Moving to Portugal: 10 things to remember

You’re all set! Your “new” life in Portugal is imminent. But what are the little rules you need to follow to optimize and make a success of your move to Portugal? What are the dos and don’ts?

In this article, written in the form of “10 commandments”(please note that I’m not imposing anything on you, but I find this format fun), I share with you a few “recommendations” that may help you make your move to Portugal a successful experience.

Commandment number 1: Thou shalt socialize with the locals

Over the last few years, a lot of people have been wanting to move to Portugal, and I’ve noticed that they all want to go to the same places: the same towns, but also the same neighborhoods! You might say there are “ChinaTowns” in every big city in the world. Well, in Portugal we’re seeing the emergence, in and around the big cities, of a sort of “French Town” where all the French-speakers gather.

Okay, so some people see this as reassuring, and tell themselves that they’ll be surrounded by people “like them”, who are going through the same experience as they are, who can give them advice, and so on. But is this really the objective when you move to a foreign country? To find yourself in the same place, in a “community”, where you find the same people as you? Isn’t the aim of a new life in a new country to discover new people with a different culture, different habits and a different language? What are you coming to Portugal for? To shop at the Leclerc? To eat pains au chocolat? To go to the latest French restaurant in Lisbon? To live in a neighborhood with French-speaking neighbors? Wouldn’t that be a shame? Portugal has its own riches, so you might as well make the most of them.

Maybe I’m being a bit provocative, but I think you really have to ask yourself the right questions. Mind you, I’m not saying that you shouldn’t mix with French speakers in Portugal. I’m the first to have made many French-speaking friends here, but you also need to get to know the locals and build up a Portuguese social network. If you’re moving to Portugal to reproduce your French environment, then I don’t think there’s much point in moving to another country, but that’s just me.

The first encounters often take place in the neighborhood, and despite the language barrier at first, you still manage to make yourself understood. Smiles and gestures are part of the international language 🙂

Commandment number 2: Thou shalt learn Portuguese

It sounds so obvious, but it isn’t! Many people who move to Portugal “don’t take the time” to learn Portuguese. What a shame!

If you speak English, you’ll find it very easy to get by, as most Portuguese people speak English very well, whether in stores, administrations, restaurants, etc. If you only speak French, you’ll manage to communicate in the basics. If you only speak French, you’ll manage to communicate in the basics, but you’ll soon be limited and miss out on a lot.

Also, finding a job if you only speak one language is likely to be complicated, as most companies recruit people who are at least bilingual.

Finally, apart from the fact that speaking Portuguese will help you in your daily life, learning Portuguese is also a way of “respecting” your host country and integrating more quickly by creating a network of Portuguese friends.

So, before you leave, I strongly advise you to “brush up” your Portuguese a little. Here are a few options, and for even more tips, I invite you to read my article on how to learn to speak Portuguese.

• take courses on the Internet. There are lots of them, many of them in Brazilian Portuguese, but you’ll already have some basics: duolingo, babbel, etc,
• buy exercise books to learn Portuguese, including the best-known Assimil method,
• read “simple” books in Portuguese,
• every week, on the facebook group, I present a Portuguese word or phrase to enrich your lexicon.

Then, once you’ve settled in Portugal, take a course and dare to speak even if you only know a few words. You may feel ridiculous at first, but in the end what’s ridiculous is not to dare, and after all: “Ridicule doesn’t kill!

Commandment number 3: Enjoy the ocean and the beach

Whether you choose to live inland or by the sea, when you live in Portugal, you’re “obliged” to enjoy the ocean and the beaches! With over 800 km of coastline, how can you miss out on this?

When I say “enjoy”, I don’t necessarily mean bathe. Personally, I’m a “little natured” and don’t bathe in water below 25 degrees, so you can imagine how rare it is for me to even dip a toe in the ocean in Portugal. But, without swimming, I’m there all the time, all year round! Why is that? Because enjoying the ocean and the beaches feels good!

• To feel the sea spray on your skin,
• Smelling the iodine,
• Seeing the sun shine on the water,
• Feeling the soft sand under your feet(and moaning when you get home, because you always manage to take some home with you),
• Smell the sun cream,
• Smell the grilled meats in the beach restaurants,
• Hearing the waves crash,
• Etc.

Makes you want to make the most of it, doesn’t it?

On a vitamin D cure .

commandment number 4: Watch your figure!

I’m the first to tell you that the food in Portugal is delicious, and it’s true! But you should know that moving to Portugal can quickly become a nightmare for … your balance. Portugal offers a generous cuisine: oil, starches, fried foods, bread, sweet egg desserts and lots more. And when you arrive in a new country, you’re discovering it, so you’re bound to want to try everything. Learning about the culture of a new country inevitably involves its gastronomy, so you’ll be testing and re-testing a whole host of products and dishes, each more “generous”(shall we say) than the last, including :

• the unctuous pasteis de nata, with their egg cream, sugar and deliciously flaky butter pastry… Yum! Delicious!
• rissois with shrimp or meat and pasteis de bacalhau, fried, a little oily but so good,
• portuguese cheeses and charcuterie, including chouriço assado and alheira, as well as queijo de azeitão and queijo da serra, etc.
• and then there’s the bread! You’re French, so of course you eat bread 😉 But forget your baguette and discover the breads of Portugal: Carcaças, Pão da Avó, Broa (my favorite), etc.

Okay, I’m exaggerating a bit when I say that you’ll put on an inordinate amount of weight, and I’m not at all saying that you should deprive yourself of all that – you’d be very wrong to do so – but you should know that in Portugal, in the first weeks or months, you’re likely to put on a few kilos 😉

Even at work, people will bribe you with Portuguese sweets – it’s hard to resist!

commandment number 5: Discover the whole country

Portugal has the advantage of being a small country. So, if you come to live in Portugal, I recommend that, whenever you have free time, you explore the length and breadth of this beautiful country.

There are magnificent cities to visit, adorable little villages to discover, and landscapes so different from one region to another, it would be a shame to miss out!

Here are a few names that come to mind. Obviously, this is not an exhaustive list – there are so many beautiful places to discover that I couldn’t possibly make one, and it’s all subjective. I’ll just mention a few:

• Guimarães
• Porto
• Braga
• Coimbra
• Viseu
• Evora
• Sintra
• Lisbon
• Tavira
• Lagos

Through these escapades, you’ll learn about Portugal’s history, discover its heritage, take an interest in cultural habits and more. Portugal is a country steeped in history, with a deep-rooted culture and traditions, so it’s important to open up to them and learn as much as possible.

I love going off the beaten track to get to know a city better. For example, here, getting lost in the narrow streets of Porto.

commandment number 6: Discover the sun and forget about temperatures below 10 degrees

Come on, don’t tell me you’ve come here just for the culture! I know that one of your main reasons for coming to Portugal is the sun!

Let’s face it, Portugal’s weather is very pleasant. With almost ubiquitous sunshine all year round(except for some years that are a little more temperamental than others), and temperatures that very rarely(except in the mountains) fall below 10 degrees, it’s a country with super pleasant weather.

So, living in Portugal also means enjoying it, and that’s good! From you to me, when people say that the weather affects your morale, it’s clearly true! So when it’s time to leave, there’s no need to pack your heavy sweaters, heavy jackets, hats, gloves, stuffed boots or chamois briefs, because in Portugal, the weather’s great!

December 25, 2018 in Portugal, 20 degrees.

commandment number 7: You’ll regret your French salary

Portugal has many positive sides that I’m constantly highlighting in my blog posts or on the Facebook group, but, like all countries, there aren’t only positive sides, that would be too perfect!

People keep saying that the quality of life in Portugal is top-notch, so yes it’s 100% true, but they also say that the cost of living in Portugal is top-notch. In that case, I’d be a little more measured in my response. Yes, the cost of living in Portugal is lower than in France, but you should also know that Portuguese wages are much lower. The Portuguese minimum wage is 680 euros/month, while the cost of living(especially property rents) has risen sharply in Portugal’s major cities. So if you choose to live in a big city(particularly Lisbon, Porto or the surrounding area), it’s essential to be aware that your cost of living/salary ratio, and therefore your purchasing power, will be quite low.

commandment number 8: You’ll know about restaurants with menus costing less than 10 euros

I may have just scared you a little about the cost of living, so I’ll now turn to the cost of restaurants in Portugal to reassure you a little. In Portugal, if you know the right places to eat – and you will after a few months – you can eat out very easily for less than 10 euros, and what’s more, the food is home-made, fresh and delicious.

A word of advice: don’t put too much emphasis on the aesthetics of the restaurant itself. The best restaurants are often small, unassuming places with paper tablecloths, hand-written menus or menus in transparent sleeves, served in large stainless steel dishes.

In Portugal, dishes are often very hearty and attractively priced.

commandment number 9: Create your own list of good addresses and tips

You’re about to discover a new country, so you’ll be developing new habits. To develop these new habits, you’ll try out several stores, several restaurants, visit several neighborhoods, etc. You’ll be disappointed by some discoveries, surprised by others. You’ll be disappointed by some discoveries, surprised by others.

And then, after a few weeks, you’ll have your new landmarks: your favorite pastelaria, your favorite fish stall at the market, your favorite supermarket, your favorite restaurant, your favorite beach, etc.

As you’re not an egotist, you’ll be delighted to share all the little addresses you’ve discovered with friends and family who come to visit you in Portugal. You’ll create your own little list and be very proud of it! But you should also know that you’ll suddenly have a whole bunch of “acquaintances” who’ll get back in touch with you because you live in Portugal and need some good addresses 😉

You’ll probably have lots of “favorite” places, so it’s up to you to explore Portugal and discover them.

commandment number 10: Prepare your move to Portugal

This sounds so logical, but I don’t think it’s for everyone. So, yes, some people will tell me that you shouldn’t be “psycho rigid” and that sometimes you just have to “let yourself go”, but …. moving abroad requires a minimum of thought and preparation! Some people leave on a whim, but it’s usually the same people who, barely 1 year after settling in, return to France because they hadn’t “seen things like that”.

So it’s important to prepare yourself and ask the right questions about your desire to move to another country.

Is it simply to escape a situation you can no longer stand in your own country? Is it to discover a new country? Is it for professional reasons? Are you ready to be far from family and friends? Do you have the financial means? Is everything in place administratively, whether in your present or future country?

In recent years, with the massive increase in the number of French-speaking people moving to Portugal, a number of services(particularly administrative) have been offered to help you with your preparations, and this can be a great help, especially if you don’t speak Portuguese. However, “materially”, everything may be ready: you’ve found accommodation, a job is waiting for you, all your administrative papers are in order, etc., but if “mentally”, you’re not ready to re-create a circle of friends, to live far from your loved ones, to have to try out several stores before finding the ones that suit you, etc., your experience may be more complicated. So it’s essential to be ready before you leave.

In conclusion

Open-minded, curious, sociable, persevering, patient, flexible – no, these are not the qualities required for a future job, but just a few of the qualities you’ll need to make the most of your move to Portugal.

Are you ready? Pack your bags!

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