Feeling at home abroad is a personal experience, shaped by a combination of factors like one’s personality, cultural background, and social circumstances. Looking back, I realise how much feeling at home depends not just on where you live but on how you live in that space. The small routines, the human connections, the sense of ownership that grows over time.

After leaving The Netherlands and now living in Salento for almost five years, I have come to realize something unexpected about the expat journey — something that doesn’t often get talked about. This isn’t my first time living abroad. Before this, next to long term projects abroad, I was based in Jakarta, Indonesia on a professional assignment.