Over our five years living in Portugal, we've seen a lot of hype
and disinformation spread about the country.
For us and many others, it's a great place to live. But too many
people get caught up in all the hype and the hoopla: How many different
international media and magazines have already decreed that Portugal is the top
place to be ... to visit ... to live ... to retire?
With well over 100,000 members, the largest Facebook group for
expats and immigrants in Portugal is Moving to Portugal. More than 250 people
seek to join this group every day!
Truth be told, Portugal is being oversold.
I suspect that many professionals who can't find appropriate work
(and pay) in the country are pumping up the rhetoric and joining the bandwagon
of those selling Portugal. Grocers specialising in food products generally hard
to find are shipping them to your doorstep in Portugal. Therapists are dealing
with post-expatric syndrome and a host of other unsettling behaviors. Lawyers
are catering to the big slice of business that comprises the market of people
needing NIFs, bank accounts, and houses. Property agencies are a dime a dozen.
Relocation experts promise to facilitate the transition. Packed tighter than
sardines in a tin are webinars, blogs, vlogs, and YouTube channels catering to
expats, immigrants, and foreigners. We have countless scores of people and
groups teaching Portuguese in a variety of formats. Others are arranging
round-trip scouting trips to the destination(s) of client interest(s), as well
as charter flights bringing people and their pets to Portugal. Customized trips
and tours are at your disposal, as are money lenders and currency brokers.
Portugal itself is subsidizing numerous public relations undertakings that lure
people -- as tourists, travelers, and residents -- to its land of the fado and
saudade.
Still, there's a point to be realistic and not conjure up
expectations of cobble stone streets with porto flowing freely. It just doesn't
work that way.
"The sales gimmick of Portugal having the best beaches in
Europe, the warm weather, low cost of living, and hospitable people was
charming and very appealing. However, as reality set in, I discovered a
different picture--more of a western country being operated as a third world
country, or an eastern bloc bureaucratic central system," one critic said.
Like everywhere these days, Portugal - and the European Union -
has its share of liberals and alt-righters. There are robberies, both
burglaries and advantage-taking. Not everyone is nice--some people are
downright nasty. Fuel is more expensive here, at least three times its cost in
the USA. It gets bone-chilling cold all over the country, a different type of
cold that we've not experienced elsewhere. There's mold and bugs and flies and
creepy crawlers. And lots of houses that continue to be inhabited since they
were built (and hardly upgraded) in the 1930s, 40s, and 50s. Yes, there are
some people who have different attitudes about domestic pets than we do. We
cringe when we hear of their abuse and abandonment. They may cringe when they
see us treating our dogs and cats as children, rather than pets. But
increasingly, I see Portuguese people walking their dogs on leads, picking up
after them, buying specialty foods at upscale pet shops, and taking their
"familiars" to the vet to be diagnosed, treated, and inoculated.
My friend João (don't we all have at least one?), whom I respect
immensely, responded to a litany of complaints about living in Portugal with
these words:
"We describe things as we are, not as they are. As objective
as one can be, the overall joy of living in one place cannot be calculated from
some parameters on a bullet list. I must say that as a former expat myself,
what some considered negative points were truly the things that made me happy.
Take into consideration that the grass is always greener ... and there will
always be people (seeking to) overrate their products--countries
included."
One of the questions asked of would-be members to the largest
Facebook group for expats, immigrants, and others interested in moving to
Portugal is "What do you like most about Portugal?" By far, the
majority of those answering say "Everything!"
Give me a break, please. Most of them have yet to set foot in the
country, but they already know that they like everything about Portugal. Yeah,
right.
A friend, Rudi, posted this on her Facebook feed today: "I
love my little village. I spent this morning emailing and calling four
companies to ask if they could send me an invoice for work they had done at my
place and materials they had delivered. After four texts from me, the wood guy
finally did send me an invoice for wood he delivered the first week of October.
I don't think I ever before had to beg to pay my bills.”
That's the paradox of Portugal.
For some reason, I'm reminded of these lyrics from Joni Mitchell's
Big Yellow Taxi: "They paved paradise, put up a parking lot."
Those who come to Portugal because they've been sold on it being
paradise are in for some surprises and reality checks. Just what is
"paradise," anyway? One person's paradise may put another in the
doldrums.
For us, it's living in peace--safely and securely. It's having a
diverse group of multi-lingual friends who enjoy being together. It's marveling
at the splendors of the world within driving distance. It's integrating to the
culture rather than making it subordinate to ours.
We experience that in Portugal.
"At the end it's a wonderful country to experience but it's
not paradise," commented Jon Collier in a post. "That's a place you
create in your heart."
Bruce Joffe
is publisher and creative director of Portugal Living Magazine, the
"thoughtful magazine for people everywhere with Portugal on their
minds." To read the current issue and subscribe -- free of charge! -- please visit https://portugallivingmagazine.com/our-current-issue/
Great article. All depends with what you compare it to.
For us Lisbon and Portugal works. Is it perfect? No of course not, but there is no such place. If you put some effort into making it great, you will find that "you might get what you need".
By Marc from Lisbon on 19 Jan 2023, 17:14
I too cringe at my British horrible neighbour and her awful treatment of the animals she keeps. The complete disrespect for her neighbours, the constant yelling at her poor dogs and even, what I've concluded, the physical abuse of her animals (the heartbreaking sound of a dog crying just after her scowls and a terrible hitting sound). But then again, maybe I shouldn't taint the squeaky clean image of the "we", especially since I'm one of the "they, the Portuguese villains"... Or should I?...
By Cris from Açores on 19 Jan 2023, 18:39
Mr. Bruce H. Joffe,
I would also remind you that you can always return to your own country, I'm sure there's nothing cringeworthy about it, is there? But we would miss your irreplaceable superior presence educating us, Portuguese, to be more like you and to teach us to take our pets to the vet.
By Cris from Açores on 19 Jan 2023, 19:03