[hellcow]

I'm moving from California to Portugal this week. I get to retire much earlier with low-cost healthcare and a cost of living lower relative to CA, and the Portuguese people I've met have all been wonderful. The food is great too!

I'd rather be on the side that supports Ukraine, clean energy, and stable trade agreements. I don't feel safe in the US anymore.

[NalNezumi]

I know a guy that worked for good UK salary (fintech) that moved to Portugal(Lisbon) almost a decade ago. It seems to be a lovely place, he also happily tell me how much he manage to save and how early he will be able to retire. He got many friends there too, but mostly expats.

If I'm to believe my Portuguese friends however, the extreme influx of digital nomad types have really changed Lisbon. There's almost no authentic Portuguese thing there anymore, just thing LARPING as it. The rent is too high for any local young Portuguese to pay for, while the landlords are super happy for these influx of wealthy expats, so the young either move out of the city or move all together.

In a very utopia like set up, there's something depressing about that reality.

When I asked about to my expat friend living there, he acknowledged it, shrugged, and said "don't hate the playa, hate the game".

Anyway, enjoy the game!

[hellcow]

I'm not moving to Lisbon, but my experience in that city aligns with your friends'.

Other cities offer much better value for money and hold a lot more of the Portuguese culture intact. There are beautiful cities and towns all throughout the country.

[senordevnyc]

I heard something similar from residents of Lisbon when I visited, but it was always framed in terms of tourism, Airbnb, etc, not digital nomads or expats. And to the extent it is expats, my guess is probably more British than American.

[kyleee]

Many of us hate you behind the facade though because you are driving up costs so wildly

[luckys]

Sure, seeing well-to-do foreigners live an easy life when one struggles in one's own country can feel bitter but the issues in Portugal are structural and predate the 1926 dictatorship. Have you noticed the same handful of families have glided gracefully through the different political regimes? This is not a culture that fosters entrepeneurship or thinking outside the box, and being physically on the tail of Europe does not help. Corruption is endemic and considered part of everyday life, as is "it matters who you know to get ahead." People have become subjugated by this environment to the point they might not even consider it can change.

[giardini]

Many of us love you behind the facade though because you are paying is so well for our services!8-))

[markoman]

Couldn't agree more. If you have any pointers (to web sites) that were helpful to you as you were making your decision or preparations, please do post them.

Also, did you consider any other countries that you later struck from your list?

[hellcow]

I used an immigration service to help me through the process. Alongside that I spent several months learning the language then weeks traveling through PT before making the decision.

You can do the immigration process yourself, but it's a long process with a lot of i's to dot and t's to cross. It was helpful to have experts guiding me through the process. Learning the language also helped a ton. The Portuguese in cities all speak English extremely well, but they really embrace you when they see you putting in some effort to speak Portuguese. I learned with Pimsleur for native pronunciation and Anki frequency vocabulary decks. I had some background with Spanish, so it was easier for me to learn Portuguese than starting from zero.

I also considered Uruguay and Malta but preferred the safety of Portugal and its bigger size.

[schnitzelstoat]

Are you going to have a Portuguese salary or an American one?

[hellcow]

I'm retiring alongside the move, so neither. I'll still be working on projects and companies but money doesn't factor into what I choose to work on.

[oxag3n]

My uncle moved from Germany to Portugal for the same reason. He loves it and the main pain point is healthcare - low-cost, but in his 70s he travels back to Germany for health issues due to quality. It's unpopular opinion in Portugal and everyone will tell you how nice the hospitals are, zero wait times and no hidden expenses. May be my uncle was unlucky, but minor heart issue wasn't properly diagnosed for about a year there, and required a single visit in Germany to get it under control.