Travel writer Carly Hulls joins the Expat Focus Podcast to talk about slow living, and why it's worth trading a fast-paced life abroad for one you can actually savour. Carly is an Australian who moved to Vienna in 2012 after a season as a tour guide and a whirlwind romance that began in an Austrian après-ski bar. She explains how Vienna's long lunches, Sunday closures and Heurigers first set her on the path to slow living, and how burnout and a pandemic move back to Australia made her rethink how she wanted to live.

Now settled with her family in the Alpine region of Tyrol, Carly talks about the seasonal rituals that make slowing down feel natural, and the less picturesque side of the countryside dream, from empty holiday homes to the learning curve of growing your own food. She also shares practical advice for new arrivals in Austria, including joining a local Verein to get out of the expat bubble and giving yourself at least 18 months before deciding whether to stay.

If you're living abroad and feel like you're still running at your old pace, or you're dreaming of a quieter life in Austria, this episode offers an honest look at what slow living really involves: the joys, the trade-offs and the small daily choices that make it work.

#SlowLiving #LivingInAustria #MoveToAustria #ExpatLife #Vienna #Tyrol #ExpatFocus

👉 Visit Expat Focus at https://www.expatfocus.com

00:00 Introducing Carly Hulls

00:54 From Tour Guide to Austria

04:38 First Months in Vienna

06:50 What Makes Vienna Great

10:42 How Vienna Sparked Slow Living

12:49 Burnout and a Pandemic Pivot

16:07 Why Move Back to Austria

20:29 Slow Living in Tyrol

27:05 The Reality Behind Slow Living

28:35 Holiday Homes and Empty Streets

31:10 Growing Your Own Food

33:55 Advice for New Expats: Learn German

34:45 Joining a Verein 37:10 The 18-Month Rule

39:30 Carly's Vienna Guide and Wrap-Up

🎥 Video/Transcript – https://www.expatfocus.com/austria/podcast/expat-life-in-austria-slower-cheaper-better

📝 Show Notes

Carly Hulls – https://carlyhulls.com

👉 Follow Expat Focus here:

RSS | https://www.expatfocus.com/feed

YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@ExpatFocus

Podcast | https://www.expatfocus.com/podcast

LinkedIn Page | https://www.linkedin.com/company/expatfocus

LinkedIn Group | https://www.linkedin.com/groups/673267

X | https://x.com/expatfocus

Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/expatfocus

Bluesky | https://bsky.app/profile/expatfocus.bsky.social

Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/expatfocus

TikTok | https://www.tiktok.com/@expatfocus

Mastodon | https://mastodon.social/@expatfocus

Website | https://www.expatfocus.com

Richard Hammond, founder of French Connections HCB, joins the Expat Focus Podcast to talk about what it really takes to move to France. Born in France to British parents and raised between two cultures, Richard has spent nearly a decade helping English-speaking families relocate, and his team now handles 30 to 40 visa applications a month. He explains why the visa process is more straightforward than most people fear, especially for retirees, and why the real difficulty has shifted from filling in forms to knowing where in France you should actually live – because a move can succeed on paper while quietly failing on everything that matters.

Carlie and Richard also dig into the truth behind the viral remote work stories, what's really happening with early retirees and the French healthcare system, and the financial proof you need for a visa application: the 1,400 euros a month figure, why it's more complicated than a single number, and why Richard tells clients to approach it like a mortgage application. If you're weighing up a move to France – whether you're two years out or already deep in the admin – this one will save you from the mistakes that are hardest to undo.

#MoveToFrance #LivingInFrance #FranceVisa #ExpatLife #FrenchBureaucracy #Expat

👉 Visit Expat Focus at https://www.expatfocus.com

00:00 Introducing Richard Hammond

02:57 Living Between Cultures

08:06 Building The Relocation Business

15:00 Moving To France In 2026

21:33 Choosing The Right Region

29:43 Region Matcher And Scouting

36:10 Remote Work And Healthcare Myths

45:11 Visa Financial Proof Explained

49:55 How To Get Help

52:14 Wrap Up And Next Steps

🎥 Video/Transcript – https://www.expatfocus.com/france/podcast/how-to-move-to-france-in-2026-visas-money-and-picking-your-region

📝 Show Notes

French Connections HCB – https://frenchconnectionshcb.com

Move to France HCB – https://movetofrance-hcb.com/

French Connections HCB on YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@frenchconnectionshcb

👉 Follow Expat Focus here:

RSS | https://www.expatfocus.com/feed

YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@ExpatFocus

Podcast | https://www.expatfocus.com/podcast

LinkedIn Page | https://www.linkedin.com/company/expatfocus

LinkedIn Group | https://www.linkedin.com/groups/673267

X | https://x.com/expatfocus

Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/expatfocus

Bluesky | https://bsky.app/profile/expatfocus.bsky.social

Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/expatfocus

TikTok | https://www.tiktok.com/@expatfocus

Mastodon | https://mastodon.social/@expatfocus

Website | https://www.expatfocus.com

Financial advisor Scott Schwartz joins the Expat Focus Podcast to talk about what it really takes for Americans to build a life abroad. Scott has flown as an international airline captain, sailed around the world, and now lives part-time on his boat in Malta. He's spent over three decades advising Americans living overseas, and his new book, Adapting Elsewhere: A Practical Guide for Americans Moving Abroad, tackles the parts of the move that nobody puts in the brochure.

Scott explains why moving abroad has shifted from a romantic retirement dream to a practical strategy, and gets into the financial traps that catch Americans out: FATCA reporting and why banks turn US citizens away, PFICs, worldwide taxation, and the biggest mistake of all – leaving the country before you've sorted out your financial institutions at home. He and Carlie also cover residency routes from Malta's reworked citizenship by investment programme to retirement visas, why international health insurance matters more than most people expect, and the case for the "Schengen shuffle" as a low-risk way to try somewhere before you commit.

#MovingAbroad #AmericansAbroad #ExpatFinance #LivingInMalta #ExpatLife

👉 Visit Expat Focus at https://www.expatfocus.com

00:00 Welcome and guest intro

01:07 Scott's global backstory: pilot, sailor, advisor

03:24 From the cockpit to financial advising

05:28 Why he wrote Adapting Elsewhere

07:43 Building community, and life in Malta

09:57 Why Americans are moving now

13:09 Money traps: FATCA, PFICs and banking

16:44 Residency, golden visas and citizenship by investment

18:40 Where to start, and how to build your team

20:34 Working, retiring and healthcare abroad

22:39 The Schengen shuffle and exit plans

27:05 Mobility as a financial hedge

32:01 What a first advising conversation looks like

36:03 How to get in touch, and the next book

37:34 Wrap up and call to action

🎥 Video/Transcript – https://www.expatfocus.com/international/podcast/fatca-pfics-and-golden-visas-a-us-expat-money-guide

📝 Show Notes

Adapting Elsewhere: A Practical Guide for Americans Moving Abroad – https://www.adaptingelsewhere.com/

Scott Schwartz, International Asset Management – https://iamadvisors.com/

👉 Follow Expat Focus here:

RSS | https://www.expatfocus.com/feed

YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@ExpatFocus

Podcast | https://www.expatfocus.com/podcast

LinkedIn Page | https://www.linkedin.com/company/expatfocus

LinkedIn Group | https://www.linkedin.com/groups/673267

X | https://x.com/expatfocus

Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/expatfocus

Bluesky | https://bsky.app/profile/expatfocus.bsky.social

Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/expatfocus

TikTok | https://www.tiktok.com/@expatfocus

Mastodon | https://mastodon.social/@expatfocus

Website | https://www.expatfocus.com