small joys, those joys that make a place feel like ours again, this season of Almost Local will follow that edge stories from people rooted and moving just like me. But for now, it starts here. This story that I just told you with a window seat, a boarding gate, and a heart full of contradictions. Episode number four is all about coming home and what it really means to find your place in the world, even when that place has changed and you have two, or even when you keep looking for that place. Expecting or hoping you will find that place in the world to call home. If you want to read more stories or if you want to connect with me and with Almost Local to help grow this community, you can head over to our website, almost local do.com, or you can also follow us on Instagram at almost local. I would love to have you along for the journey. Thanks for listening. And now, I'm off to my morning coffee. Let's keep it going. One story and one coffee at a time.