It’s the little things that’ll get ya — Something the glossy magazines don’t tell you about living abroad: Some days are quit days. Any number of obstacles have presented themselves and you feel like you just don’t have the energy to take them on; this whole living abroad thing is too hard. You want to quit. When All…

And I’m two hours late… — There’s nothing like going back to school in your sixties. Unless, of course, it’s going back to school in your 70s, 80s, or 90s. Last June, I signed up for the state-offered Portuguese language classes at the local high school. You sign up and then you wait, checking the website…

Committing to a 12 month lease is one of the trickiest parts of the process. — Part of the D7 visa requirements is securing a registered, long-term rental agreement (at least 12 months). In many places, the Algarve in particular, landlords like to rent from October to May, leaving the summer months open to more lucrative short-term tourist rentals. It’s easier to find a rental in…

Traveling light is not always easy. — So, I had this vision: I would be a no luggage, backpack kind of girl, swinging on and off planes and out of taxis with my hands free. [Cue Sound: Georgy Girl] No long waits at baggage claim for me. If I am going somewhere and need more than my…

aka: My laptop is a ticket to freedom — I don’t think I could have made the move overseas were it not for the fact that I had a portable business. The key component to that business is my laptop. I have been using laptops for at least 15 years now and they have enabled me to work from…

A friend died suddenly at the relatively young age of 57. He was a mentor, trusted advisor, someone I looked up to and ran all my important business decisions by. He had started, built, and sold ten companies by the time I met him. …

Some expat decisions are harder than others — Wine for breakfast was the toughest question I faced today. My repressed New England brain was doing the moral gymnastics I thought I had left behind once I learned you actually can wear white after Labor Day. I still did some math: It was after 2:00 pm and I was…

Think Non-Negotiables vs. Wants — Where you should live in Portugal is one of the most common questions that I see in my expat Facebook groups. It’s such a nonspecific and subjective question. It would be like me asking you what I should order at a restaurant. You don’t know my preferences, what foods I…

Warning: This one is political. If you want rainbows and unicorns, come back next week. — I read yet another article this morning about US peeps moving to Portugal to start over. They are fleeing the high cost of living as well as the hustle and grind culture of the US, and, as one woman so accurately put it, “lethal racism.” …