New Life

by natahsa
(London)

Hi Bella,

My husband is taking a job in Santa Cruz next year and for my sins i am going to give up work and follow him. We don't have kids yet and I am used to leading a hectic London life and am now trying to imagine just what my life in Bolivia might be like.

Your site is really really interesting. I would love to chat to you if you have time.

Thanks

Natasha

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Sep 07, 2010
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starstarstarstarstar 		meet expats in santa cruz
by: BoliviaBella

Did you ever move to Santa Cruz? If so sign up for our expat meet-ups. We'll email you about our monthly events we're starting.
Nov 05, 2009
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starstarstarstarstar 		santa cruz is great
by: Anthony

There's a lot to do in Santa Cruz. A lot will depend on your willingness to seek out new friendships, but that shouldn't be a problem because there are large communities of foreigners here and they are very active and get together frequently. They also plan many activities. There's also a large English-language church and the pastor is a really cool guy from England.
Oct 26, 2009
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starstarstarstarstar 		cheer up life is hectic in santa cruz too
by: BoliviaBella

Hello Natasha: Thank you for your message. I'm going to respond briefly to it here. You filled out my online question form which also allows others to respond to questions that come in so I keep my responses here very general. Then I hope you'll contact me through this secure email form so I'll be able to respond to you by email and we'll be able to chat in greater detail.

You don't sound very enthusiastic about moving to Santa Cruz and that is understandable. I can understand your apprehension. Would it surprise you to know that even after living here for 10 years and LOVING IT, when I returned to the US for just 2 years I was then apprehensive again before returning to Santa Cruz once more?

You may find it comforting that life in Santa Cruz can, surprisingly, also be quite hectic haha. Santa Cruz is a city of 1.6 million, much smaller than London, but with many interesting things to do. I would encourage you to actively seek a social life when you get here. There are groups among the British and American and other expats (German, Dutch, Swiss, etc.) who get together socially. It's great for networking, making friends and finding things to do.

I think most of our fears of moving somewhere (anywhere) new can be alleviated somewhat if we try to face culture shock as something to look forward to. I know you'll be surprised at my saying this. The truth is, I've been through culture shock many times and have made a lot of moves I didn't want to make only to find it wasn't so bad. In fact, I wrote about just this exact subject in my upcoming newsletter on GoSouthExpat.com my website for expatriates in Latin America. I encourage you to sign up for it because the newsletter will be going out in 2 days and I think you'll find it very helpful. It talks about just exactly what you've written me.

I would encourage you to continue doing what you are already doing - reading up and learning about Bolivia. But when you do, try to approach your move through the eyes of a child for just a few moments at a time. Imagine if you will a land where butterflies are the size of your hand, huge flocks of green parrots wake you with their squawking in the morning as they fly over head, and where just before it rains the air in the city smells mango sweet like the jungle.

I'll leave you with that impression for now. Contact me through the secure form, enter your email address there so I can respond to you privately, and we'll have a great talk - just us!
Bella

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