New members of the Portugal forum, introduce yourselves here - 2021

Hello Everybody,

I am new to this forum, my name is Mina and I come from Italy.

I moved to Portugal in November 2019, I came back to Italy the same month in 2020 and now I am back in Portugal.

I like the weather, the food, I love walking and discovering new places (for me most of Portugal is new, so I am opened to suggestions on where to go and what to visiti ). I would like to meet new people and to post some job alerts   As a matter of fact, I am working as a recruiter for a big company in Lisbon, and we are always looking for people with language skills.

And if you are not interested in a new job, maybe you are interested in a new friend, so, please, feel free to contact me.

Nice meeting you !

Interesting story. I am half Italian also half French.

Julia

Hi Mina, Welcome

Why don't you join one or several of these meetup groups?

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=909130
(Post #2)

Some are technology oriented, others for a wide scope of activities.

Things are a bit slow because of covid, but let's hope they will get better

Kind Regards

Hi! Dhivya from India. I'm a small Entrepreneur involved in garment manufacture. It would be a pleasure if someone guides me out on how to sell my goods in Portugal? Is it possible to come in tourist visa and sell or get orders? How competitive is it to get orders?  It would be grateful if you all suggest me with some other possible options .. Thank for the invitation Thank you..

Early retired Dutchman, Living for 4 years at the Caldas da Rainha area now.

Harmonica Blues musician/singer,formed overhere the band SilverCoast Blues (about 3 years ago) and play with 2 other Dutchman and 1 Portuguese at the moment.
I enjoy: The wheather,the people that come to our concerts we play.

In short, Live is Good.
Thanks.....................

Good Day Everyone!

Im from Philippines but currently in maldives now for 3 years. i joined here for friends or maybe job opportunity..

dhivyasasi61 wrote:

Hi! Dhivya from India. I'm a small Entrepreneur involved in garment manufacture. It would be a pleasure if someone guides me out on how to sell my goods in Portugal? Is it possible to come in tourist visa and sell or get orders? How competitive is it to get orders?  It would be grateful if you all suggest me with some other possible options .. Thank for the invitation Thank you..

Hi, Maybe the solution I see, is to get a tourist visa, and get in touch with the Indian community in Portugal, where you will get guidelines for your clothing business.

Hi everyone! My name is Rita from Canada. We are planning to buy a small house in Portugal and maybe live there permanently  in there in the near future.
We are planning to visit right after the flight restrictions down here and in Portugal (I hope that's gonna be soon)
We are browsing and searching where is the best place to live, how to purchase a place and how's life over there. We heard a lot of good things about Portugal. Actually my husband is a Portuguese.
So, any advice or input would be great! Hope to meet you all soon!

My name is arsema and from Ethiopia. I am planning to study in Portugal. I dont know much about the country. Also i dont know people who went there from Ethiopia. How is the country ? Do you think is going to be worth it studying my bachelor's degree there? Please contact me i would rreally mean much to me.

Hi Rita and Arsema,

You can find information by searching by keywords using the search facility. If you don't find what you are looking for, please open a new topic.

Kind Regards

Glad to've joined this group!  Excited to meet everyone here. 

I'm a writer, filmmaker, editor, colorist.  Wife is a ceramicist.  We're in N Los Angeles, which as I write, is 36.5C or 98F.  Interested in cooler climes in PT for all the oft cited reasons: safety, health safety nets, tolerance, openness, calmness, widely spoken English, and the preserved homogeneity of the culture. Originally, we thought Portugal was a great destination for the usually proclaimed "low cost," but unsure if that's still viable, as it some things are lesser cost, but others far more, e.g. post NHR PT taxes. 

We really loved Porto for it's quiet, arts, scale, culinary diversity, climate and the Douro.  Except one drunk young Brit yelling at an Uber.

Our recently planned trips we suspended out of concern for the virus..mostly being sick in a foreign land, and potentially quarantined.  Hope to move in 2022..i think the challenge will be figuring out where in what seems like an embarrassment of riches: Silver Coast near São Martinho do Porto, Tomar, Porto adjacent, or somewhere along the Douro.  We both wonder if we'll be under-stimulated by a slower Silver Coast lifestyle. 

Studied the Algarve, east and west, but ruled it out for heat, condo beachfront umbrella-in-drink vibe, and golf lifestyle, which to me at least, feels like "i give up." Looking for arts area that is engaging.

I've read on PT for years, follow a lot of interesting folks via YT videos, active in several PT FB groups, and forums like these! We're more than ready and very excited to start this journey!

Hello, everyone.

My name is Perry. I work in the music field, producing and teaching voice. (semi retired) I'm from NYC, now in NJ, but looking to move to Portugal within the next few years. I'm open to making friends here and learning as much as I can.

davidalexd wrote:

Interested in cooler climes in PT for all the oft cited reasons: safety, health safety nets, tolerance, openness, calmness, widely spoken English, and the preserved homogeneity of the culture.

Hi DavidAlexD, Welcome

Why not visit Braga (north of Porto), or other cities like Viana do Castelo, Guimarães, Arcos de Valdevez, Barcelos, Ponte de Lima... the climate is cooler with cities there with a lot of historical background, peaceful and green .... 

Hello everyone. Im Georgian and my husband British. We live in Cyprus but thinking to move in Algarve, Portugal. Looking for any information about this place 

Hi Machavarianimarika, Welcome

You can search for topics about Algarve using keywords in the lens of the top right corner of this screen, or create new topics.

Kind Regards

I'm trying to introduce myself and hope I m at the right place.  I m applying for my D 7 and have my appointment on the 25th August. I m still in need of opening a bank account and don't have a NIF. I looked at services that will get me both but I need to open the account with 20 to 50 thousand dollars.  I want to open an account with 1000 dollars.  Anybody have any suggestions?  I know I m running out of time.

These are excessive values. I find it quite odd... Are you sure?

You could contact a solicitor and give him power of attorney to get a NIF for you (you'll need the NIF to do a house rental) and also open a bank account in your name, in any other bank in Portugal and without these senseless values.

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=941009

Or, it might be quicker this way:

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=909269
(Post #6)

Hello everyone! My name is Shannon Devroy and I live in America(Michigan) and honestly my family and I are tired of living here lol.  Cost of living here is ridiculous! As a 2 family income home we are living paycheck to paycheck and I'm just over it. We bust our asses and have no time to actually live our lives. Like I said over it Haha.  I'm excited to be here to learn as much as I can about the whole deal of moving to another country. The only country I've ever traveled to is Canada and that's only because its like a 15 minute car ride from my house.
                Well thank you for listening and hope everyone has a great day/night.

Hello, Shannon. I feel the same way. It seems like you can never get ahead of the bills. It's a constant rat race to keep going and going until you drop. I am over it too. And here in New Jersey, the property taxes would make it impossible for me to retire here.

Hi Shannon,

Maybe this will help:

https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/c … y=Portugal

There are cheaper cities. The cost of living varies greatly between cities and regions. There is a lot of information in this forum, you just need some patience to look it up.

JohnnyPT wrote:

These are excessive values. I find it quite odd... Are you sure?

You could contact a solicitor and give him power of attorney to get a NIF for you (you'll need the NIF to do a house rental) and also open a bank account in your name, in any other bank in Portugal and without these senseless values.

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=941009

Or, it might be quicker this way:

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=909269
(Post #6)

I agree that this is very odd, at least for somebody with an EU passport that is. I actually opened the bank account with 10 EUR and later tranferred more. Getting the NIF is easy, but depending on which Tax Office you are going to, it can take some time waiting for your turn. There must be heaps of non-EU expats that can provide the needed information.

Hello
I am 46F from the USA and am looking to get out sometime in the next year or two. I've been narrowing down countries I'm interested in and Portugal is at the top of the list!

Welcome Jessica651
What part of Portugal are you thinking of for living or just visiting? Or are you going to tour around & see which part of Portugal you fall in love with, I hope you find that special place we deed & have never looked back.

Jean Denise wrote:

Welcome Jessica651
What part of Portugal are you thinking of for living or just visiting? Or are you going to tour around & see which part of Portugal you fall in love with, I hope you find that special place we deed & have never looked back.

Thanks!
I'm still researching but I'm leaning toward the Algarve region. It's scary for me, I'm a single, middle aged woman who has never been outside of North America but I have always felt the longing to travel and to find a place where I truly belong (Everything I've ever read points to my mindset being much more European than American)

Hi we live in the algarve & can honestly say that I being middle aged higher end of the 50s can so easily go into a cafe on my own & order a drink & or food & not feel uncomfortable about it, I feel safer here than I ever did when we lived in the UK. No matter what happens in my life Portugal is where I will be put to rest, this is our home, be brave & do it. If you need any advice we live in the eastern algarve.
Jean

Hi there all, In South Africa, planning a move to Portugal and just made my first post!

Hello. I am Neale.
I am just starting the D7 Visa process to hopefully enable me to permanently move to the The Algarve. I have visited the region every year for 25 years and its kinda my 'home' really as my parents lived there until this summer. Currently I live in Surrey, UK.

I am now trying to find rental accommodation for a year, ideally in or near Albufeira, but would consider other locations. I am retired, single and wondered if there are any other people who are in a similar situation to me and may want to share the cost of the rental villa/apartment and help each other deal with the bureaucracy, paperwork etc. to gain residency ? Long shot, I know. I am looking to arrive Jan/Feb 2022.

Any help or advice or tips on getting through this process, would be gratefully received !

HI! I'm Lindsay and I am looking into moving to Portugal(Algarve) with my husband and our 16 year old daughter. We all have British citizenship and our daughter and I both have Canadian citizenship as well.

My husband installs hardwood, laminate and vinyl flooring along with tile. I am having a very difficult time finding information that would allow me to figure out income vs cost of living for the area as well as how difficult it is to find a job so we can see if it is a viable move.

I am incredibly lost as I keep finding conflicting information. Any help would be gratefully appreciated.

Hi Lindsay,

In these working areas , there are job offers in the Algarve.
Regarding your doubts about the cost of living, these questions are very relative, it depends on each person. Nothing better than to take a holiday and conclude for yourself.

Best Regards

Hello,

New here. Currently stuck in the US since March 15, 2020. I had planned to be living elsewhere by now but the world had other ideas.

I am researching places to move and hope to make that choice over the next year. I am making a list of possible locations to visit over that time. Portugal is currently in the top five of my list.

I retired early and do some freelancing and writing. Life is too short to spend it in an office for more hours a day than I care to admit.

Any and all tips, tricks, advice is welcomed as well as best spots.

Thank you,

Basha

Hello, we are brand new here and are 2 Aussies preparing to flee our tyrrarenical Government here. We must wait for GOVERNMENT PERMISSION to leave the country (hopefully by May 2022). We have chosen Portugal and are excited for the move. So many questions will have to wait. Where best for Aussies to live etc. We are big foodies, travellers and love the outdoors! Excited to be among you soon.. Jeffrey and Victoria

100% with you all the way!

Hello, Basha Jo.

I am currently in the U.S. as well, and was hoping to travel to Portugal which is at the top of "my" list. Any thoughts or ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Perry

Hi Basha, Jeffrey and Perry, Welcome 

You can search for topics about Portugal using keywords in the lens of the top right corner of this screen, or create a new topic with detailed question, so that some member can answer it.

Kind Regards

Thank you Perry (and all) for the welcome.

I am just south of you, Perry, in Delaware so I understand the costs around this area.

I hope to visit Portugal in either late 2021 or early 2022 perhaps staying a month or so in various locations to get a feel. I get torn between north and south. I like the vibe I see in the south but the weather more in the north. The nice thing, I could always rent and move around, a year here, a year there. Still researching. Would love to share thoughts.

Basha Jo

Hello everyone ! I'm Giovanni , 27 y.o. , Italian and I'm moving to Lisbon on Thursday. I'm gonna start a new job for Teleperformance. I would like to receive some feedback before I come there, if anyone can tell me something we can talk on the private messages!

Ciao Giovanni, Welcome

In the Italian forum you can find information about Teleperformance and another contact centre, Sittel, both in Lisbon. There are at least one or two italian members there that work in Teleperformance, you can contact them by private message. What I can say about these contact centres, is that they have many young people from many different countries, including many Italians. They will easily guide you around the city. I think you will like it, now that the Covid confines are overcome and there are more and more open spaces for you to spend your free time.

If you have any questions that you can't find in the forum, just say.

Best Regards

Hi all,
My name is John,
I live and work in Liverpool, Uk at the moment but
I'm thinking of moving to Northern Portugal to live because I'm disillusioned with UK after Brexit,
Ideally I'd like to move to the countryside away from the big cities but still work, I work in construction as an electrician,
Any tips on Work Visas? Getting residency? Brexit consequences? Property purchase?
Thanks in advance

Hi Lisa,
I'm thinking of moving to Portugal, somewhere in the North and a bit rural,
I have loads of questions,
How do I go about buying a property?
Can I work there? Work visa?
How has Brexit affected living in Portugal permanently?
Can I get resident permit?
Where do I start with all this?
Any advice would be much appreciated Lisa
Thanks
John