Sometimes a Great Notion
– Living Abroad
My first thoughts of living outside the USA came about while importing goods from Thailand.
Using my import business to travel and explore another culture was an eye-opening experience. While I never really felt a culture shock traveling overseas, I often felt culture shock upon my returns to the US, and that is what put the expat bug in my head.
I loved the Thai culture. While visiting many factories to seek out new products, I was impressed on how they blended work and life. Parents would often bring their young children to work. They’d have a daycare center in an adjacent room, and the older kids would come after school and help out. If the workplace was about woodcarving, or any other acquired skill, the kids would naturally pick up some of those skills.
Lunch was an hour long and if I was there during lunchtime, I was invited to their picnic where there was always enough food. After lunch, some of the employees would put a pillow on their desk and take a little nap. Not everything was about maximum efficiency, but more about maximum enjoyment. It certainly led to greater happiness and maybe to greater efficiency as well.
Choosing Your Spot in the World
Choosing a country to move to is a big decision. All of the pros and cons need to be weighed very carefully. The main pros for Thailand were that the people are friendly, and the cost of living cheap. The main cons were that it was very hot nine months out of the year and the air was not all that clean.
We chose Portugal because we felt comfortable here from the first visit in October, 2018. That is also when we first entertained the thought of making this our new home. The people are friendly and the cost of living is low, like Thailand. But the weather is temperate, and the air is clean. The numerous beautiful beaches and the abundance of good food and wines were only part of the ever-growing list of pros on our list. I’d be hard-pressed to find the cons.
Our Life Before the Move
My wife, Cathy, had been a teacher most of her life before retiring in 2017. One of those good teachers who truly loved her kids and would do anything for them. Sometimes she would call me because she had forgotten her lunch or one of her work folders. I’d run it to her classroom and look at all the kids and think, they sure are cute. But if I was in there longer than 5 minutes, I’d start breaking out in a sweat. I could never have the patience to do what she had done for so many years.
A tip of my hat goes out to all of those wonderful teachers who go into work, day in and day out, and put up with administrative politics and parents whose children can do no wrong.
Anyway, Cathy’s teaching job provided a steady paycheck while my entrepreneurship had its highs and lows. But the combination worked out well enough to allow us to explore the expat option in retirement.
Who Needs Another Expat Blog?
Nobody really needs another blog, but I felt the urge to start one anyway. This blog might just be my first attempt at doing something creatively just for the joy of it, without expecting a monetary return. It might be fun to find a way to monetize it in the future if the possibility arises (can’t completely extinguish the entrepreneurial spirit). But for now, I just want to share our adventure of cashing in our chips and setting out on a new course. Follow along and see if this might be an option for you as well!
I am loving your blog Bob…mahalo. “An affordable alternative to Hawaii…” LOL The only way to save money to ever leave Hawaii to travel (to someday visit you and Cathy) is to grow my own food, live off the grid and do my entrepreneurial (good thing you spelled that word out above!!) projects. I’m Looking forward to meeting Cathy..I’m teaching art to a family of 5…(4,6,8,10,12!) Keep blogging…it gives me a vicarious opportunity to be in Portugal again!
Laurie, would love to see you here! I have always loved Hawaii and being in Portugal has finally filled that longing I’ve had to return. I most certainly could not afford to live there now. I keep meaning to compare Hawaii and Portugal in one of my blogs but I easily get distracted.
Hi Bob,
I am a friend of Leslie Lane’s, as I lived in Ashland for a decade. I have been living on the Big Island of Hawaii the last 9 years and my partner and I are ready to try a change and come to Portugal. We imagine we will come mid summer and stay for …. Can we talk with you for tips and suggestions? Where to land first and stay for say the first month or two is one question we’d love your help with. We like to be warm, walk in nature, and get some culture music and art, and of course good food and wine, it would be nice to see the water.. Leslie just visited us and we are inspired by your blog. Look forward to hearing from you. Aloha, Linda and Arthur
Hi Linda. Yes, Leslie and I have been friends since forever. I will email you now and you can reply with any questions you may have. Would love to help.
Hey Bob, just stumbled upon your blog and have really enjoyed reading your, thoughts, ideas, adventures and adjustments. I am quite behind but it is a great change from reading and watching the news happening here. Your timing to relocate couldn’t have been better timed. So I will work backwards on reading past blogs and look forward to the upcoming ones. It’s also a great outlet for your gift of writing.
Wishing you and Cathy the best,
Lynda
Bom dia, Lynda! Good to hear from you, and welcome to my blog. Obstacles fell away like dominoes, so I guess the Universe favored this move. You must come visit us here and experience the peacefulness of Portugal.
Saturday Morning greetings Bob and Cathy and how amazing you are established in Ericeira! It is also the place my husband (French) and I (English) have decided to make home and we arrived more or less the same time as you. We love it here too and want to start to meet fellow expats. I wondered if there might be that possibility….?
Boa tarde! I will email you and we can set something up.