We've been asking others--mainly Americans as they don't have the broad EU benefits protection-- about this for a year now and are interested in getting more input, as well. It appears that the expats here on NATO / government assignment are basically unaffected: NATO jobs are growing, protection against increased prices is built into their benefits packages; they have a known pension on which to rely. Corporate expats are feeling some anxiety about job security but, again, are financially protected. They are also seeing the impact on their Portuguese colleagues and while pleased to see an increased focus on productivity and work hours are feeling the impact of fewer employees, more work. American retirees who are non-military faced increased taxes and grocery, utility prices but some decreased costs in restaurants. Overall, we are saddened to see the worn and worried faces of our favorite store owners and restaurantuers, the increased number of closed businesses all over the country, more beggars (as they see we are foreign and expect we can help) and more protests that shut down our transit systems and are starting to become more violent (usually due to infiltration by non-Portuguese rebellers). If the dollar can strengthen and we can hold on for a year, we anticipate better times ahead.

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Thanks a lot for getting back to me. I have posted the same question on two other forums and nobody has answered back except you. I thought these forums were to give out info. on what is going on in other countries for people like me that are considering a move there, so I am a little surprised at the lack of responses. I know a lot of people use these forums because they are trying to sell something like real estate, but I still expected a few more people to respond. Anyway, thanks again.

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I've encountered the same situation of low responses, which makes me even more diligent in responding when I can. Maybe this forum isn't sufficiently active or appealing to people? I also use "AngloInfo Lisbon" for Portugal and it is much more active.
Micki

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Hello,
your question is indeed a very general one. What I have personally found out as a benefit of living in a foreign country is that you don't get so tangled in in the problems of the country. Yes, it does hurt when you see a lot of small shops and restaurants getting closed, but also new ones come in, and since you don't vote (unless you have a passport in your host country), you don't care so much about politics. I find this really refreshing.
On the benefits of living in Portugal, in particular, apart of the things you've probably already heard, if you like the Mediterranean diet - it's heaven. We used to spend so much money in the US on things like good olive oil, olives, seafood, wine, good bread and cheese. Here a 750ml bottle of good olive oil and very decent wine would cost you around 4 Euros each. You can have a simple lunch of fresh fish and cooked vegetables for around 5-6 Euros. A kilo (slightly more than 2 pounds) of fresh sardines is 3 Euros, a kilo of mackerel from sustainable fisheries is around 4 euros, a kilo of olives - 2-3 euros, etc.
On the negative side - you have to get used to how inefficient the organization in all aspects of the economy is. People are late, they do not return calls, e-mails; customer service is nothing to talk about. But although every now and then I get angry when I have to deal with these issues, overall, I never regretted coming here. I love the country.

Good luck with your quest!

Ralitza

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