-
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…
-
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…
-
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.
-
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.
-
Confessions: Feeling Imposter Syndrome at Work (While Living Abroad)
The feeling of imposter syndrome is by no means unique to the experience of living abroad. However, being outside your home country context can lead to questioning yourself and your abilities to fit into the country and company culture even further when abroad. In this post, Claudia shares about her personal struggles with imposter syndrome while living in Finland.
-
The Complete Guide to Ambiguous Expat Grief
The word ‘grief’ tends to make us think about the deep sadness that comes from a loved one dying. However, this is not the only kind of grief that exists. In this post, we take a deep dive into "ambiguous expat grief," a wide-ranging, confusing sense of loss that expats / immigrants experience.
-
How to Get a Student Visa to Study in Spain
Today we are pleased to welcome to the blog guest writer, Ciaran O Toole. Ciaran is from SegurCaixa Adeslas, where he is part of the English speaking team and works with clients who are looking for health insurance as part of their visa application or renewal. He is from Ireland and originally came to Spain to study Business and Spanish. He has lived in Madrid for 3 years and has been working in insurance for 2 years. Ciaran knows the headache of moving to Spain and his job is to help you! For that reason, we knew he was the right person to help answer some of the questions you…
-
6 ways to sharpen your soft skills by living in Spain
Today we are pleased to welcome Corinne to the blog. Corinne is an English professional with over 10 years of experience in teaching, writing, editing and linguistics, who recently qualified as an accredited copywriter. With a focus on soft skills, we really enjoyed reflecting on how abroad experiences can benefit us in multiple ways and we hope you enjoy this post as much as we did. Without further ado, we present Corinne… Moving to Spain can be a life-changing, enriching experience. And one of the best things about emigrating is the valuable, transferable skills you pick up, which can be applied in both your personal and professional life. There’s…
-
Letters to a New Year (Claudia 2023)
Dear 2023, After a break last year, we are back, writing our letters to the new year, and I have to admit that I have really enjoyed reflecting on past letters and thinking about where I want to be emotionally this year. I feel like the year went by very fast and very slow at the same time. A lot of things happened and developed over the year, and I have definitely learned a lot and grown even more. This year already has so many things planned (even in the first six months). That is why I am setting the following inspiration points for what is to come: To…
-
My Real Life in Spain
Is time spent living abroad 'real life'? What is 'real life,' anyway? In this post, Dani deep dives into her misconceptions of 'real life' and 'adulting' to answer the question of what her real life in Spain looks like.
-
Making Friends as a Foreigner in Finland
Please Note: This post contains paid links to products, which means that we have received compensation for their inclusion. For more information, see our disclosures here. Thanks for your support! Dear Hanna, I know, this is a blog about living abroad and thriving in Spain, right? Well, four years ago I decided that I wasn’t going to live in Spain any more and chose to pick up my life once again and more to Finland. Now, over three and a half years later, I am still here and enjoying my life in a way I never really expected to. I haven’t talked about life in Finland much, but I…
-
Confessions: After 8+ Years Living in Spain, It’s Still Hard to Make Friends!
Dear Chantal, If you’ve been following the Sincerely, Spain blog for a while, you know I have more than eight years of experience when it comes to expat life in Spain. You know that Claudia and I can speak as authorities on the subject but let me tell you—it is still really hard to make new friends! At the beginning of 2022, my husband and I moved away from Granada and into a beautiful new location. As much as I love it, finding myself in a Spanish town where I knew no one has really forced me out of my comfort zone. For the first time in a long time,…
