Episode 617: Returning Home to a Different Country (with Brie Ripley)

2026-02-23

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Lately it seems like lots of Americans are moving abroad. But, believe it or not, some American expats are moving back to the States. Today we're joined by one such ex-expat, or repatriate. Seattle-native Brie Ripley has been on the show before. We first interviewed her back in 2024 after she moved to Rome without ever having been there before. She joined us again about sixe months later, after she had settled in. And today we sit down with her to talk about why she and her husband decided to move back to the US and what it's been like to...

Lately it seems like lots of Americans are moving abroad. But, believe it or not, some American expats are moving back to the States.

Today we're joined by one such ex-expat, or repatriate. Seattle-native Brie Ripley has been on the show before. We first interviewed her back in 2024 after she moved to Rome without ever having been there before. She joined us again about sixe months later, after she had settled in.

And today we sit down with her to talk about why she and her husband decided to move back to the US and what it's been like to repatriate at such a time in history.

She reminisces about the things she misses about Rome, discusses what led to the decision to leave that sometimes feels like a mistake, and shares her thoughts about what it feels like to leave a place just as you're starting to feel at home now.

She also talks about what it feels like to move back to a country that in many ways you can't recognize, how her priorities have shifted after living in Europe, and the realities of culture shock.

Find past episodes with Brie here:

Episode 527 Moving to Rome—Sight Unseen (with Brie Ripley)

Episode 562 Moving to Rome—Sight Unseen, Part 2 (with Brie Ripley and Ryan Sparks)

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