We've relocated abroad 20+ times. We built Beneath the Map because we wanted to make this path clearer for you.
We're three former Foreign Service Officers with years spent living and working across the world, and more than a few moments standing in a new city wondering, where do I even begin?
Between us, we've moved countries over twenty times, learned new languages, built communities from scratch, and raised families far from anything familiar, figuring out complicated systems in places where nothing works the way you expect. Sometimes we got it right, sometimes we didn't, but over time we learned what actually helps when you're trying to build a real life somewhere new.
Along the way, we kept noticing the same thing: so many people wanted to do this too, but didn't know where to turn. The advice out there often felt distant or surface-level. It didn't reflect what it's really like to start over in a new place, or what it actually takes to make it work.
So we created what we wished had existed — something practical, honest, and grounded in experience. Something built for people who are ready to take that leap, and want to do it with clarity and support.
Something for you.
Former Foreign Service Officer & Global Operations Leader
The first time I crossed an international border was when I was a child. My father took me along for a deep sea fishing trip in Mexico and we stopped at an orphanage so he could unload boxes of donations. I was three when I leaned over the boat and tried to pet a whale whose pod surrounded the boat. The itch to explore, help others, and get into nature was planted early. I have since studied abroad in France, the UAE, spent two years in Benin with the Peace Corps, and over a decade with USAID doing international development in Haiti, Colombia, and South Africa.
That early sense of curiosity stayed with me and quietly shaped the life I built. I learned how to land in unfamiliar places and find my footing, how to listen and adapt, and how to build something meaningful even when nothing around me felt known at first. My work has taken me into complex environments and across cultures, but what has stayed with me most are the everyday moments of connection, the feeling of becoming part of a place rather than just passing through it. I know the pull to explore something more, and I also understand the weight of leaving what is familiar behind. That is what led me to co-found Beneath the Map. I want to help others experience the world in a deeper way, with time, intention, and community, because the most powerful part of exploring is not just what you see, but who you become along the way.
Senior Leader, Mother of Three, & Returned Peace Corps Volunteer
I grew up in a small town in Alaska, where the world felt both vast and distant at the same time. I was always curious about what existed beyond what I could see; different cultures, languages, ways of living. That curiosity stayed with me, quietly shaping the choices I would eventually make. Right out of college, I joined the Peace Corps and moved to Senegal. It was my first real step into the unknown, and it changed my life in ways I couldn't have predicted.
I learned how to build a life from scratch in a place that felt completely unfamiliar—how to listen more than I spoke, how to adapt, how to find connection across difference. Since then, I've lived and worked in multiple countries across Africa, each one stretching me in new ways. Some experiences were challenging in ways that tested my resilience; others were deeply grounding and joyful. All of them expanded how I see the world—and myself. I've learned that growth doesn't come from comfort, but from stepping into spaces where you don't yet have all the answers.
I understand the pull to live abroad, to explore, to see what else is possible for your life. And I also understand the hesitation—the questions, the uncertainty, the quiet fear that comes with leaving behind what's familiar. I've felt all of that too. That's part of why I'm drawn to this work. Because I know what it means to take that leap, and how transformative it can be. The world is wide, complex, and deeply human—and there is so much to gain from experiencing it not just as a visitor, but as someone willing to truly engage, learn, and grow. I want to help others step into that experience with both courage and support, and to discover what's waiting for them beneath the map.
International Attorney & Former Foreign Service Officer
I've spent twenty years as a lawyer and diplomat, living and working across Africa and Latin America. I have navigated foreign legal systems, figured out how to rent apartments in languages I was still learning, and sorted through visa processes that felt impossible; in ten different countries. I've permanently settled in Dakar, Senegal, a place where my heart feels alive, my kids come home filthy, yet happy, every day, and possibilities for growth seem to be everywhere.
Every move I've ever made, every lease I've signed in a country where I didn't fully understand the terms, every school I've researched from thousands of miles away, has given me a tool or trick that could simplify someone else's move. I started Beneath the Map because I want to share what I have learned, stand with people while they navigate the sometimes daunting challenges that can pop up with any international move, and show as many people as I can how incredibly amazing this world really is. This planet has so many awesome corners to explore and so many places you could call home. I want to help you find the place that truly feels like you.
See how we can work together, wherever you are in your process.