We are more or less settled on going to Porto as our destination city of choice. Rent anywhere that works for the first year and use that time to hone in on the best area for us. Yields time to think about the long term (pursue citizenship, renting vs buying). -R

Now that the scouting trip is complete, I don’t plan on posting here daily. We will keep updating as we proceed with the move. Once we land in PT, we may resume posts that reflect on PT living as an expat. Next tasks are getting documents together and finding an apartment to rent by EOY. -R

Slept in our own bed last night. Only done that 6 of previous 39 days. Felt amazing. Slept from 8 to 5 which seems decent for jet lag. Our house is a palace compared to the studios, hotels, and tents of late. -R

Our scouting trip to Portugal is concluding. 24 hours of busses, planes, and waiting in terminals. N might die of boredom. What have I done… -R

A Voyager-1-themed bar we didn’t have enough time to check out. -R

Barrels on the left are normal size barrels. That chonker on the right is the biggest barrel I’ve ever seen. -R

We bumped into another party on the rooftop patio of a port manufacturer. They live in Braga and vouched for that as almost as good as Porto. Not enough time to see it this trip but will definitely check it out once we move. -R

I attended a board gamers meetup in Porto at a craft beer bar. That’s a double win for me. The folks here are also welcoming and inclusive like those I met in Loulé. We established an in-joke before the night was over. -R

More Porto today. It’s like a big city or something... -R

Hot sauces were brought to the table at the taqueria as mild, medium, and Be Careful. I had to try the Be Careful. It was delicious. -R

Wahoo!! We got our visa appointments booked for January! This is a huge step accomplished due to the limitation of appointments sporadically made available. If you are serious about relocating in next 12 months, I recommend you start now with daily attempts to get your VFS appointment. -R

Porto shares some DNA with Seattle, San Francisco, and Montreal.

We weren’t even here for 2 hours before we found an awesome coffee shop and learned that it is the last day of Porto Coffee Week! Of course we went and tasted everythinggggomgsomuchcaffeine

Porto might just have everything we are looking for. Green spaces, beaches, markets, modern dining, entertainment, public transit. It is only day 1 but we are liking a lot of what we’re seeing. -R

Thursday night I attended the bi-weekly meetup of the Loulé board gamers club. Incredible group of gamers. Very welcoming to have me join and play some games with them. Highly recommend to any gamers traveling through or relocating here. 1st & 3rd Thursdays. -R

Praia da Rocha

Yesterday was a day trip to tour Portimão. This is the last city we are visiting in the Algarve. It’s near Lagos and has similar appeal, perhaps at a lower cost to rent. Great beaches, market, and plenty of retail/restaurants to explore. Chilling today in Faro and off to Porto tomorrow. -R

Today we…opened a Portuguese bank account! Took a little more than an hour but went pretty smoothly. It was interesting for me as a former banking salesperson who opened accounts to see the process in a foreign country - NB

Now we are on the next step of the process and it is one over which we have no control. Securing an appointment with VFS to submit the visa application. Getting an appt is equal parts luck and persistence to check the scheduling website. We can’t do anything else until then. -R

We have opened a bank account with a local bank! It only took two hours of exchanging broken English and Portuguese :) -R

Tomorrow we try opening a bank account. Friday is the last of the towns on the list: Portimão!

Yesterday was a visit to Quarteira and Vilamoura. The two towns meet up and were easy to walk through. Quarteira is all about the beach life. Lots of flats on and seconds away from plenty of beach. Vilamoura is a yacht marina and golf town. Outside Q is the regional amusement park Aquashow! -R

Yall. Lagos. Omg.

Lagos travel Explore Lagos holidays and discover the best time and places to visit.

Today we are visiting Lagos, the most western town of our scouting through the Algarve. www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations...

My “boa noite” was so on point that the bartender was surprised when I next continued in English 💪 -R

Yesterday we stayed in due to potential rainy weather. In the evening we checked out Game Over bar in Faro. I ordered the Megaman cocktail which N said “tastes like blue.” We played a game of Skipbo Express and talked to the bartender a little. Several consoles, karaoke room, and arcade cabs. -R

In Portugal, you eat manga instead of reading it.

The foreign exchange rate is painful at ATMs and even worse at the airport exchange. I declined an ATM yesterday for adding 15% on the rate. Not sure I’ll find any better ATM while here. Still need to open our bank account. A friend suggested sending yourself money through Western Union. -R

We are finding that all the towns in Algarve fall within a similar band of cost, vibe, accessibility, transportation, food, etc. Each town has distinct flair, pros/cons. I’d be happy landing anywhere here and using year 1 to zero in a long term home. Porto should yield a significant contrast. -R

We have 3 more areas to visit in the Algarve and we are realizing that we don’t need the full time remaining to gather data. We have pivoted the last couple days before our flight home to check out Porto. -R