This site, The Ramble, came into existence because we wanted to write about our journey towards a new home in Portugal. Those posts, “Moving to Portugal” make for an enjoyable read (I mean, we’d say that, but still…) but perhaps you are less interested in a leisurely stroll through our memories or relocation and, for no particular reason at all, are feeling a sudden and intense desire to live in a country other than the United States. Whether that’s actually a good idea or not is complicated, so to try and help we’re distilling our advice – plus the suggestions of our friends – into a more condensed format.
[Note: we offer this advice because we know people are asking. This is absolutely not the space to argue good/bad about anything in US politics, gods know you have enough places for that.]
I. The Golden Rule
The absolute, number-one-most-important component of moving abroad, here or anywhere else, is the will to do it. This starts with the idea that you want to move, but the will to see it through is a stronger thing. Everything else about immigrating is administrative and bureaucratic in nature. If you went through a college application process, or bought a house (or even a car that required financing), you’ve succeeded at tasks as complex as anything you’ll do to make this happen. It’s not rocket science… but it will test your resolve and attention to detail.
II. Grading Problems On a Curve
How important a problem is when weighing your options can vary in relation to your sense of urgency. There are deal-breakers for people in normal times that maybe aren’t so deal-breaking when the stakes are high. Take, for example, “moving investments to Europe will really mess up my tax situation.” That’s the kind of thing an American ponders when thinking about living here. In some times, the penalty for doing that would be reason enough to leave your accounts as they are. This may be a point to reconsider if you’re feeling particular unease about the stability of your home country. Learning the Portuguese language with sufficient proficiency to pass a qualifying test for citizenship might seem like a huge task, and sticking with residence permits can be easier. Weighing that hassle against the value of secondary citizenship (and a passport) may look different to you these days.
III. Don’t Kid Yourself
The reason why “the will to do it” is up top is because you will be tested. If you’re only thinking of moving now because of a recent state of unease, you may be glossing over things like:
- the language barrier: Yeeeeeesss, you can get by without Portuguese language skills, but for starters the places here with a large % of English speakers are the more expensive places to live. If finances are zero worry for you then great! But if we were any good at drawing graphs we’d demonstrate that the correlation between “cost of living” and “attracts English speakers” is basically a 1:1 line. Lisbon = lots of tourists, so lots of English speaking Portuguese to work there, and its THE most expensive place to live. Porto is less than Lisbon but still has high tourist traffic, plenty of English spoken, and is somewhat cheaper but still high cost. Braga (where we live) begins to enter the mid-zone of being industrial enough that English is valuable for some locals, and so there’s a decent English-uptake (though not enough to count on), and the cost of living sits kind of mid-high for the country. You can absolutely live cheaply in Portugal, but it’ll be further from cities. The cheaper you want to be, the more you need to invest in language lessons; outside of the cities most people there don’t speak English.
- financial risk: if you’re worried enough about the States that you’re seriously thinking of leaving, closely examine your financial plans to see how much reliance you have on government programs. For example, how much do you rely on Social Security? How paranoid/concerned are you about its stability? I’ve heard more than one of my friends say “if Social Security goes away I absolutely will have to find a job.” And speaking of jobs…
- a new employment reality: if you’re still working, that isn’t a deal-breaker for coming here, but even if you satisfy any requirements (i.e., bringing desired skills to the country), make super sure you understand what the compensation (and taxation!) situations are here. You may be looking at salaries half (or less… sometimes much less… ) than what you’re used to; suddenly that low cost of living you heard about isn’t quite so sexy.
We’re not suddenly against living here; not at all. It’s just that things are sufficiently different in Portugal that you absolutely should not ready-fire-aim on this idea if it’s the first you’ve thought about it. If you’ve been nibbling around the idea for awhile now, and traveled on “the continent” a fair amount already, you probably already have a decent grasp of some of this.
IV. It’s Absolutely A Thing You Can Do
So many people that live here begin their immigration story by talking about how they came to realize it was even possible. Most Americans don’t give any thought to living abroad. But you take a school trip or a semester abroad, maybe, and then you understand that the same kind of people are living the same kinds of lives, just with differences. People start to ponder the idea that millions of humans emigrate/immigrate every year for untold numbers of reasons. Clearly it’s a thing that people are capable of, and if they can figure it out then why can’t you?
V. First Steps / Next Steps
- No matter how much you have sworn off Meta as a corporation, we highly recommend that you hold your nose and get back on facebook for the “Americans and Friends in Portugal” group. Don’t join and immediately ask questions, they aren’t the friendliest bunch sometimes but that’s ok, you aren’t joining to make friends. Sit quietly for awhile, use the search feature for your questions first, and devour their files section – it’s the foundation for so many successful immigrants in Portugal.
- For pete’s sake, if you don’t have a passport get started on that, you’re not going anywhere without that in good working order. If you’ve got one, check its expiration date and start the renewal process if you’re anywhere vaguely close to time.
- Vocabulary test: make sure you know what “VFS”, “NIF”, and “AIMA” / “SEF” mean. Search engines are your friend.
- Conversely, remove “picky” from your vocabulary for awhile. If you really are anxious, don’t get choosy about (for example) your first apartment. Don’t get caught up in deep dive price comparisons on phone/internet services – sure there are differences but they all do the same thing and the prices aren’t that different. Do you want to leave or don’t you?
VI: Our Last Bit of Advice
Are you genuinely anxious about your situation in the States but genuinely overwhelmed by moving to somewhere like Portugal? Totally understandable. If that’s the case, don’t come here. Go to Ireland.
…
What? They speak English there, which will make about a thousand of your problems easier to deal with. I’m not saying that, long-term, it’s any easier to settle in Ireland than it is in Portugal. In our calculations a few years back it seemed to us that a lifestyle we would enjoy living would cost us more there than it would in Portugal. That said, if more than anything you just want to be somewhere else, right now, you can go to Ireland as a tourist – you don’t need any sort of visa to enter the country, and you can start on your paperwork at the dining room table of your little Irish cottage. Don’t try to go to a sexy city you’ve heard of before, because those can be spendy. Throw a dart and find a village or small town and, if it’s got a grocery store and isn’t too far from health care, find an apartment and get crackin’. Besides, once you’re there and maybe can settle your nerves some, you can reassess your options for a more lasting relocation. You’ll encounter plenty of rigamarole in Ireland, too, but if you feel like your seat is too hot to sit in for much longer… go to Ireland.
