Sincerely, Spain Sincerely, Spain

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    • ABOUT CLAUDIA
    • ABOUT DANI
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  • ABOUT US
    • ABOUT CLAUDIA
    • ABOUT DANI
  • COACHING
  • WORK WITH US
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  • Confessions
  • Culture
  • Expat Life in Spain
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  • Preparing
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  • Confessions,  Expat Life in Spain,  How to,  Living Abroad,  Thriving

    Confessions: Five Years of “Friend-Dating” (Dani’s Success Story)

    June 6, 2026 /

    Five years later, Dani updates you on the outcome of all her "friend-dating," in an effort to create a deeper sense of community for herself and her family in the south of Spain.

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    Related Posts

    A Letter to Myself Before I Moved Abroad (Dani)

    September 6, 2018

    Letters to a New Year (Dani 2020)

    January 12, 2020

    Confessions: I am a Different Person in Different Languages

    January 18, 2018
  • Balance,  Confessions,  Thriving

    Confessions: I’m No Longer Seeking Balance

    March 21, 2026 /

    Dani shares her thoughts on 'balance,' why the term isn't resonating at this stage in her life, and which new guiding term is serving her better today.

    Read More...

    Related Posts

    Confessions: I’m a Workaholic

    April 21, 2020

    Make Your ‘Host City’ Your Home (Why and How)

    September 10, 2019

    Healthy Lifestyles: 7 Activities That Make Exercise Feel Fun

    October 17, 2019
  • Confessions,  Living Abroad,  Thriving

    Redefining Ourselves in New Life Stages

    May 29, 2025 /

    A lot has changed since we started Sincerely, Spain back in 2017. As we updated our bios for the blog, we felt called to dive deeper into how we're redefining ourselves in our current life chapters and what resources are supporting us in the process.

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    Related Posts

    Living in Spain Under Lockdown

    May 28, 2020

    Letters to a New Year (Dani 2023)

    January 19, 2023

    Confessions: My Life is in English

    February 16, 2021
  • How to,  Language Learning,  Thriving

    Beyond Spain: Rich Encoding Techniques For Spanish Fluency

    March 20, 2025 /

    In this blog post, guest writer Jennifer of Bueno Spanish shares about rich encoding techniques, an approach to language learning that will help you acquire new vocabulary more easily and effectively. Use her tactical tips to improve your Spanish fluency wherever you live!

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    Related Posts

    Why Shorter Photoshoots Work Best with Toddlers in Spain

    May 2, 2026

    Going to the Movies in Spain

    June 11, 2019

    Long-term Language Learning (Why and How)

    June 11, 2020
  • Expat Life in Spain,  How to,  Language Learning,  Thriving

    What’s the Difference Between a Spanish Coach and a Spanish Teacher?

    October 31, 2024 /

    Dear Kim, We love that you’ve decided to learn Spanish (or further your study of Spanish) and integrate into life in Spain! We talk about language-learning a lot here on the blog and so you might already be familiar with some common options like apps, books, and tutors. However, did you know there’s another, less common but incredibly powerful way to learn Spanish? It’s working with a Spanish Coach, who offers a unique blend of teaching and life coaching. We’ll be honest, we weren’t super familiar with language coaching ourselves until recently, but when we connected with Jaime Valencia, the director of ABLA Academy, we were immediately intrigued! Coach Jaime…

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    Related Posts

    Confessions: Five Years of “Friend-Dating” (Dani’s Success Story)

    June 6, 2026

    My Real Life in Spain

    December 22, 2022

    7 things I miss about living in (Granada) Spain

    November 16, 2023
  • Confessions,  Expat Life in Spain,  Living Abroad,  Living Abroad in Finland,  Thriving

    Navigating Expat Life: Building Community as New Parents

    October 17, 2024 /

    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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    Related Posts

    Holiday Experience 2020 (Dani)

    December 22, 2020

    Lessons Learned in Four Years of Blogging

    July 13, 2021

    Confessions: After 8+ Years Living in Spain, It’s Still Hard to Make Friends!

    September 1, 2022
  • Thriving

    Seven Years of Sincerely, Spain

    July 18, 2024 /

    To celebrate seven years of blogging, we're taking you on a walk down memory lane. Check out this deep dive into the early days of Sincerely, Spain and all of the changes we have undergone along the way to bring us to where we are today.

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    Related Posts

    Spending the Holidays Away from Home

    December 13, 2021

    I’ll Never Truly be American Again Either

    November 21, 2019

    Confessions: I’m not Spending the Holidays with my Family

    December 6, 2018
  • Balance,  How to,  Living Abroad

    How to: Host Long-term Visitors

    July 20, 2023 /

    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.

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    Related Posts

    Being Friends with the Opposite Sex

    March 12, 2020

    Empathizing with People in Uncertain Times

    May 19, 2020

    Sending Letters and Postcards

    October 6, 2020
  • How to,  Language Learning,  Thriving

    Language-Learning Tips: Change Your Relationship with Mistakes

    February 16, 2023 /

    Today we welcome to the blog Pat, the founder of Laid-back Languages. After struggling to learn French in school, Pat used psychology to crack the code of language-learning and has since taught himself five languages. In this post, he shares one of his biggest tips for language-learners: healing your relationship with mistakes.

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    Related Posts

    A Quick Guide to a Spanish Tapas-Inspired Snack Night

    May 6, 2021

    How to: Make Paella like a Spaniard

    May 11, 2018

    How to: Use Couchsurfing (as a Guest)

    July 15, 2017
  • Balance,  Confessions,  Thriving

    Letters to a New Year (Dani 2023)

    January 19, 2023 /

    Every year we write a letter to the future year with some thoughts about the previous one and some things we want to keep in mind moving forward. This article focuses on Dani’s letter to 2023.

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    Related Posts

    Empathizing with People in Uncertain Times

    May 19, 2020

    Hosting the Holidays Abroad

    December 13, 2018

    Living in Spanish is Tiring

    September 1, 2020
  • Adapting,  Confessions,  Expat Life in Spain,  Living Abroad,  Thriving

    My Real Life in Spain

    December 22, 2022 /

    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.

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    Related Posts

    Claudia and the dog Elvi on a boat

    Making Friends as a Foreigner in Finland

    October 20, 2022

    Best Sites for Finding an Apartment in Spain

    August 8, 2019

    Confessions: I Speak Differently to Different People

    February 6, 2018
  • Confessions,  Expat Life in Spain,  How to,  Living Abroad

    Confessions: After 8+ Years Living in Spain, It’s Still Hard to Make Friends!

    September 1, 2022 /

    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,…

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    Related Posts

    Confessions: Dealing with Mental Health Issues while Abroad

    December 20, 2018

    My Experience Using Spanish Expressions in Conversation

    October 6, 2019

    Help! I’m three months in and I’m feeling blue…

    November 8, 2018
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Sincerely, Spain

We're Dani and Claudia, two American expats with a love of Spain. Let us be your guide to Spanish culture, language-learning, living abroad.

Recent Posts

  • Confessions: Five Years of “Friend-Dating” (Dani’s Success Story)
  • Why Shorter Photoshoots Work Best with Toddlers in Spain
  • Our Step-by-Step Plan to Move to Spain on the Digital Nomad Visa
  • Confessions: I’m No Longer Seeking Balance
  • What they don’t tell NALCAP Teachers about País Vasco
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