The Inevitable Happens

We knew it would happen. Everyone warned us it would happen. Still  we were surprised and annoyed. In our second week in Portugal, we were both hit hard with cold-flu symptoms. (Resfriado – Gripe.)  You work extra hard running on Read more…


Still Hard to Believe

Pinch me! We now live in Portugal! And we are Retired! Less than a week ago we were enjoying our last day in the USA having Sunday brunch with two daughters and their families. Anxious about our impending flight and Read more…


Flying Out!

SO many emotions! Such an exciting day. After watching the Countdown app on my phone for about three months, it finally said hours instead of days or weeks until our flight was scheduled to leave. We had a delightful Sunday Read more…


Crate & Ship Day!

https://youtu.be/L03zSdJb23A   Enjoy the time-lapse video above that condenses two and a half hours of hard labor into about 55 seconds. We were told to expect the trucker to collect our crates anytime between 10:00 am and 6:00 pm.  We Read more…


The Final Push

It was just about eight months ago that the idea of retiring to Portugal first crossed our minds. After all the research and the endless lists and spreadsheets of to-do items, the actual move is finally within sight. In six Read more…


Old Brains & A New Language

        I sucked at high school Spanish. In fact, one of the main reasons I majored in Business in college was because it did not require me to take 2 years of language classes. Portuguese is a Read more…


Packing & Purging

One of the challenges of choosing to become an expat is deciding what to keep, what to give away or sell, what to ship, and how to ship it. It’s hard. On one hand we didn’t want to ship a Read more…


Approved!

Today we received an email from the Portuguese consulate in DC saying our visas have been approved!!! It was exactly a month ago today that they received the applications. Even though there is no logical reason they would not be Read more…


The Waiting Begins

Finally! We just received the health insurance proof we have been waiting for. The last piece of the Visa application puzzle. Wayne ran to the bank for the 2 bank checks needed for application fees of $105.29 each. Then, I Read more…


Not What I Expected…

Telling our grown kids that we were going to be moving far away was very difficult & emotional but we did it months ago. They reacted with a mixture of support and angst.  But, ever since we first decided that Read more…