Today we’d like to introduce you to Lori Tungseth.
Hi Lori, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I moved around a lot to support career goals, but a relocation offer to England for my husband changed everything. Despite living overseas before, moving as a family with a dog took the idea of relocation to an all-new level. Focused on my career first, the thought of moving overseas was terribly frightening. It inevitably meant leaving my career and starting over in so many ways – identity, friendships, culture, daily family life… Through a series of other timely events, moving to England was the absolute best decision. I leaned into the opportunity and started aBroad purpose in 2018. First as an outlet to process everything new that I didn’t know how to deal with (career-less, SAHM, culture shock, my mom’s cancer). However, it became clear that I wanted to evolve it as a resource for others moving to a new place, taking the risks, settling somewhere new, and learning to love it. As a result, aBroadpurpose.com is a destination with resources for moving to the UK (that we desperately needed when we were going through the process), tips for ex-pat life, British life, and an abundance of travel – so that you can create a life you love.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Creating aBroad purpose has been a challenge for sure. It started out as a coping method for all the change and ambiguity I was going through, and then switched over to a “hey, I’ve got something here…let’s see what I can do with this to help others while keeping my digital skills and tech intact”. The blog wasn’t only a hobby/passion; it held me accountable and became my thing. And I really needed that after leaving my career to move to England. Although I felt confident that building a digital content site would be fairly easy, I had no idea of all the nuances and changing tech landscapes that would make it so hard. Then Covid hit, and that threw an even bigger curveball. I was close to my Mediavine goal when the company doubled their qualifications requirements. Not to mention the pandemic forced an earlier return to the USA than expected. Despite all that, I find joy in helping others, the challenge with Google, and keep going. My readers who contact me personally with their story and how much I’ve helped them make aBroadpurpose.com 100% worth it!
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
There are loads of bloggers on the internet, but what sets me apart is the detailed content I publish as a result of actually doing it. Writers get hired to research a topic and publish. I actually experience it and THEN write about it. I never ever write about something I’ve never personally done myself. That’s what makes me authentic and different. I’m most proud of my Moving to UK Workbook. It’s a 100-page digital PDF that documents everything an American need to know and do to move to the UK. Whenever I think of something new to make the PDF better, I just keep adding to it. And then there’s an Expat Negotiation Kit. It literally includes all my living expenses so people have an idea of what to expect so they can truly sort out what they need for a salary and whether or not moving to UK makes financial sense. I practically give that away!
Risk-taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I feel like I’ve been taking risks ever since I left Maine to attend uni in Australia. Ever since then, I’ve wanted to experience the world. Doing it with small children and a dog made me question if my husband and I should keep taking risks like that, but now I know that showing my children a different experience in a different part of the world was/is the best gift we could ever give them. And whenever I question myself about the blog and whether I should keep publishing or not, I think, “But what if?…what if I don’t stop?” It’s fun to imagine the future when the road ahead isn’t clear.
Pricing:
- Moving To UK Workbook – $197
- Expat Negotiation Kit – $20
Contact Info:
- Website: https://abroadpurpose.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abroadpurpose/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Broadpurpose/
For aBroad purpose’s travel post on Houston, read 10 Must-Dos in Houston 2023.
Image Credits
Lori Tungseth
