Introducing myself

Hi Valerie

So glad you connected and would be great if we could keep talking.

Interesting that you seem to be in a similar place to ourselves too.  Re-adjusting to the UK has definitely been a tricky one for my son.  However, I personally felt a sense of relief coming back to the UK quite simply because of the language.

Life as an expat is difficult and many people in the UK were astounded at our decision to come back. 

After a while though the initial 'shine' of being back amongst the British began to dim again as all the reasons we left in the first place rose to the surface.

I have to say the Portuguese people are very special and we all have missed the sense of 'community' we experienced there, particularly my son who had completely integrated and now feels 'different' in the UK.

I would say to consider very carefully the reasons why you might go back home and if it is because of the isolation and you have an opportunity to live on the mainland then I would really think carefully before letting go of your Portuguese dream.

Nowhere on this planet is perfect.  I have found UK life challenging in different ways and would describe our home coming experience as; expensive, cold, wet, competitive, creative and again expensive.  We found Portuguese life challenging mainly because of the language and would describe our experience as; cheap, sunny, wet (Northern Portugal gets lots of rain in the winter but summers peak at around 35 right up to end of September), co-operative, challenging, simple, slow, beautiful, expansive, fun, adventurous. 

Yes the language is a challenge and they say to work at it consistently for 5 years - my 11 year old is pretty fluent it was very easy for him.

Please check out Viana do Castelo - very beautiful, historical, tranquil and safe.  Endless beaches, very small expat community.  I know 3 English speaking couples but there are more around.

I am going back with a different mindset.  Imperative to keep chatting to people like yourself, say yes when invited by the Portuguese to social events, drive to Porto more often (its only 40 minutes away) where there are lots more English speaking expats and visit friends down in Coimbra and Cascais. 

There are bigger expat communities around Coimbra and scattered inland all the way down to Tomar near Lisbon.  We have friends down there but it would not suit us as its too far away from the coast.  Where we are we have Porto (40 mins) and airport, Viana do Castleo (15 mins)beaches (15 mins) and Spain (40 mins). 


Anything else you need to know please ask.

Just think carefully before considering going home - there is something magical about Portugal that gets in your bones and its quite impossible to shake it off :}

Enjoy your holidays and keep in touch.

Best wishes

Wanda