Expatriation: when the destination is no longer a country, but a life project

Aurélien Barreau has just arrived in Abu Dhabi with his two children.

This is not his first expatriation. And when you look closely, it is not really a story about countries at all.

His journey begins in 2005, in Egypt. A young graduate from a French business school, with an internship in retail behind him, Aurélien decides to visit the Carrefour teams in Cairo, a company he had recently worked for. During that conversation, an opportunity takes shape and everything unfolds quickly. Within two days, he completes the interviews. Fifteen days later, he receives a job offer. Thirty days after that, he is living in Cairo.

He had no timeline in mind and had not planned to expatriate. He simply created an opportunity and seized it. The first chapter of his story lasts seven years, until the Egyptian revolution of 2011 makes the situation too uncertain.

Aurélien does not follow the traditional expatriation playbook. He does not tick the boxes of so called premium destinations, nor does he build his career through strategic geographic steps. He moves forward differently, guided by intuition, risk assessment, life choices, and personal coherence.

An inner GPS rather than a map of the world

After living through the revolution, while his wife was pregnant, they felt the need to move on.

“If we are going to move, we might as well discover a radically different country.”

His company was about to open its first store in Georgia. A little known country, absent from expatriation rankings, yet incredibly rich culturally and humanly. Added to that was the professional challenge, which confirmed their decision.

It was a risky expatriation, off the beaten path. Not London. Not New York. Not Singapore. But a controlled move, and above all one that truly suited them.

On a personal level, however, the challenge was significant.

“We moved one month before the expected due date of our first child. We had to find a doctor and a clinic from day one. Our daughter was probably as eager as we were to discover this new country and decided to arrive fifteen days later.”

They stayed for two and a half years. Once again, the chapter closed sooner than expected due to external events and shifting priorities.

Then came Dubai.

A third setting. A new culture. A new lifestyle. And once again, a radically different country. This time, the project was more family oriented, with the intention of offering stability.

But behind these successive destinations lies a much deeper logic.

“My destination is not a country. My destination is a life project.”

Aurélien plans, but he always remains ready for radical and rapid change. He lets go of form, never of substance.

The plan exists, but it evolves depending on life circumstances and family priorities. The trajectory is constantly reinvented. Adaptation is essential, without ever questioning the original intention.

This mindset gives him rare freedom. Less stress. Less frustration. More clarity in decision making. And an infinite field of opportunities. What he seeks is not an ideal geography, but a lasting alignment between professional life, personal life, and values.

The real questions behind every departure

Each expatriation is preceded by the same questions.

• Does what I am living truly correspond to what I want to experience at this stage of my life?

• Are my personal and family values respected?

• Am I building something, or simply reproducing patterns?

It is precisely this questioning that leads them, against all apparent logic, to leave Dubai for Kenya.

Objectively, they had everything. Comfort. Security. Career. Lifestyle.

Why challenge that balance?

“We wanted our children to experience something else. To be exposed to different realities. To challenge the notion of normality, which is always cultural and relative.”

In Kenya, they discover another way of living, working, and prioritizing. A very different culture. Fewer certainties. More presence. Less control. More adaptability. A truly foundational experience.

Rethinking networking and restoring its true value

Aurélien does not speak of luck as something mystical.

He speaks of human relationships, trust, and consistency.

At first, he did not speak of network. Like many of us, he once believed networking was a calculated game driven by personal agendas. He held onto that negative perception for a long time.

He simply had the wrong definition.

Later, he discovered the opposite. Because he had been networking all along, naturally and intuitively, grounded in his professional and personal human values.

A network is built over time, based on trust, with colleagues, partners, suppliers, clients, and friends. The way we work. The way we collaborate. The way we help, ask, and contribute. All of this shapes our network.

“Knowing, without hesitation, who to ask for help is more effective than knowing how to ask for help.”

Above all, understanding that a network is not a tool, but a natural consequence of posture and mindset. Respect. Trust. Humility.

“At every change of country, those people were there.”

It is this network that opens doors to new opportunities, accelerates processes, and unlocks situations. Not by magic, but through relational capital. Human to human. A useful reminder in today’s world.

The pause, and the return

After Kenya, Aurélien and his children take a break in France. Necessary. Healthy.

But very quickly, after seventeen years abroad, Aurélien realizes that France is no longer his natural playground.

All it takes is a message from a former manager who needs him for a specific role.

He says yes.

Once again, "opportunities do not fall from the sky. They come with people with people."

A few weeks later, they are on the move again.

This time to Abu Dhabi. Same region, new perspective.

This time, he is no longer trying to succeed at expatriation. He is simply living their life project.

Less unnecessary stress. More clarity. Less dispersion. More focus on what truly matters.Until the next opportunity aligned with his life project.

We are almost always unprepared for the challenges of expatriation

From these years abroad comes a strong conviction.

We often leave poorly equipped.

Emotionally unprepared.

Humanly under equipped.

Poorly supported through transitions, while loved ones try to help without fully understanding what we are going through.

Yet expatriation is first and foremost an inner journey, and I will keep repeating it.

“Expatriation is above all a human adventure, and it begins with oneself.”

No matter the country, emotions are universal. Doubt. Loneliness. Excitement. Fear. Hope. Self questioning.

They reflect our resistance to adaptation.

And yet, most expatriates move forward alone, improvise, and often repeat the same mistakes.

To respond to this reality, a structured, human, and practical approach has emerged, built around three pillars: the L.L.C. Framework inside our program"Pilot your Expatriation & Beyond".

Learn and Grow

Develop key soft skills and a global mindset: adaptability, flexibility, emotional intelligence, intercultural communication.

Lead and Dare

Step out of autopilot, take ownership of choices, gain clarity in decision making, and accept reinvention, change of plans, and flexibility.

Connect and Create

Build networks, create authentic connections and conversations, and open aligned opportunities.

The goal is not to succeed in expatriation, but to navigate a life transition with greater awareness, confidence, humanity, community, and meaning. So that the destination becomes an integrated and sustainable personal and professional project.

In conclusion

Aurélien does not collect flags. He builds a trajectory with constantly evolving parameters.

A trajectory where each country is a chapter, never an end point.

Where success is not measured by status, but by alignment.

Where career is not separate from life, but integrated into a global project.

And perhaps that, in the end, is the true definition of international success.