In Search of Paradise

Maybe not...

Last week was a big week for visitors. Not traditional visitors like your Aunt Agnes taking over your guest room for a week. No, these were Americans visiting Portugal that just happened to spend a few hours with us. The week began and ended with couples from California. In the middle, were two singles … one who had just returned home from his trip and another that was halfway through her 2-week reconnaissance visit. I must say they made me think…

Onix thought bubble, “What have these two crazy bitches gotten me into?”

We Must Have Been Crazy

Some of our friends have referred to us as “brave”. At first, I rebuffed this saying, “The brave ones are the ones that make the move alone, we have each other.” And while I still know that is true, I have decided we were crazy. Let me list the crazy:

1. We moved during a pandemic!

2. We moved to a country we had never been to!

3. We knew no one in the country!

4. We didn’t know the language!

5. We sold everything … note the photo above!

While we told family and friends that we were looking for a new adventure (before we got too old) there were perhaps easier/safer ways of finding one. At our age, participating in a Twister marathon would have been safer … trying to rescue a stray puppy on the 405 would have been safer … carrying a sign proclaiming “Trump Voters are Idiots” in Texas would have been safer … you get the idea.

Cascais, Portugal

Let’s Visit

Previously I wrote about visiting Europe for a year or more without a visa. While Portugal does make getting a D7 visa fairly easy¹, the process is not without effort and cost. And while it will cost a few thousand dollars to spend a few weeks in Portugal scouting things out, in the long run, the cost of such an excursion/vacation is easily justified. One of the folks we met this week has already decided this isn’t the place for her. It is not that she doesn’t like Portugal, but has determined that an activity she is deeply passionate about is not available to her here.

I can understand her concern. At one point in our lives, pickleball (as silly as that sounds) was that activity for us. We would have never considered Portugal knowing that there were so few opportunities to play. [Editor’s side note: Denise did drive 75 minutes from our home this week to play pickleball with a group for two hours.] And as we look for the perfect Portuguese town for us, access to a golf course is perhaps the most important criterion.

So once again I am suggesting you do as I say, not as I do … plan a reconnaissance trip. And as I am told the current D7 requirements require a one-year lease, you’ll want to find a town that you can live in for a while.

Money and Mistakes

As in many aspects of life … it helps to have money. It is easier to recover from mistakes if you have money. Did we like giving up our security deposit when we moved from our first Portuguese apartment after only 6 weeks? NO! But the loss of money was less uncomfortable than the cold we were suffering.

We loved our home in Rancho Mirage .. our realtor’s drone shot made it seem even better.

More to the point, consider this. We thought we were selling at or near the top of the real estate market when we sold in October 2020. Since that time, the house we sold has appreciated by more than 20%. In looking at Zillow, there is not a house in our old neighborhood we could buy without a mortgage or serious financial wrangling. What if we really wanted to go home? Add to that, that buying and selling are expensive. Even when you don’t need financing, there are realtor fees, transfer taxes, inspections, etc.

And what if you love your “stuff”? We sold everything…every piece of furniture, every pot, every plate. But we aren’t attached to “stuff” type people ... we are just weird. But what if you have a collection you love? What if you sold a house you loved and all your belongings and then decided you wanted to return?

I realize renting your treasured home may not be easy. It certainly comes with headaches. Given the time difference paying a local property manager would ease those headaches a lot. S/He could even have the place repainted and cleaned before you return². And while I have never rented a storage unit, I am aware there are such things…even climate-controlled ones for treasured antiques. Yes, these things cost money. And for some, selling their home is required to fund retirement in Portugal. I don’t mean to be insensitive. My point is to consider all your alternatives.

Looking for Paradise

I had met one of our “visitors” a few weeks earlier. When we spoke via a video call he started the conversation by saying, “Well I went in search of paradise. I didn’t find it.” Paradise may be an illusion, or something other than a physical place. He knows this!

He also knows that finding it will require new skills. For example, like me, he is not a joiner. I am sure if I were forced to move without Denise I would need to become one. Who wants to sit in a Portuguese apartment all day watching reruns of “Murder She Wrote” on FoxCrime. (Small digression on learning the Portuguese language … I have concluded that if you don’t study in the States you likely won’t study here. I realize my sample size is small … but Denise studied diligently in California and continues this process today. I thought I would cram … frankly, I still haven’t started. Just an observation.)

So, you are probably thinking that I have taken too long to try to express the obvious. When you are jumping off a cliff it’s beneficial to have a safety net.

Are we glad we jumped? Yes! And I by no means am suggesting you shouldn’t jump. But I (note Denise has never had a second thought and worries we would have gotten stuck) realize there are other, more sensible, and potentially lost costly, ways to have done it.

1. Please note, D7 requirements have changed since the first post was written. Please check with VFS or your local consulate regarding current requirements.

2. And of course, you could fall in love with Portugal, as we did. You might decide it is time to sell the house. It might require you to travel back, to visit friends. But remember, thanks to DocuSign you don’t need to hang around to sell it.