Written by Rita Serra | Published Mar 16, 2026

Back in 2017, I was in a toxic relationship, stuck in a dead-end job, and quietly recovering from some health issues that had taken more out of me than I ever admitted out loud. I wasn’t living. I was just… enduring.

Then my relationship ended. It was painful and messy and necessary. And the moment it did, something clicked. I couldn’t keep going like this. I needed to make a change, a real one, not a “new gym routine” kind of change. A life change.

So I made myself a deal: save $12,000 in one year. Quit my job. Sell everything: my car, my furniture, all of it. And travel the world for a year to figure out what came next.

Twelve months later, I had the money. I handed in my resignation, packed what I could carry, and booked a one-way ticket to London. My family was so supportive, but they thought I was having a midlife crisis. Maybe I was. But I got on that plane anyway.

That was the best decision I’ve ever made.

If you’re reading this because you’re over 40 and wondering whether moving abroad as a woman is actually possible, whether it’s too late, too risky, or too unrealistic, I want you to keep reading. Because my story didn’t start with a perfect plan. It started with a breaking point. And life abroad as a single woman led me somewhere I never expected.

Is Moving Abroad Over 40 as a Woman Actually Realistic?

Yes. But not the way you might be imagining it.

It doesn’t require a trust fund, a partner, a remote job lined up, or years of planning. What it requires is a decision, a little money, and a willingness to figure things out as you go. I know that sounds terrifying. It also sounds like freedom because it is.

The female expat experience looks different for everyone. Some women plan meticulously for years. Others like me stumble into it. Both paths work. What they share is one woman deciding her comfort zone wasn’t worth staying in anymore.

Here’s how my story actually unfolded.

Why I Decided to Travel Full Time at 38

That first year of travel changed everything I thought I knew about myself.

I spent six to seven months just traveling in London, Europe, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. Pure savings-burning, world-opening travel. No agenda, no itinerary, just showing up and seeing what happened. I visited around twenty countries. I saw the Scottish Highlands and the streets of Beirut, and the temples of Southeast Asia.

The Lebanon trip deserves its own mention. A girl I met while traveling invited me to visit her family there. I said yes because what did I have to lose, and what I got was a view of Lebanon from the inside, through a local family’s eyes. It made everything more real, more human, more memorable. Those are the kinds of experiences that rearrange you.

After Lebanon, I continued into Southeast Asia: Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka. It was somewhere in the middle of all of that, somewhere between teaching myself to eat with chopsticks and watching the sun rise over Angkor Wat, that I understood: I couldn’t go back to the life I’d left.

How I Started Making Money While Traveling

About six to eight months into my travels, I was invited to teach at a school in Malaysia. No formal teaching experience required; they just needed a native English speaker.

I interviewed, got the job, and for one month, they paid for my housing, my food, and my transportation. Everything.

While I was there, I got my TEFL certification, which is a Teaching English as a Foreign Language qualification, and landed a job teaching English online.

From that point on, I was working every day, making enough to keep my savings balanced, and still traveling. If you’re wondering how to make money while traveling, this is one of the most accessible routes, especially for women over 40 who already have strong communication and professional skills. To read more details on this top you can read here.

The Accident That Led Me to Albania

When my first year of travel was up, I flew back to the US. The plan was to spend two months with family, reset, save a little more, and then travel to South America for another year.

Then COVID hit.

I was stuck in the US for ten months. The world shut down. I was living with family and friends, not wanting to overstay my welcome, watching every travel plan I had dissolve. It was one of the hardest periods of this whole journey, honestly.

But something unexpected happened during that lockdown: I found an expat Facebook group for Albania.

I’d never seriously considered Albania. I barely knew anything about it. But I started reading the posts about Americans living there, a Mediterranean coastline, a community of people building lives from scratch, and apartments going for €300 a month.

I also discovered that Americans can stay in Albania for up to one year without a visa. No paperwork, no bureaucracy, just show up and live.

I did my research. Found a one-bedroom apartment in Saranda, a small town on the Albanian Riviera, for €300 a month. Sent a €100 deposit to hold it. Booked a one-way ticket. Told my family I was leaving again.

Moving to Albania wasn’t a lifelong dream. It was a practical decision that turned into the best accident of my life.

And I moved to Albania with the intention of staying for exactly one year.

That was almost six years ago.

The Practical Stuff Nobody Talks About

I arrived in Albania with modest savings and an online teaching income that covered my basics. When I first moved to Albania my rent was €300, my groceries were cheap, and my lifestyle was simple and good.

This was more than 5 years ago and while still affordable the cost of living has gone up significantly not just for foreigners but for the locals as well. So if you’re considering moving abroad, please do thorough research on your city of choice.

For managing money across currencies and borders, You can use Revolut. It’s a great option for receiving payments and transferring money without getting destroyed by exchange rate fees.

For avoiding ATM when taking money out I use and hightly suggest you get yourself a Charles Schwab account.

If you’re moving abroad, please make sure to get this all set up before you leave.

After years of living out of a bag and then settling into a home abroad, here’s what I’ve learned: you’ll overpack, regret it, and eventually pare down to the essentials. The gear that’s genuinely made my life easier:

Visas and residency

When my first year in Albania was up, I left for three months, traveled a bit, then came back and restarted my one-year stay. I did this twice before finally applying for official residency.

I’m now two years into a residency permit, which means I can stay permanently without the three-month exit requirement.

Every country has different rules. Do your research early, join expat Facebook groups specific to your destination, and connect with people who’ve already navigated the paperwork. It’s tedious, not impossible.

What I Actually Packed After Years of Trial and Error

• A lightweight, carry-on-sized bag that fits overhead
• A universal travel adapter
• Portable Charger
• A good quality neck pillow for long-haul flights
• A crossbody anti-theft bag is non-negotiable for solo female travelers

The Emotional Reality of Starting Over Alone

This is the part people don’t really talk about. And it’s the part that matters most.

Moving abroad over 40 as a woman isn’t just a logistical change. It’s an identity shift. You have to let go of who you thought you were supposed to be by now the career trajectory, the relationship timeline, the version of your life that other people had in mind for you.

Expat life over 40 has a specific texture to it. You’re old enough to know yourself well, but young enough to reinvent. You’ve shed enough of other people’s opinions to actually make a decision that’s entirely yours. That’s a powerful place to be even when it’s terrifying.

Some days are lonely. Some days I miss my family in a way that sits heavy in my chest. Some days I wonder if I’ve made my life harder than it needed to be.

But most days I wake up in a place I chose, with a life I designed, doing work I care about, surrounded by people I actually want to spend time with. As a solo female expat, I’ve built a community here that rivals anything I had back home and I did it from scratch, in a country I knew nothing about, past the age when most people stop starting over.

I live by the sea. I travel easily because I’m already in Europe. I have freedom and peace in a way I don’t think I could have built inside the life I left.

That’s not nothing. That’s everything.

The women I’ve met here who’ve done the same walked away from their old lives and built new ones somewhere else they all say the same thing: the fear before was worse than anything that came after. The anticipation was harder than the reality.

What I’d Tell Any Woman Thinking About This

You don’t need permission. You don’t need a partner. You don’t need a five-year plan.

What you need is:

• Clarity about what you’re moving toward, not just what you’re leaving behind
• Some savings: more is better, but it doesn’t have to be a fortune
• A skill you can take online: teaching, writing, social media, consulting, whatever you do well. Find a way to monetize your current skills.
• Willingness to be uncomfortable: for longer than feels comfortable

How to Know If You’re Ready

Here’s the question worth sitting with: Are you running from something, or running toward something?

Both are valid starting points. But if you’re only running away from a bad relationship, a dead-end career, a life that doesn’t fit without any sense of what you want instead, moving abroad might just mean bringing your unhappiness to a prettier location.

I was running from toxicity and stagnation. But I was also running toward freedom, possibility, and a version of myself I hadn’t met yet. That combination made the difference.

Ask yourself:

• What would I do if I knew I couldn’t fail?
• What did I want before other people told me to want something else?
• What am I willing to give up, and what can I not live without?

Your answers are your roadmap.

Moving abroad over 40 as a woman isn’t a fantasy. It’s not reserved for people with perfect circumstances. It’s available to anyone brave enough to take the first step.

Starting over abroad at 38 was the hardest and best thing I’ve ever done. My story started in a toxic apartment in 2017 with $12,000 and a breaking point. It took me from London to Beirut to Southeast Asia to a small town in Albania I’d never heard of. It wasn’t planned. It wasn’t the story I thought I’d be living.

But it’s mine. And I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Ready to start planning your own move? Download my free guide: The Ultimate Moving Abroad Checklist: 47 Things to do Before Leaving the U.S. and join thousands of women who are done waiting for someday.

FAQ: Moving Abroad Over 40 as a Woman