Our Portugal adventure

Our property - before

The adventure really begins....

After Covid and lockdowns, my husband and I decided to move to Portugal as an adventure, with the idea if we like it, we stay, and if not, we could always come back home.  So, we left on our adventure with 4 bicycles and 2 suitcases, having never been to Portugal, as we bought the house and did all the planning with the Architect online and over Skype!  We also knew we had to be in Portugal for a SEF appointment (which is extremely difficult to get and thought it would be easier and quicker if we were in the country).  We left on a 3 month Business Visa and so our adventure began……

We landed in Portugal with a 3 week booking in a typical Portuguese house just outside of Ericeria and thought that finding other accommodation thereafter would not be a problem.  However, we arrived in peak season in July and did not realise how difficult it would be to find accommodation!  This was the most stressful part of our journey.  July – September is impossible to find accommodation anywhere for a longer period to stay.  We travelled and stayed in quite a few areas around Portugal from the main areas like Cascais, Estoril, Lisbon and also in Covilha up North to see which we preferred.  To us, Ericeira just felt like home.

Experiencing life as "normal"

After the “madness” of holiday season life seemed to have returned to normal with schools starting their new year in September, and all the holiday “Festas” (which each Village celebrates individually) were over, we were able to secure a 6 month rental in Ribamar, which is about 5 kms from the Village of Ericiera. This was now the opportunity to try and settle, breathe, and to finally see what life would be like living in Portugal.

Meeting people to make a community

I decided that I needed to meet people, find a community and needed a daily routine.  There were quite a few social groups on Facebook.  From the very first meeting up with one of these group, I found a special group of ladies who have now become my very good friends.  The people I have met are mainly expats from all over the world, even in this small village, 4 are from Cape Town.

I now run exercise classes (for free – community building) twice a week, which has been such a wonderful opportunity to meet all sorts of different people from all over the world.  We spend about 45 mins training and 2 hours having coffee 😊

Learning Portuguese

As the saying goes, “the grass is not greener on the other side” – the difficulty and frustrations dealing with municipality and any government offices, in my opinion, is no different from Home Affairs in SA (except that they are never offline).  However, I have learnt patience in this whole exercise.  What has also added to this difficulty is the fact that I can’t speak Portuguese!  So, with this in mind, we decided to join a school to learn the language! I have been attending school, trying to speak as much as I can to the locals, who I must say, have been so encouraging and certainly take the time to help and correct you.  They are only so happy that you are trying! Portuguese is by no means an easy language to learn and most of the people speak English. Learning the language is a huge bonus, especially if you need anything official done (thank goodness for “Google translate”)  I have been very fortunate to have Portuguese/English speaking friends who accompany me to these appointments.
 

Our house - after

There is a Facebook group called “South Africans helping South Africans in Portugal”.  This is a wonderful way to learn about all the “Do’s and Don’ts”, where Steve is the “go-to guy” and there is a “File System” that he has created where you can learn how to apply for the NHS, Drivers Licence Exchange, Buying Property, Residency, Taxes, etc etc.

The information on there has been incredibly helpful and has assisted me with basically all that I needed to know how to do all the above “admin”.
Making a new life anywhere is never easy, but it all boils down to determination, attitude, willingness to adjust and to adapt and most definitely patience!  

We are very fortunate to be able to live 6 months in Portugal and 6 months in South Africa – chasing the summer!