Except perhaps some parts of it didn't land.
Coaching and strategic support for internationally mobile individuals, couples and the organisations that work with them.
Explore working with AvaWhat does it mean when you know exactly who you are, but the circumstances around you make it harder to feel like yourself?
Now everyday things take more energy. You need help with things you used to handle yourself. And you're no longer quite sure how others see you.
You haven't lost yourself somewhere over the Atlantic. The world around you just doesn't make it as easy to feel like yourself.
Moving abroad changes the circumstances of your life. And naturally, you adapt. You compromise, make room for other people's needs, put certain ambitions aside, and tell yourself you'll return to them when things settle down.
Just for now.
But sometimes, without anyone consciously deciding it, for now becomes how things are.
And the things you've put aside don't necessarily announce their absence. Life can keep working. Everyone can be doing reasonably well. Yet something that matters to you has quietly disappeared from the picture.
You don't have to wait until something goes wrong to make room for what matters to you.
A little about Ava
I've seen how easily capable, intelligent people can find themselves putting parts of their lives on hold. Especially in the expat world, where adapting, being flexible, and making things work can become a way of life.
Sometimes it's waiting for circumstances to change. Sometimes it's doing what's necessary, responsible, or expected. And sometimes life simply gets so busy that we stop noticing what's missing.
I've seen the consequences up close, too. My mother literally kept folders full of brilliant business ideas on a shelf, waiting for the right moment to bring them to life. That moment never came.
It's one of the reasons I'm so committed to helping people consciously participate in the lives they're living, rather than simply accommodating the circumstances around them.
I'm Ava Houkes, MSc, Expat Transition Coach & Advisor. I bring together psychology, over 15 years of coaching and organisational experience, and my own experience of international transition to help people find clarity, reclaim direction, and create room for what matters to them.
Different lives. Connected realities.
Your life. Your identity. Your direction.
Moving internationally can change how you experience your work, relationships, independence and sense of belonging. Even when it's the life you chose, you may find yourself wondering where parts of you have gone.
Explore individualsTwo lives. One shared decision. Different experiences.
You can choose the same international adventure together and discover that it changes your lives in very different ways. Careers, opportunities, identity and belonging don't necessarily move in the same direction for both partners.
Explore couplesThe people behind international mobility.
An international assignment moves more than an employee. It changes the circumstances surrounding careers, relationships, families and lives. Understanding those wider effects creates opportunities for more effective support.
Explore organisations