Those of you who have followed our journey from the United States to Portugal may be surprised to hear that it has been three years.
One thing you may not know is that we arrived in Portugal on the 25th of April, or April 25th. The 1974 revolution ended Portugal's dictatorship and ushered in democracy. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the so-called Carnation Revolution. Very few shootings occurred during this military coup. The story goes that as people took to the streets, cafeteria worker Celeste Caeiro gave carnations to soldiers.
She took flowers from the restaurant to kick off what would become a tradition of red carnations representing Freedom Day. This is an official Portuguese holiday celebrated throughout Portugal and around the world. Many parades, festivals and gatherings are planned.
Now we celebrate this day together with the Portuguese as “Freedom Day”. We're ready for the big day with red carnations.
If you want to know more about Freedom Day, check out this BBC podcast, which is in English and includes a sound clip from 25 April 1974.
What we learned living in Portugal
we appreciate
We made it through A1/A2 language school. This is a requirement for Portuguese citizenship and you can apply after the next two years. This was a huge deal for us. I've never learned another language and I'm also a terrible student (well, my teacher is). But I mustered up courage and promised myself that I would pass the class. Diana had a much easier time, but we both made it. If you want to start and supplement your Portuguese learning, I highly recommend Portuguese with Carla.
We also made more Portuguese friends and learned more about the culture and history. We bought Portuguese products and adapted to our new place.
our safe home
We continue to feel safe and secure at home and in Portugal. Portugal is not a crime-free country, but violent crime rates are very low and guns are not part of the culture. They are used for hunting and police. That's it.
our abundance
We count our blessings every day. Our lives are filled with many friends from all over the world who have come to Portugal to create new lives. Our table is often filled with friends from Portugal, Brazil, Angola, Ireland, England and France. We continue to learn about culture through food and drink.
We know we are privileged to have chosen to move here and have the opportunity to enjoy the freedom to live where we want.
portugal mediterranean lifestyle living
we are in charge
Over the past year, we've made some positive and healthy lifestyle changes. We are both in our 60s and want to make sure we can continue to move and stay healthy. We both lost weight. Walk 4-5 miles (6-8 km, sounds like a lot, right?) every day and follow a Mediterranean lifestyle and diet. I hesitate to use the word “diet.” Now we eat red meat once or twice a month. We eat a lot of fresh vegetables and fruits and watch the portions.
That doesn't mean we won't splurge every now and then. Especially during a French barge cruise on European waterways in Burgundy, France! And we enjoyed all the food.
We're also focusing on what we want to do more of. Diana is helping people with her hypnosis and coaching skills and is writing a novel with her dad. I spent time gardening and painting on the veranda. We've discovered that if we don't allocate time to do the things we love, we won't do them. Portugal may be slower, but sometimes our American brains still struggle to get the most out of each day. Having purpose in how we spend our time has made a huge difference.
Part of the Mediterranean lifestyle is being sociable. If you know us, you know that it is not difficult for us. However, if you are an entrepreneur, you also know that balancing work and social life can sometimes be difficult. Most of us tend to be a bit obsessed with work. We made it a priority to get out with friends and classmates. It's also important to us to make time to participate in community events and do things that can help the world we live in.
After a fire broke out in a forest in a nearby village, we hosted a fundraiser for local volunteer firefighters (Bomberos). It is important to us to give back to the community that gives us so much every day.
get outside more
Another challenge when working alone is making sure we're away from the many screens we have to look at most days. We committed to walking to get outside every day. This includes taking more drives and exploring new neighborhoods and regions in Portugal.
Even if you go somewhere new every weekend, it would take you years to see everything there is to see in Portugal.
mindful travel
I am just beginning to discover Portugal and Europe.
We imagined that living in Portugal would allow us to see more of Europe. Since moving to Portugal we have been able to travel to France, Spain, Italy, Turkey, Greece, the Netherlands and many other parts of Portugal.
Family and friends have visited and many more will be visiting soon. We proudly show off our adopted homes, take them to our favorite places, and also love discovering new places.
We have traveled with friends here in Portugal and other parts of Europe. We look forward to doing more in the future.
We are speaking at the TBEX conference in San Sebastian, Spain at the end of May. Living in Portugal makes it easy to turn this opportunity into a road trip. We plan to stop in Bilbao, Salamanca and several other small towns during our trip. We're constantly looking for unique, less traveled, places to eat great food.
What will happen next?
Our experience may seem sugar-coated here. We have no intention of doing so. As I said before, the bureaucracy in Portugal is enough to send many people back to the United States. Not for the faint of heart. Real estate prices and rents have risen. Portugal has never been a “very cheap” place to live, but that hasn't stopped many people from trying to move here under the pretense that it is.
The cost of food, utilities and general living has risen in Portugal, as it has around the world. If you are considering moving to Portugal, do your homework. Too many people find themselves in difficult, if not impossible, situations, relying on random information from non-experts.
Portugal is a great place to live. If you move, you must be willing to assimilate into the culture. Instead of heading to Starbucks, I head to the corner café for a Bica (embarrassingly, there is now a Starbucks in Cascais). Stand in line and wait patiently for your turn. Shrug your shoulders and say it's okay. The doctor comes up to me in the waiting room and says, “I can't see you today, let's make another appointment” (at least he said it with a smile). It's an old saying, but you have to go with the flow. Take a deep breath and generally know that everything will be okay.
Our hope is to live in Portugal for the next two years and apply for citizenship. In the meantime, we will continue to share our stories and live the best lives we can.