Why I decided to move to Portugal.
I was asked why I decided to move to Portugal.
So I thought that I would share my answer with you, my friends.
The decision to actually move happened over a period of 7 years. I remember the first time I went to Portugal, I fell totally in love with the place and my feelings never changed, even after going back 3 more times.
My reasons to love and live in Portugal:
- A relatively low cost of living and very affordable housing
- In 2019, Global Finance magazine ranked Portugal 4th safest country in the world
- Great inexpensive health care
- The Portuguese are friendly and welcoming people and treat newcomers and tourists with kindness and smiles; most speak English
- Pace of life is very relaxed, calm and serene; Beauty is everywhere you look – like looking at a beautiful calendar all day long
- Wine is cheep and their Mediterranean style cuisine is amazingly delicious
- Over 600 miles/965 kilometres of coastline, not including many rivers and inland beaches
- Very little if any snow and a warm climate; 300 of 365 days of sunshine
- An active lifestyle year long
- Stepping stone to visit Europe
- Amazing buildings and churches that carry 1000’s of years of history and mountains everywhere, peppered with castles
- Fresh food year round and many farmers markets; gardening year-round; vineyards and orchards everywhere
- Tax exemptions for residents (ex: Non-Habitual Residence (NHR) tax that exempts you from paying taxes on income earned abroad as long as it has been taxed at source) and up to 10 years
- A well-established expat community
- Scooters are everywhere : )
OF COURSE, there will be some challenges and I will get home sick, but that is just normal.
Plus my friends all promised to visit me.
It is a new country, new language, and a new culture. It is a plane trip to see family and friends and I will very much miss sharing the little things on a daily basis with my gang. I am fully aware that it is starting over, BUT you only have ONE LIFE TO LIVE and I want to live it to the fullest. I want to appease the adventurer in me; feed my soul and live without regrets.
It is exciting times and I hope that you will join me on this journey. xox Time to fly .
The goal is to leave Sept 29-30th so lots to do.
Have a wonderful day and I will add more to this story when I get a moment.
Posted by KipperTree Guest blogger Denise Kearney.
Read all Denise's posts on her facebook page. Facebook
