On the Road Again…

What It’s Like to Live in Portugal

We are back in Portugal . . . and will be for the next three months. As you can see from the image above, we learned from our last trip that bringing along less is so much more! After lugging 50 lb. bags - along with carry-ons – up cobblestone streets and on and off trains and buses last year (Ugh), we opted this time to only pack what we absolutely need (maybe a little less even) and brought only two bags each. It feels quite liberating!

We were back in the states for three months (Mid December-mid March) and spent our time toggling between friends and families in Asheville and Nashville. Seeing our loved ones was wonderful and our hearts are full. Of course, the pull of wandering felt as strong as ever even as we appreciated our time at home. This year we will be gone for 3 months this spring and again for 3 months in the fall . . . 6 months of travel! We couldn’t be more excited, and we want to share our itinerary with you.

From mid-March till mid-June, we will once again be in Portugal. It’s at the top of everyone’s list for expatriating to Europe and we thought we’d check out all the popular spots (like the Algarve, Lisbon, Porto, Funchal, etc.) . . . in the hope that one of them speaks to us. While we thoroughly enjoy Spain (and feel like we would love living there), when it comes to the actual considerations for daily living, like local healthcare, administrative paperwork, taxes, language, and so on - Portugal looks like the most promising and realistic choice, and it has plenty to offer. It’s no surprise that a considerable number of Americans (and EU Citizens as well) are either retiring or becoming digital nomads in Portugal. If you are at all interested in moving to Portugal, or even just spending extended time there, then our blog should be of real interest to you.

We will also spend three months in Greece - from mid-September through mid-December. We will be visiting 4 islands (Greece has 227 inhabited islands) and spend a couple of weeks in Athens. Imagine walking the same streets as Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. Those are impressive footsteps to walk in!

While we are in both Portugal and Greece, we will be blogging from the perspective of what it might be like to live there . . . what day-in-day-out life might look like. What are the markets like, the food scene, the weather/climate, the friendliness of a town, what kind of activities are available for everyday life, etc.?

While I will be continuing with my photography, I will also be adding some short video clips to better capture some of the places we visit. Moving forward, we will be posting the blog once a week on Wednesday. Once a week provides us with more time to journey about, take lots of photos and videos, and see more places to share with you. I will also be posting photos almost every day on The Wonder of Wandering Facebook page, so please make sure to follow us. Or you can friend me and see daily photos on my personal facebook page.

We are excited about these next legs of our journey and hope you will come along with us. We love sharing our travels and our wish is that, in some small way, we inspire or encourage you to break up your routine and experience a little culture shock. Or, like us, even venture to live in another country . . . perhaps Portugal. I will close with a line that we keep close to our hearts . . .

“In the end, we only regret the chances we didn’t take.”