I didn’t set out to build a global community. I was just lonely.
It was 2010, and I had just made my 10th international move in 10 years, this time to Hamburg, Germany. I was feeling lost in a marriage I wanted to leave but didn’t know how. I had no job, no money, no support network. No one who understood what it was like to be a foreigner far from home.
So I did the only thing I could: I reached out to other women living abroad.
Maybe, just maybe, if I didn’t feel so alone, I could start to find my way.
A few of us met up in a dark bar on a rainy night. We swapped stories. We laughed. We told the truth. Everyone’s story was different - how they got there, where they were from, how they were navigating and experiencing the city day to day - but underneath the surface, something connected us.
We had all left somewhere. We had all arrived somewhere new. We were starting over. It wasn’t always easy.
But we all needed the same thing: friendship, community, and a place to feel like we belonged.
That night, we found each other.
We asked questions. We offered support. We shared what we’d learned.
And the city started to feel a bit more like home.
That’s the night Girl Gone International began.
That rainy-night meetup in Hamburg turned into something none of us could have imagined. Word spread. More women showed up. Then someone moved to Amsterdam and said, “Can I start this there?” Then Madrid. Then Berlin. Then... everywhere.
What began around one table one night became Girl Gone International, a global, grassroots nonprofit network of over 1 million women in 300 cities, with more than 45,000 free events (and counting) run by over 1,000 volunteers.
Not a brand. Not a business. A community.
Built by us, for us.
But the numbers were never the point.
The point was making sure no woman ever has to feel alone in the world again.
We’ve built something that reminds us we belong not just somewhere but everywhere.
Something that makes us feel seen, strong, and supported wherever we are, whoever we are.
Something that empowers us to go farther, dream bigger, and do life differently, because we go together.
And that’s how the name was born.
People love to label us, to tell us who we are and how we should be seen or treated based on where we’re from, why we’re here, and what we do.
Immigrant. Migrant. Expat. Repat. Traveler. Foreigner. Digital nomad. Tourist. Outsider. Refugee. Wanderer. Third Culture Kid. And more!
But those words don’t give space for our unique stories or our diverse experiences.
Because we’re all incredibly different.
Some of us move for love. Others for work.
Some leave for freedom. Some for safety. Some for the thrill of the unknown.
Some of us are here for now. Others, for good.
But every one of us packed a bag - through choice or circumstance and stepped into the world, into the unknown, hoping to find something more.
We’ve all gone international.
And that’s what unites us.
It’s more than a name.
It’s a shared identity.
And it lives in the culture we’ve built together:
Welcoming. Non-judgmental. Inclusive.
A space where you don’t have to perform or prove anything.
Where you can land as you are and be truly met there!
And as GGI grew, so did the mission.
For over 15 years, Girl Gone International has been built by women, for women, on volunteer power, passion, and the belief that no woman should have to go through life abroad alone.
We’ve helped over a million women go farther, together, creating friendships, community, and belonging in over 300 cities.
But we still feel there’s so much farther we can go.
We dream of a world where women can go anywhere and belong everywhere, anytime!
Where the world feels more accessible, less intimidating.
After years of creating friendships where we live, it made sense to ask:
“What if we could build them while we travel too?”
That’s how Gone International was born.
Not just a travel company. Not just a tour operator.
But a purpose-fueled way for us to:
- Move closer to our vision of the world we want to live in
- Deepen connection across borders
- Fund our nonprofit, Girl Gone International so we can reach and support even more women living abroad
Our future is community-funded, women-led, and borderless.
Gone International is how we make it real.
This isn’t just travel.
It’s feeling at home in the world because of who you’re with.
It’s arriving strangers and leaving friends.
It’s finding your place because you were seen, welcomed, and included.
And it’s knowing you never have to go alone again.
Pack a bag and explore the world with us!