One Year Living in Lisbon...What We Learned - Expats in Portugal
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- Опубликовано: 22 июл 2024
- Hello travel bugs!
We are Dianne and Guillermo (and Che and Buddy), as many of you know we retired early in 2018 and moved out of the United States to find our forever home somewhere in the world.
We lived in Guadalajara, Mexico for the first 3 years and now we just reached our 1 year anniversary homebased in Lisbon, Portugal.
We wanted to give you a general update, share some of our experiences and things that stood out living here so far.
We separated them in different categories and in no particular order. Remember..these are our own experiences and observations, share yours in the comments if you live in Portugal or if you're planning on moving here, also leave a comment with your questions and we'll be sure to respond quickly and to the best of our knowledge.
Thank you for watching!
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Chapter List:
00:00 Start Intro
00:10 One Year Living in Lisbon General Updates (Our travels, Learning Portuguese, Monthly Expenses, Pet/House Sitting, Winter humidity, Summer)
05:18 What we learned about Transportation
06:55 What we learned about Housing
10:15 What we learned about Culture
14:00 What we learned about Infrastructure and Business Culture
16:56 What we learned about Food and Drink
19:30 What we learned about Beaches
20:06 What we learned about Dog and Cat Friendliness
20:58 What we learned about Creatures
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This is one of the best, comprehensive, videos I’ve seen on moving to Portugal. Rents & home purchases are significantly lower outside the greater Lisboa area. It’s better to have a car if you live outside the major cities but there are really good bus & train networks throughout Portugal, connecting smaller cities & towns.
thank you so much! we are noticing how prices are so much lower further out from Lisbon 🙂 Public transport is so easy and accessible, we have been without a car for a year now and don't even miss it 👍🏼🇵🇹
@@SeekingParadiseBugs I love to go for drives and exploring villages or beaches, so I will look for a car, but it does feel good knowing I will be able to get around before that happens.
Great video! Just found you through the CNBC Made it video.
Thanks! We've seen you guys on RUclips also. 😊 We reached out a while back for lunch but you were pretty busy.
Due to a centuries-old rivalry, if you don't speak Portuguese, don't try to speak Spanish, speak English. We are not Spaniards.
yes, we found that out when we first arrived. Now days we ask first, in case the person we're speaking with doesn't speak English at all. We will learn portuguese tho 😊
There's this portuguese saying De Espanha, nem bom vento, nem bom casamento "
Wich means: From Spain neither the wind or a marriage is good for Portugal, and the main reason for this is that Portugal lost its independancy because of a mariage between cousins, and the death of a Portuguese king in Africa.
So when you speak spanish here its like you are remenbering us of that lost independence on a daily basis.
Thanks for the great explanation!
Great 1 year recap! Thanks for doing this
Thanks! Another great video!
thank you! 😊
An advice to people still coming to Portugal: run away from Lisbon, Porto and Algarve, it is very expensive to live in those areas. There are so many places where you can have a better life.
like where???
@@freetheppl5376 Like Leiria where i live, or Viseu or Vila Real or Covilhã.......
@@ruisilva3099 Thanks Brother! God bless
You are always so great at the details!! Nice work guys - WE
really? yasss! let us know when. We're gonna have a great time! 🎉💥
Another great video!
thank you Alex!
This is so good: very informative and comprehensive 👍🏼.
Thank you so much!
Good to see you' both are still enjoying traveling....be well friends!
We are indeed! Hope life is treating you both well!!
Very informative. Thank you
Thanks for watching!
Hello! I've been in Lisbon since March 8. Your video is right on, and I am stoill in the process of disovering tome of the things that you have already encountered, and included in this video. I watch a LOT of youtuve videos, and I am truely impressed with this one. Well done!, and Thanks!
thank you so much! 👍🏼
Dianne and Guillermo, thank you for all your videos and information on moving to Lisbon and now your 1 year review. Great summary and update. The feedback and information is practical and what we are looking for to help us understand what it's really like to live overseas. My wife and I booked our first trip to Lisbon from Christmas to New Year's Eve and look forward to seeing the city in person soon. We just secured our 2nd AirBNB on the border of Belem and Ajuda! We want to see what it is like outside of the traditional tourist areas. Keep the videos coming!! Thank you.
Hi Michael, so glad to hear our videos are helpful! Let us know if you have any specific questions or concerns. Message us when you're here if you'd like to meet up for a coffee. Safe travels!
@@SeekingParadiseBugs Do you prefer Portugal over Mexico? I am single female trying to decide. Mexico scares me.
Hi Natalia! Personally, I prefer Lisbon because I love being able to travel through Europe. I am not as guarded as I was in Mexico but I certainly did not live in fear there. The beach towns have much larger expat communities to connect with than Guadalajara does, where we lived. San Miguel de Allende and Ajijic also have larger expat communities which I believe would be more helpful for a single person. Best of luck!!
Really enjoy your videos and have used them for considering our future home. My wife and I wish to retire in Portugal for the culture and ease of travel throughout the rest of Europe. Thank you for taking time to create valuable content.
Thanks so much!! We love living in Lisbon and it really is easy to travel around Europe from here. Let us know if you have any questions and best of luck!
@@SeekingParadiseBugs would love to connect when we make our initial scouting trip the beginning of next year
Sounds great! We´d be happy to meet up if we´re in town. Let us know when you have dates.
Very comprehensive and accruate. I particularly liked the neighbourhood watch or granny-mafia images.
Thanks so much! We love the neighborhood watch!!
Fabulous video & very informative! Can’t wait to share this with my Economic & Personal Finance students.
thank you Robin! big hugs!
@@SeekingParadiseBugs absolutely! We just finished our unit that includes budgeting. Your video touched on key points I have shared. Love bringing real world into my classroom! Big hugs back!
"There are over 250 native grape varieties". Here's a bit of trivia that is going to blow your mind. Commercial fruit plantations usually use "hybrid" trees, one cultivar supplies the rootstock, and then a different cultivar is grafted onto it (the scion) to supply the fruit bearing part of the tree.
In Portugal, at least 95% of vineyards use an American cultivar for the root system. It's a cultivar that doesn't even produce grapes on its own, but has a strong root system and, most importantly, is resistant to the phylloxera insect. Then one of the Portuguese cultivars is grafted onto those roots. Portuguese vineyards are actually half-American!
wow! that is an interesting fact! we keep learning new things everyday about Portugal. thank you for sharing 🙂🍷
in Lamego where my both parents born (they meet in the high school), all the root is from a chile variety. I know that in the south like Setúbal and Alentejo they use more the american cultivar... but not so much in the north.
One advice the Setubal/Palmela region is now one the most important regions in the world with so great wines (...and for now very cheap), last year was the region with most medals in top wine contests. Try the Ermelinda Freitas wines. Moscatel from Setubal is a must.
thank you Artur, we'll definetly be trying 🍷🍷🍷
Im portuguese and this is a very comprehensive video. 👏👏
thank you so much!
Awesome to see another video and very good information about a country we are seriously considering to retire to in the near future. Thank you for sharing this information. My wife Annette & I are going to be in Lisbon in May and really look forward to seeing this beautiful city you all call home.
thank you so much! I think you two are gonna enjoy this city very much. If you have any questions or would like to meet, let us know, we can help you answer any doubts 👍🏼
@@SeekingParadiseBugs we are also looking forward to your Madeira trip, if that happens a time soon
Madeira was wonderful! super developed island with lots to do. We will be working on that video soon ☺️
I just discovered you guys. We watch videos on Portugal because we'd like to move there. We are 46 and 51 and have two small dogs. Writing from Massachusetts sending you virtual 👋🏼.
Hi Val! 👋 Glad you found us!! We've been in Lisbon for almost 1.5 years and love it! 🥰 Let us know if you have any questions. Also, we have a vlog series on our channel about our move to Portugal, d7 application, dog transport, etc that may help give you ideas about the move process too.
Your videos are super fun and interesting. As a retired ex-pat currently residing in the north UK, I am considering moving. Spain is high on the list, and now I need to consider taxes. We hold EU citizenship so taxes are a consideration.
Thanks so much and good luck with your decision!!
The legal drinking age was raised recently to 18, so most places still ignore the law because we're used to 16
That rent price is very high, but you must be living in a luxurious place. Very few Portuguese could afford to pay that price.
We are lucky to be in a very nice updated 3 level home with a yard for the dogs. We're in a traditional neighborhood and most of our neighbors are owners that have been here more than 10 years when prices were not as elevated.
Hi again Dianne and Guillermo! Exciting updates and tips here, thank you! Looks like Portugal has been an amazing adventure. A couple of questions regarding your dogs: Trustedhousesitters looks like a great option, did you end up signing up? How was the experience in Mexico? Also, did you find it easy to get from the US to the EU with your pups? Did you put them in cargo for the long flight? Gracias!
Hi Jessica! We used trustedhousesitters in Mexico many times and became friends with some of the sitters. We had sitters from England, Canada and the USA. It worked out great for us. We have an actual pet sitter here in Portugal that we pay and love her so we haven't gone back to using it here but we definitely would if we hadn't found her.
We flew the dogs here in the hold of our plane. It was the thing we stressed most about for our move but they did just fine. We have friends here that have a very large dog so they flew in a private jet with costs split between a group of people coming. Our Move to Portugal vlog series videos #4, 5 and 6 talk about the pets required vaccinations, transport options and transport day for our move here if you're interested.
@@SeekingParadiseBugs Awesome, thanks very much guys for those insights! Excited to see new videos, I've shared your series on Europe and Mexico with my husband :) Enjoy your travels!
Great as always. How would you compare cost of living between Guadalajara and where you are now? Thanks.
Hi! thank you! Consumer prices including rent in Guadalajara are about 30% lower than in Lisbon. Rent prices are about 45% lower in GDL than in Lisbon and restaurant prices are almost 30% lower in GDL 👍🏼
Cars not always respect speed limits but pedestrians HAVE To stop, and make sure are being seened. Some times people just jump on the road when they see a “zebra” not giving enough time for cars To stop.
we totally agree!
tip top
How do people live in a country and not learn the language? I even saw a RUclipsr who just learning to introduce herself after living there for 3 years. No offense, but be respectful- learn the language. Boa sorte!
I recently learn to drive a plus >125cm3 motorcycle (we call A1) and i'm Portuguese and the waiting to your drive licence to come with the change is more than 3 months, the IMT are providing temporary permit, because the waiting time is so high, i dont understand why this happening...
oh great to hear, we were wondering why it was taking so long. We will be patient and wait 🙂. thank you!
Hi there, great video and thanks for sharing your experience as expats! Please make in few words a parallel between Mexico and Portugal. Would you consider in the future moving back to Mexico and why?
hi! great question.exico was the perfect start to our early retirement journey. We learned our exact budget and must have's etc. However, we love Europe, but we have considered going back to Mexico only as a last resort in case of a market crash where our savings would get affected. Portugal and Mexico are great in their own ways and spending some time in both places will make a decision easier in the end.
@@SeekingParadiseBugs hi, thank you for taking your time to get back to me. Looks like we all need more time to come to the final decision! My husband and I moved from Vancouver to Madeira few months ago. He is from Mexico and before the move he tried to convince me to explore his native country. I visited Mexico few times in the past but I am still not convinced 100% that is what I want. I left Europe for Canada in a time when Canada was considered the Swiss of American continent and now we are again on the search for our forever home. I had hoped to find a nice weather all year around here in Portugal and honestly I think no European country can beat Mexico. My main concern with Mexico is the huge discrepancy between the deferent social classes ( poverty and wealth). How it will affect me emotionally and psychologically because oh boy can be heartbreaking sometimes! Enjoy your time in beautiful Europe and good luck finding the “forever home”!
we just got back from Madeira a few weeks ago and loved that island. We visited many parts in Mexico and like most but decided on Guadalajara just because of the infrastructure and many spoke English there. There may be a place in Mexico for you, just gotta keep exploring 😊 where is your husband from?
@@SeekingParadiseBugs my husband is from San Luis Potosí, a very nice colonial city.
oh yeah. lovely place. We hope you find your way to your happy place. Stay positive and motivated. The right place will speak to you soon. Good luck! stay in touch 😊
You don't need to use a one euro coin for the supermarket carts, everybody uses plastic chips that are the same size as one euro coins. They give them away for free at supermarkets. Just pay attention to how other people unlock the carts.
oh really? we had no idea about tokens. thank you for sharing. We will be paying more attention 🙂
@@SeekingParadiseBugs Yes, you go to the information office in all big supermarket at least the Continente brand (they give ou a plastic one, mine is red) and you use in the carts. But you can use a 50 cents/1 €uro coin. After you done go put the cart in the respective place and the coin is returned. Se this video.
RUclips video =AhJZHCpCUjM
Love your info filled videos. Regarding taxation, as a resident in Portugal, how do you deal with the wealth tax for assets outside ( USA) Portugal? Also how do you plan on handling income tax after the ten years non habitual visa expires, if that is your visa choice in Portugal? I'm trying to gather information for my interest/ concerns for retirement in Spain ( Valencia). I will be seeking the non lucrative visa for Spain once retired. Thanks
Thanks so much! There is no wealth tax in Portugal and FYI, the Andalusia area of Spain just withdrew their wealth tax. Although we are home based in Portugal now, we are still searching the globe before making a decision on where we will settle long term. We have a lot more places to visit. 🌍😊 Wherever we decide on permanently, will be based on many decisions and we will pay the tax of the country we immigrate to. It will be worth it to us to live in our little piece of paradise. Best of luck to you!!
@@SeekingParadiseBugs Thanks much for the Andalusia tip - didn't know that! Have you done any vids that touch on income tax implications of retiring abroad? Obviously it's a big piece of the puzzle - just curious if you have. Love your vids - thanks!
We haven't done specific videos about taxes as it's so different for everyone. Our own is pretty convoluted with rental properties, different types of investments, etc. We just always recommend talking with a tax professional for any country you consider moving to. You definitely do not want to have any surprises after the move.
How did you guys transfer your dogs from USA or Mexico to Portugal?
Hi Mariela! Vlogs 3, 4 and 5 of Our Move to Portugal series have information about transporting our fur babies. In a nutshell, we brought them on the flights with us. Unfortunately, they were too large to be in the cabin though.
I was wondering about the quiet neighborhood you lived in Lisbon
We're in Alto Ajuda that is about 12 minutes from downtown by car. There's plenty of bus stops, traditional neighborhood restaurants and shops. We find prices here about 30% less than the popular neighborhoods in the center of Lisbon.
@@SeekingParadiseBugs thank you , do you think it’s doable with out a car ?
We don't have a car. We are at the top of a very long, steep hill. We're ok with it but a lot of people may prefer to take the bus back up.
How do you think Lisbon would be for someone with reduced mobility?
The sidewalks have ramps, there are public buses with handicap access and there are residences with elevators or flat entrances so it is entirely doable in the right neighborhood. There are many stairs, small alleyways, steep hills and buildings without elevators so there would be areas that are not easily accessible though. We believe the hills and slippery tiles (not broken) would be tricky but see many older people with canes tackling it daily.
@@SeekingParadiseBugs Thank you for the information. I think Lisbon is worth an extended visit anyway to see what I think. The hills are my biggest concern. I’m coming from Minnesota so the slippery tiles are probably similar to our icy sidewalks.
It is definitely worth a visit! 😊
I really need a banana car now !!! 🍌🚗😍
😂 🍌🚗
Groceries €390 ?
Yes, this includes dog food, dog treats and alcohol. We do like our wine. 😊
Small correction. Caterpillar are only danger to Humans if you are allergic, otherwise they will only give you some itch or skin irritation at worst.
Portuguese people can naturally understand some Spanish even without any learning of it. But unless you are a native Spanish Speaker you better stick to English or at least ask first if you could speak Spanish if you can´t speak English either.
thank you! we will keep that in mind 😊👍🏼
Hi, there, speaking spanish in Portugal on a daily basis is like this:
There's this portuguese saying "De Espanha, nem bom vento, nem bom casamento "
Wich means: From Spain neither the wind or a marriage is good for Portugal. and the main reason for this is that Portugal lost its independancy because of a mariage between cousins, and the death of a Portuguese king in Africa.
So when you speak spanish here its like you are remenbering us of that lost independence on a daily basis.
Look! You ARE IN THE BEST country IN allll!! WORLD 😉🤫 😋
we agree! 👏🏼👏🏼
Do you feel influence of Russian/Ukrainian war migrants?
We have actually met a few Ukrainian war migrants here in Lisbon but in the course of day to day living, we could not say we've personally felt any influence.
Talking abut infrastructure, I got so tired of walking on those side walks, which are murderous; I have seen so many pedestrians badly injure themselves on them. No amount of walking shoes with good traction will make it easy. I just could not imagine living there and having to do this day in and day out. They look good but totally impractical. Top this off with numerous other problems, Portugal is not an easy place to live. Yes, great place to visit though.
I agree about the street walking. It is hard to walk on some of the streets in Lisbon, but definetly better than the broken streets in Guadalajara. There were so many tree roots popping up it was difficult. We may eventually get sick of the hills and slippery tile streets in Lisbon, but for now they are ok 🙂
dificult to understand reasoning about a place to live with the way we do sidewalks, I mean I am 51 and lived here all my life, never but never I did fall, I am a man , I understand maybe that if you are a women and go with high hills (I think its the name) then it will be not the best ideia, but my shoes are different everytime I mean I go to stores and buy what I like never worried with the streets, and reapeating myself never once I falled... but even if I did once or twice that would never be a reason for me to leave any country...
Normally the reasons are more inner self than outer, even though we seek allways things outside...I say gennerally of course maybe in your case is different who knows!!!
Any way hope you find the place you deserve!! there are a lot of good countries out there for sure, i know some and did not even visited 2/3 of them...I even lived in the UK and did not liked it, I have a brother living in washington US visited, liked it as a tourist, but went walikng alone in some different zones and felt weird and the ambience was a bit scary in more colour areas if you know waht I mean, it was a bit intimidating has I saw that there is a lot of racial issues, normally i look to people normally, but there if I look to a color person in the face has I do here without any problem there it was like menacing, they think we are provoking and I am a big person not typical average Portuguese, but US did felt strangly menacing much more reason to not like live there ( but my brother loves it, he lives in a fancy zone and is a medical teacher so I guess he can manage well there ).
welll long text, good to you all
Believe it or not, you have to know how to walk ln the streets in Lisbon, after learning the technique and with the proper shoes it is easy.
It’s much easier to live in Portugal than in the USA where you go to jail for petty things, like jaywalking, be on the road way , loitering, drinking on the street, people calling the police on you for no reason and so on .
Your not expats .. your immigrants..a bit more respect please..
The term we choose to identify with is not meant to be disrespectful. We consider ourselves expats as we live outside our native country. As we haven't obtained permanent residency or citizenship and are not sure if we will stay indefinitely, we do not consider ourselves immigrants at this time. We are searching for our forever home and will consider ourselves immigrants of the country we choose to live in permanently.
@@SeekingParadiseBugs is not a matter of considering you are an immigrant, that is a term that British people ho think they are superior to the rest of Europe use , and is not welcome such thing in Europe ..
You are immigrant like any other person ho comes to Portugal from outside...