About bebeshor

Status:

Expatriate  

Gender:

Female

Currently Lives:

Wisconsin, United States

Citizen Of:

United States

Some Forum Posts:

Portugal: Just Saying No to Panama:

Hello, regarding differences between Portugal and Spain - here are my two cents. I do not think that Spanish people are less friendly than the Portuguese, but they are definitely more limited in English. The level of English in Spain is quite low (even for people who claim to speak it). Among Southern Europe, Portugal is the best in this aspect. Further, Portugal is cheaper. Healthcare is probably better in Spain. Many private insurers offer health insurance that covers providers in Spain as well. Spaniards have better sense of humor; Portuguese tend to be more on the dramatic side. Overall, Portugal has much stronger feminine energy compared to Spain. I am not retired; moved to Portugal 5 years ago and my husband and I do not regret it despite the substantially lower income we live on here.

Portugal: Americans considering a move to Portugal:

The high taxes affect people earning income in Portugal. If you do not have any income earned in Portugal, you do not pay taxes. If you do not buy real estate, you do not pay taxes. If you buy private health insurance (which is nothing by US standards), you would have access to private health care, which is better than public hospitals. Also, the private health insurance has broad coverage in Spain and even US for serious cases. The situation is bad for Portuguese people who have seen their salaries being cut and income taxes increases or have totally lost their jobs - those who have opportunities to go abroad do. But moving to Portugal with income coming from the US - I do not see any problems.

Portugal: update on cost of living:

Let's say that your budget is 2000 Euros per month. It really depends on what your needs are. There are a lot of families in Portugal that live with less. How big an apartment do you need? I would say that if you keep your rent+utilities within 900 Euros, you'd be fine. Your food would cost you no more than 500 (assuming normal eating habits), so you can have the rest for other expenses. Are you thinking of Lisbon? If you go to a smaller town, your rent would be significantly cheaper. If you are in Lisbon, you don't need to own car. Car ownership in Portugal is expensive. There is good public transportation in Lisbon and taxis are cheap. Hope this helps.

Portugal: Budget for Living in Lisbon or Cascais:

I agree that 3200 Euros per month would give you a comfortable lifestyle. I would say that the 1000 estimate for taxes, medical, etc. is quite high. Private medical insurance here is nothing like in the US. For example, the most expensive policy with Tranquilidade (one of the leading ins. companies here), which also provides coverage abroad is around 2000 Euros per year for 2 people (OK - my husband and I are in the late 30s, I assume it would be more expensive for older people, but you get the idea). The advantage of Lisbon and Cascais/Estoril/Oeiras is that many neighborhoods are walkable and you have services everywhere. You might get better deals right now renting than buying, though. With a budget of 400,000 Euros you would be able to get a nice property, but in this range property taxes are not cheap. Renting a similar property in my opinion is better. This is our experience. We were looking to buy a property, but ultimately, after doing the math, we decided on renting. The other advantage of renting is that you do not have to deal with Portuguese bureaucracy and when you have a problem, you just call your landlord (in this price range many of them speak English). Getting repairs done in Portugal is not a pleasant experience. In general, you have to learn to be patient here :-) All in all, with your budget you can have a great life in Portugal.

Portugal: Getting Dollars to Portugal:

I've used XE trade - I found it much cheaper than a bank transfer. Haven't had any problems with them. http://www.xe.com/xetrade/ Ralitza

Portugal: expats and the economy:

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

Portugal: Moving company from Los Angeles to Lisbon:

Hello Terry and Paul, we moved 4 years ago from Milwaukee to Lisbon. We used the following firm: Franklin Mejia Relocation Manager RDM Transport Group World Headquarter (800)452-7672 ext:421-from 8am to 6pm Eastern time. (718)662-3659 cell phone after hours.. (718) 991-6203 Fax fmejias@larosadelmonte.com www.larosadelmonte.com We did not have problems with the movers. There was only one broken item and we were compensated for it. We did have problems with Portuguese customs especially since we also had a car. Good luck! Ralitza

Portugal: car import from the USA:

Hello, does anybody have experience with importing a car from the USA? I have owned the car less than 6 months, but it is a 2-year old car. Thank you

Bulgaria: House repairs:

I might be able to. Send me an e-mail at bebeshor@yahoo.com to tell me what you need.

Portugal: Importing a car from the USA:

Portuguese customs are hell. Importing in Spain is not bad and the taxes you have to pay are not very high. We ended up doing this since my husband is from Spain and his business involves a lot of travel between Portugal and Spain. Portuguese customs wanted us to pay 14000 Euros for a 4 year old Saab. In Spain we paid 2000 Euros (transportation cost separate).

Date Joined:

11/7/2008

Total Posts:

14

Posts/Day:

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