"It's not a crossroads. It's a roundabout."
That's what one expat told me on a call.
You keep driving past the same exits - stay, go back, somewhere new - and you tell yourself you're still thinking it over.
Now look at what's on hold while you circle.
Your mom asks when you're coming home and you say "we'll see". Your landlord asks about another twelve months and you mark the email as unread. You're ready to start a family, and you're not even dating - because how do you build something with someone when you don't know which country you'll be in a year from now?
I know you call it keeping your options open. But it's been a life on pause for a while now, in a country you're not sure you're staying in.
So how long have you been "about to decide"?
You've given this a year. Maybe two.
What is another six months of waiting going to tell you that the last twelve didn't?
More thinking hasn't worked, and here's why.
Most expats try to solve the question of where to live by looking harder at the options. This city, back home, or a third country? So you make another list, compare rents and salaries, and ask five friends and your sister what they'd do.
But by looking so closely at your options, you're getting stuck in your head and forgetting about what's really driving you - and what would truly make you feel at home in your life.
Plus, you chose this country with what mattered to you when you moved here. You've changed since then, and you're still weighing today's options on that old scale - so of course they keep coming out even.
Getting clear on what matters to you now, not five years ago, is the fastest way out of expat decision limbo.
That's the clean lens you need.
This is Runway
Runway is a 2-week live mini coaching program where you step back from your options, get clear on what matters to you now, and get a clearer idea of where your next chapter is headed.
Designed exclusively for expats, so you are among like-minded internationals who all know what it's like being stuck in the web of options tied to different locations. Created by a professional coach who's been in your shoes.
Runway won't make the decision for you, and two trainings won't answer every question. But what it will do is get you out of the loop and moving again.
Think of it as the runway before your next flight. It's short, it's focused, and it's where you pick up speed.
And don't let the incredibly low investment fool you - this is not a passive webinar that you watch with your camera off. Runway is an interactive mini program and I bring the same energy that I bring to my other programs.
You'll do the exercises live, on your own situation, with the tools I use with my private clients.
1
WEEK 1 · TRAINING 1
The decision you're stuck on isn't the real one
You'll untangle the knot of job, country, relationship and family, and find the question that's been hiding underneath "should I stay or go?". One participant talked to HR right after this training, and is now moving to the UK.
2
WEEK 2 · TRAINING 2
Watch your options stop weighing the same
You'll hold every option against what matters to you now, and see at least one of them drop off the table. Then we look at the part nobody wants to look at: the trade-off you've been avoiding, which is usually what's kept you in the roundabout.
3
WEEK 2 · COACHING CALL
Get coached on the thing you can't get past
This is where it gets personal. Bring your exact situation and I'll coach you through it live. And if you'd rather watch, you'll be surprised how often someone else's knot turns out to be yours.
What you get
-
Two live trainings with the powerful tools and exercises I use in my longer programs.
-
One live coaching call where I coach a few of you on the hot seat, and everyone learns from it.
-
A private WhatsApp group where I share extra riffs between the calls, and where you can connect with the other expats in the room.
-
Replays of every call, the next day [available for a month].
Runway is for you if
-
You've rewritten the pros and cons list in your Notes app more than once, and it still comes out even.
-
You can solve a friend's career dilemma over one glass of wine, while your own has been sitting there for a year.
-
You'll show up to a live call with your notebook and do the exercise, also when the question makes you uncomfortable.
-
You'd rather take one imperfect step in the next two weeks than wait another year for certainty.
Runway isn't for you if you want me to tell you which country to pick, or if you need the full plan before you'll take a first step.
You've done harder things than this
You booked a one-way ticket. You built a life from zero, in a country where you knew nobody. You're someone who moves - you've only been standing still on this one.
Joining Runway is a small decision. But it's the first one you'll have made about this in months, and that alone changes something on the inside. Inside Runway, we will build upon that energy, so that you can get out of the decision loop you've been in for months.
"After our first call I talked to HR and... Now I'm moving to the UK! I didn't expect it to happen so fast."
Expat in the Netherlands
"It was very clear for me, especially after the values exercise."
Repat in the US
"The last session helped me articulate things I couldn't before."
Expat in the UK
Your choice
Your two futures
In Runway I'll ask you to look at two futures. Let's do it here first.
Future one: nothing changes
Next Sunday your mom asks when you're coming home, and you say "we'll see". You renew the lease for another twelve months because you didn't decide in time. You still don't buy the good couch, however, because what if you leave?
Future two: you give this two weeks
You know what matters to you now, and which country is already a no. You've taken one step in a direction, you tell your mom about it, and you open the dating app again. At 2AM you're sound asleep.
The first one costs you another year. The second one costs you €44 and two weeks.
Hi, I'm Amanda
I'm a life coach for expats and global citizens, and a former diplomat.
I've uprooted my own life six times, and I spent almost two years stuck at my own crossroads before I moved to Mexico City just this fall. So I know this place of fog & indecision from the inside.
I've personally coached 250+ expats across 25+ nationalities, and guided hundreds more in my programs.
I'm accredited with the Dutch Order of Professional Coaches (NOBCO), I host the podcast This Expat Life, and I've been featured on Business Insider, The HuffPost and in a documentary on Dutch national TV.
I won't tell you which country, career option or general direction to pick. I'll help you see your own situation clearly enough to choose.
What other expats have said
"Amanda disarmed me in 15 minutes - and thanks to our coaching I now know I have everything inside of me to achieve my goals. I quit my job, started my own business and am now splitting my time in between Panama and Germany - exactly what I was yearning for when I still felt stuck."
- Ana Tello, expat in Germany
Hear what my coachees say about my methods & exercises
