The Good Expat Life

19/08/2025

𝐂𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐲𝐥𝐞? 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞?

Then, I have the right course for you:

𝐀𝐭𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐀𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐝 – 𝐚𝐧 𝐀𝐭𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐒𝐭𝐲𝐥𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐬!

For the past many months, I have been working hard to put together an online course for expats. We all know how challenging expat life can be. How it can rattle your sense of self, your sense of agency, and even your closest relationships.

By working on your attachment style, you will earn a more secure attachment style and a well-regulated nervous system to create a stronger sense of self n identity enabling you to show up more authentic in life and deepen your relationships, whether romantic or expat friendships.

The course launches on 9th September 2025, and for members of my international support group, 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐚𝐭 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 – 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝𝐰𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐚𝐭 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭, there’s an 𝐄𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐁𝐢𝐫𝐝 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐞 to be had from 9th to 16th September, both dates included.

Join can you the group by following the link in the comments’ section to this post.

11/08/2025

👧 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 - 𝐢𝐟 𝐰𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 👦

As a former school teacher and expat mum, one of the causes closest to my heart is making sure children are supported throughout the transitions of expat life.

Leaving your friends, moving to a different culture, and starting a new school - often without much say in the decision... Expat life can be a wonderful gift to give to a child, but it can also be tough.

As expat parents, the best you can do is:
✔️ Support your children
✔️ Listen to their experiences
✔️ Validate their feelings
✔️ and educate yourself on the culture among kids in your new country, school life, expectations, extra curricular activities, etc.

📚 Danish schools start up again after the summer holidays today. If you're new to Denmark, here's my guide on Danish school life.

And if you’re a Danish employer working with expats, feel free to share this guide with your international employees. Supporting their families is a great way to support your workforce.

💛 Henriette

New to Danish school culture. Learn how to best support your child.

03/08/2025

🤯 𝐁𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞? 𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲, 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞!

Tomorrow marks the end of the summer holiday for many Danes — myself included. And if you’re new to Denmark, returning to work might come with a bit of culture shock.

Danish work culture can be a lot to adjust to:

🗣️ A very informal tone in the workplace
😐 Dry, sarcastic (and sometimes dark) humour
📉 Flat hierarchies and few formalities
🎯 An expectation that employees take initiative and work independently

If you're used to a more hierarchical or structured work culture, this may feel both liberating and overwhelming at the same time.

As many expats experience this work culture shock, I’ve compiled all my blog posts on Danish work culture in one place. You can explore the guides here:

👉 https://www.thegoodexpatlife.com/blog/categories/danish-work-culture-1

Expats and employers everywhere: What’s your biggest learning from working across cultures?

11/06/2025

🏆 𝐀 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐰𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 🏆

Earlier this year, The Good Expat Life was nominated and won Best Expat Therapy Provider plus an Excellence Award in Family Therapy in the GHP Mental Health Awards 2025.

While I always take these kinds of accolades with a grain of salt (and a healthy sense of realism), I’m still genuinely grateful. Mostly because it gives me a moment to reflect on how lucky I am to work in this field; supporting expats and their families across the world with their mental health, identity, and relationships.

Working with this community is something I care deeply about, and I’m endlessly inspired by the people I meet - both expats, employers, and others working within this field.

For anyone curious, there’s a link to the short feature from the awards page in the comments to this post.

Thanks to all of you who support, share, refer, collaborate - or simply check in from time to time 💚

11/04/2025

𝐒𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 👋

After months of many personal changes and hard work - amongst other things, getting married, moving, and polishing off an exciting new online course on attachment style for expats, that I am planning to launch this summer, I am in dire need of a little R&R🪫🔋

So, for the next two weeks, I am closing down shop to enjoy our honeymoon in gorgeous Hoi An in Vietnam as well as a few days in buzzing Singapore – and for the remainder of April and throughout May, I won’t be present on SoMe.

I will return in June with renewed energy and ideas ❤️ Until then, be well!

With love, Henriette.

02/04/2025

'𝐑𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐞: 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐰𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭? 🤔

As I told you last week, I am in the process of rethinking my communication channels. I want to spend my time and energy where it matters most, connecting with expats worldwide.

And so, I'm wondering: how did you first come across me? Did you hear of me through a friend? Stumble upon my page, or my LinkedIn account? Or perhaps landed on my website through a Google search? Or something else entirely?

👇 If you can remember, please let me know in the comments - this insight is incredibly valuable to me!

27/03/2025

𝐈𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬? 🤨

For some time, I've been contemplating if I'm spending my energy in the right places (not a bad exercise if you're feeling a little worn out).

I love to chat and connect with fellow expats, and in my eagerness to do so, I've created a page, a group, a LinkedIn account, a website and blog, and a newsletter.

But it's time to admit to myself and to you that it's taking up too much of my energy. And so I'm contemplating: where do I spend my energy wisest?

This page was my first channel, but with time it has gotten harder and harder to reach people here. So to put it to the test:

If you're actually seeing this post, would you please be so kind as to interact with it in some way? Like, react, or comment. And if you're about to leave a comment anyway, please let me know: what would be the best channel to connect with you?

Thank you 👏

20/03/2025

🌎 𝐀𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐚𝐭, 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐬? 🤝

It's International Day of Happiness today, and one thing that is 🗝️ to expat happiness is finding friends in your new country.

However, depending on where you move, and how big the cultural differences are, making friends with the locals can be difficult. Some expats never succeed in feeling that they fully belong to the local community.

It is worthwhile making an effort though, especially if you plan on staying for more than a short period of time. I have shared my tips on befriending Danes before, and will share them again in the comments. Though many of you are not in Denmark, some of the tips may still apply. See the link to the article in the comments' section.

But mostly, I would like to hear from you: whereabouts have your expat life brought you, and how did you connect with the locals?

(I'll start by sharing my experience as an expat in the UK in the comments.)

It’s no secret, that Denmark has a lot to offer, but being an expat in one of the seemingly happiest countries in the world is no walk in the park when it comes to making friends with the locals. I once heard someone say that to make local friends in Denmark is a slow growing plant.Without going i...

18/03/2025

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝟑 𝐭𝐲𝐩𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐚𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐬 👭👫👬

Resharing this post and some popular blog posts on this special occasion.*

As expats, there are roughly speaking three types of friendships:

1️⃣ Your friends back home: these friendships are often tested on their strength when you relocate. As a lot of expats can attest to, some friendships fall through, especially if you live abroad for longer periods of time.

2️⃣ Friends from the expat community: often the easiest friendships to make, but fickle and at times a bit superficial.

3️⃣ Friends from the local community: depending on the cultural differences, making friends with the locals can be difficult. Some expats never get there. But it is worth making an effort, especially if you plan on staying for a longer period.

👉 Click the link to see my blog posts on all 3 types (+ a bonus post about making friends with the Danes, in case you're an expat in Denmark).

___

*In case you didn't know, it's Global Recycling Day ♻️😉

The Good Expat Life by psychotherapist and former expat Henriette Johnsen. Click here to read all my blog posts about friendships.

13/03/2025

Friends are the pillars of strength we lean on when life gets tough, and this is especially true when your romantic relationship is struggling.

🫶 𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐬, 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞:

❤️‍🩹Listen without judgement: sometimes, all they need is a compassionate ear to share their feelings and fears.

❤️‍🩹Offer your presence (even if virtual): whether it's a walk in the park or a transatlantic coffee date on FaceTime, your presence can provide comfort and distraction.

❤️‍🩹Avoid taking sides: focus on your friend's well-being rather than judging the relationship, keeping your support unbiased and loving.

❤️‍🩹Remind them of their worth: remind your friend of their strengths and qualities, boosting their confidence and self-esteem during this challenging time.

❤️‍🩹Encourage professional help if needed: gently suggest they consider counselling or therapy, reassuring them that seeking help is a sign of strength.

What is your favourite way to be there for a friend in need?