About

Well, fancy meeting you here. If you’re the type of curious traveler who likes to slow down, get local, and experience a place with all your senses, the Postcard Academy podcast is for you. I’m your host, Sarah, an American who’s spent the better part of a decade traipsing around Europe for work and pleasure.

I got the travel itch at 18 when I spent a summer in England’s Lake District working as a waitress/chambermaid. I wanted to stay in Europe forever, but it seemed impossible for Americans. Many years later I realized I might be eligible for Italian citizenship due to my Sicilian ancestry. I started the very long application process while living in Brooklyn, New York. But then the woman translating my documents suggested this fast-track secret: move to Italy and apply for citizenship there.

So, on this advice of a stranger I met on the internet, in 2010, I left New York, moved to Italy on my own, and became a citizen within two months thanks to jus sanguinis — the right of blood. Since then I have been living and working abroad, traveling around Europe, and forming amazing friendships with fellow citizens of the world.

I started the Postcard Academy podcast to help people enjoy more authentic travel experiences, and to show them that it is possible to live abroad. Every week, I interview people who packed up everything to start a new life in another part of the world. They share their best recommendations on their adopted cities, and their insider/outsider status as expats and immigrants offers a fresh perspective on the world’s best travel destinations.

I primarily focus on female guests to challenge the cliché that women only travel when in crisis (think Eat, Pray, Love; Under the Tuscan Sun; Wild). The women who come on the Postcard Academy travel extensively and live abroad because that’s the life they love.

In my opinion, we’d live in a more peaceful and civil world if society prioritized exploration and empathy. Can you imagine if countries redirected a percentage of their military budgets toward exchange programs that sent all young people abroad? As nationalism and isolationism rise around the world, experiencing new cultures and meeting diverse people has never been more important. Travel is the most effective form of diplomacy.

I hope subscribing to the Postcard Academy will help you enjoy more local, unforgettable experiences during your travels — and perhaps inspire a move abroad.

I’d love to hear from you. If you have a story idea or know a person or place that should be featured, email me. ❤️ Sarah Mikutel

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