Move to Portugal

26/07/2022

23/07/2022

23/07/2022

Monsanto
📷

22/07/2022

SNEAK PREVIEW ...
Coming Soon in Our Next Issue

What’s Not to Like about Portugal?
by Bruce H. Joffe

“There must be something you don’t like!”

That’s the response I get from the naysayers, those who don’t believe that Portugal is a land of milk and honey, even if its streets aren’t lined with gold. After all, almost everything they read these days paints Portugal as the best, the most, the friendliest, the warmest, the cheapest, absolutely an ideal place to live—nirvana—especially for digital nomads and foreign retirees.

And, in many ways, it is!

Still, despite all the hype, hoopla, and fanfare about how this Iberian country is the closest to heaven on earth–calm, peaceful, friendly, welcoming, beautiful, easy on the wallet—there are some things that are bothersome or incur a hard time getting used to here. Of course, my likes and dislikes probably differ from yours … so, what annoys or frustrates me may be perfectly acceptable to you and others. For some, these queixas aren’t applicable. And, sooner or later, we come to grips with this stuff.

We are acculturating to another country’s norms, traditions, and expectations. Information such as this typically isn’t found in tourist or relocation guides … nor asked about and answered in most Facebook groups. Hopefully, some will read these anecdotes and be better prepared for the grit and grist, the grain of living abroad.

The Autumn issue of Portugal Living Magazine will be available to subscribers shortly. If you haven't subscribed yet, please take a look at our current issue and subscribe FREE online:
https://portugallivingmagazine.com/our-current-issue/

For those who prefer printed pages, Portugal Living Magazine is also available in full-size paperback editions from all Amazon sites. Just enter Portugal Living Magazine in the search bar.

21/07/2022

PAST TENSE ...
From Our Winter 2022 Issue

Monday's Market in Espinho
By Lois Yasay Ribeiro

As a foreigner in Portugal who has lived here for a few years, I often took the train to Espinho. I would walk to the market, with a basket or grocery bag in hand. I passed through stalls and friendly faces and bought the fruits and vegetables I recognized. A walk through this open-air market felt like the first rays of sun on my skin after a long winter. I was an outsider who spoke very little Portuguese. But the noise, the smells, and the energy always brought me comfort. I felt a kinship with people who grew things with their bare hands.

But I often felt as though I needed a key to unlock this place. A key that would allow me to find the best ingredients, get to know the local produce and cuisine, and connect with the Portuguese sellers.

Read the rest of this story, our previous issues and subscribe FREE to Portugal Living Magazine via this link:
https://portugallivingmagazine.com/previous-issues/

For those who prefer printed pages, Portugal Living Magazine is also available in full-size paperback editions from all Amazon sites. Just put Portugal Living Magazine in the search bar.

20/07/2022

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Packing for Portugal
by Mark Nash

Make sure everything is all-inclusive in your quote, meaning the bill of lading fee, documentation and handling fees, the terminal handling charge, port fees, customs clearance, brokerage fees, and (of course) delivery.

Extras that are never included might be custom inspection or x-ray charges, as these are random, and fees can vary in price; but ask for a receipt or proof that it really was paid, as some companies use this excuse for making extra money. If you receive an invoice for customs inspection charges, ask to speak to the customs broker to check that it is an official charge. There is also a chance that the shipment does not clear customs in the allotted “free” time, even though all the paperwork is correct. That causes something called demurrage which, basically, means storage which can be charged by the port to the shipping line after # # free days. The port charges for being blocked by a container and the shipping line for not emptying its container fast enough to use it for the next load. This could cost a few hundred Euros, depending upon how many days it’s stuck waiting to be cleared. And, remember: the docks are closed on national holidays—and you pay for the delay.

The Autumn issue of Portugal Living Magazine will be available to subscribers soon. If you haven't subscribed yet, please take a look at our current issue and subscribe FREE online:
https://portugallivingmagazine.com/our-current-issue/

For those who prefer printed pages, Portugal Living Magazine is also available in full-size paperback editions from all Amazon sites. Just put Portugal Living Magazine in the search bar.

18/07/2022

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18/07/2022

Let's see how much Portuguese language and culture you have assimilated and absorbed!

Pingo Doce, Continente, Lidl, Aldi, Mini Preço, Auchan, and Intermarché are the largest supermarket chains in Portugal.

In the space below, write the name of the chain that uses these words as its slogan ("branding" in marketing lingo).

Mais para si

17/07/2022

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My Story--Descendants of the Soil
by Dexter Tyson

Later in life, I heard rumors, from an uncle, her son and my father's brother, that "her people" were from Portugal; but I was not terribly interested back then. I knew where Portugal was on a map, but at the time [*yawn*]. For the record, I eventually discovered "her people" came from Madeira. Today, because of the Internet and sites like Ancestry.com and DNA testing, her link, as well as mine, to Portugal, were indeed accurate. Her ancestor was a Mary de Jesus from Madeira who migrated to St. Kitts in the mid-1800s.

Some years later, I was prodding my mother about her father (born in Nevis), who I met twice, but never really knew. Eventually, I learned that "his people" also came from Portugal (Madeira), also in the mid-1800s. My mom's ancestor was da Costa from Madeira, with Jewish descent, proven through my DNA test.

The Autumn issue of Portugal Living Magazine will be available to subscribers in August. If you haven't subscribed yet, please take a look at our current issue and subscribe online:
https://portugallivingmagazine.com/our-current-issue/

For those who prefer the feel of printed pages, Portugal Living Magazine is also available in full-size paperback editions from all Amazon sites. Just look for Portugal Living Magazine.

16/07/2022

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Are you setting yourself up for… expat failure?
by Deborah Dahab

To say that a move abroad is a major life-event is an understatement. Pretty much everything in your life as you know it will change. Your address, the language you speak, the food you eat, the water you drink, the bedroom you sleep in, the channels you watch on TV … and the list goes on and on.

There’s a lot on the line, too. Being away from family and friends—relationships that took a lifetime to build. Expenses with packing, shipping objects, paperwork.

I think it would be fair to say that when we move abroad, the investment is enormous—financially, emotionally, physically, and energetically. And it’s hard sometimes to measure if it’s worth it—if our move is successful or not.

I knew very well what expat failure meant in my own life. Having had a terrible experience the first time I moved to Portugal, I knew first-hand what it meant to feel completely out of place and unhappy. I knew all about the toll it took in my life—on all levels—to feel unhappy with where I was living, not having a clue as to WHY I was feeling so unhappy or how to make it better.

Th Autumn issue of Portugal Living Magazine will be available to subscribers soon--in August. If you haven't subscribed yet, please take a look at our current issue and subscribe online:
https://portugallivingmagazine.com/our-current-issue/

For those who prefer the feel of printed pages, Portugal Living Magazine is also available in full-size paperback editions from all Amazon sites.

15/07/2022

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Same Song, Different Verse
by LaDonna Witmer

I returned to the States late last week to accompany my parents to two memorial services for relatives who have died—a great aunt well into her 90s, and my dad’s favorite cousin who was felled by COVID on New Year’s Eve.

Days before I boarded the plane in Lisbon, the news from the US was grim. First, the uproar of the impending Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade and decimating the right of women to own their own choices, their own bodies. And then, in rapid succession, a mass shooting on May 14th targeting black people at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York, then another the very next day, at a church luncheon in Orange County, California.

As I folded clothes into my suitcase, I wished for reasons not to go. My 11-year-old daughter tried to convince me not to make her go. But it had been nearly six months since I last checked on my parents, and nearly a year since they had set eyes on Filha.

This (Autumn) issue of Portugal Living Magazine will be available for distribution to subscribers soon. If you haven't subscribed yet, please take a look at our current issue and subscribe online:
https://portugallivingmagazine.com/our-current-issue/

For those who prefer the feel of printed pages, Portugal Living Magazine is also available in full-size paperback editions from all Amazon sites.

14/07/2022

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Belmonte is quickly becoming one of our favorite places in Castelo Branco ... and, maybe, in all of Portugal.

Tradition has it that the name of this town in Castelo Branco region’s northernmost district came from its location (“beautiful hill”). Near a 13th century castle is Bet Eliahu synagogue and the Jewish zone, with its own special museum.

Home to Portugal's last remaining community of marranos (known as the Belmonte Jews), who opened the synagogue in 1996, the American Sephardi Federation founded the Belmonte Project--designated to raise funds to acquire Judaic educational material and services for the community, which numbered 160-180--in 2003, and opened a Jewish Museum of Belmonte (Portuguese: Museu Judaico de Belmonte). There's also a Jewish radio station and numerous Judaica shops. What makes it so special for us is that it's an especially charming municipality, with discoveries and treasures found around every corner.

And its restaurants!!!!!

It's not often that we drive 60+ kms (each way) to eat in a particular restaurant. But we do ...

The (Autumn) issue of Portugal Living Magazine will be available for distribution to subscribers soon. If you haven't subscribed yet, please take a look at our current issue and subscribe online:
https://portugallivingmagazine.com/our-current-issue/

For those who prefer the feel of printed pages, Portugal Living Magazine is also available in full-size paperback editions from all Amazon sites.

13/07/2022

SPECIAL SNEAK PREVIEW ...
In Our Next Issue

Cars in Portugal
By Nandini Singh and Bruce Joffe

Portugal, one of the poorest countries in the European Union with wage earners paid far less than their counterparts elsewhere, finds people increasingly driving high-end cars—Mercedes, BMWs, Audis, Teslas, and even a Bentley or two—along its roadways. And not just in the “bigger and better” spots (i.e., Lisbon, Porto, Algarve), but throughout its central areas where conventional wisdom holds that the majority subsists at little more than the poverty level and most people—especially government workers—earn little more than minimum wages.

Certainly, people hold onto and keep their cars here at above average levels: it’s not unusual for vehicles to accumulate 200,000, 300,000 or more kilometers on their odometers and they’re still being driven and/or sold. For the most part, they still look good … and can usually go another 100Kms. At least.

See all those Renaults from the 1950s and 60s? Many are still in great condition and serve as the primary means of motorized transport for Portuguese families. For expats and immigrants, these “cute” throwbacks are definitely not throwaways; many a foreigner cherishes his or her vintage Renault as a prized possession … a truly special memento to add to one’s memorabilia collection.

The Portuguese, like almost everyone else, are enamored of automobiles. Whether they own or yearn for them, cars in this country—like others—are idols, if not idyllic or legends. Between hefty advertising of the latest and greatest models in Carros magazine and the number of its copies sold for just €1.50 at the newsstand (compared to €3-4 per issue of glamour and gossip magazines), new cars, especially, are the fodder of fan mags for both men and women.

This (Autumn) issue of Portugal Living Magazine will be available for distribution to subscribers soon. If you haven't subscribed yet, please take a look at our current issue and subscribe online:
https://portugallivingmagazine.com/our-current-issue/

For those who prefer the feel of printed pages, Portugal Living Magazine is also available in full-size paperback editions from all Amazon sites.

12/07/2022

SNEAK PEAK ...
In our next issue

Dogs of Portugal
By Bruce H. Joffe

If ever there was any doubt about what diversity looks like, consider our most loyal friends and trusted companions.

They come in all shapes, sizes, and colors. Long hair or short, chiseled or coiffed, their coats tend to be stylish, not trendy, part of their personalities. They’re pedigreed, half-breeds, and mixed. They live in apartment complexes, rowhouses, and properties almost as large as the hearts of their keepers. Some live cloistered in shelters—municipal, non-profits, and residences of people concerned about their welfare. Others are homeless and live on the streets.

Most are treated as furry family members—albeit as spoiled and pampered children, or as tolerated in-laws welcomed with certain understandings. Though they speak myriad tongues, we nonetheless understand what they’re saying. In one form or another, many (if not most) are cared for … if not cared about … by the villagers and townspeople. Sadly, others are not.

They’re the dogs of Portugal.

Let me introduce a few ...

This (Autumn) issue of Portugal Living Magazine will be available for distribution to subscribers soon. If you haven't subscribed yet, please take a look at our current issue and subscribe online:
https://portugallivingmagazine.com/our-current-issue/

For those who prefer the feel of printed pages, Portugal Living Magazine is also available in full-size paperback editions from all Amazon sites.

11/07/2022

PREVIEW FROM OUR NEXT ISSUE ...
Available in August!

"Off the Wall Rehab"
By Bruce Joffe

I hadn’t intended to write about a wall—much less an exterior one.

Instead, my aim was to tell you the story of the house we bought from the bank for a pittance and invested a trifle in fixing it up, modernizing, and decorating … for a grand total of less than €50,000, and making that property with such potential truly ours in the process.

Finding qualified, competent contractors wasn’t easy and, like everything else in Portugal, it took time. The first projects we focused on were repairing the walls, inside and out. Both sides needed heavy-duty cleanings to remove the residues of other people who lived there in the past … followed by scraping and evening the wall surfaces … rendering … and then painting.

Eager to get started, we shushed the voice of a friend echoing in our ears: “Wait until the warmer weather—June or July—before tackling exterior walls,” he advised. “The rendering, especially, won’t dry in the cold and wet weather.”

But we plunged on …

And were delighted with the results of contractor Alan Pardoe’s work.

Ah, but what we see all too often isn’t what we get!

Read the rest of this story -- along with 96 pages of colorful content in Portugal Living, the thoughtful magazine for people everywhere with Portugal on their minds.

Subscribe -- FREE! -- to our digital edition:
https://portugallivingmagazine.com/our-current-issue/

Or, if you prefer turning paper pages, order low-cost paperback copies through all Amazon sites everywhere. Just search for Portugal Living Magazine!

09/07/2022

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09/07/2022

As one of the oldest countries in Europe, Portugal has a culturally rich history, stunning beaches, as well as quality wine and cuisine. Increasingly, millions of tourists travel to Portugal every…

08/07/2022

Here’s what we’ve learned about driving in Portugal:

This is an old country – like really old. That means you will come across streets that are insanely narrow. These “pathways,” a far better descriptor, were established hundreds of years before the car was invented and oftentimes come with equally insane turning radii. There was a time last year when we were in an old part of Lisbon and I was convinced we were going to need to have the car airlifted out. At times like that we understand why some cars here are so tiny.

Permanent barriers are there to prevent people from parking on the sidewalk. People actually park on the sidewalk? Yup. This is a common occurrence. People will park their cars nearly anywhere they will fit. I believe most think parking space lines are just pavement decorations. Sometimes even natural barriers don’t make a difference.

Parking reminds me that people double park their cars everywhere. It’s maddening, but traffic simply flows around them. What drives me especially crazy is when I see an open parking space not too far away. Really? You couldn’t just park and walk a few extra meters? I don’t know—maybe the driver was old or unable to walk that far, but it happens all the time!

From "Driven to Distraction"
by Beth Thomas-Kim
Portugal Living Magazine Spring 2022 Issue

To read the rest of this story (along with the rest of the issue) and subscribe FREE of charge to Portugal Living Magazine, please check out our Spring 2022 issue:

https://portugallivingmagazine.com/previous-issues/

07/07/2022

Creepy-Crawlers

Since moving to Portugal, I have experienced some creepy-crawlers that I never encountered in the UK.

One of the biggest shocks to the system has to be sighting some hairy centipedes that look like prawns on steroids. These centipedes have a long translucent grey body that can grow up to 30mm in length and, on average, have15 pairs of thin and wire-like legs.

Attracted by humidity, these centipedes can move extremely quickly and crawl along walls and skirting boards. My first sight of this type of centipede was in my Porto kitchen when I reached to slice a loaf of bread that I’d left out on the side counter. A large centipede shot out from under the loaf, scuttling across the surface top and down the wall, as I let out a banshee-like shrill shriek.

Portugal hosts a variety of creepy-crawlers. While somewhat pesky, it is extremely rare to be inflicted with serious problems by any of them.

From "Portugal’s Flies, Bugs & Insects"
By Rosanna Bucknill
In the current issue of Portugal Living Magazine

To read the rest of this story and our complete Summer issue -- and subscribe, FREE! in the process -- please visit this page of our website: https://portugallivingmagazine.com/our-current-issue/

06/07/2022

In his concurring opinion overturning Roe v. Wade, Clarence Thomas writes that the U.S. Supreme Court should reconsider Griswold, Lawrence, and Obergefell--SCOTUS decisions based on Roe v. Wade's right to privacy premise--which now protect contraception, intimacy, and same-sex marriage.

Thomas made no mention of Loving v. Virginia, the landmark 1967 ruling by the Supreme Court that struck down laws prohibiting in*******al marriage. That decision relied in part on the substantive due process doctrine — and was cited in several subsequent decisions that did as well, including Obergefell in 2015.

Our readers ask: "What should we do?" Among their concerns and proposed responses:

> Consider registering one's marriage in Portugal

> Protect yourselves by remarrying in Portugal

Marriage equality is the law in Portugal and it has been so for many years. Portugal recognizes your marriage from your home country--even if your home country changes its laws!

Always remember that marriage is governed by state -- not federal -- law. Any new SCOTUS decision cannot make the legality of your marriage disappear--even if your state bans it in the future.

To those who advocate registering your marriage in Portugal, the question is how? It's already been recognized through your visa application, residency permits, taxes, deeds and/or leases. There's no mechanism for registering -- or validating -- your marriage here in Portugal.

Similarly, why would you even consider remarrying here in Portugal? You're already married in the eyes of Portuguese law and another marriage (to the same person) can be considered illegal.

If you have any doubts about the sanctity of your marriage here in Portugal, remember this: Portugal allowed for legal, recognized, same-sex marriage well before the USA did!

06/07/2022

Financial inducements and greater pe*******on of speedy and accessible broad bandwidth are but two of the tools being considered and implemented to bring back a flourishing interior. But there’s another, more integral and resourceful option that shouldn’t be overlooked … one that real estate and property agents are well familiar with: location, location, location.

More to the point, consider Brazil. The largest Portuguese-speaking country in the world created a completely different solution: Founded on April 21, 1960 to serve as the country’s new national capital, Brasilia was planned to move the capital from Rio de Janeiro to a more central location atop the Brazilian highlands in Brazil’s central western region. With a unique status, Brasilia is an “administrative division,” rather than a legal municipality. The novel city’s accession as the new capital of the country prompted the development of an extensive interior region.

Why can’t Portugal consider doing something similar?

Leave Lisbon (and all its attractions) where it is, along with its problematic airport. People will still want to live there, as well as in its affluent outskirts like Cascais and Estoril. But reduce the congestion, pollution, and skyrocketing prices by moving the government and its operations elsewhere … to the country’s interior.

"Central Portugal: A 'Capital' Solution"
By Bruce H. Joffe
Portugal Living Magazine-Summer 2021 Issue

Read the complete story -- and subscribe, free of charge! -- at
https://portugallivingmagazine.com/previous-issues/

04/07/2022

Practice Portuguese

Rui Coimbra and Joel Rendall are people we’ve come to care about through their jaunts, shenanigans, antics, and escapades. Like a soap opera, telenovela, or any continuing series.

Maybe that’s what makes their Practice Portuguese platform different from other foreign language learning instruction: More than bonding with a tutor or participating in lessons shared by a good teacher through a variety of media, Rui and Joel have become family to us—people we can relate to personally, as friends or cousins—and sit down together to eat or to kibbitz.

From "The Guys and Gal behind Practice Portuguese"
by Bruce Joffe
Portugal Living Magazine Winter 2022 Issue

Read the complete story and the rest of the issue -- plus, subscribe FREE to the magazine -- via this link:

https://portugallivingmagazine.com/previous-issues/

17/05/2022

We have arranged with amazon worldwide to make full-size, “perfect” bound, printed copies of Portugal Living Magazine available from Amazon everywhere. The price is quite reasonable—just about six euros. When our own copies arrived, one of us ran off with it to the “throne” room, while the other took his to bed before napping. There's nothing quite like holding a magazine in one's hand, flipping its pages, and feeling its substance. The magazine is truly a treasure in its full-color, print format!

Here are a few links to the print magazine from amazon.

In Portugal and Spain:
https://www.amazon.es/Portugal-Living-Magazine-Spectrum-Everywhere/dp/B09ZQFSGTZ/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1JPP8HUUO43TN&keywords=portugal+living+magazine&qid=1652785899&sprefix=portugal+living%2Caps%2C108&sr=8-1

In the USA & Canada:
https://www.amazon.es/Portugal-Living-Magazine-Spectrum-Everywhere/dp/B09ZQFSGTZ/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1JPP8HUUO43TN&keywords=portugal+living+magazine&qid=1652785899&sprefix=portugal+living%2Caps%2C108&sr=8-1

In the UK and Ireland:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Portugal-Living-Magazine-Spectrum-Everywhere/dp/B09ZQFSGTZ/ref=sr_1_2?crid=1BSDAY3ZES66U&keywords=portugal+living+magazine&qid=1652786141&sprefix=Portugal+Livin%2Caps%2C94&sr=8-2

Portugal Living Magazine subscriptions will continue to be free in their digital format. One benefit: All the links throughout the magazine are live.

30/04/2022

Summer issue will be digitally distributed on 15 May. Hope you've subscribed:
https://portugallivingmagazine.com/our-current-issue/

27/04/2022

The next issue of Portugal Living Magazine will be distributed electronically on 11 May. If you haven't yet subscribed -- it's free! -- follow this link ...

https://portugallivingmagazine.com/our-current-issue/
.. where you can read our current issue online and subscribe absolutely cost-free!

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02/02/2022

Adding an extra dimension to the magazine's pages!

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUhFP0vVW2AFBG68vfFa6Eg