S2:E1 From Imagining to Belonging

In this special episode, we (your hosts, Kathy and Michal) pause to reflect on our own experience of dreaming about living in another country, eventually relocating from Canada to Portugal — and the journey that sparked the Relocurious project.As we’ve listened to the stories of our podcast guests, examining the emotional layers of our own experience of moving, what has started to emerge is a sequence of stages that we all seem to be moving through. We call it The Relocurious Arc — a five-stage framework for making meaning of the unfolding emotions of relocating.Our relocation journeys seem to start with Imagining, gradually progressing through Letting Go, Leaping, and Re-rooting, until we eventually arrive at Belonging:* Imagining is the stage of browsing maps, dreaming of reinvention, watching travel videos, joining podcasts, and wondering who you might become elsewhere.* Letting Go is the quiet, often overlooked stage of release of routines, identities, ‘stuff,’ and communities and circles of family and friends that once defined you.* Leaping is when intention becomes action. The decision is made, plane ticket booked, suitcases packed. Some may have doubted you, but you are doing it!* Re-rooting is where you begin to build a new life. The arrival is real, though the systems and customs are still unfamiliar, and it doesn’t yet feel like you belong.* Belonging: Over time, something shifts. You recognize the streets. Someone remembers your name. You feel ‘seen.’ A sense of here-ness begins to settle in.In this milestone conversation, we explore what these stages have looked and felt like for us: the dreams that gave rise to our move, some of the complexities of leaving, the excitement of arrival, the slow (and sometimes surprising) rhythms of settling in, and the evolving sense of home in our new country. Each stage brings challenges and rewards, and each gives rise to deeply personal questions.We invite you to listen in, reflect on where you (and those you are moving with) may currently be on this arc, and consider what questions arise for your next step.Not yet a subscriber? Join us as we start a new season of podcast episodes and reflection posts on the emotions of relocating. Get full access to Relocurious at www.relocurious.com/subscribe