Appreciate your insights as always. I will watch the TED talk - and dug deeper reading your linked posts. We are planning early retirement in 2024, know that we want to be in Europe, have narrowed down our options to Portugal & Spain (and have visited both multiple times; Portugal is winning on multiple fronts but we can’t seem to take Spain out of the running!). Our plan is to divest all possessions except 1 car and our home, which we will rent out. Our retirement will be funded by rental properties so adding 1 more to the mix makes sense for us. This also helps us overcome the urge to own a home vs being a renter in Europe. Listening to the advice of you & others to stay strong and rent before buying! When/if we decide to purchase, after being there 2-3 years, will make it easier (emotionally) to sell in the future.
Yet another thought provoking post, Nancy. My wife and I decided to dive into Portugal with reckless abandon, selling our house in Massachusetts where I lived 33 years. Well, not exactly reckless; we had been vacationing here every winter for a few years and had already fallen in love with Portugal and particularly the Algarve. We have been here 18 months now and are still on our honeymoon with this wonderful place. I have grappled with bouts of homesickness for the USA many times, but they dissipate as quickly as they come on when I have a good experience at our new home, which is daily. For some people it may be more, and some, less. It's true that no lifestyle is for everyone or is perfect, etc. I, for one, am so glad that I don't have two properties across the ocean from each other. The responsibilities and costs would be crippling and distracting. I am living in Portugal with joy and freedom. It's like a relationship; if you are ambivalent, you cannot be really happy. Make your choice and put your heart and soul into it. Life is a journey. Hey, sometimes all the clichés are true.
A thoughtful and good piece, as always. We, too, lived in Vero for those two hurricanes, in an old house on Greytwig in the Central Beach area! It was emotionally draining, though we didn't have any financial loss at that time. You couldn't pay me to go back to FL now, between the politics, the denizens that create those politics and the hurricanes. Ok, rant over! DO keep up your excellent posts, you're the one blog that I know I will always read and enjoy (and comment on....) Fica bem!
We still have a home in Lake Havasu City, AZ. We inherited it from my mother-in-law in 2018. I would like to sell it, but my wife is still sentimentally attached. Luckily the appreciation has been more than the cost of carrying it. Fortunately, no real worries about natural disasters out in northern AZ desert. We did live in Miami 1990-2015 and lost our home in Country Walk to Hurricane Andrew in 1992. We did rebuild it though. Prior to leaving the states in 2015 we were contemplating retiring in Amelia Island, FL. So glad we didn't. Florida is a beautiful place, but the future does not bode well, what with the more frequent and stronger hurricanes and rising sea levels.
Oct 21, 2022·edited Oct 21, 2022Liked by Nancy Whiteman
We are contemplating keeping a property in the US. We live in Sarasota, FL. Having been a FL resident for over 17 years, my years of hurricane prep and the emotional/fear toll it takes on you is waning. Plus, if you are on the "wrong" side of politics here you have to keep a low profile. While it is tough to have one foot on the dock and the other in the boat, circumstances can force you to make a decision. Sometimes it is hard to let go, but necessary.
We struggled with our decision to sell our condo, knowing that if we decide that expat life is not for us, that we won't be able to afford to come back to that neighborhood (we lived in Marin County, CA, and our condo was one of the most affordable options there), but we also didn't want to have to concern ourselves with being long-distance landlords and dealing with the environmental disasters for our area from afar (in our case, fires and earthquakes - the first of which are happening more frequently with more...vigor, shall I say?).
This blog was thought provoking and I realized I can’t have 1 foot on the dock as our dock was washed away. I gotta remember it is only stuff at the end of the day.
Another thought provoking post. DeSantis is among the worst of too many contenders. Congratulations on building the rest of your life in Portugal. There are many who will follow and your blog provides really helpful guidance.
Hi Nancy, I always enjoy your newsletters. Thank you for writing them. I will probably get blowback on this comment, but I will comment anyway because I’m older now and I really don’t care. I worked in the insurance industry almost 25 years, and time and again, I saw people rebuild in places they absolutely knew would be hit again and again and again. While I feel very sad for the emotional toll losing one’s home can take, at some point, one must use some empirical data and experience to make these decisions because hurricanes are becoming a norm and not a once in 25 year event. It just doesn’t make sense to build in areas where disasters so frequently strike. My heart goes out to the people with dreams of living along a beautiful shore, but Florida is for many reasons is a very bad idea. The history associated with major storms there over the last 25 years suggests that it is the last place to assume any sort of tranquil life. And add to that that the government is run by what I consider a fascist adds yet another layer of unattractiveness. In choosing where to live, I guess my reason for commenting is to say, we can no longer tell ourselves that everything will work out. People must look at the history, the frequency, and the severity of weather events because they are getting worse, especially with climate change. There is so much data — all one has to do is look for it. I hope your friends rebuild and sell their home because it is very likely they will be hit again.
Appreciate your insights as always. I will watch the TED talk - and dug deeper reading your linked posts. We are planning early retirement in 2024, know that we want to be in Europe, have narrowed down our options to Portugal & Spain (and have visited both multiple times; Portugal is winning on multiple fronts but we can’t seem to take Spain out of the running!). Our plan is to divest all possessions except 1 car and our home, which we will rent out. Our retirement will be funded by rental properties so adding 1 more to the mix makes sense for us. This also helps us overcome the urge to own a home vs being a renter in Europe. Listening to the advice of you & others to stay strong and rent before buying! When/if we decide to purchase, after being there 2-3 years, will make it easier (emotionally) to sell in the future.
Yet another thought provoking post, Nancy. My wife and I decided to dive into Portugal with reckless abandon, selling our house in Massachusetts where I lived 33 years. Well, not exactly reckless; we had been vacationing here every winter for a few years and had already fallen in love with Portugal and particularly the Algarve. We have been here 18 months now and are still on our honeymoon with this wonderful place. I have grappled with bouts of homesickness for the USA many times, but they dissipate as quickly as they come on when I have a good experience at our new home, which is daily. For some people it may be more, and some, less. It's true that no lifestyle is for everyone or is perfect, etc. I, for one, am so glad that I don't have two properties across the ocean from each other. The responsibilities and costs would be crippling and distracting. I am living in Portugal with joy and freedom. It's like a relationship; if you are ambivalent, you cannot be really happy. Make your choice and put your heart and soul into it. Life is a journey. Hey, sometimes all the clichés are true.
A thoughtful and good piece, as always. We, too, lived in Vero for those two hurricanes, in an old house on Greytwig in the Central Beach area! It was emotionally draining, though we didn't have any financial loss at that time. You couldn't pay me to go back to FL now, between the politics, the denizens that create those politics and the hurricanes. Ok, rant over! DO keep up your excellent posts, you're the one blog that I know I will always read and enjoy (and comment on....) Fica bem!
We still have a home in Lake Havasu City, AZ. We inherited it from my mother-in-law in 2018. I would like to sell it, but my wife is still sentimentally attached. Luckily the appreciation has been more than the cost of carrying it. Fortunately, no real worries about natural disasters out in northern AZ desert. We did live in Miami 1990-2015 and lost our home in Country Walk to Hurricane Andrew in 1992. We did rebuild it though. Prior to leaving the states in 2015 we were contemplating retiring in Amelia Island, FL. So glad we didn't. Florida is a beautiful place, but the future does not bode well, what with the more frequent and stronger hurricanes and rising sea levels.
We are contemplating keeping a property in the US. We live in Sarasota, FL. Having been a FL resident for over 17 years, my years of hurricane prep and the emotional/fear toll it takes on you is waning. Plus, if you are on the "wrong" side of politics here you have to keep a low profile. While it is tough to have one foot on the dock and the other in the boat, circumstances can force you to make a decision. Sometimes it is hard to let go, but necessary.
Insightful as always. Thank you for these postings.
We struggled with our decision to sell our condo, knowing that if we decide that expat life is not for us, that we won't be able to afford to come back to that neighborhood (we lived in Marin County, CA, and our condo was one of the most affordable options there), but we also didn't want to have to concern ourselves with being long-distance landlords and dealing with the environmental disasters for our area from afar (in our case, fires and earthquakes - the first of which are happening more frequently with more...vigor, shall I say?).
This blog was thought provoking and I realized I can’t have 1 foot on the dock as our dock was washed away. I gotta remember it is only stuff at the end of the day.
Another thought provoking post. DeSantis is among the worst of too many contenders. Congratulations on building the rest of your life in Portugal. There are many who will follow and your blog provides really helpful guidance.
Hi Nancy, I always enjoy your newsletters. Thank you for writing them. I will probably get blowback on this comment, but I will comment anyway because I’m older now and I really don’t care. I worked in the insurance industry almost 25 years, and time and again, I saw people rebuild in places they absolutely knew would be hit again and again and again. While I feel very sad for the emotional toll losing one’s home can take, at some point, one must use some empirical data and experience to make these decisions because hurricanes are becoming a norm and not a once in 25 year event. It just doesn’t make sense to build in areas where disasters so frequently strike. My heart goes out to the people with dreams of living along a beautiful shore, but Florida is for many reasons is a very bad idea. The history associated with major storms there over the last 25 years suggests that it is the last place to assume any sort of tranquil life. And add to that that the government is run by what I consider a fascist adds yet another layer of unattractiveness. In choosing where to live, I guess my reason for commenting is to say, we can no longer tell ourselves that everything will work out. People must look at the history, the frequency, and the severity of weather events because they are getting worse, especially with climate change. There is so much data — all one has to do is look for it. I hope your friends rebuild and sell their home because it is very likely they will be hit again.
Thank you for reading and commenting. There are not any easy choices…but DeSantis is a non-starter for me.