Whereabouts Tales shares the real stories of immigrant experiences, belonging, and global journeys from expats, returnees, and cultural explorers. I'm diving into life between worlds unpacking identity, transformation, and what it means to belong. Each episode is a conversation about chasing dreams, navigating change, and discovering yourself far from home. Tune in for raw, thoughtful, and inspiring journeys across borders.
🎧 New episodes every 2 weeks | 🌍 Real people. Raw stories. Remarkable paths.
Publisher
Paul Puscas | Stories of Belonging and Cultural Exploration
Moving to Belize: Leaving Canada & Starting a New Life Abroad with Simo D
Moving to Belize sounds like a tropical dream, but what is everyday expat life really like?
Simo D left Canada with his wife and young children to build a new life in Belize, trading long workdays and the familiar safety net of home for more family time, freedom and a completely different way of living.
In this episode, we talk about the reality of living in Belize: raising children abroad, healthcare, hurricanes and power outages, residency and immigration, making friends as an adult, rebuilding your identity after leaving a career behind, and the difficult first years of adapting to a new country.
Simo also shares the deeply personal reason his family began questioning their life in Canada, why there were moments when they wondered whether Belize was really right for them, and how they eventually began building a community and a sense of belonging.
One of the biggest lessons from his experience is simple: moving abroad doesn't make your problems disappear. You exchange them for a different set of problems, and the question becomes which trade-offs are worth making.
If you're considering moving to Belize, leaving Canada, raising a family abroad, becoming an expat or simply starting over somewhere new, this is an honest look beyond the tropical postcard.
And after more than four years in Belize, despite everything his family has been through, Simo says he has no regrets.
Simo D
https://unfilteredabroad.substack.comhttps://www.instagram.com/simo_d_unfiltered_abroad/cocktails To Go article: https://unfilteredabroad.substack.com/p/cocktails-to-goRoad Trip article: https://unfilteredabroad.substack.com/p/on-the-road-in-mexico?utm_source=publication-searchMoveSmart: https://movesmart.world
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And I'd love to know: if you could start again in another country, where would you go?
23 Sept 2026
The Epiphany Ratio: Escaping Silicon Valley & Un-Dividing America | Wesley Warshawer
What happens when a Silicon Valley data analyst trades his routine for a global pursuit of empathy?
In this episode of Whereabouts Tales, Paul sits down with Wesley Warshawer to dissect his "Epiphanies-Per-Year Ratio" the metric he uses to measure personal growth against the stagnation of a daily routine. After leaving the remote tech bubble, Wesley spent years exposing his ego to the friction of foreign cultures. He unpacks the culture shock of private marriage investigators in India, the staggering physical safety of South Korea, and the harsh reality check of being laughed at in Colombia. More importantly, Wesley breaks down his 18-month road trip through rural America, providing firsthand evidence that the media's narrative of a hopelessly divided nation is a manufactured illusion.
Key Insights:
The Epiphany Ratio: Why staying inside your own bubble limits you to one paradigm-shifting realization a year.
Cultural Inversions: Why raising your hand to ask a question in an Indian classroom is considered deeply offensive.
The Safety Paradox: South Korea's unattended wallets and the psychology of absolute societal trust.
Un-Dividing America: Finding shared moral foundations from the liberal coasts to rural Mississippi.
Ego Death: Why true travel requires letting locals laugh at your ignorance.
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11 Sept 2026
80. Surviving Tokyo: Addiction, Trauma, and a Live Earthquake with David Deane Haskell
"I ended up hospitalized. I was almost dead about eight years ago". Moving abroad is often sold as an escape, but what happens when you bring your demons with you?
In Episode 80, I'm sitting down with American drummer David Deane Haskell, who moved to Tokyo to play for Disney and stayed for over two decades. Beyond the pristine image of Japan lies a grueling story of survival. David confronts the 24/7 availability of alcohol that fueled his downward spiral, the devastating reality of codependency, and the intense inner-child trauma he had to face to reclaim his life.
Note: This conversation features unedited, real-time audio of a 5.8 magnitude earthquake striking Chiba, Japan during the recording.
[Chapter Breakdown]
00:00 - The Cold Open
01:50 - A Mysterious Fall and a Canceled Flight
04:30 - From Boston to Playing Drums at Tokyo Disney
16:25 - The 24/7 Alcohol Culture & The Spiral
23:00 - Hitting Rock Bottom: "I Was Almost Dead"
29:10 - The Truth About Codependency
30:30 - Confronting Childhood Trauma
56:45 - The Darker Edge of Anti-Foreigner Sentiment
01:14:00 - LIVE: 5.8 Magnitude Earthquake Strikes
01:16:15 - Why Japan is Still Home
Who has been a guest on Whereabouts Tales
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Azren The Language Nerd
Gregory Dizzia
Max
Wells Jones
Adam Gonzalez
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
152,967
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
2 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
3 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 79 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
94
Social presence
94
YouTube
82
Engagement
32
Contact Whereabouts Tales
Guest appearances
Books guests
Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.
Questions about Whereabouts Tales
Who hosts Whereabouts Tales?
Host and Paul host the show. Published by Paul Puscas | Stories of Belonging and Cultural Exploration.
How often do new episodes come out?
The show publishes weekly, based on its RSS feed.
Does Whereabouts Tales take guests?
Yes. Guests have been identified in episode analyses.
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