Want to Move Abroad? Here’s How — Lessons from Cepee Tabibian

Let’s stop pretending that reinvention only happens in your 20s. Or that you need permission to change your life.

Because here’s the truth: sometimes the smartest thing you can do isn’t doubling down on the life you built. It’s starting again—in a new city, a new country, maybe even a new language.

And Cepee Tabibian is proof that it’s not too late. At 35, she left Austin, Texas, moved to Madrid, and redefined what success, freedom, and fulfillment meant for her. She didn’t just “travel more.” She built a new version of her life.

In this episode of Possibilities with Monique de Maio, we talk about what it really takes to move abroad—not just the logistics, but the mindset. The internal shift. The moment you stop asking for permission and start living on purpose.

We’re not talking fantasy Instagram lives here. We’re talking:

The real fears that keep women stuck.

Cepee didn’t pretend it was easy. She talked about the very real fear of feeling “too old” to start over, especially when everyone else around her was checking the boxes—marriage, kids, mortgage, corner office. But she also called out the lie underneath that fear: that there’s only one blueprint to a “good” life. (Spoiler: there isn’t.)

You’re not too late—you’re just not in the right place.

This was the line that hit hardest. What if it’s not about time? What if you’re not behind at all—you’re just out of alignment with your environment? That’s not failure. That’s feedback. And it’s your cue to shift.

Reinvention takes resilience—and humility

Moving abroad means becoming a beginner again. Bureaucracy, new systems, different languages. You’re going to mess up. A lot. But it’s also where confidence is rebuilt. Not in comfort, but in figuring it out.

Your identity is allowed to evolve

Cepee’s platform, She Hit Refresh, is for women 30+ who are ready to stop shrinking to fit a mold. They want a different story—and a different setting to live it in. She built community because she needed it, and because so many women were quietly craving it too.

There is no one-size-fits-all “right time.”

Waiting for perfect timing is the fastest way to let your dream wither. Cepee reminds us that planning matters—but so does moving. Even if you’re scared. Even if it’s unconventional. Especially if it is.

This episode is for every woman who’s ever thought:

“I want more.”

“I don’t fit here.”

“Is this really it?”

The answer? No, it’s not. And you don’t need to blow up your life to find a better version of it—you just need to give yourself permission to go.

🎧 Listen to the full episode now: What If You’re Not Too Late—You’re Just Not in the Right Place?
🌍 Explore Cepee’s platform: She Hit Refresh
📢 Share this with the woman who needs to hear it.

And remember—the 7 Secrets to Creating a Life You Love doesn’t live in someone else’s handbook. They’re already within you.

Let’s stop living on default. Let’s start hitting refresh.

—Monique