I'm in Spain. Haven't watched TV since I left the UK a decade+ ago. I have no idea who any celebrity is, except from good films and comedians. It's one of the best aspects of my new life. No more talking drool about things that don't matter and people who have no brains and can't handle being famous.
I’m an American in the U.S. and i haven’t watched TV in many years. I can’t stand network shows - all i want is nature documentaries. I have no idea who all these celebrities and new movie stars are. I’m very happy being unplugged from that culture.
the problem is not americans, canadians or any other nationality moving here. The problem is investment funds wanting to invest in real-estate in Portugal. They buy at already absurd prices, leave the houses empty for a while and then put them on the market for an even more ridiculous price. There are thousands of empty houses in Lisboa and Porto, that could be used for anyone to live in, regardless of their nationality.
Exato. É uma fábrica de dinheiro. Na Madeira então é ridículo. Claro que quem tem dinheiro para investir vai investir, mas está a tornar certas zonas numa aldeia de reformados de outras nacionalidades, nómadas digitais e visitantes sazonais com 3 ou 4 propriedade no seu nome em que ganham dinheiro com alojamento local. As medidas que Portugal tentou implementar não vão resultar se não forem levadas a rigor. E até lá vamos continuar a pagar o dobro pelas nossas casas e triplo pelo aluguer. Oxalá um dia está bolha imobiliária rebente
Joas, that has been happening in Florida (USA), making it unaffordable to buy a house for the average person. The government needs to step in both countries but I doubt that will ever happen.
@@joaomatias mas sempre foi assim quem tem dinheiro compra ,constrói, o problema não são os americanos, canadianos,e ninguém é obrigado a arrendar o que é seu,porque o estado já recebeu e continua a receber através do IMI, mesmo antes dos estrangeiros os portugueses queixavam-se de não terem casa condignas, principalmente em Lisboa e Porto
As an Englishman living in Alentejo since 2002, I've seen so many foreigners come and go. Quite a few, like me have stayed and lived happily, but quite a few more just couldnt adapt or embrace Portuguese (or nearby Spanish) life. Better that, than staying if they're unhappy. All I can say is my life only truly began when we arrived here. I will never live anywhere else. I have had nothing but wonderful experiences from the first day to now.
Yeah, I have been in Spain for 4 years and have seen foreigners come and go like it's a revolving door, not just people from the English world but also French, Germans, ect. The only people that stay are the ones that learn the language and somehow find a good job. The ladder is incredibly difficult in the Mediterranean and if I have to leave it will be for this reason.
@@Gewehr_3 So true Xavier. Living here's the easy bit. It's finding a way to pay for it that's hard. But it is possible if you are able to speak Spanish or in my case, Portuguese. Good luck to you. Once you're able to live independently, there's no better life.
@chriswilliams6568 all countries have their problems also Brazil is huge their are good parts and bad parts like everywhere else just like your country. I don't think that's a good enough reason to not visit but that's up to you. Also I am not from Brazil so he is not my president.
I’m very confused. As an American in Portugal all the “negatives” are positives (except the graffiti, but the street art is fantastic). The whole point of moving out of the US is for differences. Not replicating the US lifestyle somewhere else. 😊
Well said. I think this video is addressed to those who through a sense of entitlement demand a replica of the country they are leaving behind. To them I say, what is the point of moving? There are always tradeoffs and the US is better in some ways, in other ways Portugal is better. Adapt, deal with the cons and enjoy the many pros.
There's not a city on the planet that isn't completely artificial that doesn't have graffiti LOL... I've been all over Western Europe, parts of the Middle East, and Central America... accept the graffiti. It's just a part of life when people are freer to express themselves than most Americans are ;)
I am 100% Portuguese but born and raised on the Texas-Mexico southern border. I plan on retiring to Portugal being both of my parents were Portuguese citizens. I am going to open an authentic Mexican food & Fruit/Treats joints in Lisbon
You do very well in Lisboa with the restaurant. Brazilian Rodizio restuarant have been succesful in Lisboa and Porto. Portuguese people will accept you as long as you show respect and friendship. Portugal e muito bonito
Not tons, but some..and those I tried were far from authentic Mexican cuisine. Probably gets expensive to import the needed ingredients, so they fake it and most people don't know the fake from authentic.
I live in Norway and love the winter months. So we are different, because I couldn't bring myself to waste the winter months with a hot and sweaty climate. When spring comes with its plump spring flowers, it is also holiday time, even if the summer is too hot, but luckily you can go up into the mountains to normal temperatures.
We don't hate Americans, we don't hate anybody, we just hate being poor but that is not your fault. The impact of you coming to live here is still negligible but like everything, its just a matter of numbers, it will eventually impact our property prices and general prices just because of the huge pay gap, you really earn way more money than we do and that is the reality. I lived in California for a while and its a no brainer to move to Portugal if i was American, its safer, quieter, better value for money and overall a much better life quality. Just don't be a asshole and call your self an expat, you are an emigrant, learn the language, pay your due taxes and quit the americanism of being entitled. Another thing we don't need is racism and coffee to go, just sit down and forget your lattes and enjoy the conversation on the neighborhood café, its cheaper and you will make friends.
We really don't hate anybody, but we have a friendly sibling rivalry with the Spanish, with whom we often trade good spirited banter barbs. Think nothing of it; we love them, really.
Portuguese don't have lunch for 2-3 hours. It's 1 hour lunch on work days. On weekends and holidays sure it can be longer, assuming you are lunching with friends or family.
They think the lunch break hour is paid. I went to have lunch with an american in lisbon at honest greend and it was quickly filled with workers from the offices nearby. Then he started 'wow why so many people have enough lunch break to come outside?' Me: because it's the company lunch break Him: but isn't it wasting time. In eua i usually eat in th3 office and try to leave earlier Me: the lunch time isn't paid. You can stay at the office if you want and work during lunch time but that hour isn't paid. He was then shocked.
@@paxxop Office working time is usually from 9am to 6pm (8 hours paid + 1 hour lunch break unpaid). It's usually from 1pm to 2pm because then it breaks the 8h hour work journey in half. Some might have the lunch break from 12h00 to 13h00 if the company starts working at 8am
I like many things about Portugal, but I'm not sure it would be my first choice for a new home. Although prices are lower than the US, amenities in most homes outside cities are very basic. Services outside cities are also hit or miss. You can't expect a small town to have a licensed plumber, for instance, but you'll often find that Uncle Josef can help you out with that after he brings in his olives. He also fixes cars, can rewire your home, and he occasionally can score some really good seafood from his sister's brother-in-law's second cousin.
THIS. This, and people who've never experienced any real hardships in their lives. Almost everyone born in a western country past 1960 has enjoyed freedom, good health and plenty like no-one else ever had before, yet so few people are satisfied.
@@heatherza5843I'm a Millennial. Housing has been incredibly expensive all my adult life and is only getting worse. Paying 65+% of my science PhD level job income to rent and utilities is insane.
im Portuguese, i like America and americans, just like other europeans, just keep in mind we never advertised the "Portuguese dream" because it doesn't exist.
I’m interested in your country. I would love to learn the language. The slower life style interests me. I’ve been to Europe many times and I like the lifestyle and pace there. I’ve always believed that one should respect and live the culture of the country they are going to.
That's ok, the "American dream" died back in those awful Reagan years. It came back for a while under Clinton, Obama, and Biden, but it's preparing to really die now, along with democracy.
Ok, we don't hate Americans coming here. Obviously the government made a mistake when it didn't protect the real estate market against abuse, and this demand and interest in 🇵🇹 is negatively affecting the life of average Portuguese. The incredible rent hikes is just not because of Americans coming here, but the greed of many landlords (including many Portuguese) that have no conscience. As for "many Americans" leaving Portugal 🇵🇹 I don't think that is that accurate. Many leave, just like many Brazilians, British, etc leave after a while. There are many reasons, and some you mentioned, but I would say the main reason, is that they expect Portugal to be California! It isn't, things here are different. There are no deli's in Portugal, services here are slow (there are reasons outside of slow living) and Americans are used to speedy service, efficiency, not here most of the time. So, it's all about the attitude and expectations, which are not always in line with local culture.
@@Rodrigues-xg3ln não é, mas há similaridades pois conheço bem a Califórnia. Felizmente não temos os problemas sociais e de saúde que se vê em certas cidades da Califórnia; tipo São Francisco, Oakland, etc.
@@Rodrigues-xg3ln Descontrolo? Acho extremo, afinal não são tantos assim a vir pra Portugal. Os retornados foram + de 1 milhão, e precisavam quase todos de emprego ou estudos. Portugal aguentou, e o que há cá agora não chega a isso, mais ainda, os q vêm pra cá, nem emprego precisam pois ou são nómadas digitais ou reformados. De momento, não vejo motivo para alarme, mas sim preocupação com a governação que temos e as já suas incompetências. Independentemento do partido político, são todos uma cambada de tolos! 🙄
@@Alfablue227 engraçado termo "tolos", você é simpática. E em Portugal nao foram 1 milhão, foram 2 milhões de refugiados expulsos de africa por terem cor da pele branca.
I came to Portugal 3 and a half years ago to experience and to travel throughout Europe. I can only say that the Portuguese people I have met are the kind that we need most in this world. Love Portugal ❤😊!
You never were in a situation where you needed help from the police? Lucky you .. because they don't. They would let you die in a ditch if you do not have a PT passport
That’s good to say that. Many reports in the media and books saying that the foncal divide is great and therefore drug gang issue are bad (with many shipments coming in from Brazil and easier access to weapons) and getting worse. Whereabouts are you based and have you seen evidence of this?
But the prescription drugs are much higher there than in the U.S. & they don't take Medicare I also looked at the price of condos compared to where I live in the U.S. & they're much more. It's ridiculous!!!
I am American born Portuguese and retired from San Jose and moved to Portugal. This guy is full of opinion . I can do the same thing- so take his comments about how Portuguese feel about Americans as opinion . I am fully bilingual and I find people here not to really care if you’re American or whatever as long as you’re not an a’hole. Live and let live is the attitude I think .
We love living in Porto, Portugal. Though there are downsides like in every place in the world, it is fantastic. We love the great weather, food, people and more. The winters are not a big deal for us, but we come from Michigan USA with lots of snow. Great video!!
As a portuguese i need to say this relating to the climate. Summers in Portugal are NOT tame at all. Yeah, they can be a bit chiller if you live by the coast, but central Portugal gets hot.. Like real HOT. 45Cs in not uncommon at all during the summer months. Yeah, Algarve (The southern region) is super sunny and more tame (perfect weather to be honest, Winters there dont feel like Winters). However you mentioned Madeira and the Madeira main Island on itself has 6 micro climates. Its crazy. It rains and it has no clouds sun in a day.
Summers can be absolute scorchers here! Tourists from colder countries passing out from heat stroke/dehydration isn't too uncommon a sight in Summer, especially in particularly dry years.
It only gets 45C for a couple of days in Portugal. In the US, you get those temperatures in Texas, Arizona, California for months! And lately it's getting to 50C.
Thank you for another amazing video. As a Portuguese citizen who recently came back after 7 years abroad, I can relate to some of the struggles and culture shocks that you mentioned here, particularly the bureaucracy and tax part of it (also the graffiti), which were not as much an issue where I was living. But just like you, I'd much rather be here than wasting my life working like a dog in a country with a horrible and toxic hustle culture, where I was before.
Im Mexican American who grew up in the United States. I recently traveled to your country and fell in love with the energy, the warmth and the culture..even with the graffiti, it is nowhere near as bad as my city plus we have soo much crime, bad race relations, expensive healthcare, I can go on...I would take Portugal's cons anyday and my goal now is to be able to retire in Portugal!
Note: he did not mention murder, robbery, carjackings, home invasions, squatting, drug addicted folks in tent cities on the streets, as is found commonly in major cities of the most exceptional nation on earth.
@@macer-music you see some homeless people, but the rest are honestly kinda uncommon, unless you watch CMTV 24/7 in which case you get all minor crimes going on beamed straight into your eyes at incredible speed, which definitely makes it seem more common
I'm Irish but brought up in England. I came here in 1975 and stayed. Portuguese bureaucracy has improved enormously. I remember queueing up in Lisbon to pay taxes - surreal! Now everything is interlinked via data bases. I speak Portuguese fluently. In 1975, only a handfull of students could speak basic English; now, I have to tell Portuguese people that they can speak to me in Portuguese because they take every opportunity to practise their English. The wine - cheaper and better than most European countries I know - Spain, Italy, France, Germany. The food: simple, healthy - fish, fish, fish,...
If you are eating primarly fish dishes in Portugal you are missing out. Yes, we have good seasfood stuff....but we have just as many or more dishes with meat in them. I favour meat and I love our meat dishes. One thing I'll say is, there are so many regional dishes in Portugal, if I were to try and get someone from outside to show them what we've got...while they were staying in any ONE place...it'd be tricky. Anyway, I'm just chiming in, because if there is one thing I feel the world could know more about us is precisely the food.
"Sometimes you have to know a guy who knows a guy in order to get things done": this is, unfortunately, quite true, I'm afraid. In our (poor) defence, things aren't so dissimilar elsewhere; when I moved to London, I couldn't open a bank account without an address, and I couldn't rent a flat without a bank account. In the end, I met a guy who knew a guy (see?) who knew a woman with a flat to let, and she was kind enough to dismiss the bureaucracy of bank accounts and such.
As the bureaucrat which I was in my job I always found it interesting to play the system. So the same conumdrum or Catch-22) exists in Germany. I wonder if you could rent short-term so you get an address?
In Australia I looked for a bank that let me put the address of my hostel :) But for a room/apartment to rent, same story... Had to find a guy that knew a guy...
@ArabianShark: it is exactly the same in the Netherlands, and also in Italy where I lived for 1 year. One cannot open a bank account without a fixed residential address and / or possibly also a Citizen Service Number which every Dutch citizen has. However, in Italy I did indeed find my 2 flats 'via-via' as we say in Dutch (someone who knows someone else who ...). Due to this good fortune I never found out if it was possible to rent a flat without a bank account, however.
We don't hate Americans. There's no hate here towards any nationality and many people actually love to interact with folks from other countries. As Americans, just don't expect us to smile as readily as you do, at first sight - that's a very New World thing (Brazilians are like that too) that's, in general, absent in Europe. We'll be (in broad terms) polite but, out of consideration and respect, we will not disturb you by initiating conversation. We'll respect your personal bubble. But if you do initiate conversation, well, we'll open up and start to speak loudly (either in Portuguese, English or both! )
@@pedrob3953 Compared to Swedes? This is not saying much, eh? ; ) How about comparing with a central/southern Spanish environment? Perhaps this is not an easy comparison to make?
@@eugeniebreida We are the most hospitable in my experience. But we are also "grumpy" in our own way. So you can be both warm and open.....but still not come across as overly friendly. Portuguese are very direct. We are less extroverted on average than the Spanish or Italian .We are melancholic.
First time I’ve seen your channel. Nice video! Re: the taxes, it’s really important to emphasize that the 48% tax rate is not for “people who make over 80K€ a year” but for “that portion of your income that falls above 80K€ per year”. The proper term is not a “sliding scale”, but a “graduated taxation system”. (AKA “tax brackets” - just like the US.) In Portugal it’s a 9-tiered system, and the lowest rate is 13.25% for incomes below 7.8K€ a year. Having that many tiers actually makes Portugal’s tax system a bit easier to manage than, say, Spain’s, with only 5 tax brackets and the top rates of 45% starting at only 60K€ a year. Just wanted to throw that out there, as many Americans tend to just write off the idea of moving to Europe because they think they’ll lose 50% of their income right off the top.
@@minerva4545 And @shinyshinythings clearly stated that it's NOT a "sliding scale," but rather a "graduated taxation system." Reading comprehension is clearly not your forte.
Long gloomy winters in Portugal? Try England. We travelled from England to spend Christmas in Portugal some years ago and revelled in the warm sunny weather. Okay, it wouldn't have seemed warm to Californians, but it was fine for us. The temperature was around 16-17 C during the best part of the day, the sun shone, and flowers were coming up through the grass. It was windy on a couple of days.
Regarding taxes - DON'T say that the rate is 48% for those who earn more than 80,000 euros a year! This amount is paid ABOVE 80,000, that is, if you earn 85,000 you pay 48% on 5,000 (the difference between 85,000 and 80,000). Tax rates are applied by intervals. Ask your accountant to explain this to you, so you don't continue to give wrong information! Other than that, I like your channel
@@ingbor4768 Eu já pago 38% (IRS + SS) e não ganho nem perto de metade disso, e é sobre o total dos rendimentos brutos Não entendo ao certo o que Maria quer dizer, ninguém é taxado em IRS sobre um valor arbitrário que ultrapassa 80,000 euros, somos taxados de acordo com o bolo total bruto que recebemos mensalmente, alguém que ganhe 85,000 euros anuais (6071 mensais em 14 meses) por exemplo ultrapassaria o escalão de 6052 euros e seria taxado a 35,8% em IRS de acordo com a tabela em vigor. Esses 35,8% seriam acrescidos ao valor da Segurança Social (11% para trabalhadores por conta de outrem no privado) e a taxa combinada de ambos (46,8%) seria retirada do valor bruto que a pessoa recebeu, não haveria uma taxa dupla onde 6052 euros são taxados com uma taxa e os restantes 19 euros com outra, isso nem faria sentido, verifiquei até no meu recibo de vencimento e tá calculado assim, a soma de SS + IRS é retirada ao vencimento bruto A não ser que ela se esteja a referir a algum estratagema de divisão de lucros para esconder parte do vencimento real e assim ser taxado com o escalão inferior, se for o caso gostava de saber como isso funciona lol
I don't think we're as far north as Maine. I think Lisbon is at the same latitude as Philadelphia and Porto at the same latitude as NYC. Still, it doesn't get nearly as cold as those places in the Winter, because we "benefit" from the gulf stream. As for lunch, we do have one hour for lunch on week days, and we are a lot more frugal for dinner, because it's not convenient to have a heavy meal at night.
@@tonynunes4965 I stand corrected. NYC is roughly at the same latitude as the Aveiro area. When was the last time the city shoveled snow from the streets of Aveiro after a snowstorm? I agree the climate is similar to the central part of California. Tending towards semi-arid/Mediterranean in the Algarve similar to, say, Santa Barbara and with the north of Portugal having a climate similar to the wine producing region located north of San Francisco.
@@psource2305 Faro is 37 degrees North which is equivalent of Virginia/NC border but as it has a maritime climate with Mediterranean influences rather than continental climate it’s much warmer in winter and summers are slightly cooler but very sunny and very dry. All in all a healthy delightful climate.
One of the main reasons I love Portugal and my birth country Turkey, is the sense of community. You feel a post of something bigger. Here in Australia it is very different .
The abandoned building problem is frequently caused by the inheritance laws. Upon the death of a person the estate is divided up equally among living relatives or their offspring. This can lead to a property being owned by dozens of individuals, many of whom are difficult to trace.
Glad that you mention this. This fact seems to be forgotten when people talk about Portugal’s housing crisis, while it might be one of the main factors (lack of property market restrictions being the main reason)
If you want to integrate somewhere, the first thing you do is learn the local language. I only hear the Americans complaining that it is so difficult. I had to learn English you know, and 3 other languages. Don't be silly.
Portuguese is a difficult language to learn especially for English speaking people. Why in heavens name would you want Mexican food in Portugal? I myself find Mexican food very unappealing.
@@wplains English speaking, with the Americans in particular, find every foreign language difficult. How difficult do you think English is with its weird sounds and non phonetic writing.
@@cellevangiel5973yeah that’s because you’re a European you dolt. America is a huge country, and only a small amount of people speak a different language, mainly Spanish. You can drive for 12 hours and never leave Texas. You Europeans think you’re so enlightened, I’m fact youre just exposed to many other cultures simply because of geography. America is more homogeneous than Europe.
I believe it helps to learn a foreign language if you already love that part of education. I studied 3 years French in high school. Had no use for it sadly after school. Years later I worked in Switzerland and studied German in the year before I moved there. After a year I studied Italian just because it's so beautiful. Lo and behold, the French Swiss would speak to me in Italian! But never German. And you know they are multi lingual. My biggest regret was returning to the US. (It was to continue my education, not for any other reason. Would have been impossible to study medicine in German) I wish I could return for the rest of my life. Yes there have been changes over 40 some years, but... I still would be happier there.
Why is pretty much every American who moves to Europe expecting authentic Mexican food over here? You have it in the U.S. because they're your neighbors, obviously, and make up a large immigrant group. The 10 Mexicans that made to this continent are most likely in Spain. 😊 I just don't understand the recurring expectation...
@@MaRia-mq1kz Maybe try some real Spanish food instead? I'm sure it's just as good. This is not a critique, is just that the point of the original comment is that some people from America go to Portugal and expect the same food, services or culture? That makes no sense.
I'm a Brit who recently moved back to England after 9 years in Lisbon. Life there on a 800-900 euro Portuguese wage is impossible. There are a few things I really miss, but not the stress of running out of money two weeks before the next pacheck which is the most important. Lisbon is starting to not feel like a real city, for example where normal people can make a living, portuguese disneyland, 'the new barcelona' and personaly i do find the nomads/anyone not paying taxes there annoying.
Funny thing is, now that as a Brit you know how the Portuguese feel you probably will understand why it’s rude to ask Portuguese people “Why are you not living in your country? It’s so sunny there!”. We get asked this on a daily basis when working abroad and it feels stupid to tell people that I prefer the no stress of being able to pay bills and those cannot be paid with sunny weather only… best of luck back in England.
The locals complain about foreigners not paying taxes everywhere. Frankly this is usually BS; traveller's pay VAT which in Europe runs around 20% on every good and service. Foreigners also pay short term accommodation taxes which can be quite high. In terms of Americans, they pay taxes on worldwide income as a USA person; there is no expat taxation status. Hence, Americans usually pay double taxation by working outside the USA as accommodation and VAT taxes are not offset usually.
@valerieroche No, you are wrong. Are Americans overseas exempt from unearned income tax? Are Americans overseas exempt from USA property taxes? What is the marginal rate the first dollar starts at over the 125k EARNED income tax exclusion IF you qualify?
My husband I mover almost two years ago with our two kids (third was born here) and I can say it’s been an adjustment but we love it. My 5 and 3 year old are quickly learning Portuguese in their school. Put them in a Portuguese school and they are doing so well making friends and learning. I was in the hospital for a month when our third was born. He needed a NICU stay. He was born in a public hospital and they took amazing care of him. Being in the hospital I got to watch a lot of Portuguese tv thanks to my roommate. Some of the tv shows reminds me of telenovela‘s. All that being said I love living here and how family oriented it is here in Porto. For us it’s been a good move and integrating into a Portuguese neighborhood has made it easier for us. Learning Portuguese is still hard for me but I’ve seen how patient some of the people can be when they see me trying.
It's a question of practice, practice, practice. Try and practise your Portuguese every day. Go to your local super, or butcher or baker or greengrocer and talk to them in (simple) Portuguese, if they are not busy. Tell them how keen you are to learn and I'm willing to bet they'll be delighted to help you. And watch Portuguese TV at home too. Buy some Portuguese strip comics. The best way to learn a language is the total immersion method which is the one I've described above.
My sister (lives in the USA) worked with several Portuguese women many years ago. She loved them and they loved her. She always talked so fondly of them and they were always bringing her Portuguese bread! Wish I had gotten to know them as well.
I loved living in Portugal. I am learning Portuguese and I am hoping that I can at least snow bird there. I was there over the winter, it was nice and it's true that homes don't even have heating. But the winter wasn't so bad compared to New England. I loved the cultural sensibilities.
Eu cresci numa casa sem aquecimento e o único aquecimento era um fogão a lenha e os invernos no passado eram mais frios e acho que eu e os meus irmãos nunca nos queixamos, agora nunca estão contentes com nada
@@saragomes6242 Cresci a aquecer-me com aquecederes a óleo e lareira, mas, de há pouco mais de um ano para cá, finalmente tenho aquecimento central. É mais confortável, mas, tirando isso, não é coisa que me importe particularmente.
A lot of these issues are the same in many places in Europe. You need to learn a language if you are really going to try and integrate with the culture; you won't have your favourite brands/ foods/ TV to hand; bureaucracy can be intimidating, especially dealing with "Foreigners Police" for visa issues, and registering for healthcare and taxes; taxes are often much higher; the climate may be different to at home, and the building regulations may allow for poorer insulation than you are used to ( a problem in both summer and winter ); landlords may have a different approach than you are used to; the education system may not meet your expectations, and expat schools can be expensive; you may be prohibited from doing a "side hussle" due to your visa conditions ( eg where I live you get a visa for your profession. If you do something that is not your profession, that is illegal ); and if you move on your own, it can be lonely. People don't mention this enough. Yes, it is easier to join some expat community group for socialising. From my experience, most people end up socialising with people from their own country. For guys, sports is the focus. So if you're not into sports, you'll have to fake it. It can be quite superficial, but then guys just need 4-5 other guys to do things with. The guys are interchangeable. So it can be difficult to really bond for friendship. For girls, as we know, they bond much easier with one another. But that still leaves you either in a general expat bubble, or hanging around with compatriots from your home country. Either way, you're not integrating so much with the country and people. If you date a local, be prepared for language barrier potentially with their parents/ siblings, and culture clashes.
My experience in Costa Rica. VERY lonely... My U.S. friends had obligations and couldn't join me. I lived there for 8 months. The food had cheap prices and was INCREDIBLY delicious and healthy. The rent was low, and my apartment was absolutely beautiful. ($650 a month US dollars!!😮)The people were politely cold. You gotta go with a significant other, or you will feel the chill. 🥶 They're a VERY close-knit family oriented country. I was too stupid to realize that. Plus being a very outgoing person I really suffered socially. 😢I'd seriously like to return with a hot boyfriend and go ziplining through the jungle! 😂
You are making some pretty appalling generalisations by saying all men think of nothing but sport (not true at all). AND by saying that women 'bond much easier' (should be 'more easily') with each other ... not true either. And don't call adult women 'girls'. It's condescending and disrespectful.
I lived in Marbella, Spain for a year. I LOVE the slower pace! In Reno, I get 30 minutes for lunch, which is quite the departure from the 2-3 hour lunches I enjoyed in Marbella!
I spent 16 years in the British Army and as such enjoyed autumns/winters in such well known sun traps as Norway/Denmark/Yorkshire/N. Ireland. Enjoyed years of German winters in the resorts of Sennelager. Frolicked in December on Dartmoor. I know a little bit about post October and pre April discomforts. The coldest and most uncomfortable I have ever felt was on a winter visit to Portugal. We stayed in a little village to the north of Cascais. Close to Cabo do Roca which I believe is the most western point of Europe. Though it admittedly warmed up during the day toward the end of the holiday on arrival and for the first few days there was icy rain and raging winds coming in off the Atlantic. No matter what we did (including the wearing of extra layers and the fires in the house raging for days - who would have known a large slice of the fun on hols budget would have to go toward sacos of logs for the fires) I can say with some authority I have never been so chilled to the bone inescapably close to hypothermia as we found ourselves in that house. Not even in Yorkshire or Norway. Admittedly when the rain stopped and after a couple of days of drying out the area was just beautiful and daytime temps became welcomingly pleasant. Those first 4/5 days had us looking forward to getting into the car with the heating on. Nowhere else have I ever even got close to feeling that chilled to the bone inescapable misery experienced on the far west of Portugal however.
It’s true. As you can see in the comments there are a lot of people with opinions that have clearly never lived or stayed in Portugal all four seasons. Most Canadians say the same thing but they are just happy not to be shoveling the snow
At my job i deal with lots of imigrants and English speakers tend to be the ones not to learn the language. If you move here to stay or to stay for a long time, learn the language. I've interacted with people living here 5 to 10 years already and they dont know the language beyond "bom dia" and "obrigado".
@@LabRat6619 Maybe, but it's really disrespectful to live in another country for years and not even bothering to learn the language, not even basic communication!
I don't think it has to do with English speakers not wanting to learn or willing to learn the language. It has to do with age. It is generally much harder for adults to learn another language, compared to children or young adults, specially if they emigrate to a new country where the language is different than their mother tongue. I see it a lot in the US. Latinos who moved to the US as an adult, unable to speak English beyond Hello. The same goes with a lot of Asians, especially the ones from China. If an adult Portuguese (way beyond college years) who doesn't speak English, were to move to an English-speaking country, this person will have a very difficult time learning English, guaranteed.
Your channel is the best. I am Brazilian, living in USA about 23 years. Can’t wait to get out of here and moving to a Portugal. No $$ there but life quality I will have for sure. Thank you for all tips
Me too! I am brazilian, living in California for the last 30 years! I am getting ready to retire hopefully very soon. I am purchasing my little farm in Portugal, can't wait to move to portugal, I lived there for 3 years when as was a child and only have great memories every time I go back . :)
I am a Portuguese, living in Coimbra. I admire and respect your great Nation 🇵🇹 🇺🇸. Your video was very well done and touches many valid points, with intelligence and humor.
More and more seem to be moving to the Algarve. These are people that want to integrate with community spirit and live in rural areas. I gave a class where 50% of my students were American. They also understand the processes here are different so they grin and bear it. If you have a good attitude and stay positive it helps - a lot - in state government offices. Learning Portuguese is a must! In São Brás alone we have so many restaurants you will not believe. Chinese, indian, kebabs, sushi, traditional restaurants too. If ever you come here, I will show you around.
If I were in Portugal I would not even think of going to a Chinese, Indian, sushi or other Asian restaurant. These are two a penny in northern Europe and are generally bloody ghastly as well. If I were in Portugal I would only want to eat Portuguese cuisine as the Portuguese do.
A Portuguese dude from Lisbon here. A few relevant things that are missing: 1 - SAFETY - Portugal is well within the top 10 most safe countries in the world. 2 - HEALTH CARE SYSTEM - You will not be placed in a hotel room, but you will treated in accordance with best practices. HIGHWAYS - you can go to almost anywhere in the country using highways. WEATHER - in the South (Lisbon and beyond) it rains much less and it makes much less cold In the Winter than what you are saying. Finally, I don’t see people Leaving Portugal; quite the opposite: I see many people wanting to come to Portugal.
Yes but Portugal cant accept the world because then you get the problem we currently have in Canada, taking in too many people without develloping the infrastructure to support it. We have a housing crisis in most major cities, hospital overcrowdings, school classrooms that are overwhelming for teachers, etc... Be wise Portugal.
We have much larger highways in the USA. Why don’t you talk about how racist Portuguese people are towards black people how racial discriminating with immigrants from third world countries you all really are!
1. Safety 2.healthcare 3.higways 4.food 😋 5.weather 6.polite people 7.history n culture 8.Growing economy 9.beaches 10. English and better immigration policy ❤❤😊who don't want to come Portugal 🆗
6:40 American passport renewal: 10 weeks. Portugal: same day, 1 week at most. California drivers license expiration: 10 years. Portugal: when you die. American citizenship process: insulting and minimum a decade if you're lucky enough to be from Europe. Portugal: demonstrate a genuine interest in becoming Portuguese and then welcome brother
Americans and everyone are welcome here and you are not driving up prices of housing. This problem is way more complicated (by policy) than having americans and foreigners as scape goats
As a Portuguese-American I can attest that this video is incredibly accurate. I noticed the drone shot of my beloved Lagoa de Obidos & Foz do Arelho beach that is just minutes from my father's village. Your thoughts on the climate are accurate and I did spend some time in my grandmother's house as a kid during a Portuguese winter and yes the humidity inside the house and the moisture on the tiles is something I remember well. But comparing it to winters here in New England its a piece of cake lol. Overall great videos!! Keep them coming they are quenching my "saudades"
@@jackbaldwin3649 I would say it is almost the same weather. I alway hear people saying that up north, in the Porto area is colder than Lisbon. I was in Porto last September and the weather was as same as the weather in Lisbon. You should visit the country, you will enjoy I'm sure:)
I grew up in Montreal Canada. Winter in Portugal is not winter. I went to the Azores for Christmas one year and horrified my family by expressing my wish to go walking on the beach. They told me I shouldnt, its "winter". Theres no snow. You can get by wearing a sweater, no jacket. At its worst, the weather is like a cool autumn day.
Porto is at the same latitude as NY, not Maine. This winter in Porto had about 6 weeks of solid rain followed by playing beachfront streetball in a t shirt at Castelo do Queijo in January while people in NY were shovelling snow. Winter was never cold enough to interfere with bilingual tennis lessons in an unheated bubble.
Hello Dave! I stumbled upon your video and watched it until the end. I'm Portuguese, I was born in Lisbon, and I live in the center. It looks like we can't can't trust newspapers ! Very few Americans come across me. The country has a lot of Brits, a lot, but not American citizens. Yes, it is true that there is not much sympathy for Americans, or rather for American culture, but this is the case throughout Europe, not just here. Nevertheless, each person will probably be welcomed as an individual. I don't know what your experience is, but the North is more welcoming. If this is an example of your videos, I can only recommend it because everything you said is true. People should always be aware that each country has its own culture and its own problems and that a lot will depend on the adaptability skills and profile of those who arrive. Also, the experience of living here can be completely different in the north or in the south, in Lisbon or Castelo Branco, despite Portugal being a small country.
EXACTLY 100% correct, entitled yuppies from the US are mostly NOT WANTED anywhere, including IN their country The only thing worse is an arrogant ENTITLED drunk BRIT
In a way, Americans are only for themselves to blame for having a bad reputation in Europe (and parts of Asia), although of course each individual will be accepted as long as they want to adapt. There are plenty of Brits, Germans and Scandinavians (like myself) in Portugal - especially in Algarve and Greater Lisboa (Estoril 🥰).
America has many cultures what you mean by the American culture? I'm from the deep south our culture and food are different from the rest of the country. You need to travel more.
I traveled for the first time there and was mostly in Lisboa last November. Everyone who we met was polite and didn't treat me any different once they found out I was from the USA. I was traveling with a friend who originally was from Africa and has done a lot of traveling. The one thing we are asked in the three countries I traveled with him is " What's going on over there?" (meaning.... USA). The USA is very multicultural just like Europe. USA definitely has its problems. There is entitlement everywhere in the world. Most people who do travel to Europe from the USA come with open minds and heart. We travel to learn history and experience culture, with the bonus of making friends. I will return again someday to experience the summer months.
Great overview. I lived outside Estoril in the early '80s. The weather, especially in winter, is exactly as you mentioned. If I could move back to Portugal, the coastal north areas, Nazare' and north to the Spanish border, far surpass the Algarve in my opinion. Completely agree about learning Portuguese....even if not spoken well, Portuguese appreciate your attempts to speak their language.
My husband who is Portuguese and i just came back from holidaying there last week. I fell in love with the country and I agree the North surpasses the south.
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When comparing costs of living between Portugal and another country, you really have to bear in mind that the salaries here are very low; around 50% of Portuguese take home 1,000 Euros a month or less. If you don't have some form of income from outside the country, you will have real problems with the cost of rents, etc. Also remember that when you live in Portugal for more than 183 days a year, you become tax resident, and you are taxable on your global income (you have to declare and pay tax on all foreign income - salaries, dividends, pensions etc.) Also bear in mind the Social Taxes, which are in addition to the Income Taxes that NHR gives a temporary reduction in. Then there is Capital Gains tax - again, not reduced by NHR. That's how the Portuguese Government gets it's money from enticing people to move here...
António Silva Não podemos comparar o ordenado minimo em Portugal com países Alemanha Luxemburgo ou Dinamarca etc.etc. Mas visto bem as coisas os portuguêses fazem melhor vida do que os pôvos dos países que mencionei. Português sai de casa para ir trabalhar vai ao bar beber café o português sai do trabalho vai ao bar beber cerveja vinho e comer petiscos etc. Outros pôvos de outros países é casa trabalho - trabalho casa,afinalmente o português faz melhor vida do que um alemão por exemplo,vá para Alemanha viver e fazer a mesma vida que voçê faz em Portugal vá ao bar todos dias beber café e beber vinho cerveja e comprar um maço de tabaco por dia e veja se o ordenado minim alemão chega. Por exemplo 1 copo de vinho voçê bebe em Portugal por 60 centimos na França paga 2 euros por um copo de vinho aqui bebe um café por 80 centimos quanto paga na França ou na Alemanha. O Luxemburgo tem um pordenado minimo muito alto mas metado do ordenado é para o aluguer da casa e o resto água Luz comida etc.etc. Desculpem o meu português praticamente a merda é a mesma no estrangeiro ganham muito em Portugal se ganha pouco,mas os portuguêses fazem vida de rico.Se em Portugal querem poupar dinheiro façam igual o que os portuguêses imigrantes por esta Europa fora que façam igual casa trabalho -trabalho casa. Eu sei do falo eu passei por alguns países europeus trabalhei.Alemanha França Holanda Suécia etc. O melhor imigrante é o marinheiro na marinha mercante anda em cima do mar e conheçe países de passagem,tem cama e comida e não paga nada esse sim tem a vantagem de ajuntar dinheiro.
Inadequately heated houses were a common occurrence all over Mediterranean, only changing in the last two or three decades. Heck, even our hotels often lacked heating.
"all over the Mediterranean" yes, but contrary to most Mediterranean countries, Portugal's coast is all Atlantic. No one in southern and eastern Spain, Italy or Greece knows how cold a summer night can be in Portugal. Not to mention the winter..
Who needs heating in the Mediterranean?? Do to have winters that drop below freezing 32F/0C and even lower than that?? Hell, I think that 45F/7.2C is cold but survivable. Especially warmer. The body gets used to it. I spent the fall and winter in a tent then a trailor and in the winter it fell below 0F/-17C for days on end with only a space heater. It never got above 45 when it got that cold, and only to the 60sF/18C on average cold days. If I didn't have that space heater, I would not be here writing this. Yet you think you got it bad???
Hey Dave, It was great to meet you in person! How was the healthy cafe? 😉 I did find a great place that has happy hour tocos for 1 Euro! (Gringo) recommend the flutas. Anyways love your videos and understanding of of Portuguese culture. I have been here for almost 2 years and love it! #mexicanamerican #forÇa!
Dinner at 9 pm is mostly a "city thing" :) - in rural areas is at 6 pm but mostly at 7pm. Or at least in northern Portugal/center Portugal. I come from a rural family in the north, and notice quite some differences (although born and raised in Lisbon, of course I have lots of cultural habits from rural north, still). And one of the contrasts is in dinner time (and lunch time), as my Lisbon friends do tend to have lunch later, and dinner (them: 13h/14h lunch + 20h/21h dinner; me and my family at 12h lunch + 19h dinner).
As previous realtor in southern Spain, I have seen SO many people come and go. They have their few years of Spanish adventure, and off they go, with once again all the costs of selling and moving. Often it's quite predictable who will stay and finds this home, and those who are transient and restless: Those who learned Spanish, and those who didn't.
well said!! The first thing I have always done, wherever I have lived, is _learn the language_ !! Apart from being better for me, it is courteous and respectful to the host country to do so. By the way: what is 'realtor'?
@@mfjdv2020 Gracias :) A realtor is an estate agent, selling houses. And then re-selling them, because they go "back home" (UK or elsewhere). Spain didn't become "home", because they didn't give any respect or courtesy, thus didn't get any respect or courtesy. A circle of which they are unaware. Business wise good for estate agents, but bad for the social fabric, or for themselves. Learn AT LEAST all phrases of courtesy! Already that, opens doors, increases reliability, social seriousness, everything. Well done YOU! 😎😁
I think for Americans, learning Spanish would be far easier than learning Portuguese. We hear Spanish often, and many of us took it in high school and college, or have hispanic friends here. There aren't that many differences between Spanish from Spain and Spanish from Mexico, although without meaning to be offensive, in USA we hear a lot of "street" Spanish, not business Spanish. Even so, it's likely easier. I think all Americans should be taught Spanish and French since we're north of Mexico and South of Quebec, but I can drive from Miami to the northern reaches of Alaska and never need to speak any language except English. If we were like the EU and each state had a different language, then we likely would be multi-lingual, but it's just not needed. We'd all be better off if we had to learn a few other languages - better for our lazy brains.
@kenai561 Thanks for that reaction. Well, somebody from Buenos Aires needs to drive 8 days before getting out of the Latin zone, so it is possible 🙂. True and noticeably so that Americans in Spain are far quicker to learn Spanish, than the British.
Although the numbers of Americans immigrating are not significant on a national scale in Portugal, they are now very noticeable in some specific towns, e.g some places on the Algarve. You haven't spent much time in the Algarve if you see it as cloudy in the winter. Like Califórnia it has periods of rain in winter and spring, and it is cold in the winter, but not below freezing on the Algarve coast. And daytimes are usually sunny. The other downside of being in Portugal is a relative lack of access to activities and serious culture, especially if you come from a big city.
It would be nice if you made a video about the impact all these expats have on the local community. All these reviews are utterly one sided: from the expat point of view. I think its important to create self awareness that expats are not all good. They change local culture for the worse. Maybe they could have some respect for the nation they are a guest in. Portugal is not a holiday resort.
@@MarinaLaroche interesting point, ask yourself why suddenly “Quebec ramps up French language requirements for immigrants”? Why is it so wrong that expats make for once a video about the negative effects expats have on local culture? Since we realized over tourism is bad (ask Venice, Amsterdam), so is over abundance of expats. They come for the local culture and lifestyle, but end up destroying it and replacing it with the expat bubble. I’m not Portuguese, but I’ve seen many regions change for the worse by expats into some permanent English speaking holiday resort. Why should we want this?
Excellent vocal quality. The swan blow up in the pool was perfection. I can imagine the winters are cold in those houses. February in Barcelona, cement walls, brrrrr. I arrived from northern Minnesota and enjoyed the outdoor temps, but the indoor cold was an experience. Butane tank heaters were crucial.
I could do it. Survived in a trailer all winter and it never got past 40f with a space heater on cold days. They're was also ice coming up the walls.. had to chisel my way out once.
Ive been here for 2 years and love it. The Politicians are not designating incoming money to the Portuguese and protecting the economy for it’s people. Sad.
Americans are the MINORITY among ALL expats in Portugal. Less than 6 thousand people 😆 Even tough you guys find a way to lie to yourselves to think you somehow matter. Pathetic
residency card , howd u get that? yes spain is nice, I over stayed for 5 years and then left, then went back and they let me in even tho I had a 5 year ban LOL They dont care in Spain, Love it. and Im gonna re-enter again later. its very relaxed there in spain. theyre not a police state like the USA . Americans think the whole world agrees with " law and order"
Portugal is a small country really. If I lived there I think I would start to see France and Spain as within my environs which would expand the experience a lot.
Regarding those 30k Italians living in Portugal, I suspect most of them are Brazilians with italian nationality (Italy grants nationality to Brazilians with Italian parents/grandparents/whatever). As they enter Portugal with their Italian passport they are counted as Italians.
I second this. I'm brazilian myself, with portuguese citizenship, but I could also have italian citizenship and lots of brazilian friends living here in Portugal hold italian citizenship
Yes there are some Brazilians with Italian citizenship, but they are few. Italians have been coming to Portugal, getting born here and living in Portugal 🇵🇹 since more than 2000 years ago, when they were called the "Romans".
They're not common outside Europe, in many cases people prefer to fit a larger shower or tub and discard the bidet to make room, there's actually laws saying that you need a bidet in your house but most people don't abide by it and nobody enforces it anyways, only on new builds
@@dasrite but Portugal is europe and foreigners buy houses there and eliminate the bidet, now i m looking for places to live there and a lot of place dom t have it so for me, i ll never go live there cause i need to Wash my ass and refresh my self when on my period🤭😄 why they wanna impose their lower igiene on others (joking), but for me it s important to have it in the house
@@divulgatrice understandable, hopefully they're leaving the drainage connections behind, i removed mine actually but i kept the all the plumbing for it because you never know and if you ever sell the house it's best to have that option than to have to tell someone they're gonna have to ruin the bathroom to re-install one. It's still quite common that people do ask for it, especially ladies, for the reasons you mentioned
@@dasrite of course a person with her/his own House do as likes. It makes me sad that is also w/ rent, cause i looked at nice apartaments then i looked at the bathroom and no bidet, just sad ahah. Like i feel the bidet should b exported all around the world ✊😂
yep! Been here for 4 yrs. Very good spot on video. Still waiting for drivers lic and waiting 3 yrs for residency while in the country.The shortage of Mexican food is so true! Also the cold buildings. I lived on the east coast and have never been so cold in my entire life. But you forgot one thing: the sad and anxious mindset that prevails. Its palpable. You need to have a strong inner constitution to thrive here-- or have lots of friends. You need to make a veritable effort for your social life - as an immigrant anywhere needs. But the people while being very cool and friendly, only let you in once you prove yourself. Language is a must for that. I was lucky to be accepted into a local choir and this was an amazing experience with a few immigrants but mostly locals. Thanks for the validation on so many of thse points Dave!
Great content Dave! Great Videos and landscapes ! Good place to make some good friends, and to learn about other cultures😊 It looks like you had some great time in Portugal!! I hope you have the opportunity to learn some words in Portuguese at lest. But unfortunately its not to everyone... Keep up with your great work Dave.
Also about the Winter, like i said i live in Central Portugal, we barely get clouds here. It does get cold but it barely rains, its mostly sunshine year round. Portugal is a small country but has a very diverse climate so it all depends on where you live
What area in Central P are you ? I read recently that 75 % of Spain is now desertic (fires) and I'm concerned about Central Portugal since it's near. The fact you say it rarely rains is not that reassuring. Am I missing something ? Thanks.
@@MarinaLaroche You are not missing anything. Portugal schorching hot Summers make it extremely dangerous during Summer time. Wild fires are a massive danger here
@@MarinaLaroche It all depends where you live. If you live in a city, its fine. If you live in the middle of nowhere and the forests arent cleaned it might become a problem.
Greetings from beautiful and sunny Estoril today...originally from Texas...Been a legal resident and supporter of the economy of Portugal since 2016...Traveled all over this beautiful country and met folks from all walks of life...Been blessed to live and work in 42 different countries around the world...All with pro's and cons...One thing I have never done is blame other's for my own countries problems.. No matter where you go on this planet, things will not be perfect...Never expect another place to do thing's like you are used to no matter where you come from...Do you have realistic expectations on the country you are living in or are you running away from something? If one is not secure in themselves, it matters not where you move any where on this planet...Are you moving for the right reasons...Are you an asset to place you are moving and I'm not just talking financially...Have you studied the countries history, customs and language...My Portuguese is mixto...Most folks understand me, however I'm not forcing anyone to speak my native tongue either, which is Cowboy...From Bragança to Tavira, Marvão to Ponta Delgada and everywhere in-between I have taken the roads less traveled and for me the reward has been Blessed and Rich...Portugal for me is bênçãos e energia positiva...🇵🇹😉👌🤠
Legal Texano. I live in Texas- Galveston city. Planing to living in my father country. I’m between Peniche and Algarve. Hard to decide ! See you there alligator !
@@ninarosaphotography2039 I grew up in Baytown...Spent many summer's in good ole Galveston...from East Beach to Jamaica Beach, The Strand...etc. Bom dia from Estoril! 🇵🇹😉👌👏🤠
@@dickielarue1451 A família da esposa do meu filho mora em Baytown. Galveston mudou muito, está cada vez mais lindo. Caminho na praia todos os dias com a minha pastora alemã. A praia é um elixir na nossas vidas. Me fala de Estoril, como é a cidade. Estou procurando por um lugar layback e que eu possa caminhar na praia sem precisar de carro. Claro que seguro. Tenha um ótimo e agradável dia. De Galveston nos despertando a cada dia com o brilhar ensolarado ao cântico dos pássaros .
@@ninarosaphotography2039 Portugal tem tudo num pacote pequeno...Praias, lagos, ilhas e montanhas...Claro que a comida é fantástica...Aqui não preciso de carro...Os transportes públicos levam-me onde quero vá...As minhas praias favoritas aqui são no Alentejo...mais natureza e menos comercial...sinto-me abençoada por viver aqui...🤠
@@UncleHoax A lot folks here in Portugal are being creative on the making money front...Don't have to be a millionaire to live here...I'm sure as heck not...From Digital Nomads, You-tubers, Skills-Trade, Pensions and Retirements and etc...Before living in Portugal...I lived in Mexico...Same there...Much easier to hop back and forth across the border to the States...It's certaintly doable, just got to be creative with it and have the right kind of expectations...Best move I've ever made...Boa Noite! 😉🇵🇹✌️🤘
I'm planning to move to Portugal sometime next year and what I'm hearing from there saddens me. The country and it's culture will always belong to the Portuguese and it's grim that a lot of wealthy foreigners can't comprehend that. As a foreign national myself, I would never try to impose my way of life on the locals and treat them like shit, like they're beneath me, just because I earn more than them. The least that you can do is to make an effort to learn Portuguese, understand and respect the local traditions/ culture and lastly, treat people well and be a decent human being.
I believe this problem with rapidly rising property values is similar to that of the New Zealand. Small population within the country but huge foreign property demand.
@@rainertuominen4242 Unfortunately I think this is a problem that's not going to go away soon. Remote work is here to stay and you'll see an influx of digital nomads, immigrants etc. A lot of folk from places like The UK- where a cost of living crisis is underway- will relocate to other regions in Europe, Asia etc. Americans have already relocated- and will continue to do so- to places like Mexico, Portugal, Spain etc. I reckon Mexico, especially Mexico City will have a huge problem to address in the coming years.
Well from what I heard it is now difficult to get normal pt café and pastries in some better parts of Lisbon and Porto. So thanks for coming here and say this. If I'm back to my country and I'm to seat at a café I will want a bica and a bolo de arroz. I don't want the server to look at me weird and apologise for not knowning what coffee I do want and not having bolo de arroz only muffins or pasteis de nada. I will go Karin, not on the server but on the manager for being fucking stupid to strip traditional option of the menu. Context: traditionally when one asks for coffee in Portugal is an espresso. That is de default. Be aware portugueses might be difficult to learn, that being said you can start speaking it poorly that people usually don't care all that much, as long as you make some effort we are happy.
@@Imsolaris Hey man. Thanks for sharing your opinion. Like I said, I'm real sorry if the tourists and nomads are making it worse for you guys. My reason for wanting to move to Portugal, is to genuinely experience what the country offers authentically- the rich culture, the cuisine, the architecture, the incredible geography etc. I wouldn't want it to be turned into another California. And as for the language barrier, I don't mind learning it all. Actually I would love it. I don't want to live an isolated life there. I want to be able to walk the streets and interact with the locals so I'll give my best to learning it.
I've been to portugal many times. I'm from the UK. I like the slower pace but I'm not sure I'd like it if I lived there. It's certainly nice to get a change of pace for a couple of weeks for sure.
loved the video, as a portuguese that had to move out from portugal is hard to see any future in that country that doesnt really welcomes their own people... Its almost impossible to live in portugal with a normal wage as the rent is all your salary!
I spent two weeks with my expat friends who live in the Saldanha area of Lisboa. They’ve been there for a few years and they love it! I loved it too and can’t wait to head back in a few months. I’m 3.5 years away from retirement and Portugal is tugging at my heart. Thanks for the great videos!
I mean friends in their 70s with money from years of hard work and saving. They lived in Chennai for five years before heading to Lisbon. I don’t know how long they’ll stay. They are still citizens of the USA. Why are you so judgmental?
Immigrant is someone who moves to another country looking for better economic opportunities. These folks are retired , wealthy or work remote. They don't depend on Portugal 's wages, the lowest in Europe .They can live anywhere in the world with their own money and stock portfolio. Portugal wants them , why not ?
I cannot any data on returning US citizens. SEF do not publish this data and there is no information from SEF on 2022 at all - probably due to the re-organisation in progress. Starting to look like clickbait.
I wonder what percentage of Americans who move to other countries (like Japan or France) also end up leaving? Just for comparison. My cousin moved to Japan thinking it was fantastic but soon realized his upward mobility there at work was very very limited because he is not native Japanese, although he speaks it extremely well.
In fairness Japan is probably the most difficult developed country to move to as a foreigner. People are quite friendly on the surface but you will ALWAYS be treated as a temporary resident. ALWAYS.
@@kkjjqrysdgadff7782 Sounds abut right. He wasted several years of his career there. While his friends were being promoted and moving up the ladder back home in the USA, he pretty much didn't go anywhere. He did have a great cultural time, but he paid a heavy price by being stuck in a low position back home. A big trade off.
@@carefulconsumer8682 It all depends what you want out of life. Being a corporate lackey or slave isn't for everyone either. Some people cannot function in a corporate environment and prefer to travel and live overseas. They should be able to do that and not see it as a waste of time.
Where do you see people in Portugal taking 2 or 3 hours to have lunch? We have 1 hour lunch here, some people working in factories have half an hour. Maybe in the weekends with family and friends sometimes.
I'm Portuguese and I moved to London from Lisbon 18 years ago. This is a very thorough and accurate video. Bureaucracy is definitely one of the top 3 reasons that made me leave, as you say it's a nightmare for us too, but I think 1 aspect is missing only for those planning to work for Portuguese companies with Portuguese managers and colleagues: the working culture is terrible. There is a culture of 'desenrascanço', where people take pride in doing the least possible work, delivering the bare shoddy minimum and getting away with it. This of course comes from the fact that if they do more than that, they don't feel that's recognised and rewarded by their managers, so most Portuguese give up on this and derive fulfillment from what they do on the weekend with food, nature, beach and so on. If you take pride in doing a good job, you'll be up against this and Portugal is not for you.
Good and bad are everywhere...i live in the UK for about fortuna years and i can tell you all...Life in here is not a Pic Nic..when we stil have Laws in function from the 18th century ..but this is home.
Most of them don't speak portuguese. As an American intending to move to Porto, it disgusts me how many rich American's I saw who couldn't speak any Portuguese. Fala Portuguese ou sair, Portugal nao precisa esse pessoas.
@@MrCaseHarts Your superiority complex because you speak a little Portuguese and are disgusted by those who don't was comically juvenile. Ad hominem means you recognized your position as well, weak and wrong. Os EUA não tem um índice baixo de pessoas bilíngues. Respeito e honestidade são universal. Regras diferentes kkkk.. ah tá. 🥱
@@ericreed4535 I am disgusted by those who do not try. I didn't say anyone who moves there disgusts me? I met people who lived in Portugal for years who speak none. Rich tech people and retirees. I would feel the same if they did that in the USA. But immigrants all try here. Americans do not in many cases sadly because of fucked up superiority complexes. Tenho problema come eles quem nao tentando apprender portuguese. Nao eles quem falam um pouco. Isso e differente, voce sabe o que eu estou dizendo a voce. nao me resprente mal
@@ericreed4535 Tamem nao tenho falar portuguese bem, mas eu tentar. Se eles vivem na portugal por 5 e 10 anos ainda nao fala portuguese. Isso monstrar que eles tem respeito por as pessoa de portugal e o cultura. Mesmo na EUA, Depois 5 anos todo pessoas falar ingles.
Sorry to say, Portugal has such a wonderful and diverse Mediterranean healthy cousine and gastronomy, such an amazing pastry and wines, who cares about some Mexican tacos or Thay food. There are Mexican and Thay restaurants, but people, normally, prefer local and tradicional healthy food. This is like going to US and want to eat some "cozido à portuguesa" or "pasteis de Belem", if to be found it probably wouldn't taste the same. So, if Americans want to came to Portugal (and you are very welcome) this is not "little America", this is a sovereign country with 1000 years history. PS. Do never, ever put ice cubes in the wine......that´s a blasphemy for the Portuguese Culture.
No, I do not agree. When you live abroad you definitely will get home sick, and for some people eating the foods they grew up with helps. Also, Portuguese food is amazing, yes, however it lacks some elements found in the cuisines you mentioned, the spiceness of Mexican food and the sweet and savory type taste in Thai food.
I see your point, but I think Tex-Mex is great food that is popular everywhere once they try it. Restaurants like to make it too because it's so simple to make and serve.
If u want mild non cloudy winters, and summers that temperature mostly dont rise more than 40c, most people speak english, then you might consider south Greece, like Peloponnisos and the island of Crete.
Luckily for me my mother and her side of the family are from Portugal. I'm checking it out to connect to my roots. If I feel a strong resonance I will 100% move there.
oh lord, another American (probably) who wants to 'check something out' so they can 'connect to their roots'. Fortunately we Europeans don't have this urge to 'discover' or 'connect to' our roots.
youre talking about mex food isnt as good as it is in NY...but who wants to eat mex when the portuguese cuisine is so great and vast? humidity...stone walls?were have youlived?in a cavern? portuguese people are used to cosmopolity..and dont have any issue with someone for beeing american or chinese...its a very different Country from the States...thats all😉
About the houses abandoned, I have 2 by the shore but between 3 brothers and sisters living in US and not agreeing on anything they will stay there until the government takes over, we have thousands of Portuguese who don’t even know they own property in Portugal left by the grandparents.
This is true. Took years to sell my grandmothers house and I encouraged my mother and aunt (who grew up in Portugal) to do it because if they hadnt done it and it had fallen in to the hands of grandchildren, we are too removed from Portugal to have known how to proceed with selling it.
As a Portuguese thank you for the videos about my country ❤️ I’m living in Italy and I can not wait to go back home for good! I love Italy too (very similar to us). However, there’s something about the variety of food, the safety, the peace, the food! AND the people !!
Southern Italy, and Naples in particular, is not particularly safe, what with the camorra peering around every tree, shrub and lamp-post 24/7, while their minions make a speciality of peaceful handbag-snatching and pickpocketing. Italians are by no means physically violent, but they have perfected many methods of (street) robbery so you won't know you've been robbed until you get home. Don't laugh, but I used to attach my monthly salary to the inside of my underwear (I was paid in cash and travelled to and from work on the Metro!) On pay day I would wear my oldest and most disreputable clothes in the Metro, plus an expression of gloom and indifference. I was one of the very very few foreign employees at my place of work who did not get robbed.
At 3:18 it was said that Portugal is as far north as Maine. No, the southern tip is at the same latitude as Virginia, and Porto is about as north as New York City. Maine is as high as France.
As a Portuguese-American, I suggest anyone watching this that he doesn’t know what he’s talking about. It’s common knowledge that Portugal is the sunniest country in Europe. He couldn’t even get that right
I've enjoyed your perspectives on life in portugal greatly. My wife and I are spending a month in portugal this summer, doing some touristy things, of course, but also scouting out the country a bit. We live in coastal Washington State on the a Olympic Peninsula, so cold and rainy winters are already the norm for us. This will be our first time in Europe, so very exciting. UA-cam has been an extraordinary resource to learn a bit of Portuguese language, (which I don't seem to be able to absorb as quickly as when I was much younger, but better a little than none). Thanks for your insights & shared experiences.
Great video. Very correct about the small number of americans. My wife and i retired , from nyc, to a portuguese village 4.5 years ago. We have been very welcomed and call it home. We are though, because of the novelty, refered to as the americans, in an endearing way. I think many of those who return wanted a nicer, gentler, and warmer usa rather than remembering that we are not expats but rather immigrants.
I am contemplating a move to Portugal. I am retired and live in Florida now but spent most of my life in suburban NYC. What resources did you use to decide where to live? I’d like to visit soon and look at upscale apartments/condos in an area with easy access to Lisbon (and the airport). My husband will stay in Florida most of the time but will visit. I prefer a more temperate climate and modern construction in an area where I can walk to shops and restaurants. Please let me know your suggestions for setting up a visit to view different areas where we might look. Thanks!
Interesting what you say about being 32 and not meeting any Americans your age. I'm British, now aged 65, but through my entire life, I barely ever met an American my age. Not when I was 25, 35, 45, ever. Yet I have met plenty of South Africans, Ozzies, Kiwis, and loads of others from non-English speaking countries. I think it is because the American barely gets any vacation - just two weeks and you're unlikely to go long haul for travel. That's a big shame for your country - travel broadens the mind.
Nick Oakley, when I was younger I traveled extensively to Europe , including Southern Europe. One Summer , I visited Mykonos and on the van that picked us up from the airport to the hotel was a young woman who lived 5 minutes from me in the US..Strange coincidence but it was not unusual for me to meet Americans from all walks of life vacationing in Europe .
Oh I definitely agree-one of the worst things about being an American is dealing with the work-obsessed culture and lack of proper vacation time. Even if we’re lucky enough to get more than two weeks per year of paid time off, it can often be a struggle getting an employer to actually let you take more than one week at a time. So, we stay closer to home or we end up running ourselves ragged trying to see everything we can before having to fly back home for more work.😢 It’s no wonder so many of us keel over from the eventual heart attack.
Yours is big misconception that is repeated over and over on social chats. Americans travel more than any other country citizens, and this is easily confirmed by internet search. The "long haul" comment is true though. I go to Europe at least once each year, but I can't stand the 9-hour flight. I'd rather vacation in America now that I've been to over 60 countries.
What is long gloomy winters? I Newfoundland it seems like we only have two seasons, winter and fall we hit we do have summer but it’s not really always a good summer.
Good honest portrait. If I may contribute, there is a huge gap depending on which "part" of the US you are coming from. Not states/regions, but mostly metropolitan areas or small town/suburbs. If you come from metro-USA then the culture shock is huge! Even if you live in Lisbon. The speed/energy level/activity level is very different. Not necessarily a bad thing... but almost all the status or motivation/reward system is different. The array and quality of goods and services available is much much less. Tex-mex is just a small token of it. Not that there is no high quality on offer, but it is different and a bit limited. Now, if you come from small-town-America, you will feel less of a shock. You are probably used to a less diversified market offer and you are likely to appreciate the better quality of basic things such as infrastructure, food quality, etc.
I'm in Spain. Haven't watched TV since I left the UK a decade+ ago. I have no idea who any celebrity is, except from good films and comedians. It's one of the best aspects of my new life. No more talking drool about things that don't matter and people who have no brains and can't handle being famous.
I’m an American in the U.S. and i haven’t watched TV in many years. I can’t stand network shows - all i want is nature documentaries. I have no idea who all these celebrities and new movie stars are. I’m very happy being unplugged from that culture.
My dream is moving to Spain. My dad was Spanish. I'm Cuban 100% Spanish ancestry. Been in Spain. Love it.
Me toooooo. Anahhah
Madona lives in Portugal.
the problem is not americans, canadians or any other nationality moving here. The problem is investment funds wanting to invest in real-estate in Portugal. They buy at already absurd prices, leave the houses empty for a while and then put them on the market for an even more ridiculous price. There are thousands of empty houses in Lisboa and Porto, that could be used for anyone to live in, regardless of their nationality.
“Regardless of their nationality” what a cuck
@@nowayconway3580 não sei o que é um "cuck", mas se quiseres falar na minha lingua podes explicar-me?
Exato. É uma fábrica de dinheiro. Na Madeira então é ridículo. Claro que quem tem dinheiro para investir vai investir, mas está a tornar certas zonas numa aldeia de reformados de outras nacionalidades, nómadas digitais e visitantes sazonais com 3 ou 4 propriedade no seu nome em que ganham dinheiro com alojamento local. As medidas que Portugal tentou implementar não vão resultar se não forem levadas a rigor. E até lá vamos continuar a pagar o dobro pelas nossas casas e triplo pelo aluguer. Oxalá um dia está bolha imobiliária rebente
Joas, that has been happening in Florida (USA), making it unaffordable to buy a house for the average person. The government needs to step in both countries but I doubt that will ever happen.
@@joaomatias mas sempre foi assim quem tem dinheiro compra ,constrói, o problema não são os americanos, canadianos,e ninguém é obrigado a arrendar o que é seu,porque o estado já recebeu e continua a receber através do IMI, mesmo antes dos estrangeiros os portugueses queixavam-se de não terem casa condignas, principalmente em Lisboa e Porto
As an Englishman living in Alentejo since 2002, I've seen so many foreigners come and go. Quite a few, like me have stayed and lived happily, but quite a few more just couldnt adapt or embrace Portuguese (or nearby Spanish) life. Better that, than staying if they're unhappy. All I can say is my life only truly began when we arrived here. I will never live anywhere else. I have had nothing but wonderful experiences from the first day to now.
Yeah, I have been in Spain for 4 years and have seen foreigners come and go like it's a revolving door, not just people from the English world but also French, Germans, ect. The only people that stay are the ones that learn the language and somehow find a good job. The ladder is incredibly difficult in the Mediterranean and if I have to leave it will be for this reason.
@@Gewehr_3 So true Xavier. Living here's the easy bit. It's finding a way to pay for it that's hard. But it is possible if you are able to speak Spanish or in my case, Portuguese. Good luck to you. Once you're able to live independently, there's no better life.
@@chriswilliams6568why do you not want to go to Brazil?
@chriswilliams6568 all countries have their problems also Brazil is huge their are good parts and bad parts like everywhere else just like your country. I don't think that's a good enough reason to not visit but that's up to you. Also I am not from Brazil so he is not my president.
I wonder one of the reasons would be their language skill?
I’m very confused. As an American in Portugal all the “negatives” are positives (except the graffiti, but the street art is fantastic). The whole point of moving out of the US is for differences. Not replicating the US lifestyle somewhere else. 😊
Well said. I think this video is addressed to those who through a sense of entitlement demand a replica of the country they are leaving behind. To them I say, what is the point of moving? There are always tradeoffs and the US is better in some ways, in other ways Portugal is better. Adapt, deal with the cons and enjoy the many pros.
There's not a city on the planet that isn't completely artificial that doesn't have graffiti LOL... I've been all over Western Europe, parts of the Middle East, and Central America... accept the graffiti. It's just a part of life when people are freer to express themselves than most Americans are ;)
That’s not true for everyone. Many many people enjoy many aspects of American life. Many want to move somewhere that’s different but not too similar.
@@aquelpibe And if you are leaving your country because you are unhappy, then chances are you won't be happy with the next.
Right, I do not get it either.
I am 100% Portuguese but born and raised on the Texas-Mexico southern border. I plan on retiring to Portugal being both of my parents were Portuguese citizens. I am going to open an authentic Mexican food & Fruit/Treats joints in Lisbon
Please do! That’s the one thing I miss: real Mexican food.
Let us know when you do it!
You do very well in Lisboa with the restaurant. Brazilian Rodizio restuarant have been succesful in Lisboa and Porto. Portuguese people will accept you as long as you show respect and friendship. Portugal e muito bonito
They’re are tons of Mexican food places in Lisbon now…lots of taquerias.
Not tons, but some..and those I tried were far from authentic Mexican cuisine. Probably gets expensive to import the needed ingredients, so they fake it and most people don't know the fake from authentic.
long and gloomy winters in Portugal? mate I've been living in the UK for 14 years, you have no idea what long and gloomy looks like 😂
Ha Ha try living in New England in America 8 months of winter. However, some people like it its all about your taste.
Bruno Nunes, true, the winters are long and gloomy in the UK, especially up north.
Moved from The Netherlands to Argentina for this exact reason (among some other exact reasons).
I live in Norway and love the winter months. So we are different, because I couldn't bring myself to waste the winter months with a hot and sweaty climate.
When spring comes with its plump spring flowers, it is also holiday time, even if the summer is too hot, but luckily you can go up into the mountains to normal temperatures.
@@maidsua4208 Lol yes I guess we're all different. For me summer should be shorts, flipflops, hot nights and palm trees.
We don't hate Americans, we don't hate anybody, we just hate being poor but that is not your fault. The impact of you coming to live here is still negligible but like everything, its just a matter of numbers, it will eventually impact our property prices and general prices just because of the huge pay gap, you really earn way more money than we do and that is the reality. I lived in California for a while and its a no brainer to move to Portugal if i was American, its safer, quieter, better value for money and overall a much better life quality. Just don't be a asshole and call your self an expat, you are an emigrant, learn the language, pay your due taxes and quit the americanism of being entitled. Another thing we don't need is racism and coffee to go, just sit down and forget your lattes and enjoy the conversation on the neighborhood café, its cheaper and you will make friends.
Well said.
É voltar para lá, estás à espera de quê? Parasitas como tu já cá há muitos.
Foi muito bem apanhado m’belo amigo :)
Especially the RACISM!!
We really don't hate anybody, but we have a friendly sibling rivalry with the Spanish, with whom we often trade good spirited banter barbs. Think nothing of it; we love them, really.
Portuguese don't have lunch for 2-3 hours. It's 1 hour lunch on work days. On weekends and holidays sure it can be longer, assuming you are lunching with friends or family.
Foi o que eu pensei também. Uma mãe que trabalha e tem de ir buscar os filhos na hora do almoço, mal tem tempo para comer...
nos EUA engolem uma sandes sentados nas escadas, 15 minutos se tanto 😁
Didn't he mean, that the lunch break, of a length that he didn't spell out, doesn't start until 1pm? As opposed to starting at 12noon, for example?
They think the lunch break hour is paid.
I went to have lunch with an american in lisbon at honest greend and it was quickly filled with workers from the offices nearby. Then he started 'wow why so many people have enough lunch break to come outside?'
Me: because it's the company lunch break
Him: but isn't it wasting time. In eua i usually eat in th3 office and try to leave earlier
Me: the lunch time isn't paid. You can stay at the office if you want and work during lunch time but that hour isn't paid.
He was then shocked.
@@paxxop Office working time is usually from 9am to 6pm (8 hours paid + 1 hour lunch break unpaid). It's usually from 1pm to 2pm because then it breaks the 8h hour work journey in half.
Some might have the lunch break from 12h00 to 13h00 if the company starts working at 8am
I like many things about Portugal, but I'm not sure it would be my first choice for a new home. Although prices are lower than the US, amenities in most homes outside cities are very basic. Services outside cities are also hit or miss. You can't expect a small town to have a licensed plumber, for instance, but you'll often find that Uncle Josef can help you out with that after he brings in his olives. He also fixes cars, can rewire your home, and he occasionally can score some really good seafood from his sister's brother-in-law's second cousin.
Once upon a time it was like that in America.
it is the same in Croatia. It is mediterranen mentality. If you want all that about plomber stuff then go to Germany, Denmark, Norway🌝
Hmm no
I really don't understand, do you have a licensed plumber around every corner on the rural areas of your country?
@@marijacorluka5411 well said! I like it!
People with too many choices are never satisfied
How very true!
That is not the reason they’re not happy
I'm not really sure what kind of sentiment this is coming from so I refrain from making any prejudicial guesswork
THIS. This, and people who've never experienced any real hardships in their lives. Almost everyone born in a western country past 1960 has enjoyed freedom, good health and plenty like no-one else ever had before, yet so few people are satisfied.
@@heatherza5843I'm a Millennial. Housing has been incredibly expensive all my adult life and is only getting worse. Paying 65+% of my science PhD level job income to rent and utilities is insane.
im Portuguese, i like America and americans, just like other europeans, just keep in mind we never advertised the "Portuguese dream" because it doesn't exist.
I’m interested in your country. I would love to learn the language. The slower life style interests me. I’ve been to Europe many times and I like the lifestyle and pace there. I’ve always believed that one should respect and live the culture of the country they are going to.
@@ScottMiller-r5c For the love of G0d, if you do, learn actual Portuguese, not Brazilian!
Other europians actually hate or despize amerikans
That's ok, the "American dream" died back in those awful Reagan years. It came back for a while under Clinton, Obama, and Biden, but it's preparing to really die now, along with democracy.
@@ScottMiller-r5c feel free to come over, nobody will ever complain about someone who genuinely does their best to respect those they are with
Ok, we don't hate Americans coming here. Obviously the government made a mistake when it didn't protect the real estate market against abuse, and this demand and interest in 🇵🇹 is negatively affecting the life of average Portuguese. The incredible rent hikes is just not because of Americans coming here, but the greed of many landlords (including many Portuguese) that have no conscience. As for "many Americans" leaving Portugal 🇵🇹 I don't think that is that accurate. Many leave, just like many Brazilians, British, etc leave after a while. There are many reasons, and some you mentioned, but I would say the main reason, is that they expect Portugal to be California! It isn't, things here are different. There are no deli's in Portugal, services here are slow (there are reasons outside of slow living) and Americans are used to speedy service, efficiency, not here most of the time. So, it's all about the attitude and expectations, which are not always in line with local culture.
Graças a Deus que Portugal não é como a Califórnia...
@@Rodrigues-xg3ln não é, mas há similaridades pois conheço bem a Califórnia. Felizmente não temos os problemas sociais e de saúde que se vê em certas cidades da Califórnia; tipo São Francisco, Oakland, etc.
@@Alfablue227 descontrolo populacional propositado são políticas perigosas
@@Rodrigues-xg3ln Descontrolo? Acho extremo, afinal não são tantos assim a vir pra Portugal. Os retornados foram + de 1 milhão, e precisavam quase todos de emprego ou estudos. Portugal aguentou, e o que há cá agora não chega a isso, mais ainda, os q vêm pra cá, nem emprego precisam pois ou são nómadas digitais ou reformados. De momento, não vejo motivo para alarme, mas sim preocupação com a governação que temos e as já suas incompetências. Independentemento do partido político, são todos uma cambada de tolos! 🙄
@@Alfablue227 engraçado termo "tolos", você é simpática.
E em Portugal nao foram 1 milhão, foram 2 milhões de refugiados expulsos de africa por terem cor da pele branca.
I came to Portugal 3 and a half years ago to experience and to travel throughout Europe. I can only say that the Portuguese people I have met are the kind that we need most in this world.
Love Portugal ❤😊!
You never were in a situation where you needed help from the police? Lucky you .. because they don't. They would let you die in a ditch if you do not have a PT passport
I 100% agree!
Me too! We travelled there in 2018 and stayed in Guincho for 2 years we love Portugal ❤
That’s good to say that. Many reports in the media and books saying that the foncal divide is great and therefore drug gang issue are bad (with many shipments coming in from Brazil and easier access to weapons) and getting worse. Whereabouts are you based and have you seen evidence of this?
But the prescription drugs are much higher there than in the U.S. & they don't take Medicare I also looked at the price of condos compared to where I live in the U.S. & they're much more. It's ridiculous!!!
I am American born Portuguese and retired from San Jose and moved to Portugal. This guy is full of opinion . I can do the same thing- so take his comments about how Portuguese feel about Americans as opinion . I am fully bilingual and I find people here not to really care if you’re American or whatever as long as you’re not an a’hole. Live and let live is the attitude I think .
We love living in Porto, Portugal. Though there are downsides like in every place in the world, it is fantastic. We love the great weather, food, people and more. The winters are not a big deal for us, but we come from Michigan USA with lots of snow. Great video!!
As a portuguese i need to say this relating to the climate.
Summers in Portugal are NOT tame at all. Yeah, they can be a bit chiller if you live by the coast, but central Portugal gets hot.. Like real HOT. 45Cs in not uncommon at all during the summer months.
Yeah, Algarve (The southern region) is super sunny and more tame (perfect weather to be honest, Winters there dont feel like Winters).
However you mentioned Madeira and the Madeira main Island on itself has 6 micro climates. Its crazy. It rains and it has no clouds sun in a day.
Summers can be absolute scorchers here! Tourists from colder countries passing out from heat stroke/dehydration isn't too uncommon a sight in Summer, especially in particularly dry years.
@@ArabianShark Oh yeah. Seen it way to many times.
It only gets 45C for a couple of days in Portugal. In the US, you get those temperatures in Texas, Arizona, California for months! And lately it's getting to 50C.
I doubt it gets to 113F in Portugal in the summer. That's ridiculous.
@@krystynaliebowitz6554 Lmao. We just got 46.6c the other day. (115.88F)
Thank you for another amazing video. As a Portuguese citizen who recently came back after 7 years abroad, I can relate to some of the struggles and culture shocks that you mentioned here, particularly the bureaucracy and tax part of it (also the graffiti), which were not as much an issue where I was living. But just like you, I'd much rather be here than wasting my life working like a dog in a country with a horrible and toxic hustle culture, where I was before.
And where were you living before, if I may ask? Just for contrast purposes 😉
@@shanon72327 I gather USA.
@@klimtkahlo prob New York.
Im Mexican American who grew up in the United States. I recently traveled to your country and fell in love with the energy, the warmth and the culture..even with the graffiti, it is nowhere near as bad as my city plus we have soo much crime, bad race relations, expensive healthcare, I can go on...I would take Portugal's cons anyday and my goal now is to be able to retire in Portugal!
Im mexican american too but I didnt live in america all my life. I like spain and I lived there for many years
Note: he did not mention murder, robbery, carjackings, home invasions, squatting, drug addicted folks in tent cities on the streets, as is found commonly in major cities of the most exceptional nation on earth.
The US has become a cesspool of poor vs rich. No middle class, and so much crime we are now drowning and dying in it. Ugh. Need to get out of here.
There's none of that nonsense in Portugal. Maybe a few panhandlers in Lisbon but that's about it.
@@josebro352 I don't know were you live....maybe inside a convent!!! But ALL THAT REALLY IS EVERYWHERE... you should get out more often :)
Thanks to democrats running those crappy cities
@@macer-music you see some homeless people, but the rest are honestly kinda uncommon, unless you watch CMTV 24/7 in which case you get all minor crimes going on beamed straight into your eyes at incredible speed, which definitely makes it seem more common
As a portuguese living in Jersey and working in NYC, i can guarantee you that the pace and community comments are right on point.
I'm Irish but brought up in England. I came here in 1975 and stayed. Portuguese bureaucracy has improved enormously. I remember queueing up in Lisbon to pay taxes - surreal! Now everything is interlinked via data bases. I speak Portuguese fluently. In 1975, only a handfull of students could speak basic English; now, I have to tell Portuguese people that they can speak to me in Portuguese because they take every opportunity to practise their English. The wine - cheaper and better than most European countries I know - Spain, Italy, France, Germany. The food: simple, healthy - fish, fish, fish,...
If you are eating primarly fish dishes in Portugal you are missing out. Yes, we have good seasfood stuff....but we have just as many or more dishes with meat in them. I favour meat and I love our meat dishes. One thing I'll say is, there are so many regional dishes in Portugal, if I were to try and get someone from outside to show them what we've got...while they were staying in any ONE place...it'd be tricky.
Anyway, I'm just chiming in, because if there is one thing I feel the world could know more about us is precisely the food.
so u love meat eh?@@jeanlundi2141
As a Portuguese person born and raised in Madeira Island, I super agree with the "they take any chance to practice their English". Well Said
Fish gets old quickly for me !
Portuguese bureaucracy is improving? I am glad to hear that. How do you rate the health care system?
"Sometimes you have to know a guy who knows a guy in order to get things done": this is, unfortunately, quite true, I'm afraid. In our (poor) defence, things aren't so dissimilar elsewhere; when I moved to London, I couldn't open a bank account without an address, and I couldn't rent a flat without a bank account. In the end, I met a guy who knew a guy (see?) who knew a woman with a flat to let, and she was kind enough to dismiss the bureaucracy of bank accounts and such.
As the bureaucrat which I was in my job I always found it interesting to play the system. So the same conumdrum or Catch-22) exists in Germany. I wonder if you could rent short-term so you get an address?
In Australia I looked for a bank that let me put the address of my hostel :)
But for a room/apartment to rent, same story... Had to find a guy that knew a guy...
that is a common problem when moving to another country
Happened the same to me when I arrived in Switzerland
@ArabianShark: it is exactly the same in the Netherlands, and also in Italy where I lived for 1 year. One cannot open a bank account without a fixed residential address and / or possibly also a Citizen Service Number which every Dutch citizen has.
However, in Italy I did indeed find my 2 flats 'via-via' as we say in Dutch (someone who knows someone else who ...). Due to this good fortune I never found out if it was possible to rent a flat without a bank account, however.
We don't hate Americans. There's no hate here towards any nationality and many people actually love to interact with folks from other countries. As Americans, just don't expect us to smile as readily as you do, at first sight - that's a very New World thing (Brazilians are like that too) that's, in general, absent in Europe. We'll be (in broad terms) polite but, out of consideration and respect, we will not disturb you by initiating conversation. We'll respect your personal bubble. But if you do initiate conversation, well, we'll open up and start to speak loudly (either in Portuguese, English or both! )
Ahh to bad I live in south ga. we find a reason to smile every morning and if I see someone sad, I'm gonna try and brighten their day.
Even within Europe, we're quite approachable and smile a lot compared with Swedes, for example.
@@pedrob3953 Compared to Swedes? This is not saying much, eh? ; )
How about comparing with a central/southern Spanish environment? Perhaps this is not an easy comparison to make?
@@eugeniebreida We are the most hospitable in my experience. But we are also "grumpy" in our own way. So you can be both warm and open.....but still not come across as overly friendly. Portuguese are very direct. We are less extroverted on average than the Spanish or Italian .We are melancholic.
Funny how as a Brit I was subject to xenophobic abuse as a kid
First time I’ve seen your channel. Nice video! Re: the taxes, it’s really important to emphasize that the 48% tax rate is not for “people who make over 80K€ a year” but for “that portion of your income that falls above 80K€ per year”. The proper term is not a “sliding scale”, but a “graduated taxation system”. (AKA “tax brackets” - just like the US.) In Portugal it’s a 9-tiered system, and the lowest rate is 13.25% for incomes below 7.8K€ a year. Having that many tiers actually makes Portugal’s tax system a bit easier to manage than, say, Spain’s, with only 5 tax brackets and the top rates of 45% starting at only 60K€ a year. Just wanted to throw that out there, as many Americans tend to just write off the idea of moving to Europe because they think they’ll lose 50% of their income right off the top.
He clearly said that it was 'sliding scale'...
@@minerva4545 And @shinyshinythings clearly stated that it's NOT a "sliding scale," but rather a "graduated taxation system." Reading comprehension is clearly not your forte.
Long gloomy winters in Portugal? Try England. We travelled from England to spend Christmas in Portugal some years ago and revelled in the warm sunny weather. Okay, it wouldn't have seemed warm to Californians, but it was fine for us. The temperature was around 16-17 C during the best part of the day, the sun shone, and flowers were coming up through the grass. It was windy on a couple of days.
Regarding taxes - DON'T say that the rate is 48% for those who earn more than 80,000 euros a year! This amount is paid ABOVE 80,000, that is, if you earn 85,000 you pay 48% on 5,000 (the difference between 85,000 and 80,000). Tax rates are applied by intervals. Ask your accountant to explain this to you, so you don't continue to give wrong information! Other than that, I like your channel
@@ingbor4768 Eu já pago 38% (IRS + SS) e não ganho nem perto de metade disso, e é sobre o total dos rendimentos brutos
Não entendo ao certo o que Maria quer dizer, ninguém é taxado em IRS sobre um valor arbitrário que ultrapassa 80,000 euros, somos taxados de acordo com o bolo total bruto que recebemos mensalmente, alguém que ganhe 85,000 euros anuais (6071 mensais em 14 meses) por exemplo ultrapassaria o escalão de 6052 euros e seria taxado a 35,8% em IRS de acordo com a tabela em vigor.
Esses 35,8% seriam acrescidos ao valor da Segurança Social (11% para trabalhadores por conta de outrem no privado) e a taxa combinada de ambos (46,8%) seria retirada do valor bruto que a pessoa recebeu, não haveria uma taxa dupla onde 6052 euros são taxados com uma taxa e os restantes 19 euros com outra, isso nem faria sentido, verifiquei até no meu recibo de vencimento e tá calculado assim, a soma de SS + IRS é retirada ao vencimento bruto
A não ser que ela se esteja a referir a algum estratagema de divisão de lucros para esconder parte do vencimento real e assim ser taxado com o escalão inferior, se for o caso gostava de saber como isso funciona lol
@@dasrite America HAD a wonderful thing: "taxation without representation is theft." Thus their Founders said.
He clearly stated that it was 'sliding scale'...
I don't think we're as far north as Maine. I think Lisbon is at the same latitude as Philadelphia and Porto at the same latitude as NYC. Still, it doesn't get nearly as cold as those places in the Winter, because we "benefit" from the gulf stream. As for lunch, we do have one hour for lunch on week days, and we are a lot more frugal for dinner, because it's not convenient to have a heavy meal at night.
@@daveinportugal I think its a bit further south. Portugal latitude wise ranges from southern NJ to Rhode Island.
I have one hour lunch here in the States.I eat light by choice.Dinner is family time you sit and eat a home cooked meal
@@tonynunes4965 I stand corrected. NYC is roughly at the same latitude as the Aveiro area. When was the last time the city shoveled snow from the streets of Aveiro after a snowstorm? I agree the climate is similar to the central part of California. Tending towards semi-arid/Mediterranean in the Algarve similar to, say, Santa Barbara and with the north of Portugal having a climate similar to the wine producing region located north of San Francisco.
@@psource2305 Faro is 37 degrees North which is equivalent of Virginia/NC border but as it has a maritime climate with Mediterranean influences rather than continental climate it’s much warmer in winter and summers are slightly cooler but very sunny and very dry. All in all a healthy delightful climate.
@@psource2305😅
Seems like an accurate portrayal- and also true for other southern European countries. But you never really explained why most Americans leave…
American are not happy in EU😠
@@vkham9944 I like being poor in EU. I hate the US
@@vkham9944 Americans' are not happy in the US, very different from what it used to be.
@@MichaelPineda-fx3kj Me too! Exactly the same as you.
One of the main reasons I love Portugal and my birth country Turkey, is the sense of community. You feel a post of something bigger. Here in Australia it is very different .
The abandoned building problem is frequently caused by the inheritance laws. Upon the death of a person the estate is divided up equally among living relatives or their offspring. This can lead to a property being owned by dozens of individuals, many of whom are difficult to trace.
@@lindaj71 Mostly not, but no matter the law defines to whom the property goes. Generation by generation divided down into smaller portions
Glad that you mention this. This fact seems to be forgotten when people talk about Portugal’s housing crisis, while it might be one of the main factors (lack of property market restrictions being the main reason)
If you want to integrate somewhere, the first thing you do is learn the local language. I only hear the Americans complaining that it is so difficult. I had to learn English you know, and 3 other languages. Don't be silly.
Portuguese is a difficult language to learn especially for English speaking people. Why in heavens name would you want Mexican food in Portugal? I myself find Mexican food very unappealing.
@@wplains English speaking, with the Americans in particular, find every foreign language difficult. How difficult do you think English is with its weird sounds and non phonetic writing.
@@cellevangiel5973yeah that’s because you’re a European you dolt. America is a huge country, and only a small amount of people speak a different language, mainly Spanish. You can drive for 12 hours and never leave Texas. You Europeans think you’re so enlightened, I’m fact youre just exposed to many other cultures simply because of geography. America is more homogeneous than Europe.
I believe it helps to learn a foreign language if you already love that part of education. I studied 3 years French in high school. Had no use for it sadly after school. Years later I worked in Switzerland and studied German in the year before I moved there. After a year I studied Italian just because it's so beautiful. Lo and behold, the French Swiss would speak to me in Italian! But never German. And you know they are multi lingual. My biggest regret was returning to the US. (It was to continue my education, not for any other reason. Would have been impossible to study medicine in German)
I wish I could return for the rest of my life. Yes there have been changes over 40 some years, but... I still would be happier there.
Millions of people in the US never learn to speak English.
Why is pretty much every American who moves to Europe expecting authentic Mexican food over here? You have it in the U.S. because they're your neighbors, obviously, and make up a large immigrant group. The 10 Mexicans that made to this continent are most likely in Spain. 😊 I just don't understand the recurring expectation...
It's because once you try real Mexican food you can't go back and you wish you could have it whenever you go😂
@@MaRia-mq1kz Maybe try some real Spanish food instead? I'm sure it's just as good. This is not a critique, is just that the point of the original comment is that some people from America go to Portugal and expect the same food, services or culture? That makes no sense.
The same way they expect burgers and frappucinos.
I'm a Brit who recently moved back to England after 9 years in Lisbon. Life there on a 800-900 euro Portuguese wage is impossible. There are a few things I really miss, but not the stress of running out of money two weeks before the next pacheck which is the most important.
Lisbon is starting to not feel like a real city, for example where normal people can make a living, portuguese disneyland, 'the new barcelona' and personaly i do find the nomads/anyone not paying taxes there annoying.
Why did you decide against living elsewhere outside of Lisbon ? Isn't the UK much more expensive ?
Funny thing is, now that as a Brit you know how the Portuguese feel you probably will understand why it’s rude to ask Portuguese people “Why are you not living in your country? It’s so sunny there!”. We get asked this on a daily basis when working abroad and it feels stupid to tell people that I prefer the no stress of being able to pay bills and those cannot be paid with sunny weather only… best of luck back in England.
The locals complain about foreigners not paying taxes everywhere. Frankly this is usually BS; traveller's pay VAT which in Europe runs around 20% on every good and service. Foreigners also pay short term accommodation taxes which can be quite high. In terms of Americans, they pay taxes on worldwide income as a USA person; there is no expat taxation status. Hence, Americans usually pay double taxation by working outside the USA as accommodation and VAT taxes are not offset usually.
@@chrisnamaste3572 Americans living and working overseas only pay US taxes when their wages exceed 125,000 USD. I know this from experience.
@valerieroche No, you are wrong. Are Americans overseas exempt from unearned income tax? Are Americans overseas exempt from USA property taxes? What is the marginal rate the first dollar starts at over the 125k EARNED income tax exclusion IF you qualify?
My husband I mover almost two years ago with our two kids (third was born here) and I can say it’s been an adjustment but we love it. My 5 and 3 year old are quickly learning Portuguese in their school. Put them in a Portuguese school and they are doing so well making friends and learning. I was in the hospital for a month when our third was born. He needed a NICU stay. He was born in a public hospital and they took amazing care of him. Being in the hospital I got to watch a lot of Portuguese tv thanks to my roommate. Some of the tv shows reminds me of telenovela‘s. All that being said I love living here and how family oriented it is here in Porto. For us it’s been a good move and integrating into a Portuguese neighborhood has made it easier for us. Learning Portuguese is still hard for me but I’ve seen how patient some of the people can be when they see me trying.
It's a question of practice, practice, practice. Try and practise your Portuguese every day. Go to your local super, or butcher or baker or greengrocer and talk to them in (simple) Portuguese, if they are not busy. Tell them how keen you are to learn and I'm willing to bet they'll be delighted to help you. And watch Portuguese TV at home too. Buy some Portuguese strip comics. The best way to learn a language is the total immersion method which is the one I've described above.
My sister (lives in the USA) worked with several Portuguese women many years ago. She loved them and they loved her. She always talked so fondly of them and they were always bringing her Portuguese bread! Wish I had gotten to know them as well.
I loved living in Portugal. I am learning Portuguese and I am hoping that I can at least snow bird there. I was there over the winter, it was nice and it's true that homes don't even have heating. But the winter wasn't so bad compared to New England. I loved the cultural sensibilities.
Make shore is Portugal portuguese not brasilian portuguese.
Eu cresci numa casa sem aquecimento e o único aquecimento era um fogão a lenha e os invernos no passado eram mais frios e acho que eu e os meus irmãos nunca nos queixamos, agora nunca estão contentes com nada
@@saragomes6242 Cresci a aquecer-me com aquecederes a óleo e lareira, mas, de há pouco mais de um ano para cá, finalmente tenho aquecimento central. É mais confortável, mas, tirando isso, não é coisa que me importe particularmente.
Snowboarding in Portugal? Surely you're thinking of coming to Serra da Estrela, not far from where I live!
It is great that you are learning. Há quanto tempo está a aprender?
I’m Portuguese living in Long Island,New York.Just want to say love your videos.They are very accurate
A lot of these issues are the same in many places in Europe. You need to learn a language if you are really going to try and integrate with the culture; you won't have your favourite brands/ foods/ TV to hand; bureaucracy can be intimidating, especially dealing with "Foreigners Police" for visa issues, and registering for healthcare and taxes; taxes are often much higher; the climate may be different to at home, and the building regulations may allow for poorer insulation than you are used to ( a problem in both summer and winter ); landlords may have a different approach than you are used to; the education system may not meet your expectations, and expat schools can be expensive; you may be prohibited from doing a "side hussle" due to your visa conditions ( eg where I live you get a visa for your profession. If you do something that is not your profession, that is illegal ); and if you move on your own, it can be lonely. People don't mention this enough. Yes, it is easier to join some expat community group for socialising. From my experience, most people end up socialising with people from their own country. For guys, sports is the focus. So if you're not into sports, you'll have to fake it. It can be quite superficial, but then guys just need 4-5 other guys to do things with. The guys are interchangeable. So it can be difficult to really bond for friendship. For girls, as we know, they bond much easier with one another. But that still leaves you either in a general expat bubble, or hanging around with compatriots from your home country. Either way, you're not integrating so much with the country and people. If you date a local, be prepared for language barrier potentially with their parents/ siblings, and culture clashes.
My experience in Costa Rica. VERY lonely... My U.S. friends had obligations and couldn't join me. I lived there for 8 months. The food had cheap prices and was INCREDIBLY delicious and healthy. The rent was low, and my apartment was absolutely beautiful. ($650 a month US dollars!!😮)The people were politely cold. You gotta go with a significant other, or you will feel the chill. 🥶 They're a VERY close-knit family oriented country. I was too stupid to realize that. Plus being a very outgoing person I really suffered socially. 😢I'd seriously like to return with a hot boyfriend and go ziplining through the jungle! 😂
@@nichellepeters5195 'with a hot boyfriend" ... ... I can be there in 12 hours Michelle :) ha ha
You are making some pretty appalling generalisations by saying all men think of nothing but sport (not true at all). AND by saying that women 'bond much easier' (should be 'more easily') with each other ... not true either. And don't call adult women 'girls'. It's condescending and disrespectful.
I lived in Marbella, Spain for a year. I LOVE the slower pace! In Reno, I get 30 minutes for lunch, which is quite the departure from the 2-3 hour lunches I enjoyed in Marbella!
I spent 16 years in the British Army and as such enjoyed autumns/winters in such well known sun traps as Norway/Denmark/Yorkshire/N. Ireland. Enjoyed years of German winters in the resorts of Sennelager. Frolicked in December on Dartmoor. I know a little bit about post October and pre April discomforts.
The coldest and most uncomfortable I have ever felt was on a winter visit to Portugal. We stayed in a little village to the north of Cascais. Close to Cabo do Roca which I believe is the most western point of Europe. Though it admittedly warmed up during the day toward the end of the holiday on arrival and for the first few days there was icy rain and raging winds coming in off the Atlantic. No matter what we did (including the wearing of extra layers and the fires in the house raging for days - who would have known a large slice of the fun on hols budget would have to go toward sacos of logs for the fires) I can say with some authority I have never been so chilled to the bone inescapably close to hypothermia as we found ourselves in that house. Not even in Yorkshire or Norway.
Admittedly when the rain stopped and after a couple of days of drying out the area was just beautiful and daytime temps became welcomingly pleasant. Those first 4/5 days had us looking forward to getting into the car with the heating on.
Nowhere else have I ever even got close to feeling that chilled to the bone inescapable misery experienced on the far west of Portugal however.
It’s true. As you can see in the comments there are a lot of people with opinions that have clearly never lived or stayed in Portugal all four seasons. Most Canadians say the same thing but they are just happy not to be shoveling the snow
At my job i deal with lots of imigrants and English speakers tend to be the ones not to learn the language. If you move here to stay or to stay for a long time, learn the language. I've interacted with people living here 5 to 10 years already and they dont know the language beyond "bom dia" and "obrigado".
It's a tough language to learn. More so if you know some Spanish already.
@@LabRat6619 Maybe, but it's really disrespectful to live in another country for years and not even bothering to learn the language, not even basic communication!
@15 Minute Prisons English speakers expect people to know their language and be fluent at it. English is as difficult as any other language to learn.
I don't think it has to do with English speakers not wanting to learn or willing to learn the language. It has to do with age. It is generally much harder for adults to learn another language, compared to children or young adults, specially if they emigrate to a new country where the language is different than their mother tongue. I see it a lot in the US. Latinos who moved to the US as an adult, unable to speak English beyond Hello. The same goes with a lot of Asians, especially the ones from China. If an adult Portuguese (way beyond college years) who doesn't speak English, were to move to an English-speaking country, this person will have a very difficult time learning English, guaranteed.
Agree
There are plenty of small towns in the US where the pace of life is a lot slower, so it's not all the fast-paced city life.
Your channel is the best. I am Brazilian, living in USA about 23 years. Can’t wait to get out of here and moving to a Portugal. No $$ there but life quality I will have for sure. Thank you for all tips
Os seus compatriotas são ao contrário de si, só vêm para Portugal, porque não conseguem o visto para os EUA
I am in the same boat, my friend...Portugal is looking better by the minute!
Me too! I am brazilian, living in California for the last 30 years! I am getting ready to retire hopefully very soon. I am purchasing my little farm in Portugal, can't wait to move to portugal, I lived there for 3 years when as was a child and only have great memories every time I go back . :)
Why not back to Brazil
Yaaaa Brazil é bem melhor.
That is one country I hope to visit yet. From what I’ve heard, I would like it.
I am a Portuguese, living in Coimbra. I admire and respect your great Nation 🇵🇹 🇺🇸. Your video was very well done and touches many valid points, with intelligence and humor.
More and more seem to be moving to the Algarve. These are people that want to integrate with community spirit and live in rural areas. I gave a class where 50% of my students were American. They also understand the processes here are different so they grin and bear it. If you have a good attitude and stay positive it helps - a lot - in state government offices.
Learning Portuguese is a must!
In São Brás alone we have so many restaurants you will not believe. Chinese, indian, kebabs, sushi, traditional restaurants too.
If ever you come here, I will show you around.
That sounds amazing...I don't know why people would live somewhere and not contribute and engage with where they live....
Foreigner's can no longer buy by the coast anymore, Central Portugal is only possible now
If I were in Portugal I would not even think of going to a Chinese, Indian, sushi or other Asian restaurant. These are two a penny in northern Europe and are generally bloody ghastly as well. If I were in Portugal I would only want to eat Portuguese cuisine as the Portuguese do.
A Portuguese dude from Lisbon here. A few relevant things that are missing: 1 - SAFETY - Portugal is well within the top 10 most safe countries in the world. 2 - HEALTH CARE SYSTEM - You will not be placed in a hotel room, but you will treated in accordance with best practices. HIGHWAYS - you can go to almost anywhere in the country using highways. WEATHER - in the South (Lisbon and beyond) it rains much less and it makes much less cold
In the Winter than what you are saying. Finally, I don’t see people
Leaving Portugal; quite the opposite: I see many people wanting to come to Portugal.
Yes but Portugal cant accept the world because then you get the problem we currently have in Canada, taking in too many people without develloping the infrastructure to support it. We have a housing crisis in most major cities, hospital overcrowdings, school classrooms that are overwhelming for teachers, etc... Be wise Portugal.
dude, o vídeo é sobre os MOTIVOS porque as pessoas SAEM de Portugal, não as razões porque FICAM
We have much larger highways in the USA. Why don’t you talk about how racist Portuguese people are towards black people how racial discriminating with immigrants from third world countries you all really are!
1. Safety 2.healthcare 3.higways 4.food 😋 5.weather 6.polite people 7.history n culture 8.Growing economy 9.beaches 10. English and better immigration policy ❤❤😊who don't want to come Portugal 🆗
This is probably one of the most brutally honest and real videos an American on UA-cam has made about Portugal. Thank you Dave
It also looked like he was reading off a teleprompter at times
@@specialroast5411 And? It's not a movie.
Well you know very litle about Portugal...
@@carlosfigueira5076 I know how to spell little
@@specialroast5411 It's typical for anyone who makes a video to script it. 🤦🏽♂️
I'm planning on living on my sailboat, the summers in the fjords of Norway and the winters in Portugal and their atlantic islands. 🇸🇪
take me
6:40 American passport renewal: 10 weeks. Portugal: same day, 1 week at most. California drivers license expiration: 10 years. Portugal: when you die. American citizenship process: insulting and minimum a decade if you're lucky enough to be from Europe. Portugal: demonstrate a genuine interest in becoming Portuguese and then welcome brother
Americans and everyone are welcome here and you are not driving up prices of housing. This problem is way more complicated (by policy) than having americans and foreigners as scape goats
As a Portuguese-American I can attest that this video is incredibly accurate. I noticed the drone shot of my beloved Lagoa de Obidos & Foz do Arelho beach that is just minutes from my father's village. Your thoughts on the climate are accurate and I did spend some time in my grandmother's house as a kid during a Portuguese winter and yes the humidity inside the house and the moisture on the tiles is something I remember well. But comparing it to winters here in New England its a piece of cake lol. Overall great videos!! Keep them coming they are quenching my "saudades"
As a Portuguese-Brazilian-American I 100% agree with you! Hello from San Diego, California :)
@@marinarios9758 I've been to San Diego many times. Is the weather similar to SD along the Portuguese coast? Thank you!
@@jackbaldwin3649 I would say it is almost the same weather. I alway hear people saying that up north, in the Porto area is colder than Lisbon. I was in Porto last September and the weather was as same as the weather in Lisbon. You should visit the country, you will enjoy I'm sure:)
@@marinarios9758 Thank you! I can't wait to visit!
I grew up in Montreal Canada. Winter in Portugal is not winter. I went to the Azores for Christmas one year and horrified my family by expressing my wish to go walking on the beach. They told me I shouldnt, its "winter". Theres no snow. You can get by wearing a sweater, no jacket. At its worst, the weather is like a cool autumn day.
I am not American but South African and will be apply to move to Portugal within the next year. Thank you for this video.
Portugal is much safer than South Africa, Jews.😂
Informative video on Portugal.. enjoyed the way you presented it!
I rarely say this: I love Dave in Portugal! Intelligent and insightful! How refreshing. Boy, you've nailed we Americans.
Porto is at the same latitude as NY, not Maine. This winter in Porto had about 6 weeks of solid rain followed by playing beachfront streetball in a t shirt at Castelo do Queijo in January while people in NY were shovelling snow.
Winter was never cold enough to interfere with bilingual tennis lessons in an unheated bubble.
❤
Hello Dave! I stumbled upon your video and watched it until the end. I'm Portuguese, I was born in Lisbon, and I live in the center. It looks like we can't can't trust newspapers ! Very few Americans come across me. The country has a lot of Brits, a lot, but not American citizens. Yes, it is true that there is not much sympathy for Americans, or rather for American culture, but this is the case throughout Europe, not just here. Nevertheless, each person will probably be welcomed as an individual. I don't know what your experience is, but the North is more welcoming. If this is an example of your videos, I can only recommend it because everything you said is true. People should always be aware that each country has its own culture and its own problems and that a lot will depend on the adaptability skills and profile of those who arrive. Also, the experience of living here can be completely different in the north or in the south, in Lisbon or Castelo Branco, despite Portugal being a small country.
EXACTLY 100% correct, entitled yuppies from the US are mostly NOT WANTED anywhere, including IN their country
The only thing worse is an arrogant ENTITLED drunk BRIT
In a way, Americans are only for themselves to blame for having a bad reputation in Europe (and parts of Asia), although of course each individual will be accepted as long as they want to adapt.
There are plenty of Brits, Germans and Scandinavians (like myself) in Portugal - especially in Algarve and Greater Lisboa (Estoril 🥰).
America has many cultures what you mean by the American culture? I'm from the deep south our culture and food are different from the rest of the country. You need to travel more.
I traveled for the first time there and was mostly in Lisboa last November. Everyone who we met was polite and didn't treat me any different once they found out I was from the USA. I was traveling with a friend who originally was from Africa and has done a lot of traveling. The one thing we are asked in the three countries I traveled with him is " What's going on over there?" (meaning.... USA). The USA is very multicultural just like Europe. USA definitely has its problems. There is entitlement everywhere in the world. Most people who do travel to Europe from the USA come with open minds and heart. We travel to learn history and experience culture, with the bonus of making friends. I will return again someday to experience the summer months.
@@maureencopeland5300 most Europeans see Americans as fast paced and somewhat egocentric and self absorbed.
i retired to Madeira and love it here. I am buying an apartment and don't plan on moving back to the US anytime soon.
Great overview. I lived outside Estoril in the early '80s. The weather, especially in winter, is exactly as you mentioned. If I could move back to Portugal, the coastal north areas, Nazare' and north to the Spanish border, far surpass the Algarve in my opinion. Completely agree about learning Portuguese....even if not spoken well, Portuguese appreciate your attempts to speak their language.
My husband who is Portuguese and i just came back from holidaying there last week. I fell in love with the country and I agree the North surpasses the south.
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all comments like these looks fake af
When comparing costs of living between Portugal and another country, you really have to bear in mind that the salaries here are very low; around 50% of Portuguese take home 1,000 Euros a month or less. If you don't have some form of income from outside the country, you will have real problems with the cost of rents, etc. Also remember that when you live in Portugal for more than 183 days a year, you become tax resident, and you are taxable on your global income (you have to declare and pay tax on all foreign income - salaries, dividends, pensions etc.) Also bear in mind the Social Taxes, which are in addition to the Income Taxes that NHR gives a temporary reduction in. Then there is Capital Gains tax - again, not reduced by NHR. That's how the Portuguese Government gets it's money from enticing people to move here...
Good points.
António Silva
Não podemos comparar o ordenado minimo em Portugal com países Alemanha Luxemburgo ou Dinamarca etc.etc. Mas visto bem as coisas os portuguêses fazem melhor vida do que os pôvos dos países que mencionei. Português sai de casa para ir trabalhar vai ao bar beber café o português sai do trabalho vai ao bar beber cerveja vinho e comer petiscos etc. Outros pôvos de outros países é casa trabalho - trabalho casa,afinalmente o português faz melhor vida do que um alemão por exemplo,vá para Alemanha viver e fazer a mesma vida que voçê faz em Portugal vá ao bar todos dias beber café e beber vinho cerveja e comprar um maço de tabaco por dia e veja se o ordenado minim alemão chega. Por exemplo 1 copo de vinho voçê bebe em Portugal por 60 centimos na França paga 2 euros por um copo de vinho aqui bebe um café por 80 centimos quanto paga na França ou na Alemanha. O Luxemburgo tem um pordenado minimo muito alto mas metado do ordenado é para o aluguer da casa e o resto água Luz comida etc.etc. Desculpem o meu português praticamente a merda é a mesma no estrangeiro ganham muito em Portugal se ganha pouco,mas os portuguêses fazem vida de rico.Se em Portugal querem poupar dinheiro façam igual o que os portuguêses imigrantes por esta Europa fora que façam igual casa trabalho -trabalho casa. Eu sei do falo eu passei por alguns países europeus trabalhei.Alemanha França Holanda Suécia etc. O melhor imigrante é o marinheiro na marinha mercante anda em cima do mar e conheçe países de passagem,tem cama e comida e não paga nada esse sim tem a vantagem de ajuntar dinheiro.
Inadequately heated houses were a common occurrence all over Mediterranean, only changing in the last two or three decades. Heck, even our hotels often lacked heating.
And AC....even hotels in all the Mediterranean.
@@genzod7940 Only old, small ones, in my experience.
"all over the Mediterranean" yes, but contrary to most Mediterranean countries, Portugal's coast is all Atlantic. No one in southern and eastern Spain, Italy or Greece knows how cold a summer night can be in Portugal. Not to mention the winter..
@@ubuntufan2139 Fair enough, but when _bora_ starts blowing in Croatia, you s**t icecubes.
Who needs heating in the Mediterranean?? Do to have winters that drop below freezing 32F/0C and even lower than that?? Hell, I think that 45F/7.2C is cold but survivable. Especially warmer. The body gets used to it. I spent the fall and winter in a tent then a trailor and in the winter it fell below 0F/-17C for days on end with only a space heater. It never got above 45 when it got that cold, and only to the 60sF/18C on average cold days. If I didn't have that space heater, I would not be here writing this. Yet you think you got it bad???
Hey Dave, It was great to meet you in person! How was the healthy cafe? 😉 I did find a great place that has happy hour tocos for 1 Euro! (Gringo) recommend the flutas. Anyways love your videos and understanding of of Portuguese culture. I have been here for almost 2 years and love it! #mexicanamerican #forÇa!
Was a pleasure to meet you and your beautiful family while passing through Jon!
Dinner at 9 pm is mostly a "city thing" :) - in rural areas is at 6 pm but mostly at 7pm. Or at least in northern Portugal/center Portugal. I come from a rural family in the north, and notice quite some differences (although born and raised in Lisbon, of course I have lots of cultural habits from rural north, still). And one of the contrasts is in dinner time (and lunch time), as my Lisbon friends do tend to have lunch later, and dinner (them: 13h/14h lunch + 20h/21h dinner; me and my family at 12h lunch + 19h dinner).
You're right, in France the same thing, in the provinces (rural areas) people eat about 19:00 to 19:30 hours but this is 20:30 - 21h00 in a town.
As previous realtor in southern Spain, I have seen SO many people come and go. They have their few years of Spanish adventure, and off they go, with once again all the costs of selling and moving.
Often it's quite predictable who will stay and finds this home, and those who are transient and restless:
Those who learned Spanish, and those who didn't.
well said!!
The first thing I have always done, wherever I have lived, is _learn the language_ !! Apart from being better for me, it is courteous and respectful to the host country to do so.
By the way: what is 'realtor'?
@@mfjdv2020 Gracias :) A realtor is an estate agent, selling houses.
And then re-selling them, because they go "back home" (UK or elsewhere).
Spain didn't become "home", because they didn't give any respect or courtesy, thus didn't get any respect or courtesy.
A circle of which they are unaware.
Business wise good for estate agents, but bad for the social fabric, or for themselves.
Learn AT LEAST all phrases of courtesy! Already that, opens doors, increases reliability, social seriousness, everything.
Well done YOU! 😎😁
I think for Americans, learning Spanish would be far easier than learning Portuguese. We hear Spanish often, and many of us took it in high school and college, or have hispanic friends here. There aren't that many differences between Spanish from Spain and Spanish from Mexico, although without meaning to be offensive, in USA we hear a lot of "street" Spanish, not business Spanish. Even so, it's likely easier. I think all Americans should be taught Spanish and French since we're north of Mexico and South of Quebec, but I can drive from Miami to the northern reaches of Alaska and never need to speak any language except English. If we were like the EU and each state had a different language, then we likely would be multi-lingual, but it's just not needed. We'd all be better off if we had to learn a few other languages - better for our lazy brains.
@kenai561 Thanks for that reaction. Well, somebody from Buenos Aires needs to drive 8 days before getting out of the Latin zone, so it is possible 🙂. True and noticeably so that Americans in Spain are far quicker to learn Spanish, than the British.
Although the numbers of Americans immigrating are not significant on a national scale in Portugal, they are now very noticeable in some specific towns, e.g some places on the Algarve.
You haven't spent much time in the Algarve if you see it as cloudy in the winter. Like Califórnia it has periods of rain in winter and spring, and it is cold in the winter, but not below freezing on the Algarve coast. And daytimes are usually sunny. The other downside of being in Portugal is a relative lack of access to activities and serious culture, especially if you come from a big city.
Appreciate you candour...and your channel
It would be nice if you made a video about the impact all these expats have on the local community. All these reviews are utterly one sided: from the expat point of view. I think its important to create self awareness that expats are not all good. They change local culture for the worse. Maybe they could have some respect for the nation they are a guest in. Portugal is not a holiday resort.
People from the US usually ruin ANY PLACE they go to in droves, nothing new. Ask people in Oregon, Arizona, Texas and Wash state
Saying they change for the worse is saying no expats are any good, objectively. Not much better.
@@hoodatdondar2664 I think they meant the overall effect isn't positive, which I'd have to agree with.
So therefore what you're saying in reverse is that Portuguese immigrating exemple to Canada are detrimental there.
@@MarinaLaroche interesting point, ask yourself why suddenly “Quebec ramps up French language requirements for immigrants”? Why is it so wrong that expats make for once a video about the negative effects expats have on local culture? Since we realized over tourism is bad (ask Venice, Amsterdam), so is over abundance of expats. They come for the local culture and lifestyle, but end up destroying it and replacing it with the expat bubble. I’m not Portuguese, but I’ve seen many regions change for the worse by expats into some permanent English speaking holiday resort. Why should we want this?
Excellent vocal quality. The swan blow up in the pool was perfection. I can imagine the winters are cold in those houses. February in Barcelona, cement walls, brrrrr. I arrived from northern Minnesota and enjoyed the outdoor temps, but the indoor cold was an experience. Butane tank heaters were crucial.
I could do it. Survived in a trailer all winter and it never got past 40f with a space heater on cold days. They're was also ice coming up the walls.. had to chisel my way out once.
Once I got used to it, I didn't bundle up and 40s seemed warm to me.
Ive been here for 2 years and love it. The Politicians are not designating incoming money to the Portuguese and protecting the economy for it’s people. Sad.
I was there and even got my residency card. I gave it a real shot. It just didn’t feel like home. I moved to Spain instead. It’s home now.
Americans are the MINORITY among ALL expats in Portugal. Less than 6 thousand people 😆 Even tough you guys find a way to lie to yourselves to think you somehow matter. Pathetic
residency card , howd u get that? yes spain is nice, I over stayed for 5 years and then left, then went back and they let me in even tho I had a 5 year ban LOL They dont care in Spain, Love it. and Im gonna re-enter again later. its very relaxed there in spain. theyre not a police state like the USA . Americans think the whole world agrees with " law and order"
Stay there.
Portugal is a small country really. If I lived there I think I would start to see France and Spain as within my environs which would expand the experience a lot.
Regarding those 30k Italians living in Portugal, I suspect most of them are Brazilians with italian nationality (Italy grants nationality to Brazilians with Italian parents/grandparents/whatever). As they enter Portugal with their Italian passport they are counted as Italians.
I second this. I'm brazilian myself, with portuguese citizenship, but I could also have italian citizenship and lots of brazilian friends living here in Portugal hold italian citizenship
Yes there are some Brazilians with Italian citizenship, but they are few. Italians have been coming to Portugal, getting born here and living in Portugal 🇵🇹 since more than 2000 years ago, when they were called the "Romans".
@@Alfablue227 WTF ?
@@Maria-js9ou WTF, what? That's the truth!
@@Alfablue227 Do they have italian passport ?
i just wanna know who's restructuring the houses and not putting the bidet in the bathroom, it was there, it is useful. Whyyyyy?
They're not common outside Europe, in many cases people prefer to fit a larger shower or tub and discard the bidet to make room, there's actually laws saying that you need a bidet in your house but most people don't abide by it and nobody enforces it anyways, only on new builds
@@dasrite but Portugal is europe and foreigners buy houses there and eliminate the bidet, now i m looking for places to live there and a lot of place dom t have it so for me, i ll never go live there cause i need to Wash my ass and refresh my self when on my period🤭😄 why they wanna impose their lower igiene on others (joking), but for me it s important to have it in the house
@@divulgatrice understandable, hopefully they're leaving the drainage connections behind, i removed mine actually but i kept the all the plumbing for it because you never know and if you ever sell the house it's best to have that option than to have to tell someone they're gonna have to ruin the bathroom to re-install one.
It's still quite common that people do ask for it, especially ladies, for the reasons you mentioned
@@dasrite of course a person with her/his own House do as likes. It makes me sad that is also w/ rent, cause i looked at nice apartaments then i looked at the bathroom and no bidet, just sad ahah. Like i feel the bidet should b exported all around the world ✊😂
yep! Been here for 4 yrs. Very good spot on video. Still waiting for drivers lic and waiting 3 yrs for residency while in the country.The shortage of Mexican food is so true! Also the cold buildings. I lived on the east coast and have never been so cold in my entire life. But you forgot one thing: the sad and anxious mindset that prevails. Its palpable. You need to have a strong inner constitution to thrive here-- or have lots of friends. You need to make a veritable effort for your social life - as an immigrant anywhere needs. But the people while being very cool and friendly, only let you in once you prove yourself. Language is a must for that. I was lucky to be accepted into a local choir and this was an amazing experience with a few immigrants but mostly locals. Thanks for the validation on so many of thse points Dave!
Great content Dave! Great Videos and landscapes ! Good place to make some good friends, and to learn about other cultures😊
It looks like you had some great time in Portugal!!
I hope you have the opportunity to learn some words in Portuguese at lest.
But unfortunately its not to everyone...
Keep up with your great work Dave.
Also about the Winter, like i said i live in Central Portugal, we barely get clouds here. It does get cold but it barely rains, its mostly sunshine year round. Portugal is a small country but has a very diverse climate so it all depends on where you live
What area in Central P are you ? I read recently that 75 % of Spain is now desertic (fires) and I'm concerned about Central Portugal since it's near. The fact you say it rarely rains is not that reassuring. Am I missing something ? Thanks.
@@MarinaLaroche You are not missing anything. Portugal schorching hot Summers make it extremely dangerous during Summer time. Wild fires are a massive danger here
@@MarinaLaroche Santarem District
@@CusterPlays Would you say the western part of Santarem is also or likely will be dangerous with fires ? I'm thinking long-term.
@@MarinaLaroche It all depends where you live. If you live in a city, its fine. If you live in the middle of nowhere and the forests arent cleaned it might become a problem.
Greetings from beautiful and sunny Estoril today...originally from Texas...Been a legal resident and supporter of the economy of Portugal since 2016...Traveled all over this beautiful country and met folks from all walks of life...Been blessed to live and work in 42 different countries around the world...All with pro's and cons...One thing I have never done is blame other's for my own countries problems.. No matter where you go on this planet, things will not be perfect...Never expect another place to do thing's like you are used to no matter where you come from...Do you have realistic expectations on the country you are living in or are you running away from something? If one is not secure in themselves, it matters not where you move any where on this planet...Are you moving for the right reasons...Are you an asset to place you are moving and I'm not just talking financially...Have you studied the countries history, customs and language...My Portuguese is mixto...Most folks understand me, however I'm not forcing anyone to speak my native tongue either, which is Cowboy...From Bragança to Tavira, Marvão to Ponta Delgada and everywhere in-between I have taken the roads less traveled and for me the reward has been Blessed and Rich...Portugal for me is bênçãos e energia positiva...🇵🇹😉👌🤠
Legal Texano. I live in Texas- Galveston city. Planing to living in my father country. I’m between Peniche and Algarve. Hard to decide ! See you there alligator !
@@ninarosaphotography2039 I grew up in Baytown...Spent many summer's in good ole Galveston...from East Beach to Jamaica Beach, The Strand...etc. Bom dia from Estoril! 🇵🇹😉👌👏🤠
@@dickielarue1451 A família da esposa do meu filho mora em Baytown.
Galveston mudou muito, está cada vez mais lindo. Caminho na praia todos os dias com a minha pastora alemã. A praia é um elixir na nossas vidas. Me fala de Estoril, como é a cidade. Estou procurando por um lugar layback e que eu possa caminhar na praia sem precisar de carro. Claro que seguro. Tenha um ótimo e agradável dia. De Galveston nos despertando a cada dia com o brilhar ensolarado ao cântico dos pássaros .
@@ninarosaphotography2039 Portugal tem tudo num pacote pequeno...Praias, lagos, ilhas e montanhas...Claro que a comida é fantástica...Aqui não preciso de carro...Os transportes públicos levam-me onde quero vá...As minhas praias favoritas aqui são no Alentejo...mais natureza e menos comercial...sinto-me abençoada por viver aqui...🤠
@@UncleHoax A lot folks here in Portugal are being creative on the making money front...Don't have to be a millionaire to live here...I'm sure as heck not...From Digital Nomads, You-tubers, Skills-Trade, Pensions and Retirements and etc...Before living in Portugal...I lived in Mexico...Same there...Much easier to hop back and forth across the border to the States...It's certaintly doable, just got to be creative with it and have the right kind of expectations...Best move I've ever made...Boa Noite! 😉🇵🇹✌️🤘
I'm planning to move to Portugal sometime next year and what I'm hearing from there saddens me. The country and it's culture will always belong to the Portuguese and it's grim that a lot of wealthy foreigners can't comprehend that.
As a foreign national myself, I would never try to impose my way of life on the locals and treat them like shit, like they're beneath me, just because I earn more than them.
The least that you can do is to make an effort to learn Portuguese, understand and respect the local traditions/ culture and lastly, treat people well and be a decent human being.
💙🎉🎉
I believe this problem with rapidly rising property values is similar to that of the New Zealand. Small population within the country but huge foreign property demand.
@@rainertuominen4242 Unfortunately I think this is a problem that's not going to go away soon. Remote work is here to stay and you'll see an influx of digital nomads, immigrants etc. A lot of folk from places like The UK- where a cost of living crisis is underway- will relocate to other regions in Europe, Asia etc. Americans have already relocated- and will continue to do so- to places like Mexico, Portugal, Spain etc. I reckon Mexico, especially Mexico City will have a huge problem to address in the coming years.
Well from what I heard it is now difficult to get normal pt café and pastries in some better parts of Lisbon and Porto. So thanks for coming here and say this. If I'm back to my country and I'm to seat at a café I will want a bica and a bolo de arroz. I don't want the server to look at me weird and apologise for not knowning what coffee I do want and not having bolo de arroz only muffins or pasteis de nada. I will go Karin, not on the server but on the manager for being fucking stupid to strip traditional option of the menu.
Context: traditionally when one asks for coffee in Portugal is an espresso. That is de default.
Be aware portugueses might be difficult to learn, that being said you can start speaking it poorly that people usually don't care all that much, as long as you make some effort we are happy.
@@Imsolaris Hey man. Thanks for sharing your opinion. Like I said, I'm real sorry if the tourists and nomads are making it worse for you guys.
My reason for wanting to move to Portugal, is to genuinely experience what the country offers authentically- the rich culture, the cuisine, the architecture, the incredible geography etc. I wouldn't want it to be turned into another California.
And as for the language barrier, I don't mind learning it all. Actually I would love it. I don't want to live an isolated life there. I want to be able to walk the streets and interact with the locals so I'll give my best to learning it.
I've been to portugal many times. I'm from the UK. I like the slower pace but I'm not sure I'd like it if I lived there. It's certainly nice to get a change of pace for a couple of weeks for sure.
What is it personnally that doesn't fully appeal to you ? Thanks.
Interesting points you raise here! Portugal will still be forever my favourite place
loved the video, as a portuguese that had to move out from portugal is hard to see any future in that country that doesnt really welcomes their own people... Its almost impossible to live in portugal with a normal wage as the rent is all your salary!
I spent two weeks with my expat friends who live in the Saldanha area of Lisboa. They’ve been there for a few years and they love it! I loved it too and can’t wait to head back in a few months. I’m 3.5 years away from retirement and Portugal is tugging at my heart. Thanks for the great videos!
Immigrant friends you mean? :-)
@@AdvancedSoul He means "privileged people with money"
I mean friends in their 70s with money from years of hard work and saving. They lived in Chennai for five years before heading to Lisbon. I don’t know how long they’ll stay. They are still citizens of the USA. Why are you so judgmental?
Immigrant is someone who moves to another country looking for better economic opportunities. These folks are retired , wealthy or work remote. They don't depend on Portugal 's wages, the lowest in Europe .They can live anywhere in the world with their own money and stock portfolio. Portugal wants them , why not ?
Expat friends?
They are immigrants.
English speaking people do not consider themself like emigrants...
Sure hoping you have some Solid data to present covering the last 3-5 years. My experience is that many people say things on UA-cam. Thanks Dave
I cannot any data on returning US citizens. SEF do not publish this data and there is no information from SEF on 2022 at all - probably due to the re-organisation in progress. Starting to look like clickbait.
I wonder what percentage of Americans who move to other countries (like Japan or France) also end up leaving? Just for comparison. My cousin moved to Japan thinking it was fantastic but soon realized his upward mobility there at work was very very limited because he is not native Japanese, although he speaks it extremely well.
In fairness Japan is probably the most difficult developed country to move to as a foreigner. People are quite friendly on the surface but you will ALWAYS be treated as a temporary resident. ALWAYS.
@@kkjjqrysdgadff7782 Sounds abut right. He wasted several years of his career there. While his friends were being promoted and moving up the ladder back home in the USA, he pretty much didn't go anywhere. He did have a great cultural time, but he paid a heavy price by being stuck in a low position back home. A big trade off.
Japanese people are very racist.
@@carefulconsumer8682
It all depends what you want out of life. Being a corporate lackey or slave isn't for everyone either. Some people cannot function in a corporate environment and prefer to travel and live overseas. They should be able to do that and not see it as a waste of time.
Japan is famously nativist and xenophobic. Nobody should be expected to integrate into their society, not even other East Asians.
Where do you see people in Portugal taking 2 or 3 hours to have lunch? We have 1 hour lunch here, some people working in factories have half an hour. Maybe in the weekends with family and friends sometimes.
Enjoyed. Thanks for sharing!
I'm Portuguese and I moved to London from Lisbon 18 years ago. This is a very thorough and accurate video. Bureaucracy is definitely one of the top 3 reasons that made me leave, as you say it's a nightmare for us too, but I think 1 aspect is missing only for those planning to work for Portuguese companies with Portuguese managers and colleagues: the working culture is terrible. There is a culture of 'desenrascanço', where people take pride in doing the least possible work, delivering the bare shoddy minimum and getting away with it. This of course comes from the fact that if they do more than that, they don't feel that's recognised and rewarded by their managers, so most Portuguese give up on this and derive fulfillment from what they do on the weekend with food, nature, beach and so on. If you take pride in doing a good job, you'll be up against this and Portugal is not for you.
This is a problem. I think I would fit in better in Switzerland where good enough is not good enough.
The way you just described Portugal sounds amazing 😂
@@soundleague 😂 depends how you look at it I guess... Personally I like to feel fulfilled with what I do Monday to Friday, not just on weekends
Good and bad are everywhere...i live in the UK for about fortuna years and i can tell you all...Life in here is not a Pic Nic..when we stil have Laws in function from the 18th century ..but this is home.
I feel you. Nothing more frustrating than old outdated laws.@@anibalfernando3027
Most of them don't speak portuguese. As an American intending to move to Porto, it disgusts me how many rich American's I saw who couldn't speak any Portuguese.
Fala Portuguese ou sair, Portugal nao precisa esse pessoas.
Say the exact same thing in the US and you'd be called a racist. Xenefobe maybe? Dramatic are we? Stay in Portugal please 🙏.
@@ericreed4535 Hey, when theres an economic disparity there are different rules. Grow up eric. Voce esta bebe giagante.
@@MrCaseHarts Your superiority complex because you speak a little Portuguese and are disgusted by those who don't was comically juvenile. Ad hominem means you recognized your position as well, weak and wrong. Os EUA não tem um índice baixo de pessoas bilíngues. Respeito e honestidade são universal. Regras diferentes kkkk.. ah tá. 🥱
@@ericreed4535 I am disgusted by those who do not try. I didn't say anyone who moves there disgusts me?
I met people who lived in Portugal for years who speak none. Rich tech people and retirees. I would feel the same if they did that in the USA. But immigrants all try here. Americans do not in many cases sadly because of fucked up superiority complexes.
Tenho problema come eles quem nao tentando apprender portuguese. Nao eles quem falam um pouco. Isso e differente, voce sabe o que eu estou dizendo a voce. nao me resprente mal
@@ericreed4535 Tamem nao tenho falar portuguese bem, mas eu tentar. Se eles vivem na portugal por 5 e 10 anos ainda nao fala portuguese. Isso monstrar que eles tem respeito por as pessoa de portugal e o cultura. Mesmo na EUA, Depois 5 anos todo pessoas falar ingles.
Sorry to say, Portugal has such a wonderful and diverse Mediterranean healthy cousine and gastronomy, such an amazing pastry and wines, who cares about some Mexican tacos or Thay food. There are Mexican and Thay restaurants, but people, normally, prefer local and tradicional healthy food. This is like going to US and want to eat some "cozido à portuguesa" or "pasteis de Belem", if to be found it probably wouldn't taste the same. So, if Americans want to came to Portugal (and you are very welcome) this is not "little America", this is a sovereign country with 1000 years history. PS. Do never, ever put ice cubes in the wine......that´s a blasphemy for the Portuguese Culture.
No, I do not agree. When you live abroad you definitely will get home sick, and for some people eating the foods they grew up with helps.
Also, Portuguese food is amazing, yes, however it lacks some elements found in the cuisines you mentioned, the spiceness of Mexican food and the sweet and savory type taste in Thai food.
@@Gewehr_3 Make it at home
Ice in the wine is blasphemy in the U.S. as well! But some people insist on doing weird things. 😂😂
I see your point, but I think Tex-Mex is great food that is popular everywhere once they try it. Restaurants like to make it too because it's so simple to make and serve.
If u want mild non cloudy winters, and summers that temperature mostly dont rise more than 40c, most people speak english, then you might consider south Greece, like Peloponnisos and the island of Crete.
Too hot in summer, too cold in winter. The Canary Islands are the place to be.
Luckily for me my mother and her side of the family are from Portugal. I'm checking it out to connect to my roots. If I feel a strong resonance I will 100% move there.
Most people won't move back cause they claim benefits in the UK
oh lord, another American (probably) who wants to 'check something out' so they can 'connect to their roots'. Fortunately we Europeans don't have this urge to 'discover' or 'connect to' our roots.
@@mfjdv2020 Was there a point to your rant?
youre talking about mex food isnt as good as it is in NY...but who wants to eat mex when the portuguese cuisine is so great and vast? humidity...stone walls?were have youlived?in a cavern? portuguese people are used to cosmopolity..and dont have any issue with someone for beeing american or chinese...its a very different Country from the States...thats all😉
About the houses abandoned, I have 2 by the shore but between 3 brothers and sisters living in US and not agreeing on anything they will stay there until the government takes over, we have thousands of Portuguese who don’t even know they own property in Portugal left by the grandparents.
This is true. Took years to sell my grandmothers house and I encouraged my mother and aunt (who grew up in Portugal) to do it because if they hadnt done it and it had fallen in to the hands of grandchildren, we are too removed from Portugal to have known how to proceed with selling it.
As a Portuguese thank you for the videos about my country ❤️ I’m living in Italy and I can not wait to go back home for good! I love Italy too (very similar to us). However, there’s something about the variety of food, the safety, the peace, the food! AND the people !!
Southern Italy, and Naples in particular, is not particularly safe, what with the camorra peering around every tree, shrub and lamp-post 24/7, while their minions make a speciality of peaceful handbag-snatching and pickpocketing. Italians are by no means physically violent, but they have perfected many methods of (street) robbery so you won't know you've been robbed until you get home. Don't laugh, but I used to attach my monthly salary to the inside of my underwear (I was paid in cash and travelled to and from work on the Metro!) On pay day I would wear my oldest and most disreputable clothes in the Metro, plus an expression of gloom and indifference. I was one of the very very few foreign employees at my place of work who did not get robbed.
At 3:18 it was said that Portugal is as far north as Maine. No, the southern tip is at the same latitude as Virginia, and Porto is about as north as New York City. Maine is as high as France.
As a Portuguese-American, I suggest anyone watching this that he doesn’t know what he’s talking about. It’s common knowledge that Portugal is the sunniest country in Europe. He couldn’t even get that right
Many Americans go to one place for s month and think it is like that everywhere 😮
I've enjoyed your perspectives on life in portugal greatly. My wife and I are spending a month in portugal this summer, doing some touristy things, of course, but also scouting out the country a bit. We live in coastal Washington State on the a Olympic Peninsula, so cold and rainy winters are already the norm for us. This will be our first time in Europe, so very exciting. UA-cam has been an extraordinary resource to learn a bit of Portuguese language, (which I don't seem to be able to absorb as quickly as when I was much younger, but better a little than none).
Thanks for your insights & shared experiences.
Don´t come.
Great video. Very correct about the small number of americans. My wife and i retired , from nyc, to a portuguese village 4.5 years ago. We have been very welcomed and call it home. We are though, because of the novelty, refered to as the americans, in an endearing way. I think many of those who return wanted a nicer, gentler, and warmer usa rather than remembering that we are not expats but rather immigrants.
I am contemplating a move to Portugal. I am retired and live in Florida now but spent most of my life in suburban NYC. What resources did you use to decide where to live? I’d like to visit soon and look at upscale apartments/condos in an area with easy access to Lisbon (and the airport). My husband will stay in Florida most of the time but will visit. I prefer a more temperate climate and modern construction in an area where I can walk to shops and restaurants. Please let me know your suggestions for setting up a visit to view different areas where we might look. Thanks!
Interesting what you say about being 32 and not meeting any Americans your age. I'm British, now aged 65, but through my entire life, I barely ever met an American my age. Not when I was 25, 35, 45, ever. Yet I have met plenty of South Africans, Ozzies, Kiwis, and loads of others from non-English speaking countries. I think it is because the American barely gets any vacation - just two weeks and you're unlikely to go long haul for travel. That's a big shame for your country - travel broadens the mind.
Nick Oakley, when I was younger I traveled extensively to Europe , including Southern Europe. One Summer , I visited Mykonos and on the van that picked us up from the airport to the hotel was a young woman who lived 5 minutes from me in the US..Strange coincidence but it was not unusual for me to meet Americans from all walks of life vacationing in Europe .
Oh I definitely agree-one of the worst things about being an American is dealing with the work-obsessed culture and lack of proper vacation time. Even if we’re lucky enough to get more than two weeks per year of paid time off, it can often be a struggle getting an employer to actually let you take more than one week at a time. So, we stay closer to home or we end up running ourselves ragged trying to see everything we can before having to fly back home for more work.😢 It’s no wonder so many of us keel over from the eventual heart attack.
Yours is big misconception that is repeated over and over on social chats. Americans travel more than any other country citizens, and this is easily confirmed by internet search. The "long haul" comment is true though. I go to Europe at least once each year, but I can't stand the 9-hour flight. I'd rather vacation in America now that I've been to over 60 countries.
What is long gloomy winters? I Newfoundland it seems like we only have two seasons, winter and fall we hit we do have summer but it’s not really always a good summer.
I'm not speaking into my computer anymore.🤪
Good honest portrait. If I may contribute, there is a huge gap depending on which "part" of the US you are coming from. Not states/regions, but mostly metropolitan areas or small town/suburbs. If you come from metro-USA then the culture shock is huge! Even if you live in Lisbon. The speed/energy level/activity level is very different. Not necessarily a bad thing... but almost all the status or motivation/reward system is different. The array and quality of goods and services available is much much less. Tex-mex is just a small token of it. Not that there is no high quality on offer, but it is different and a bit limited. Now, if you come from small-town-America, you will feel less of a shock. You are probably used to a less diversified market offer and you are likely to appreciate the better quality of basic things such as infrastructure, food quality, etc.