Life In Portugal

It's Official. We've been here for six whole months, and man, have we learned a lot about life in Portugal. Every new day brings a new challenge, a new adventure, and a new perspective. We absolutely love our new life in Portugal, but living in a new country is not always rainbows and sunshine. Although Portugal does have a lot of both. We've had ups and downs and even some sideways situations. Keep reading for some of the best, worst, funniest, craziest, and hardest things we've learned so far.

Houses here really are COOOOOOLLLDDD!

And damp. I read about this time and time again, and for some reason, I just didn't take it seriously. I thought, how cold could it really be? ******* cold, that's how cold it can get even when it's not that cold outside. I don't know the scientific reason for this other than houses here are built to keep heat out not in, but I can promise you, it is true. Every house is required by law to have an energy rating of A-G. A being the best and G being a sign to RUN! Our house is made of stone and cement and has tile and wood floors and has a rating of B- so I would hate to feel what an E, F, or G rating feels like in the dead of winter. Yikes! And let me tell you, I did not bring enough cosy lounge clothes to keep me warm inside. I have slippers stashed in every room of the house, baskets of blankets in every corner, and I ALWAYS have socks on! I can't even count the times I've walked outside with my "inside" clothes on and been shocked by how warm it was. Another key to keeping the inside of the house comfortable is to invest in a good dehumidifier. We run ours 24/7 in the bedroom. Otherwise, we sweat right through our pyjamas at night. It's our first time using a dehumidifier and we couldn't live without it, at least not comfortably. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS: Take those energy ratings seriously, don't forget to pack your warm cosy clothes, and get a good dehumidifier!

Cascais winter is like New York spring (my fave!)

I love spring in NYC. Flowers start blooming. The snow is finally gone for good. You can put away the ugly puffy jacket. I only survived our last winter in NYC knowing that it was the last. I made it through the long, cold, dreary months by looking forward to the mild Portugal winters and not too hot Cascais summers. So any time it got a little cold here in Portugal, all I had to do was remind myself that it could be a lot worse and I would just pull up the weather in NYC to prove it. 

Yes, there are rainy days, some dreary grey days, some windy days that make the cold more noticeable, and some very frigid mornings. But the truth is, those are peppered in between many, many chilly days full of sun and blue skies as far as the eye can see. While our friends and family back in NYC—and Texas for that matter—have been battling 10°F (-12.22°C), snowstorms, and weeks/months of sub-freezing temperatures, we've been happily donning a light jacket and sunnies while we continue exploring our new country. Flowers are already blooming. We recently spent a sublime long weekend in the Algarve. And Dustin is already taking advantage of "shorts weather." 

KEY TAKEAWAYS: Life in Portugal (at least in Cascais) is pretty idyllic most of the year.

Nothing happens fast, and everything is hard

There are hiccups, miscommunications, long silences, and unreturned messages. Things that used to take an hour can take weeks or months to accomplish. People don't show up when they say they will. It can take two or three appointments to finally get what you need finished. Sometimes we wonder whether people really want to make money, but it's just the slow pace of the culture here. Even Portuguese people complain about it 🤣! But that feeling when you finally check that task off your list of to-dos is epic. There have been many times I've done a little happy dance after finally getting the electrician to come, or finally finding the right light bulb for an old fixture I've been trying to replace for a month. I have learned to delight in the tiniest victories and have patience with even the smallest tasks. I still love a to-do list, but I'm learning to be okay with checking off one thing at a time. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS: It might take longer than you expect, want, or hope for, but it will get done eventually. Have faith and patience.

Portugal is far from Europe

Yes, I know Portugal is actually in Europe. What I mean is, it feels far from the rest of Europe. Of course, it's easier to get to France or Italy or Germany than from the States, but between higher travel costs due to COVID and the fact that Portugal is down in the corner of Europe, we've been surprised a couple of times by the cost and length of flights to get to places that seem so close. In addition, while Lisbon is a major hub, it does not have direct flights to anywhere and everywhere you want to go like a hub such as London or Paris. Granted, the places we've flown or are planning to fly to are at the far corners - Amsterdam, Krakow, and Sicily - but we've had to adjust our expectations a little when it comes to how far and how often we can jet-set around Europe. But when we get down to brass tax, we're a hell of a lot closer to all these places that we were six months ago, and that's a big reason why we're here.

KEY TAKEAWAYS: Most destinations aren’t a hop, skip, and a jump away, but we’re closer to Europe than we used to be!

Portugal’s public healthcare system is top-notch

After being in Portugal all of four days, playing tourists for a week in Lisbon, we decided to explore the public medical system. Ha, just kidding! We were forced by a tiny grain of sand that embedded itself on my daughter's cornea. Yes, I know, as ex-pats who haven't contributed to the system, we should obtain private health insurance so as not to leech off a system we have yet to pay into. But with only travel insurance, we were not in a position to dilly dally while we figured that out. We had a screaming 5-year old who thought her eye might explode, so we had to take action. 

In any case, off we went to figure out how to use the public healthcare system. First stop, the first Centro de Saúde (public health centre) we could find on Google Maps. After a fumbled exchange with the reception desk, we were turned away and instructed to go to the public children's hospital about a 15-minute taxi ride away. Fortunately, within 10 minutes of waiting in the emergency room, we were seen by a lovely doctor who spoke very respectable English. Great! Unfortunately, the pediatric ophthalmologist on call was at another hospital. After a quick text from doctor one to doctor two, we were sent on our way. We arrived at the third hospital in as many hours, and after a brief check-in, we immediately made our way down an empty staircase, walking along an abandoned football field length hallway, up an elevator to the wrong floor (language barrier, perhaps?), and then back down to the right floor to be seen immediately. A quick check, grain of sand removed, eye drops administered and eye patch in place, we were finally ready to head back to our Airbnb in Principe Real. 

All-in-all it was a good experience. Prompt, caring service. Lovely doctors and nurses. And despite my desperate attempt to speak terrible Portuguese, we were almost always able to speak English so we understood what was happening. After the whole ordeal was over and we were in another taxi headed home, I called my sister who is an emergency room physician to see what she thought of our situation. She praised the system and said she wouldn't have done anything differently. Three care centres, two doctors, one eye patch, and the whole thing cost a whopping 125€ with absolutely no insurance. Thank goodness for the Portuguese health system.

*Disclaimer: we now have private insurance and only plan to use the public system if absolutely necessary*

KEY TAKEAWAYS: The public healthcare system is top-notch, affordable, and no one here will go bankrupt because they don’t have insurance.

Too many people speak English

While this is great if you’re four days into living in Portugal and have a medical emergency, it’s hard to learn a new language when everyone you meet is willing and able to speak English with you. I thought it would go a little faster once we got here and immersed ourselves in daily Portuguese life, but so many Portuguese people speak English that it becomes way too easy to fall back on English when the conjugation gets tough. Portuguese people who speak English (which is a great majority) are very humble about their English language skills. Every time I inevitably run out of Portuguese language skills and have to ask, "Desculpe, Fala Ingles?" they respond with, "just a little," and then proceed to have a full-on English conversation with perfect English. I always tell people, if I spoke Portuguese as well as they speak English I'd be a lot less humble 🤣🤣🤣. 

But if I'm being honest, I wish people spoke less English. It's too easy to switch to English when the Portuguese gets hard. It's too easy to expect to be able to speak English if I don't know how to navigate a situation in Portuguese. It's too easy to not practice and get better at learning Portuguese when I know I will be able to fall back on English. It's just too easy. And not in a good way. I guess some people would take this as a perk to living in an area rife with ex-pats and English speakers. And I should take more responsibility to learn more on my own. But sometimes I wish I was forced to only speak Portuguese, and then I'd have no choice but to learn faster! In case you haven't read more of my posts and don't know this about me yet, I'm impatient with my goals. When I set my mind to something, I want it done! That's kind of how we ended up in Portugal in the first place 😳.

KEY TAKEAWAYS: Living in Portugal (especially ex-pat hubs like Cascais) isn’t enough to learn Portuguese. You’ll need to buckle down and learn and then force yourself to stick with it once the conversation gets a bit tough.

Furnishing a large empty house is expensive and time-consuming

Don't get me wrong, I love decorating, designing spaces, and making things look pretty. But it comes at a cost! The time, energy, and expenses have drained more than our bank account. If you've read previous posts, you'll know we originally rented a furnished house for the first year to avoid all this work and expense. Unfortunately, that deal fell through and we had to pivot. After staying in an Airbnb for the first month, we moved into a beautiful traditional Portuguese house. It had charm, character, and all the space we need. What it didn't have was furniture! Practically nothing. And since we had only brought suitcases with us across the Atlantic, we had a lot of things to replace. 

I have no patience for living in half-finished spaces, so I immediately got to work. Online shopping, measuring, ordering, organizing. I wasted no time, and yet, it still took a lot longer than we hoped to feel settled and get the house feeling cosy. From waiting 3 months for our couches, to finally getting artwork and photos on the walls six months after moving in, the wait was worth it. We can't wait to show you the transformation in the house. Since we're only renting, we couldn't do any renovations, but we totally changed how the spaces were being used and we're so happy with how it has turned out. We knew it was "home" the first time we saw it and saw all the potential in it. And now, with all the work we've put into it, it really feels like the home we didn't know we needed. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS: Furnishing an empty house or apartment takes a lot more time and money than you may think.

You can learn a lot of Portuguese online shopping

Colours, materials, finishes, textures, and more. Yes, of course, you can turn on Google translate so you don't have to muddle through Portuguese words you don't know. But this is a great way to learn! I know every colour in the rainbow, how to envision sizes in centimetres (after buying one too many baskets that could only hold a single roll of toilet paper rather than the whole pack), and can tell you that Google doesn't know how to accurately translate leather...seriously, try it.

Think about it...chair, table, lamp, mirror, shirt, pants, small, medium, large...these are all valuable vocabulary words. So next time you're online shopping, turn the translator off and tread your way to better Portuguese! 

KEY TAKEAWAYS: You can find ways to learn Portuguese everywhere, even while drinking wine and online shopping.

Lisbon is far, y’all

Our NYC friends will understand this more than most. If you live in Manhattan, an invitation to a party in Brooklyn usually gets ignored because it's a million miles away. And if you live in Brooklyn, the trek to Manhattan - whether it's a daily commute or a dentist appointment at the dentist that used to be next door to your office but now is nowhere near your pandemic office (the couch) - is tedious at best and soul-sucking at worst. 

All dramatics aside, we wanted to live close but not in Lisbon, and we've achieved that. We wanted the option to pop into Lisbon for lunch or a business meeting with little inconvenience. In theory, we've achieved that, but in reality, I feel the Manhattan/Brooklyn conundrum effect more than I thought I would. The drive to Lisbon takes about 25 minutes unless it's raining and everyone loses all their driving sensibilities and it takes an hour. The train to Cascais is fairly convenient at about 40 minutes, not counting the commute to and from the train on both ends of the journey. 

So, while Lisbon is easy to get to, we probably don't take advantage as much as we would like or had hoped to. The more we do it, the less cumbersome it feels, so for now, we power through!

KEY TAKEAWAYS: Living just outside of Lisbon has its perks, but there’s nothing like the convenience of city living.

People really do drive like maniacs here

Now, I knew that drivers in Portugal liked to go fast. I knew the rules on the road about the fast lane and passing on the left. I'd experienced first-hand reckless tailgating and wrathful impatience on Portuguese toll roads. But jeezus, that was only the beginning. 

Did you know that when you approach a roundabout and your intention is to take any exit except the first, you put on your left blinker even though you turn right? 🤯 And don't get me started on multi-lane roundabouts and their crazy rules! My previous experience driving in Portugal had me wrongly thinking that the crazy driving only happened on the toll roads, but no. 

In my opinion, one of the most dangerous aspects of driving that I've experienced in Cascais is watching out for pedestrians. They put entirely too much trust in drivers to be paying attention enough to see them and stop. You see, at the end of every street (which many times is also right at the exit of a roundabout), there is a zebra stripe crosswalk. The law says you must give the right of way to pedestrians in these crosswalks no matter what. I can't even count the number of times - while paying meticulous attention - I’ve had to stop short at a crosswalk as I exit the roundabout from the inside lane (don't get me started on why this makes no sense to me) while trying not to get sideswiped by the car entering the roundabout because a pedestrian just assumed I would stop because I am supposed to stop. I mean, I always stop. But more often than I'd like, THEY DON'T EVEN LOOK TO MAKE SURE I'M GOING TO SEE THEM! I know they have the right of way, but I don't trust any driver in Portugal to be paying attention, much less start crossing the street without making sure they see me. Waaaaaaayyy too much trust. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS: Long story short...girl, you better watch yo'self! Also, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. Not really. But, timidity on the roads will only put you in more danger. You have to take charge, pay attention, be aggressive sometimes, and always, always look for people about to cross the street!

Living in Portugal is only as low cost as you make it

Let's call it a blessing and a curse. What am I talking about, you ask? You can have lunch like the locals, order an imperial and o Prato do dia (the dish of the day) and walk out with your bank account only down about 10€. You can also hit up a trendy, plant-encrusted hot spot where the glass of wine you order is the same price as the whole bottle at Lidl and the price you pay for poached eggs could buy you a chicken. Don't get me wrong, I love these places, too! But I think the point is, not everything in Portugal is cheap. And what I think is so amazing is that there is a range of prices and qualities for everything here. Just about everything is accessible if you seek out the option in your price range. Alternatively, you can live like a queen one day and a pauper the next and love both experiences equally.

KEY TAKEAWAYS: It’s easy to spend money here, but it’s also easy to live frugally. The choice is yours!

It's a hard-knock life as a digital nomad in Portugal

Do you have any idea how many distractions there are in Portugal? I mean seriously, lunching and drinking sangria on the paredao, hiking to a convent to overlook Praia do Guincho, jaunting into Lisbon for lunch and a stroll (if you can call walking up steep hills strolling) around the street-art ridden Graça neighbourhood. The list goes on. Portugal living takes serious discipline if you're going to get any work done when the sun is shining and the beach is calling while the kids are at school. It gives a new meaning to work hard, play hard. 

The hours we have to play while the kids are at school are precious, and we try to make sure we save at least one day a week to have lunch on the yellow streets or go for a long walk along the beach. Not to mention all the time it takes to do home shopping and setting up house, but this section is more about the FUN distractions Portugal has to offer. So if you're a digital nomad and plan to work remotely while either gallivanting around Portugal or settling into your new home, just know that there will be many days where you'll struggle to focus due to the many, many alternative activities that might steal your attention. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS: Many of the reasons Portugal is so attractive to digital nomads are also reasons they may find it hard to actually get any work done.

The time difference sucks 

We never would have thought that a 5- to 6-hour time difference would be so difficult to manage. When we told our friends and family (the great majority of whom are on the east coast or in Texas) we were moving to Portugal, we said, "Hey it's only a 5- (or 6 for Texas) hour difference. Not bad at all!" Boy, were we wrong. It's been much harder than we anticipated keeping in touch with the people we love. The hours we are most available are when they are still sleeping. And the hours when they are most available are when we're in the throes of dinner, bath, and bedtime for the kids and later. 

I'll be completely honest. After the kids go to bed, my brain stops functioning. All I want is a glass of wine, dinner, and a binge-worthy show to relax into. But that's precisely when we start getting bombarded with texts and calls from home. All-in-all, we're still adjusting to having smaller communication windows with the people we left behind, but it sure makes those FaceTime dates special, even if they are fewer and further between and our people never get to see our home in the light of day. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS: It may take some extra planning and patience to keep connections alive, but it’s doable.

Visitors…YAY! 

Don't get me wrong. We want ALL the visitors. We love ALL the visitors. We can't wait to show how much we love living in Portugal to ALL the visitors. But having company can be hard. Especially when they stay with you, want you to show them everything no matter how many times you've seen it, and ALL come in the same summer. 

With COVID raging through the winter holidays, just about everyone chose to wait until the new year to make the trip to come see us. While they all know we will be here for years, they're all itching to see Portugal in all its summer glory and they don't want to wait anymore. 

So far, this summer we have six different visits planned by family and friends, each lasting anywhere from one week to one month. We can't wait to welcome everyone with open arms, an open home, and most importantly, an open bottle of wine or ten. But we all know hosting can get tedious - constantly entertaining, sharing your space, feeling like you have to be out and about all the time, disrupting your routine. Needless to say, we miss all our coming visitors dearly, and wouldn't change our/their plans for the world. It's going to be one hell of a summer! Stay tuned for all the travel content!

KEY TAKEAWAYS: Because Portugal is becoming brighter on everyone’s radars, don’t be surprised if you have an onslaught of visitors after you arrive.

Crunchy socks are the worst

We tried, y'all. To live like the locals. Line drying our clothes. We did it for months. And then we broke down and bought a dryer. And we don't regret that decision for a second. Crunchy socks and underwear are not enjoyable to wear. Scratchy towels don't complement a warm bath the same way a fluffy, fresh-from-the-dryer towel can. Call us spoiled, entitled, or hoity-toity if you will. But I will never go back to dryer-less living if I can help it. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS: It’s a personal choice- and a privilege, we know - whether you can adjust to line-dried clothes or not. Only you can decide what is right for you.

Amazon is a hard addiction to break.

Amazon and I have a love/hate relationship. As much as I try to buy local and contribute to the local economy, sometimes it's just easier to open my phone, type in what I'm looking for, and click compra agora (buy now). No, Amazon Spain and Germany are not as comprehensive as the US version, but they have a lot more than I thought they would. There are a lot of tasks that are harder over here, especially during the adjustment period of settling in and recalibrating your life. So I choose to think that Amazon is my guilty little pleasure that makes some days just a little less frustrating. 

And not for nothing, I've become very friendly with our CTT Express delivery guy, Filipe. Long story short, our doorbell was broken for a while and he had to call me every time he was at the gate with a delivery. Now that the doorbell is working again, he still calls me to let me know he's outside with a package. I think it's sweet. And I get to practice Portuguese!

KEY TAKEAWAYS: Amazon does exist in Portugal. They are expanding daily. It’s not the same as the US, but it’s a nice little luxury when you need it.

There's a WhatsApp contact for anything and everything!

Need to order from the local pharmacy for delivery? There's a WhatsApp number for that. 

Looking to buy a fresh whole fish to cook up for dinner tonight? There's a WhatsApp number for that. 

Want fresh organic veggies once a week from a local farmer? There's a WhatsApp number for that. 

Ready to sign up for private health insurance? There's a WhatsApp number for that. 

Have a hankering for homemade Thai food? There's a WhatsApp number for that. 

In short, many vendors, providers, and suppliers rely on word of mouth to get business. It really can be all about who you know, but not in the way we usually think. Having a local friend who has been in the area for a while comes in handy quite often. I ask my friend Elisa all the time, "Hey do you know where to get X?" and "Do you know anyone who does Y?" and "I'm looking for Z...any suggestions?"

She always knows someone or someplace that is exactly what I'm looking for. And how does she share the info? Website? No. Google Maps link? No. You got it! WhatsApp contact. I've ordered everything from COVID home tests to a 5kg fish through a simple WhatsApp conversation and I think it's kind of awesome!

KEY TAKEAWAYS: It’s amazing the connections you can make through WhatsApp groups and a little local help.

Article by Allison Baxley, an American living in Portugal.

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