My Move Abroad Journey

Since many new people have started following me recently, in this newsletter I wanted to share a little bit about myself (just in case you have not heard my story). Let's start with my background!  I grew up in Texas and joined the Army after my 2nd year of college.  I stayed in the Army for 10.5 years and lived in Germany (twice!) and South Korea.  

I left the Army in 2012 on a medical discharge. Later that year I started attending Florida State University and graduated in 2014 with a Master's in Art Therapy! Then I returned to Texas and became a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC). 

Why are these two aspects of my life important?  In the Army, I had the chance to teach soldiers how to operate military vehicles and I realized I loved teaching.  My time as an art therapist and LPC really showed me how much I value helping people use creative and non-traditional methods to improve their lives.  

How did I end up in living in Spain and working with future and current expats/immigrants? Like many people, I was unhappy in the USA for many years, but felt a duty to stay and help people however I could.  Then in 2003, I messed up my medication and went two weeks without my antidepressants.  The result? I was crying every day at work, wondering how people could be so cruel and hate each other so much.  After a few days of this, I realized what was happening, but this experience really opened my eyes!  This was how living in Texas - and the USA in general - was impacting me when the medication was not numbing me. 

I asked myself something really important.  I had a good life, but did I want to live somewhere that impacted me so much that I needed to be on antidepressants to cope with it?  My answer was no.  I decided I would rather take a chance and possibly be happy than to stay somewhere I knew I wouldnt be happy.  

While researching where I could move in the USA, I realized I would never be able to afford anywhere else (I was single, and therapists are not rich!). Then, luckily, I came across Expatsi on TikTok.  After listening to Jen and Brett talk for a little while, I started to think moving overseas was a real possibility, after all, I had lived in Germany and South Korea.   The more I looked into it, the more I knew I needed to make the move.  But where would I go?  

In the summer of 2023, I had a Top 4 countries: Spain, Portugal, Mexico, and Costa Rica.  Then, Expatsi announced their first scouting trips to Portugal and Spain!  Fun fact: I was the first person to sign up for the first trip Expatsi ever had!

That scouting trip was in March of 2024.  We visited approximately 10 cities in Portugal and 10-12 in Spain.  I met some really amazing people who are my friends now! I also learned a lot about myself.  This trip helped me decide that Spain, and specifically Barcelona, was my place!!

Later that year I started working with Expatsi as an expert for Therapists and Military Veterans who were looking to move abroad. Naturally, since I am focused on mental health, we eventually expanded our work together to include things like webinars about the emotional impact of moving abroad and even developing the ExpatsiGo! readiness quiz!   

Now, I live in Barcelona and I love it.  Moving abroad is not easy - if you follow me on TikTok you will definitely see videos about some of the struggles I have had (and will probably continue to have).  But, I am certain this was the right move for me and I am so happy I made it.  

If you have any questions related to my journey  - or want to share what you are struggling with in your own journey - you can always comment here or send an email to rachel@WildFreeArt.com or message me on social media (all my accounts are linked below!).  If you are documenting your own move abroad journey on social media, I would love to follow you, so please tag me in a post or something!!