The last time I posted a journal entry, I wrote about the reasons why we decided to move to Portugal. We’ve been here now for six months so I figured it was time to provide a little update whilst reflecting on our time living in this incredible country.
We arrived in Porto in late August 2021 and were immediately starstruck by the beautiful end of summer weather that complimented the charm of the old city. Porto is nestled alongside the Douro river and is cozy, yet wild and has so much to offer for its size. From the port houses in Gaia, to the markets in Foz, to the lively bars, restaurants, and cafes in the heart of Porto, we truly could not go wrong discovering new places every day. The people of Porto are so warm and welcoming with unending hospitality. The food is affordable, local, and authentic. We were definitely in the honeymoon stage of falling in love with our new home for at least the first couple of months (though we very well may still be in it).
Come October, we received a call from home that there was a tragic death in our family. Shortly after receiving this news, we flew home for this incredibly difficult time. Heartbroken and grieving, we felt lucky to be able to travel on such short notice in order to be with and support our loved ones for something so awful. However, during the time between when we found out and when we arrived home, the reality of being so far really hit us.
After several weeks and many tears, we returned back to Porto. Our feeling was obviously not the same, and as the Porto skies began to turn gray, we were craving some of that healing sunshine and soothing salt water. Lisbon, Portugal’s capital, was the city we had planned to move to originally, so it had always piqued our interest, yet Porto had also stolen my heart. In late November/early December, Josh started to research web development programs, because as much as he was enjoying some much needed rest, he was itching to continue his learning and begin his pivot toward the next step of his career. And as it would have it, Lisbon had a campus for one of the highest rated coding programs out there, with the first course of 2022 beginning in January.
Though we had planned to stay in Porto until February, this seemed like the right move for us for many reasons. A little more sun, a bigger city, closer to more surf-friendly beaches, and a thriving young creative scene. It was bittersweet for me to leave Porto earlier than expected, but it’s only a train ride away and we already had several weekend trips planned in the new year to go back.
Come December, though it was our first holiday away from home, we were lucky enough to be invited by our dear friend to join her and her family in Strasbourg, France. We experienced a true french holiday and were so spoiled by our hosts. I could probably write an entire separate post about this incredible trip, but for purposes of not making this a novel, I’ll just say it was the most christmassy, charming, cheese and wine-filled holiday we could have asked for. And in a year filled with so much sadness, it was nice to spend time with our close friend since we could not make it back home to be with our family.
Once we got back to Porto, we packed up our six bags (and then some), said goodbye to the lovely Brazilian friends we had made, rented a car, and drove to the Airbnb we rented for our first month in Lisbon.
Josh almost immediately started his course, which consists of long and intense days programming and working with his new found friends in his program. Because my clients are in Seattle, my work meetings are in the evenings, which means I first spent my days searching for our longer-term Lisbon apartment. I was excited to begin this search but I also quickly realized how competitive the market was, especially in the areas we were interested in, because so many people were immigrating here from Brazil, France, the United Kingdom, United States, and beyond. Because Lisbon has had a steady influx of immigrants and the wild wild west of rental laws, you can essentially have a “bidding war” over an apartment and whoever pays the most up-front (not who applies first) will get it. This craziness, along with trying to make decisions on our rental offer and sending Josh videos during his busy class days, was a bit stressful. We also have no furniture here, so though I did tour some unfurnished apartments, we were hoping to find one that at least had some basics. We were also looking for a two-bedroom so that our visitors would have a place to stay. In the end, I found one that though it didn’t have the size, had just about every other thing on our list: good light (morning on one side, evening on the other), furnished nicely, an outdoor space, closer to the water side of the city, and in the perfect location looking out to one of our favorite little parks in the area. And as for guests, the accommodations are pretty affordable in Portugal, so a nice hotel for a few nights will do just fine.
I was so relieved to finally have our apartment, but since the current tenant would still be there until the end of February, that meant we needed to find another Airbnb for a few weeks, and luckily we moved into one right across the street from our soon-to-be new home.
Since we moved to Lisbon, it has been sunny almost every day. I have never experienced so much Vitamin D in my birthday month (although there is currently a drought in the country, so rain is welcome). I have loved going on walks and getting to know our new neighborhood, wandering through the parks and eating and drinking my way through new restaurants and cafes. In the beginning of February, I joined a co-working space about a 20-minute walk from our new apartment. It has been so nice to be able to have somewhere to go to focus for a few days a week, and even better to be able to meet some other people.
As far as learning the language goes, we have heard so many mixed opinions on which is the best way. There are many Brazilian immigrants here as well (since they speak the same language), however the pronunciations, the style in which it is spoken, and even some of the words, are very different. For native English speakers, it is much easier to learn Brazilian Portuguese instead of European Portuguese, because they pronounce the entire words, and similar to spanish, almost sing when they speak. Portuguese in Portugal, however, is more swallowed and is a stress-timed language instead of a syllable-timed language. I am in an online self-guided class and the teacher, though originally from the UK, has lived in both Brazil and Portugal and has a wonderful natural accent for both countries. Her background on knowing both “versions” of the language is so helpful when it comes to trying to pronounce things the “Portugal” way. As of now, I can order in a restaurant and engage in some very basic conversation while shopping, but it is slowly coming along. Another surprising difficulty of the learning curve is that many of the Portuguese in our generation (especially in Lisbon) speak perfect English. So, you almost have to ask to speak in Portuguese if you are trying to learn. However, I am determined to keep going because I know learning the language will just add so much more value and richness to our experience here.
Overall, life here has been everything we expected and then some. It has not been without its adjustments, unexpected times of sadness, and frustrations, of course. The bureaucracy is not understated, but it is a small price to pay for a slower pace of life, beautiful weather and beaches, kind and hospitable people, healthcare, safety, affordable food and wine, and so much more. The park we will be looking at out at for the next year in Lisbon, pretty much sums up the European lifestyle we were searching for: cafes and restaurants surrounding, kids and dogs playing, people chatting, smoking, and drinking beers around the fountain, and old men playing cards.
One thing that Josh and I have also noticed is how the culture practices a much more relaxed and balanced way of living, which has been completely different from the fast-paced/grind at your job mentality of the United States. This has been a welcome change and something we were looking for in our new life here in Europe.
That being said, I can’t wait to continue to soak up our life in this beautiful country and I am excited to share it with some of you this year on your travels to see us. Maybe I will write more of my reflections in another six months from now 🙃. Until then, you can follow along with photos on my Instagram!