As someone who has loved Portugal from the first visit in 2016, I daydream of moving there. So far, my wife is not onboard, but the combination of a brutal Winter and (how do I phrase this diplomatically?) political developments is working in my favor.
There are any number of FB pages devoted to this topic and I wonder if anyone has a suggestion on which has the most valuable information/conversation
Obrigado,
Dennis (and Elinore)
This is just one of several sites you will find if you google "Portugal Expats"
https://www.expatforum.com/forums/portugal-expat-forum-for-expats-living-in-portugal.28/
My advice is go there on an extended stay, minimum 90 days , 6 months or 1 year is better, stays longer longer than 90 days require a visa. ( probably your first time dealing with the bureaucracy - it might be eye opening).
Probably the worst is the bureaucracy, learn as much as possible about the legal aspects of moving to Portugal.
Being on vacation is very different than residing.
Some became disillusioned after the " honeymoon" period is over.
Besides Facebook look for expat forums, people like yourself share their experiences.
https://www.expatexchange.com/portugal/liveinportugal.html
As someone who moved to Portugal in 2015 and still loves living here, I can offer a bit of advice.
Americans & Friends in Portugal is the Gold Standard of Facebook pages. It is all about obtaining residency and is excellent. They have files on their page that cover many, many aspects of moving and adjusting. Deborah Dahab has an excellent page on emotional adjustment and Expacity is a paid page with podcasts on a number of subjects. I actually did one for Amy about living in Cascais.
Dennis, I just realized this post is from you! Great to hear you might be thinking of taking the plunge.
The other Facebook pages are fine, but if they disagree with AFIP, don’t believe them.
And, yes, the bureaucracy is pretty awful and has been even worse in the last 2-3 years. My residence card expired last September and I have no idea when it might be renewed. It doesn’t cause me a problem here in Portugal due to a decree that says it’s good until June. But, traveling outside the Schengen, other than to the U.S. is a bit risky.
But, day to day life is still grand.
