Creating Your Happy Place

You don't have to cross an ocean to become an expat - you could just move to Canada! Think the slow life on a rural chicken farm in the quiet outskirts of Manitoba sounds like a dream? You should definitely check out this episode!

In Episode 7, Season 2 of Creating Your Happy Place, we talk with Candice Bakx-Freisen about what it's like to live in rural Manitoba, and the difference between buying real estate (and...

Have you thought about living in Japan, Indonesia, or Thailand? Wondering what it might be like to call Southeast Asia home for a while?

In Episode 6, Season 2 of Creating Your Happy Place, Naomi Geidel shares her story of leaving the United States and making a home for herself first in a traditional home in Japan, then in a villa in Indonesia, and finally studio apartment in a high rise flat in Bangkok Thailand. 

What would it be like to live in South Africa? What if you were moving there from the tiny country from Mauritius?

In Episode 5, Season 2 of Creating Your Happy Place, Anu Gosai shares her story of leaving her tiny island home at 18 to study to be a pharmacist. She's now a happy dual-culture woman raising two girls with her hubby in a free-standing house with a big garden in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.

Pro...

Is it your dream to move to France? Are you itching to pack your bags and move to the land of baguettes and berets? Do you think the foodie-friendly atmosphere of Lyon might be just what the doctor ordered?

In Episode 4, Season 2 of Creating Your Happy Place, Mary Clavieres shares how she and her hubby moved their family from their fast-paced city life in Hoboken New Jersey to the quiet outskirts of Lyon, France in Feb 20...

Have you ever wondered what it might be like to leave the only home you've known and move to Thailand to teach English?

In Episode 3 of Creating Your Happy Place, we've got Diane Nnaemeka, a fearless adventurer who left her childhood home 5 years ago to teach English to kindergartners and grade school kids. While she's moved 5 times while living there, she's happy in her tropical life and sees no end i...

Have you ever wondered what it might be like to live in London, Abu Dhabi, or Tokyo?

In Episode 2 of Creating Your Happy Place, we've got Linda Mueller, a real globetrotter. She's lived in Tokyo, London, and Abu Dhabi with her husband and daughter. And now, she's a Certified Life Coach and mentor at The Expat Partner Coach, based out of good ol' Chicago, USA.

Linda's all about empowering expat partn...

Have you ever thought about packing up and living in another country? And have you ever wondered what it'd be like to be a Peace Corps Volunteer?

Well, in this Season 2 opener of Creating Your Happy Place, Rebecca West shares her experience serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Nicaragua.

Spoiler alert, it wasn't exactly her cup of tea - she ended up leaving early. But even though it wasn't a great fit for h...

Today on Creating Your Happy Place, we are chatting with special guest Kathy Davis! Kathy traded the white picket fence for a life on the road, living in a fifth-wheel RV with her husband and 2 cats.  Listen to hear about her transition to a home-on-wheels, what obstacles she faced (and continues to face) in making this bold move, and what we can learn from her when making our own tiny kitchens work as hard as we need them to.
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Today on Creating Your Happy Place, we are chatting with special guest Jessica Butts! Jessica is a Meyers Briggs Expert who decided one day she was done with her home.  How did she decide she was done with her home? Was letting go easy? Since she's a former Psychotherapist, what has she discovered about her personality type and how it relates to what she needs from her home? All of these questions and more were answered in thi...

Today on Creating Your Happy Place, we are chatting with special guest Dana Parker! Dana is an emotional resiliency coach who grew up in the Mormon church and was married at 19. All within a few years she left the church, got a divorce, lost her job, went bankrupt, all the while trying to be a great mom to four boys. By losing everything, she says she's learned that her house is not her home and that actually, if she's at...

Today on Creating Your Happy Place, we are chatting with special guest Maegan Blau! Maegan Blau is an interior designer based in sunny Arizona.  In 2009 she incurred a C6-C8 spinal cord injury and has been a wheelchair user ever since. She is diagnosed with an incomplete C8 spinal cord injury which has obviously changed the way she lives in the blink of an eye. As a person with a disability, it seemed the majority of options to mak...

Today on Creating Your Happy Place, we are chatting with special guest Mitzi Beach! No matter what age we are, everyone wants to have a happy home. That said, what we need from our home may change over time. Mitzi is an expert in Aging in Place, and shares with us what home looks like for those over 50!

Mitzi Beach A.S.I.D. C.A.P.S. is an award-winning Interior Designer, Author, and 50+ Demographic Marketing & Lifesty...

Today on Creating Your Happy Place, we are chatting with special guest Star Hansen! Star lives in Tucson Arizona in a Santa Fe-style home with her boyfriend, and her 2 dogs, a cat, and 13 coy fish. She's a Certified Professional Organizer, aka a clutter whisperer! In this episode, she shares what clutter is (both physical and mental), and how we can deal with it.

Star Hansen brings peace to the world one color-coded l...

Today on Creating Your Happy Place, we are chatting with special guest Samantha Kellgren! Samantha had been living in downtown Chicago for 10 and a half years, when she decided she needed a change in pace. Specifically, she wanted mountains! She and her husband packed up their belongings and moved to slower-paced Asheville North Carolina, with their 11-month-old son. In this episode, Samantha talks about everything from why she mov...

Today on Creating Your Happy Place, we are chatting with special guest Spencer Frost! Spencer is a 31-year-old who was diagnosed with Achondroplasia Dwarfism at birth. He's just a regular guy who currently works for Apple as a Technical Support Advisor. In this episode, he talks about what navigating life, and home, as a little person is like.

Spencer and his wife live in a one-story house they just purchased in Leand...

 Today on Creating Your Happy Place, we are chatting with special guest Grace Mase! Grace lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two kids. After going through her own home improvement nightmare, she decided there must be a better way to go about managing home projects.

Grace Mase is the Founder + CEO of BEYREP [Construction Tech + EQ] - an all-in-one home construction management solution that provides peace of mind and ...

Today on Creating Your Happy Place, we are chatting with special guest Christina Frost! Christina is a whimsy instructor and consultant, teaching others about how to bring surprise and adventure into your life. But how did she end up on this amazing path? Listen to the episode to hear about Christina's journey to loving everything whimsy!

Born in Colorado, but essentially a Texas native, Christina graduated from the ...

Today on Creating Your Happy Place, we are chatting with special guest Anne Strunk! Anne is involved with Special Spaces; a nonprofit that designs dream bedrooms for kids with life-threatening illnesses. She got started with them back in 2011, after finding herself an empty-nester. Listen to this episode to hear about all of the incredible spaces she designed, and how rewarding of a journey it was.

Anne and her husband of...

Today on Creating Your Happy Place, we are chatting with special guest Crystal Collinson! Crystal is an interior designer that specializes in model homes.  Listen in to hear how she designs spaces that everyone will like, instead of just the family who's living in the home.

Crystal is the principal of Crystal Collinson Interiors, a full-service design firm specializing in the Design and Decorating of Model Homes, Sale...