Many of my previous guests have  always known  that they were going to lead international lives. Some were third culture kids, like Assil Diab, who had grown up in expat circles and just figured somehow they’d continue the trend. 

Others are like Jerry Jones who grew up in one place their whole lives but took the first opportunity as an adult to go abroad.  

But neither was quite  the case for Carmen Brown. The Atlanta native will readily admit that she never saw herself living abroad. And it wasn’t until she was older that she even began travelling internationally.  But it makes sense. Carmen and her husband are medical doctors, and between college, medical school, residency and their eventual jobs, it didn’t leave a whole lot of time for exploration during the early years. 

However, as they both settled in their careers, they started integrating travel into their lifestyle. 

And it was while they were on a trip to New Zealand, getting a much-needed reprieve from their busy lives, that a seemingly random encounter would lead Carmen contemplating taking their careers global.  

In this episode, Carmen will recount the very real burnout and the decision making process that led her and her husband to move to a small-town in  New Zealand. She’ll also discuss why she thinks her parenting style has adjusted abroad, especially as the mother of an autistic son as well as how she supports underserved communities, particularly Indigenous populations  in her adopted home of Melbourne. 

Carmen’s journey to becoming an expat has all kinds of twists and turns.  But once her family went down that path, it became obvious that living abroad was the choice for them in the long haul.