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Navigating Expat Life: Building Community as New Parents
Building communities is relevant for people at all stages of their abroad journey, but we've found it to be especially important as we navigate our lives as new parents. Here are some of the ways we're finding a sense of community as expats in Spain and Finland.
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Traveling with a little one under 6 months
Dear Jim, Before our little one hits the six month mark we will have traveled together by car, train, tram, and plane (plus a short ferry ride). For me, living far away from my family, having this flexibility to move around has meant a lot because it means we can connect more easily with loved ones. Even within Finland, being willing to test out traveling options has been really beneficial for our ability to have tiny adventures around people and events that are important to us. Traveling with such a small person can feel daunting, especially if the day-to-day tasks are already feeling like a lot. At the same time,…
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How I maintain my Spanish without living in a Spanish speaking country
Dear Emily, Learning a language is hard but maintaining that language, especially when living in a country that doesn’t speak the language, may be even harder. I have lived outside of Spain for over five years, however, I am using Spanish more than ever now that I have a little one in my life, trying to ensure that their language learning journey starts sooner than my own. I have to admit that even though it is something that I have wanted to do, talking to a child in my non-native language means I have to work hard to keep it as up-to-date as I can (with the investment I am…
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Embracing Your Empowered Expat Woman
Guest writer Camilla Quintana walks you through the steps she uses with her clients to help them feel more empowered and in control of their path and story. With her thoughtful insights, you too can embrace your empowered expat woman.
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Learning Spanish through storytelling: the shortcut to fluency
Dear Rafa, Today on the blog we are sharing with you a blog post from Marta Fernández, a native Spanish teacher and coach. After experiencing the cultural and linguistic barriers for over a decade as an expat in Bristol, UK, she returned to Madrid with the mission of helping expat women to communicate, integrate and feel connected in Spain. She provides language and cultural teaching and coaching to minimize the effects of the cultural shock and facilitate a smooth transition to Spain. You can find more about Marta on her website: https://spanishflowschool.com/ Or her Instagram: @marta.spanish.teacher And with that, we hope you enjoy this article about language learning, we know we…
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What to Expect When Pregnant in Spain
Maneuvering your way through medical systems can be scary, especially if you're in a foreign country! If you're pregnant in Spain, here's everything you'll want to know about the pregnancy process, some useful Spanish vocabulary, and thoughts on choosing between the public and private system.
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How To Survive Your First Year Living Abroad
Moving abroad is a journey filled with excitement and challenges. Guest writer John Harvey knows that the thrill of a beginning often goes hand-in-hand with the overwhelming task of settling into a new environment. Check out his eight tips for not only surviving, but thriving, during your first year abroad.
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Remote Work In Spain: A Guide For Expats And Digital Nomads
Dear Rafa, Recently we saw that you were looking for a job on LinkedIn for a job in Spain—or the possibility to work remotely in Spain. This lined up perfectly with a guest post article we have been working on together with Ilona from Jooble, a global job search platform. Today she is going to share with us some insights about remote work trends in Spain, the state of the Spanish labor market, the areas where remote workers and digital nomads are in demand, and the advantages of choosing Spain as your next destination for living abroad. Without further ado, we bring you Ilona, an integral part of the Jooble…
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7 things I like about living in Finland
Dear John, I recently shared a post about 7 things I miss about living in Granada and I would be remiss not to follow that post with another one about things I like about living in Finland. I have decided to make my life here and that is not without reason. My life in Spain was good, some might even say great, but it wasn’t the long-term life I wanted and I can say that I am happy to be slowly building the life I want to live here. Today I want to share some of the reasons why. Safety Not the Granada was not safe, per se, but…
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7 things I miss about living in (Granada) Spain
Dear Cassie, It’s been over 4 years since I moved to Finland for a six month internship and decided to stay here. I have spent those years finding my way through different jobs, extracurricular activities, meeting people, and settling in. Now, as I am finding my own path here, I couldn’t really imagine living anywhere else. At the same time, that does not take away from the fact that the places I have lived and the people I have called my friends have greatly impacted me along the way. As I settle in for a long dark and probably cold winter, I am reflecting on all the wonderful things I…
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Relocating to Madrid: A Specialist’s Insights into Apartment-Hunting
Today we welcome to the blog guest writer, Eliana. She is a reputable relocation specialist with tons of experience helping auxiliares find housing in Madrid. In this post, she walks you through what you should know about the apartment-hunting process, a few districts of the city you should consider, why you might want to work with a relocation specialist, and more.
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How to: Host Long-term Visitors
Hosting friends or family that come to visit for an extended amount of time can be trickier than short-term visitors. In this post, we share our top tips for setting clear expectations and boundaries to allow for both guest(s) and host(s) to enjoy the time together while balancing their other responsibilities and everyday lives.
