-
Itinerary for One Day in Valencia: See the Must-Visit Spots
Dear Reba, We’re so excited you’ve decided to visit Valencia, Spain! We love the idea of really taking time to immerse oneself in everything a destination has to offer and we therefore typically recommend having at least a few days to enjoy this charming city. However, we understand that time is often limited and, even if you’re only in Valencia for a stopover between other destinations, you can still see a ton and make the most of your day in Valencia. Today’s guest writer, Eduardo Campestrini, is a travel writer who loves discovering new places in Europe. He has a special interest in Spain and enjoys sharing tips about cities…
-
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,…
-
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.
-
12 Mistakes to Avoid When Learning a Language through TV & Movies
Watching TV and movies can be an exciting and effective way to learn Spanish, making language learning more accessible than ever. However, many language learners often stumble upon common mistakes that hinder their progress. In today's guest post, Milena walks you through 12 of the main errors and how you can avoid them.
-
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…
-
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.
-
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.
-
Indie Books You Should Read
Please Note: This post contains affiliate links to products, which means that we may receive a commission for purchases. For more information, see our disclosures here. Thanks for your support! Dear Michael, Given the release of my debut women’s fiction novel at the start of this month, Claudia and I have been discussing reading and books more than usual. When she mentioned that she’s doing a lot more reading on her new Kindle these days and would like some recommendations for quality self-published or small press books, we quickly realized that this is a topic that may interest you as well. Today’s post is not specific to life abroad,…
-
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.
-
Language-Learning Tips: Change Your Relationship with Mistakes
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.