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Continue reading →: The Unexpected Payoff of Leaving HomeImmigrating to a new country is never an easy path. There’s the paperwork, the language, the ache of missing people you love, the slow work of building a life somewhere unfamiliar. But the reality is we choose this path in the hopes that the payoff will be worth the stress,…
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Continue reading →: Adding Years to My Life: The Health Benefits of My Move to Cuenca, EcuadorOne of the biggest changes since moving to Ecuador from rural Missouri has been the shift in my overall health. I’m still trying to pinpoint the cause of some lingering fatigue and occasional hypersomnia, but I’ve lost 40 pounds in the eleven months since leaving the United States. There are…
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Continue reading →: Living on less without feeling like you’re sacrificing — what that really takesMy husband and I have been followers of the FIRE movement for as long as we have been together. FIRE, or financial independence retire early, can take on many different forms across a broad spectrum. Some people may live a very simple life, even going as far as living in…
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Continue reading →: How Grief Compounds Grief — and Regret
A week ago, I received news I wasn’t prepared for. A dear friend had passed away — the stepmother of my ex-husband. On the surface, that description might sound distant, even clinical. But the reality of who she was to me is so much richer and more complicated than a…
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Continue reading →: On HomesicknessI recently watched a YouTube video of a German expat living in the United States. She was cooking some of her favorite family and childhood recipes as she was experiencing homesickness. It got me thinking, was I homesick or had I been since arriving in Ecuador? In August of 2025,…
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Continue reading →: Should I Stay or Should I GoExpat or Immigrant? There are two categories of people who move and live outside of their native country. They may live for a temporary duration to explore new opportunities with the intent to return to their home country, in which case they would be categorized as an expat. Or, they…
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Continue reading →: The First LeavingPart of a Memoir Series February 2013, I was scrambling. A huge life change meant giving less than two weeks notice at my first “grown up” job and taking a 7,000 mile trip for “house hunting”. It would be my first time to cross the Pacific. My first time really…
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Continue reading →: Shopping School Options as a ForeignerWhen we arrived in Ecuador, our daughter was only two years old. However, she is old enough for grade level Maternal II in Ecuador, and she will be entering Inicial I in August. As such, we’ve already been considering our schooling options and shopping for possible placements. We want to…
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Continue reading →: Back to Work I GoHappy New Year! I hope everyone has had a splendid holiday season. Tomorrow marks a big step for me. After leaving the workforce in June of 2025, thinking that I would permanently retire, I realized I needed some structure and a little more meaning. I will be going back to…
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Continue reading →: Trying to Find My Ecuadorian Groove
I am now two months into my resettlement in Cuenca, Ecuador. While things have gone relatively well, I am starting to get the itch for change. What is going on exactly? Wasn’t settling into retirement exactly the plan? I’m just not sure what my next direction should be. The past…
Hello,
I’m Lauren
Welcome to The Wandering Librarian, where I recount my attempts to connect to a simpler life!