Hello.

I’m Kaleigh — a 35-year-old California girl who swapped palm trees and sunshine for cobblestone streets, cheeky pub chats, and the occasional existential crisis in a London rainstorm…again.

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In 2019, I packed up my life and moved here for the first time. I left behind my home, my family, and a relationship I tried to make work long-distance. Spoiler: I didn’t thrive. I struggled, to say the least. And when COVID hit, I returned to California thinking it would be for a few weeks. It turned into a few years.

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Even though going back to California felt like a relief at the time, a part of me never stopped wondering if I had given up too soon. London never felt like a closed door — more like one I quietly tiptoed away from.

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Now, after the end of a nine-year relationship and a growing urge to rewrite the narrative, I’m back. Older, hopefully wiser, definitely braver *she tells herself* -- and ready to start over, just me and my dog Maddox, aka Maddybean. Naturally, I adopted a pandemic pup from Tijuana — who’s equal parts adorable and emotionally unavailable — so basically, my type, but we’re working on that.

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This blog is a personal journal and a practical roadmap. I’ll share the emotional rollercoaster of restarting your life, what it's actually like to move to the UK, and all the wins and wobbles along the way.

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If you’ve ever felt like you left before your story was finished, or you’re figuring out who you are on the other side of heartbreak — welcome. You're in good company.