Transplants by Laura Peruchi - Conversations With Women Thriving Abroad

#37 She Took One Year Abroad to Heal - and Never Came Back | Kay Fabella | USA → Spain

Kay Fabella moved to Spain in 2010 with a one-way ticket, a student visa, and plans to stay for just one year. The main goal was to heal from burnout and reset her nervous system — but sixteen years later, she’s still there. And the story behind that decision is much deeper than finding her partner and falling in love with another country. She shares what it was like growing up Filipina-American in Los Angeles, constantly navigating life between two cultures and hearing the question: “Where are you really from?”. We talk about graduating into the 2008 recession, burning out at a young age, being diagnosed with clinical depression, and realizing that the version of success she had been chasing in the U.S. was slowly destroying her. Kay opens up about moving to Spain to heal, the pressure immigrants feel to constantly prove themselves, and how living abroad changed her nervous system, identity, and way of seeing the world. We also talk about how she explored different professional paths — and how every decision led her to create Edgewalkers Collective [https://kayfabella.substack.com/], where she works with globally mobile people navigating identity, belonging, burnout, and life between cultures, helping immigrants feel a little less alone in the process while she studies to become a counselor. Connect with Kay * Book an Expat Orientation Conversation with Kay. [https://cal.com/kay-fabella?utm_source=transplants&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=expat-orientation] * Substack Edgewalkers Collective [http://kayfabella.substack.com] * Connect on LinkedIn [http://linkedin.com/in/kayfabella] Connect with Transplants: * Follow on IG https://www.instagram.com/transplants.pod * Substack/newsletter - https://wearetransplants.substack.com/ * Laura's IG https://www.instagram.com/laura_peruchi * Follow on TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@wearetransplants * Questions, suggestions, or random thoughts you’d like to share? Or maybe you’d like to pitch yourself for the podcast or suggest a guest? Send me an email at laura@lauraperuchi.com.

#36 From“Coward by Default” to Finding Her Voice Abroad | Florencia Cariddi | Argentina → USA

I guess one of my favorite parts of doing this podcast is searching for guests. Usually, I do that online — Substack is my favorite platform for that — and I also rely on recommendations from friends and listeners. But with my guest today, the process was totally different. I “discovered” Florencia Cariddi some months ago while attending a beautiful storytelling event hosted by New Women New Yorkers, an organization based in New York City that supports immigrant women. Florencia’s performance was so beautiful and inspiring that it even made me cry. So after the event, I decided to reach out to her and invite her to share her journey on the show. Luckily, she said yes. Florencia is an Argentine artist, vocal coach, and public speaking facilitator whose story is really about what happens when immigration forces you to rebuild not just your life, but your identity. In this episode, she shares how she left behind a career in Argentina, first moved to Spain, then to the U.S. — and how that first move was not how she had pictured it. Hint: speaking the language doesn’t always guarantee a smooth transition. We also talked about how she navigated motherhood and postpartum in a new country and a new culture, and the disorienting feeling of no longer recognizing the version of herself she had once been. Florencia talked beautifully about what it means to lose your “speaking identity” in another language, why community became essential to her survival, and how art helped her turn fear into something useful. Besides sharing her story, she also offers valuable advice for immigrant women. Connect with Florencia: * LinkedIn - Florencia Cariddi [https://www.linkedin.com/in/florenciavcariddi/] * Florencia's Books on public speaking [https://www.amazon.com/stores/Florencia-V.-Cariddi/author/B0GYTTZQSK?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1779113733&sr=1-1&shoppingPortalEnabled=true] * Instagram @florcariddi [https://www.instagram.com/florcariddi/] * New Women New Yorkers [https://www.nywomenimmigrants.org/] Connect with Transplants: * Follow on IG https://www.instagram.com/transplants.pod * Substack/newsletter - https://wearetransplants.substack.com/ * Laura's IG https://www.instagram.com/laura_peruchi * Follow on TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@wearetransplants * Questions, suggestions, or random thoughts you’d like to share? Or maybe you’d like to pitch yourself for the podcast or suggest a guest? Send me an email at laura@lauraperuchi.com.

#35 From Survival Jobs to Helping Immigrants Thrive | Tayo Oriowo | Nigeria → Australia

Moving abroad was supposed to be the beginning of Tayo Oriowo’s dream life. Instead, after leaving Nigeria for Australia at 21, she found herself navigating financial hardship, culture shock, survival jobs, and the pressure of trying to “make it” abroad while quietly struggling behind the scenes. But, in her own words, she is not a quitter — and she wasn’t going to give up for lack of trying. In this episode, Tayo shares the realities many immigrants experience but rarely talk about openly — from working in a chicken factory and cleaning food courts to rebuilding her confidence and eventually co-founding SyncSkills, a company helping immigrants transition into more fulfilling careers. This episode has a lot of valuable advice for immigrants - especially related to self confidence. We talk about identity, ambition, immigrant communities, motherhood, and why so many highly skilled immigrants end up underestimating themselves in a new country. Connect with Tayo: Instagram @tayo.oloja [https://www.instagram.com/tayo.oloja/reels/] Sync Skills @syncskillsau [https://www.instagram.com/syncskillsau/] Sync Skills website https://www.syncskills.com.au/https://www.syncskills.com.au/ [https://www.syncskills.com.au/] Connect with Transplants: * Follow on IG https://www.instagram.com/transplants.pod * Substack/newsletter - https://wearetransplants.substack.com/ * Laura's IG https://www.instagram.com/laura_peruchi * Follow on TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@wearetransplants * Questions, suggestions, or random thoughts you’d like to share? Or maybe you’d like to pitch yourself for the podcast or suggest a guest? Send me an email at laura@lauraperuchi.com.

#34 Walking Away From a “Perfect Life” | Samantha Nazareth | USA → France/Thailand

Samantha Nazareth was a gastroenterologist based in New York City, with a stable career, tons of media appearances, and a 10-year relationship. What else could she want when she had what many would call a perfect life? Well, she wanted something else — or, at least, she didn’t want what she had anymore. So one day, she decided to leave and look for an answer. What started as a six-week break in Puerto Rico turned into four years of living abroad, traveling across Europe, Southeast Asia, and beyond, and completely redefining what her life could look like. In this episode, we talk about what it looks like to leave a stable, high-achieving life behind, plus the grief of losing a relationship, a parent, and a version of yourself. We also dig into how she structured her career to fit this lifestyle, and how she allowed herself to explore other paths — paths that didn’t necessarily need to be connected to being a doctor. _____________________________________ Connect with Sam * Substack [https://samanthanazareth.substack.com/] * ⁠Instagram @drsamnazareth [https://www.instagram.com/drsamnazareth] * Shop Samantha's book! [Shop Samantha's book https://amzn.to/43sYlcg] Connect with Transplants: * Follow on IG https://www.instagram.com/transplants.pod * Substack/newsletter - https://wearetransplants.substack.com/ * Laura's IG https://www.instagram.com/laura_peruchi * Follow on TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@wearetransplants * Questions, suggestions, or random thoughts you’d like to share? Or maybe you’d like to pitch yourself for the podcast or suggest a guest? Send me an email at laura@lauraperuchi.com.

#33 The beauty of Trying, Letting Go, and Starting Again | Mary Vass | Australia → Greece

What happens when a life looks good on paper… but doesn’t feel quite right? In this episode, I talk to Mary Vass, an Australian who grew up in Perth, one of the most remote cities in the world. Although the place was a safe and comfortable bubble, early on, she knew she wanted more. What really struck me about Mary’s story is that she has never been afraid of trying — and letting go. Along the way, Mary experimented with different paths. First, the corporate world, back in her home country — something she quickly realized was not for her. Then, she spent some time working in Canada and, after that, became a flight attendant in Abu Dhabi. She kept exploring different versions of life, never fully settling into just one. She met her partner, and they both shared a love for travel. But COVID forced a pause. With two young kids and everything on hold, they made a decision: to leave Australia and move to Greece, her father’s home country — not with a perfect plan, but with a willingness to try. In this conversation, we talk about restlessness, identity, motherhood, and the reality of building a life abroad — the parts that are exciting, and the parts that are hard. _____________________________________ Connect with Mary * Website [http://www.bluewhitedreamtours.com/] * Instagram @blue_white_dreamtours [https://www.instagram.com/blue_white_dreamtours] Connect with Transplants: * Follow on IG https://www.instagram.com/transplants.pod * Substack/newsletter - https://wearetransplants.substack.com/ * Laura's IG https://www.instagram.com/laura_peruchi * Follow on TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@wearetransplants * Questions, suggestions, or random thoughts you’d like to share? Or maybe you’d like to pitch yourself for the podcast or suggest a guest? Send me an email at laura@lauraperuchi.com.