We started the process of relocating to Portugal right after our research trip to confirm our decision. We started in early October 2018 by compiling and submitting the mountains of paperwork needed to get our 4-month visa from the Portuguese consulate in Washington, D.C.. Since then, we have researched, read advice online, and meticulously worked to do everything necessary to become functioning full-time residents of another country. At times, the long spreadsheet of to-do items seemed insurmountable. We sold nearly everything, packed and shipped, got tax numbers, bank accounts, insurance,  our one-year residency permits, registered with the local health authority, and learned so much along the way. This past week, we checked the final (we hope) major box; we exchanged our U.S. drivers’ licenses for Portuguese licenses.  We think that we are now done with jumping through bureaucratic hoops until we renew our residency next year.

Getting the licenses done was interesting. A doctor must submit a form to the IMT (DMV) online saying you are fit to drive. We went to a driving school in Porto to find a doctor to do this. You can go to your local medical service for this, but this way was supposed to be faster & easier. We worried that maybe our eyesight would be bad or our blood pressure too high. As it turned out, there was no need to worry. Our appointment with the doctor went like this: Walk into his office at the driving school. Sit in a chair next to him. He spoke no English. We smiled and exchanged many hand gestures that I think translated as “How’s your heart?” “Just fine.” “Do you wear those glasses to drive?” How’s your circulation?”…and a couple more that I had no idea what they meant. Then we shook hands and left after less than 5 minutes. No test of any kind. We returned the next day to pick up the form and to pay 50 euros (for the two of us.) That form is then taken to the IMT office. Just like everywhere, you take a number and wait. Another person with no English figured out what we wanted, typed a lot in a computer, then sent us to get our (awful) photos taken. We left with temporary licenses. The cards will come in the mail in a month. Mine is good for 5 years. Wayne has to come back when he turns 70 in the not-so-distant future.

We celebrated checking that last box by spending the next couple of days just being retired. We wandered the streets of Matosinhos and Porto rather aimlessly and just enjoyed the sights and sounds and that amazing feeling of having no where you really have to be.  

The moral of the story is if you want to make a major change in your lifestyle, just make the decision, make a check list, and start checking boxes. Eat the elephant one bite at a time. Eventually, you’ll get to check that last box and it will all be worth the time and effort.