Hi there, welcome to my blog! My name is Marleen. I have lived abroad since 2010 and will *most likely* for the rest of my life. Although I love to travel I had never the ambition to actually live abroad. But true love walks in and changes all your plans. That´s how life goes I suppose.

I am Dutch and Jan is German. Not necessarily the perfect combination if you would ask some random people in the streets of Holland and Germany (especially during the soccer cups!). I guess we do so well together because Jan is only half German 😉 His other half is Colombian, which explains the slightly darker look.

Jan is the reason why we are now living in Guadalajara, Mexico. He runs a startup business with two friends and I decided to join him in this adventure. So I quit my job in Cologne – which I got for the man in the first place – we packed our lives into two suitcases each, and left…

Since we arrived in April 2011, the business has developed rapidly. I also have a small part in this success: I help them out on a freelance full-time basis. In order to maintain a good work-life balance I found three new passions: cooking, sewing and Latin dance.

On my blog I share my experiences on how I am trying to find my place in this new culture while Jan is making 70-hour work weeks. Sometimes it is easy, sometimes it is not. How I am not losing myself by constantly following him? Fair question. I am still trying to figure it out myself.

Evolution Abroad refers to the combination of an international lifestyle and continuous growth. The expat life is a wonderful experience and it most certainly pushes your limits. I hope my endeavors and insights are useful in your journey to enjoy and succeed this radical change of life.