jenkinslj
10/25/2015 18:50 EST
My wife and I are young, 34 and 29. We are United States citizens, and have lived abroad. We have done fairly well for ourselves so far. We are not broke, but we are not retiring either. Portugal and the Azores are high on our list of next spots to live.
Can you guys and gals just give us some ideas of places to start to find information on moving, living, and working as US citizens. Any good websites to start looking around? Whats possible? Whats not possible? What is the cost of living? Can we work? Is the visa process difficult?
Making a move to the EU is proving much different than our stays in South America.
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craigandmicki
10/28/2015 09:01 EST
Resources include: searching for all articles and tips on this site; searching "Just Landed" for the entire Visa application process; reading tourism guides to get a feel for the country's regions; googling Cost of Living for the rental by square foot costs across the country; researching the low stats for non-Portuguese employment and difficulties starting a business here.
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seabug
12/2/2015 11:07 EST
Hi!
If you have €350,000 plus to spend on a house you can get a 'Golden Visa' - have a look at goldenvisaportugal.com
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craigandmicki
12/8/2015 11:33 EST
A few tips:
1. Moving to a Schengen Agreement country, which is most of Europe, is more difficult than a move to South America or any other non-Schengen country and the Embassy sites aren't helpful or complete...but there is a single, clear source that spells out the process in an article on this site: http://www.expatexchange.com/ctryguide/4216/92/Portugal/United-States-Citizens-Moving-to-Portugal-Demystifying-the-Paper-Trail
2. Suggest you 'explore' Portugal via a blog by Julie Dawn Fox, a Brit who has lived here for several years and reviews/reveals the country by region and town. "Just Landed" is a blog that is improving its coverage of Portugal. Tim leffel writes Cheapest Destinations and recently did a book that included a chapter on Portugal http://www.cheapestdestinationsblog.com/tag/tim-leffel/.
3. Get an Eye Witness guide to read about the culture, regions, towns. Based on your prior relo experience, you'll find Eye Witness's broader coverage more informative than Rick Steves' back-packer level tips. Read the online version of The Portugal News weekly http://epaper.theportugalnews.com/ to get a feel for the country.
4. Dozens of people come here with the idea of getting a job or starting a business. And then they leave. And all of us know it's going to happen because they failed to do their research upfront. It's complicated to get a job in a country with such high unemployment that college grads are advised to leave for work; to start a business when you face 3-5 years of bureaucratic delays for permits and licenses; to open a shop when you don't know who to pay for those 'special fees' or didn't verify that the real estate actually belonged to the person from whom you rented it. We have heard all of these stories. A prospering online business that you can do from anywhere will work, however.
5. Read everything on this site about Portugal...tips, articles, posts. Find out about cost of living at http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/....your lifestyle isn't mine, so whatever I say about affordability means nothing to you.
6. Be really, really wary of people who provide opinions without the ability to back them up. Experience is an interpretation of the facts and too many people say "this is what we did" without knowing why it worked or failed.
And ask....ask us to help you as we all will.
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boeiden
12/8/2015 12:48 EST
I was not on this topic but keep reading as Portugal is still on the top of my list. (you helped me before re: meds)
now I am writing to say YOU GUYS ARE GREAT! and could charge for all your info. please don't ; )
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jmaria
12/10/2015 04:12 EST
Hello, my names is Ze (spells Zay) its short for Jose in Portugal. Anyways we moved to Portugal last month from NY we lived in many states including Alaska, met my wife in a party in Santa Barbara CA but after so many years we felt it was time to come back. So far so great we love it. Living here is way more relaxed, the food one can't compare, flavors and price are completely a different reality, wine is almost given. We live in Cascais and if you decide to come here I will help you in whatever I can. All the best.
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boeiden
12/10/2015 15:52 EST
Dear Ze,
you may have been writing to someone specific but your email sounded "open". I am wanting to visit Portugal for about 3 months. I have a small budget so some might think i am nuts to travel at all. but i have many reasons for respite/expat living. I am open to living almost anywhere in Portugal. Do you think it possible to rent a nice place, even studio, for $500 max? And live without a vehicle? I am searching online altho many advise getting there, have a place for a week and then searching for place for longer. I need easy travel routing too therefore need to lean toward urban area where airports and medical care is closer (despite cost of rental will be higher).
thanks for any info. so glad you love life there. should you respond, can you do so as a private message or email? (i am not savvy on messaging/tech/this site).
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ZoeZoom
12/11/2015 06:54 EST
It is very clear that one must spend 550,000 euros, not 350,000 plus euros, to achieve a Golden Visa. I do not understand why you are suggesting otherwise?
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ZoeZoom
12/11/2015 06:57 EST
Ze...Such a thoughtful offer. It is very difficult to find correct information and the most confusing part is how to start!! Can you please tell us how we get the visa, in the first place, and what to expect when we arrive in Portugal? How long can this take? What do we do about health care? We are both Americans, aged 59 and 61, with only $3million in assets.
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