New members of the Portugal forum, introduce yourselves here - 2024

@ElleOC

Hello and welcome on board, Elle !

Thank you for taking the time to share a glimpse of your project and expectations with us.

Indeed, learning the language will be one of the first steps.

Feel free to create as many topics as you need on the Portugal forum to seek advice from members. I would suggest that you post open questions as you move along.

We have prepared a complete guide for our members to help them in their search for info :  The  Living in Portugal guide for expats.

All the very best

Bhavna

@ElleOC, Welcome

If you want information about animal rescue organisations in Porto, let me know.

How to build a social circle from scratch in Portugal

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=909130

     Some meetup groups

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.p … 30#4966994

     (Post #2)

     Facebook groups

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.p … 30#5505120

     (Post #17)

Regards

Happy New Year Everyone,

My wife, Karen, and I will be moving to Portugal in June and are very excited about it.  Our first trip confirmed our retirement location.  The following trip realized it as we bought a home in Luz.  We have a prep trip in two weeks to set up the house for our move.  We have 2 cats and are preparing our home with the necessities for them as well as ourselves.  Then it is back to the US for our Embassy appointment and for our D7 visas.

Back in the US I owned a medical equipment service business for 35 years for which my wife was/is an integral part.  We currently live in Raleigh, NC, but find that the area, while very livable, has become much more hectic and we found ourselves craving a slower pace in a location that would provide opportunities for local and regional travel as well as a jump-off point for more exotic destinations. We "tried on" several locations that are  known for excellent retirements.  Panama was just too hot and they do not treat their sewage before discharging it in the ocean and Caribbean.  Yuk.  Plenty of beaches, but we wouldn't go in the water!  We went to Belize where we though it was just a bit too third worldy.  We have been to Sint Maarten many times, but the frequency of hurricanes made that a no-go.  We tried Cabo San Lucas, but didn't really feel safe there.  Portugal, on the other hand, hit it out of the park.  Vibrant economy, excellent food and wine, rich history, and beaches, beaches, beaches.

We leave behind our home of 30 years and the neighbors and friends who will continue to be a part of our life.  The guest list sign-up is getting crowded!  We are setting up our accounts to take advantage of currency fluctuations whenever they may benefit us.  We have a commitment on our home to be purchased just as we leave.  We are taking advantage of my expiring flight status (Good bye, Executive Platinum status) and bringing the maximum 3 bags each of household items and summer clothes.  We have our NIFs and a bank account.  Our water and power are connected, as is our internet service.  We are trying to ease our arrival in June, and are willing to pay for these until we arrive.  Hopefully, we will be able to concentrate on settling in instead of scrambling to do it then.  Our immediate needs will be securing transportation.  We will be looking for a used car and a motorcycle this summer, so if anyone will be leaving in mid-June, we may be interested in buying your car or bike.

We are looking forward to making new friends with both Expats and Portuguese.  We are working hard on out Portuguese, but it is not coming naturally.  Our first mistake was not differentiating European vs Brazilian Portuguese, so starting over with that.

Our experience will likely have  some set-backs as well as the successes we are working toward.  We are trying to temper our excitement with the realization that we may not always achieve our desired outcome.  Hopefully, we won't see too many failures.

We plan to consult this resource often and contribute where we can.  Thank you for proving the venue!

Sincerely,

   Bill & Karen Tomko

@RepairBill

Hello and welcome on board Bill & Karen !

Congrats on finding your new home ! Your Expat project is well researched. I am sure it will be a success and that you'll be able to call Portugal home.

Feel free to interact with members of the Algarve forum to seek advice or just to make some social connections.

All the very best

Bhavna

@Julien  Coming for a visit to Albufeira as a starting point for a short or long stay.  Own an apt in Lisbon.  Looking to possibly purchase one in the Algarve region. 

Will be arriving around the end of January and would appreciate being able to meet expats that can eventually be friends.

@aphiroz1, Welcome.

Some help here:

How to build a social circle from scratch in Portugal

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=909130

     Some meetup groups

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.p … 30#4966994

     (Post #2)

     Facebook groups

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.p … 30#5505120

     (Post #17)

Regards

@JohnnyPT

Hello All,

My husband and I are planning to do an exploration trip to Portugal in May 2024. My name is Tia Jamison. I have been studying the language for six months. While this is not a lot, I'm feeling pretty comfortable because it's very close to Spanish… Although different. It seems a lot has changed in Portugal since we first begin this journey of research. Hopefully we can get in before too long.  We are leaning towards a D7 or Digital Nomad, but we want to get our feet on the ground first. Hoping to learn as much as possible from this forum.

Hi Toni, Welcome.

Spanish is a good aid to understanding and making yourself understood, but they are different languages. In many places, it may even be preferable to speak English....

You can use the search function (top right corner). If you don't find answers to your questions, you can open a new thread.

Regards

I'm a retired teacher living in Derbyshire. It has been my ambition for decades to retire to the sun, however, having to care for my late wife and then patents put everything on hold.(Brexit hasn't helped). My son and wife, sailed from Plymouth to Lagos last year. Their yacht was taken out of the water for the winter and they flew home.They plan to return in March and i hope to join them for a week or possibly two. This would give me the opportunity to see if Portugal is the place for me to spend as much of each winter as possible.

I would be interested in self catering accommodation within easy travelling distance of the marina.

Hi @The Cornishman, Welcome.

Some support here. You can use filters in your search:

https://www.airbnb.pt/s/Lagos--marina/h … ter_change

https://www.holidu.pt/s/Lagos--Portugal

Regards

Good day to you all

My name is Sydney and I am from Zimbabwe, I have recently secured a work seekers Visa and I intend to travel to Portugal in the coming few days.

I am happy to be on this platform and I would appreciate if I can get assistance in looking for jobs in the field of Agribusiness, Marketing and Electrical power installation and maintenance.

Regards

@sydneymukumbi

Hello and welcome on board !

Feel free to create your CV in the Jobs in Portugal section of the website for better exposure.

You may also read the articles under the work in Portugal section of the Guide for tips and advice.

All the best

Bhavna

Hi there,  I'm a retired Canadian spending a couple of months in the Algarve. I'm just starting the initial baby steps of imagining a life here, even if only for half the year. I see that this is a good resource and I look forward to reading through some of the threads. I do have questions around bike storage but I will post separately on that. Best, Murray

@mpmccomb

Hello Murray,

Glad you joined the forum !

Hope you find all the necessary information you are looking for.

All the best

Bhavna

Hi, My name is Alex. Nice to meet you all. I have been trying to book an appointment to submit our D7 application to Portugal Embassy in Singapore (via VFS) for about 6 months now. There is no appointment available for this category of visa and we are quite frankly very frustrated. Prepared all documents, now they are outdated and must be redone, especially the police certs.

I would like to ask if anyone else is applying from Singapore? Any advise is highly appreciated.

Hi @alexmotiongrapher, Welcome.

Please don't duplicate posts in different threads. This is just an introductory thread.

You've already posted here:

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.p … 46#5862297

(posts #8,9 & 10)

Regards

Have I chosen the correct place to introduce myself?

I'm Sharon, living in Cleveland, Ohio, researching retirement in Portugal. Yes, J and I have 2 cats and a German Shephard. I have worked at the art museum, American Red Cross, and public radio/television as well as a start-up insurance co. Traveled to Peru, China, France, Spain, Britain, and Ireland.

I first thought of retiring to Ireland, having visited several times and being enthralled with their sense of humor, but it didn't seem affordable. I'll be applying for citizenship though, which my sister just received. I look forward to visiting when were settled in Europe.

The call of a longer, warmer year and finding opportunities for many days of sailing turned my eyes to Europe's south. Portugal was noted as an affordable country for retirees and I recalled my visit to the Algarve in 2016. The people we met were open/friendly. And, the water was beautiful.

I'm reading about several wonderful cities--the description of Setubal and its river walk was intriguing. It's proximity to Lisbon was a positive for me as I understand that healthcare is better in big cities. Hopefully, real estate prices aren't increasing as in Lisbon, but that may not be realistic.

We enjoy sailing and I'd be thrilled to find a community where we could crew aboard sailboat(s) and find some sailing friends. Nazare's stunning waves are a must see! I expect I'll be drawn there regularly. I look forward to reading about Portugal's rich history of sea exploration.

Just read about the Incentivised Tax Status Program in the budget, which may replace the NHR scheme. I'll wait and watch.

My best to everyone--

@felinecattus

Hello and welcome on board, Sharon !

Thank you for taking the time to introduce yourself to forum members (yes, you are indeed on the right thread).

The forums and members have so much to offer in terms of information and personal experience. I would suggest that you reach to to members and ask them any question you might have.

Would you be most inclined to move to the Algarve region or open to other regions ?

You will find 4 other destinations at the right : https://www.expat.com/forum/viewforum.php?id=354

All the best

Bhavna

Hi Everyone,

My name is Tom. My wife and I have been living in Lisbon since about October 2022. Before moving to Lisbon we lived in Kyiv but left shortly after the full scale invasion began.

I guess I should mention why I joined this forum and what I'm trying to achieve. My wife and I started our own intellectual game club here in Lisbon. It's a club where people come to play a game called Mafia (Werewolf). We have over 150 members in our telegram channel and we play 3 days a week. So far, we've only been gathering Ukrainian and russian speakers but we're thinking about expanding into the English speaking population and eventually even into the Portuguese.

Our club has grown exponentially in size since it's conception, which promoted us to begin looking for a place to "call our own." For now, we continue to play at various restaurants. I am hoping someone within these forums and posts can help us find a store/office/shop for rent, and maybe eventually for purchase. I'll be making a more detailed post about this later on in the day.

Best of luck to everyone!

Cheers,

Tom

@tdav89

Hello Tom,

Welcome on board !

Feel free to create an advert in the Housing in Lisbon section of the website (commercial space/other/office/building) https://www.expat.com/en/housing/europe … n/add.html

You might receive some offers.

Also, if you wish to share events organised by your club and invite members, do not hesitate to create an event in the following section : Events in Lisbon

All the best

Bhavna

@Bhavna Awesome! Thank you for pointing me the right way!

@Larkspur27

Hello and welcome on board !

Thank you for taking the time to share your expatriation project with us.

I would suggest that you read the Portugal guide and that you open a new thread on the Portugal forum to seek advice from our members.

All the best

Bhavna

Greetings. I am a Master Mariner / Maritime Consultant  who moved from Lagos, Nigeria to Lisbon in 2022. I frequently take work trips and haven't really fraternised in Portugal. I am hoping to meet fellow professionals.

@Julien

My wife has Croatian descent. We tried for Croatian citizenship but this did not workout as ALL the birthrecords from her family were destroyed when the Yugoslav army shelled and burned the records from the family hometown! No backups.

So ... We have visited Portugal and were favorably impressed. Portugal is our favored alternative. We have visited Lisbon, Cintra, and Cascais. Porto, Coimbra, and Evora next. :-)

@smoodydollars

Hello and welcome on board !

If you have any questions, feel free to ask to members of the Portugal forum.

All the best

Regards

Bhavna

@RepairBill welcome to Portugal soon! Hope your VFS appointment went smoothly.

@smoodydollars wow that sucks. And Croatia still doesn't make allowances for this?! Try taking legal action!

Hi,

I am a 54-year-old, retired Indian national. I am planning to move to Portugal, through D 7 route. I have a suitable pension coming to me from the Government of India.

I have got a VFS appointment. The document list looks achievable. Only thing, I am not able to simplify is how to get a lease without being there in Portugal.

I plan to move with my family. My daughter is in class 10th right now, I am considering if it will be better for her to complete her 11 and 12th in Portugal so that she can enter college there.

I visited Lisbon, in Dec last year. I liked the place and the life in and around Lisbon.

Though I am more keen to maybe live in a smaller city. I currently live in Saligao, Goa.

I hope to get good input from this forum.

Polly

@Bhavna

I am Bangladeshi lives in the Uk. My visa will expire on 23/072024 . is possibl To get D7 visa . my family Lives in bangladesh. 

    @BhavnaI am Bangladeshi lives in the Uk. My visa will expire on 23/072024 . is possibl To get D7 visa . my family Lives in bangladesh.      -@shahinuddin1985

Wouldn't it be easier to try to renew your visa in the UK? No country will grant you a visa in the next few months...

It's hard to renewing

Hello  everyone

I'm Benedetta from Albania I wanted to greet you all. And if anyone knows an Italian chef who is looking for a job, I would be grateful because I need it for the opening of a new restaurant in Portugal.

Hi @Benedetta, Welcome.

I suggest you post a job offer on these sites. There seems to be a shortage in this area:

Eg.

https://www.facebook.com/Escolas-de-Hot … cale=pt_BR

https://www.net-empregos.com/restaurante-italiano/

https://pt.indeed.com/m/jobs?q=restaura … mp;sameL=1

@Julien As a newcomer Hans43, I would like to introduce myself and my wife Elisabeth.

We are retired, and we are preparing our move from Florida to Portugal. Both of us have an EU-Passport and I speak Portuguese (11 years Brazil).

I have my NIF and Bank-Account.

During the last month of March, we explored the area from Nazare to Ericeira/Mafra to find a nice place to buy an apartment. We think more about the Mafra area, close to Lisbon. When we move, first we will rent an apartment for several month.

We need a lawyer to support all our needs and an CPA for Tax-Filing and calculation, because we get retirement from Germany, Brazil, France, and America.

All Moving-Information's are welcome.

Hi @Hans43, Welcome.

Some help here:

Solicitors, Lawyers & Administrative division of Portugal:

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=941009

Best Regards

@Bhavna which part if Portugal did you move to? where are you from? its probably in a thread somewhere but how long since moving to Pt? 

@georgiamitch,

Here you're supposed to introduce yourself and not ask questions to other members ...

@Bhavna is a member of the Expat Team.