#63. Moved To USA For Love? Homesick, Lonely, Starting Over -What's Possible For Expat Women

About this episode

Monica Chang shares her experiences of moving from Korea to Canada and then to California, discussing themes of identity, loneliness, and reinvention.

If you moved to the USA for love and now find yourself homesick, lonely, overwhelmed, or wondering who you’re becoming, this episode is for you. So many expat and immigrant women arrive with hope — then quietly struggle with the emotional cost of life in a new country. In this conversation you'll look through the eyes of guest Monica Hyang-sil Chang. Hear what’s actually possible for you, even if right now you feel disconnected, unsure of yourself, or guilty for not loving your new life yet. You’ll hear the emotional truths we don’t say out loud: the grief attached to leaving home, the pressure to “be grateful,” the loneliness that surprises you, and the identity shifts that happen when you build a life around someone else’s roots. We explore: why moving abroad for love brings its own kind of homesickness the isolation that shows up when you don’t have your own community how to rebuild confidence and identity in a new country what it looks like to create belonging from scratch, and the possibilities that open when you stop blaming yourself for struggling If this is your reality, remember that you’re in that process of figuring it out, you're allowed to be tender, messy, and…

People in this episode

Guest: Monica Chang

Topics covered

• immigration
• identity
• loneliness
• reinvention
• expat experience

Keywords

• homesickness
• expat
• immigrant
• friendship
• starting over

Mentioned in this episode

Places: USA, Korea, Canada, California

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• #66. Starting Over Abroad: Parenting, Language, and Mindset That Made Year 1 Bearable Practical Tips · May 29, 2026 · 23 min
• #65. The Long Exhale: Finding Friendship and Stability in a New Country · May 13, 2026 · 30 min
• #64. Expat Woman: Five Signs Life Abroad Is Draining You and How to Take Your Power Back · April 17, 2026 · 7 min
• #62. Imposter Syndrome Abroad — rebuilding Identity After Moving To The USA | Apr 01, 2026 · April 5, 2026 · 35 min
• #61. 3 Things That Happen When You Move Abroad — Emotional Truths Expat Women Don't Talk About · March 11, 2026 · 48 min
• #60. The One Thing That Makes Life Abroad Harder —And How Expat Women Can Break The Cycle · February 13, 2026 · 7 min