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In this episode, met Edward Gawne!

Ed shares his journey of moving from London, the United Kingdom, to Shanghai, China and then to the countryside to open a heritage hotel. He discusses his motivations: on the one hand, the role of ‘anti role models’ (and a person called ‘John’, who we’ll meet). On the other hand, his quest for an “interesting life.”

Ed first came to China as part of a corporate exchange program called Passport Abroad. For five months, he lived and worked in Shanghai. As he put it, he came to “like his life in China more than his life in London.” He then came back to live and work permanently in Shanghai.

But then, again as Ed puts it, “No one dreams of a career in market research”, and he took his life in a completely different direction, transitioning from a market research office in Shanghai to buying his first hotel in Jiangxi, China. This was a significant leap, to say the least! His wife, Selina, played a pivotal role in this journey. Ed first took a year out to learn Chinese full time and ‘scout the area.’ How did they find their hotel? What is ownership like in the countryside? We’ll cover all of this, and more, in this episode.

Ed and I also dissect the Chinese countryside a bit in this episode: what is the fascination Chinese have with the countryside? Why do they visit? Are their expectations met, or not? We also chat about the Chinese consumer psyche.

Ed and Selina have two hotels, as below. Please pay them a visit!

Wuyuan Skywells: https://wuyuanskywells.com/

Victoria House: https://wuyuanskywells.com/victoria-house/

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Thank you for listening to this episode of Wayfinders! If you find this interesting, please share. If you know someone suitable to be a guest (yourself included!), please let me know – very grateful.

See you next time,
Sacha.

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In this episode, met Monica Le!

Monica shares her journey of moving from China (first Ningbo, then Shanghai) to Hong Kong and then to Melbourne, Australia. She discusses the motivations behind each move, including job opportunities and a desire to explore the world.

How much planning did Monica do? As it turns out, not too much... Key here, however, is what it means to be "an interesting person" as well as how to "be in the world." It sounds deep, but Monica explains these things effortlessly for us.

I loved her reflection on the differences between the Chinese and Western education systems, highlighting the importance of hard work and never giving up in the Chinese system, while valuing critical thinking and teamwork in the Western system. And her emphasis on the need for bravery and the willingness to try new things at any age is part of what makes her moves so successful.

Having lived in China throughout the booming 2000s, I was keen to understand why leave she left Shanghai when the city was, quite frankly, 'the place to be'? Her reasons might surprise you...

And lastly, after some decent (mostly positive) research by yours truly about Melbourne - where I am from after all - I was keen to understand what the challenges are. Is Australia such a great place to live? We got into a great discussion of how to go about making international work experience relevant in a very 'domestic' market like Australia.

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Thank you for listening to this episode of Wayfinders! If you find this interesting, please share. If you know someone suitable to be a guest (yourself included!), please let me know – very grateful.

See you next time,
Sacha.

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The book I mentioned about education in China is called “Governing Educational Desire: culture, politics, and schooling in China” by Andrew B. Kipnis, published in 2011 by University of Chicago Press.

See here: https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/G/bo10549225.html

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Welcome to the Wayfinders podcast.

This podcast is about ordinary people, people like you and me, who get up and go to live in another country. It explores their inspirations, motivations, and behaviours. It asks why. Why did they decide to move? Why did they pick their destination? And it asks how. How did they prepare? How did they live when they arrived? And it finally asks what? What have been their defining moments? What have they learned? What are they most proud of? What would they do differently next time?

Who am I and why am I doing this podcast? My name is Sacha Cody. I'm from Melbourne, Australia. I've lived in Jamaica, China, the UK, the USA, and Germany. I've been outside of Australia for probably half my life. I'm also an anthropologist by training. And so I have a fascination for Individual stories, for what they say by themselves as well as what they illuminate about bigger themes in society today.

It's my vision that this podcast can both be a platform for my guests to share their amazing stories. And also for listeners to not only enjoy them, but to be inspired by them and perhaps to go and live somewhere new themselves.

Indeed, the title Wayfinders is apt, because a Wayfinder - to me - is someone who navigates the world with curiosity, observation and intuition to find where they belong, wherever that may be.

So come, please join me and let’s stir the spirit of the new country immersions of a unique group of people I call Wayfinders.

Let’s go.

Thanks for listening! All feedback most welcome.