Jumping on here to escape the Canadian cold and reminisce about a stopover in Lake Como spent with my Irish husband (that’s us in the pic) and Irish friend, Caroline, (she’s the photographer) before we hit up our Australian friend’s wedding in Italy.
On travel:
I’ve been thinking about the past few years spent as an expat, remote worker and most recently – ‘international’ family member – and how I’m going to be spending 2019.
With two overseas trips booked already (one for the family, one for business) and another planned to reconnect with some of our Aussie mates, I’ll be dusting off the big suitcases and baby gate check gear for the first time since we relocated to Canada in 2017.
Really excited! And really uncertain of how it will all go with a toddler and baby this time! But I will be sharing those experiences at a later date (once we’ve recovered from the jet lag).
Most likely, through this blog and my newsletter as my 2019 is going to be all about cutting out things which aren’t essential to me creating, making and escaping (in real life).
I will still be bringing my kids with me into business settings and I will probably document it, but then it will be shared with a more specific audience.
I will still be travelling and snapping photos of beautiful Dublin doors, Galway buskers, flower boxes, ocean views, family moments and maybe even the odd pigeon but it will be curated for future use and inspiration.
I will be even more intentional with my time and create with purpose. Our second son is nearing the six-month mark and is slowly getting a bit more independent and active, so I plan to do a lot more intensive writing and creative work (once he naps).
Until then, I will doing what I can, when I can. BUT I won’t be hopping on social media as often as I’m going to be focusing on sharing updates through my website, blog and newsletters. As well as gifts, resources and ways to work with me.
If you’d like to read more and get in touch, links are here:
Subscribe for periodic newsletters (not weekly, aiming for seasonal) here: http://bit.ly/AmyMaureenLynchNews.
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New/never met me/want to hear a bit of my life story again?
I’m getting new visitors (and regular ones), so would like to say hello and thank you for stopping by!
I’m Amy, a Canadian who’s spent the better part of the past 10 years living abroad in Australia, Ireland and England, recently returning to Canada with my international family in tow.
My background is in marketing and communications, with over a decade spent in roles in the private, public and charitable sectors doing contract, freelance and remote work roles.
What am I writing about?
Great conversations with strangers and stories that must be retold are things that strike me often. I regularly stop in my tracks to photograph moments in time, events I attend and new places I explore. My original blog (this one) started as an online space to share those candid photos and conversations.
Over time, I have become drawn to the business of being creative through travel + lifestyle + art & design + flexible work. I’m not solely interested in life as an expat/repat but in sharing my travels and life experiences, in hopes of inspiring you to live (or keep living) your passion, fulfill your dreams, try something new and make good things great.
What was I doing overseas for so long?
It all started with a goal to escape Canadian winter and study abroad in Australia for a year. Which turned into meeting my future Irish husband before I even set foot on a plane to leave Ottawa back in 2010.
I didn’t expect one year in Brisbane to turn into a series of cross-continent moves with a former (and foreign) stranger – who I now call my husband and the father of my two Irish-Canadian children – but I like to roll with things and here we are!
Married in Ireland, having lived on three continents, in four different countries with two children born on opposite sides of the Atlantic, in between gallivanting around the globe and generally living it up in our 20’s and early 30’s.
Where can you read more?
Based on my experiences as an:
- Expat;
- Freelancer and remote worker;
- Mother of an international family; and
- Flexible work advocate.
I’ve been:
- Writing about my adventures;
- Creating parent and child-friendly professional development experiences; and
- Sharing my knowledge and resources with others.
How can I help you?
I didn’t have a fellow expat mentor or guide to follow – I was flying by the seat of my pants – but was determined to figure it out as I went.
My expat life experiences included:
- The challenge of getting outside of my comfort zone:
- Making friends and connections I never would have met otherwise;
- Unique job opportunities and work arrangements;
- A chance to travel to cities and countries I had never been to;
- The ability to pay off my student debt and start saving for our first home;
- An Irish husband and two Irish-Canadian kiddos;
- Heaps of other learnings, confidence-building, resilience-strengthening and badass mindset shifts I’m 100% certain I wouldn’t have had if I didn’t plot my initial escape and actually make my first move abroad.
BUT here’s what they don’t always show on the expat highlight reel, with the adventure and apparent glamour of my new exotic life also came:
- Homesickness and realizing just how different I was to some people I met (AND most of them were still in Canada…trippy, right?!)
- Isolation and the experience of integrating as an outsider;
- Countless immigration applications and work visas;
- Navigating the banking, rent, utilities, transit and everyday life admin setup;
- Getting lost and mastering the art of looking like I was going somewhere with purpose;
- The maintenance of overseas and long-distance relationships with family and friends; and
- Questioning my identity, how I ended up where I was, who I wanted to become and where on earth I was going to next (some good pondering but mostly unnecessary stress).
If you are looking for guidance and support from someone who’s taken the leap (without knowing the outcome), moved countries (four times) and landed on their feet (a few times over), I’m your gal!
I’d love to help you create a lifestyle you love.
Get in touch via email: contact[at]amymaureenlynch.com and subscribe to my newsletter: http://bit.ly/AmyMaureenLynchNews.
Looking forward to keeping in touch and until next time, have a happy, safe and healthy holiday with your family, friends or complete strangers (been there, done that) wherever in the world you may find yourself this holiday season!
[My previous experiences have included snowy Canada, a music festival in Tasmania, a city beach in Brisbane, under the Harbour Bridge in Sydney, rural Ireland, a hospital in Galway (as both a visitor and patient), busy but quiet-over-Christmas London, airport lounges and random parks in between].
You?
Notes From Another Land 
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