Moving to Portugal: Ken and June's Journey

What made you choose Portugal in the first place, and why did “good vibes, affordability, the tax treaty, and better weather” rise to the top for you two?

Portugal is so vibrant and its people have been friendly, welcoming and helpful towards us to date. Awe-inspiring sun sets and beauty can be found by the ocean and the lagoons of Aveiro, as well as in the forests of Sintra and Braga (to just name a few examples). The medieval architecture, tile work, fantastic wine and food experiences, exhilarating festivals, etc. have exceeded our expectations and we haven’t even seen the entire country yet!

The cost of living is about 30% less than back in the USA (Pennsylvania) although with the weakening dollar, this could shift. And the tax treaty is most definitely a plus.

While the temperatures here this winter were warmer than back home, there was a lot of rain (almost daily in January and February) and a few severe storms. We’ve been told this much rain is unusual. But in our minds, the winter rains beat the frigid cold and 3-foot snowstorms our friends and neighbors back home were sending us photos of. And now we are heading into the sunny seasons to our delight.

Before you moved, what were you most excited about, and what were you most nervous about?

We were most excited about being able to travel around Portugal and Europe with relative ease. We were nervous about the language barrier and leaving friends and family behind. There are travel restrictions involved with returning to the USA while obtaining the residency permit so one should be psychologically prepared for that.

But with WhatsApp, we have managed to stay in close touch with family and friends. And we know this is temporary for this first year.

Why Aveiro specifically?

I know the weather this January was a bummer, and how the canals feel compared to the hills.

We’re happy we are in Aveiro. It’s a very walkable little city and we have everything we need here. After going to Lisbon for a weekend or Porto for a day trip, there is calm here as you emerge from the Aveiro train station. The hustle and bustle of those cities are left behind. And it doesn’t hurt that it is flatter here than other cities as we are doing a lot of walking. It’s the right amount of calm in general but the people here certainly know how to throw a party and celebrate holidays!

There were several holidays with fireworks and outdoor music concerts over New Year’s Eve and São Gonçalinho festivities in January (which is specific to Aveiro). On Christmas Day, our adult daughter came to visit us. She is enrolled in a Master’s Degree program in Lisbon. After our Christmas brunch and gift exchange, we walked around Aveiro and enjoyed the amazing Christmas lights. We were surprised at the number of people also out just walking around. We later returned home to make a salmon wellington dinner. I think it will be a memorial Christmas for years to come.

How is your day-to-day adaptation going right now? What feels easy, and what still feels like a work in progress?

Shopping for food and household items was challenging at first because we are without a car. So, we took many Ubers to and from home good stores and Staples. But that was a short phase while we settled in. I can now walk to the big grocery store (Auchan) once a week and take an Uber back with the groceries.

But I recently learned how to order online from the Auchan supermarket, so I can now order heavier items like laundry detergent, milk, wine, etc. to be delivered to us. This has been a game changer, but it helped to shop in person those first months so I could figure out Portuguese product names I use and brands I like. We can also frequently walk to the Mercado (local farmer’s market) to get produce, fresh olives, and fish with our little shopping cart. I also always carry a rolled-up nylon shopping bag in my pocketbook should we find something we want or need while taking our daily walk.

As for my husband, the digital nomad, it took a couple of weeks to get his remote office here up and running.

What cultural differences have stood out the most since arriving ? Any moments that made you think, “Oh wow, this is different”?

Restaurant dinner reservations are later than back home so that’s different, but we have adjusted to that. Restaurants frown on you if you don’t have a reservation and calling a restaurant to make a reservation wasn’t necessarily easy for us at first. They were either closed at the time of our call or might not speak English so that could be frustrating. I have since discovered The Fork (like Open Table) so that’s been helpful! And sometimes, we just might pass by a restaurant that looks appealing and make a reservation for later that day or the next weekend. In our minds, we can always cancel the reservation.

Take a number: You are expected to take a number to be served at a variety of places, so we had to learn to look for the little machine to take a number. The CTT (post office) requires you to take a number, and there was a long line to be helped - especially in December. It was very frustrating, so I tried avoiding using that service for a long while but then a shopkeeper told me to try going around 6 PM and that was indeed a better time and experience.

Receiving Mail from USA: Receiving letters sent via Priority Mail from the USA to here is a bit pricey but it gets here. But receiving packages is extremely frustrating as they go through customs, then one must complete online forms (which aren’t necessarily clear) and pay an extra fee to finally have the package delivered. We received and opened a package with Christmas gifts from my sister around Valentine’s Day!

How has building community been in practice?

We found an Aveiro Expat group on Facebook and attended their December Trivia Night. There, we met a delightful group of people who spoke English. At this event we met Carol and she invited us to various Expats WhatsApp chat groups for Aveiro.

We certainly walk more here than in Pennsylvania! So, it feels healthier in that regard. I also joined a gym for Pilates classes and while they are taught in Portuguese, I can follow along well enough and enjoy the classes and instructors. With the winter rain, day trips and weekend trips were hindered so we concentrated on settling in, establishing some friends by meeting up for coffees, drinks, dinners, etc. Now that the weather has shifted, we have taken some weekend trips which have been great fun.

What are the top 2–3 “real-life” challenges you’ve faced so far? How did you overcome them?

Everything takes longer than it does at home because of the language barrier, differences in service, etc. But once that is set up you don’t think about it much more.

Setting up utilities could have been easier, but the realtor was helpful with that. And getting our Portugal cell phone numbers and setting up internet, etc. was a chore too. For banking we went in person for the first weeks to set things up. Again, we had to take a number to see a teller. We also learned to check the business hours, because many places (like the bank) are closed during lunch hours.

Simple things could certainly feel challenging! For example, initially…

• Answering the door for a delivery was challenging, because not all delivery people speak English. And CTT might require a 4 digit PIN to get your delivery. So, there was a learning curve with such tasks.
• Ordering “take away” (not “take out”) food or getting food delivered was challenging. But that became easier once we discovered Glovo for food delivery. But my first Glovo order took a ridiculous amount of time to set up. Lol.
• Ordering AP (express) train tickets with Comboios de Portugal | Online Train Tickets (CP) also initially took a ridiculous amount of time.
• Making something like a chiropractor or acupuncture appointment also felt daunting initially. To overcome this, my husband likes to make appointments over email which can be translated on both ends. I prefer to call and hope someone in the office speaks English which is often the case.
• Getting a large grocery cart at the Auchan near us requires a euro to be inserted by the handlebar to release it from the chained line of shopping carts. We thought, that’s weird that we have to pay a euro every time to use a big cart. It was only after we observed an elderly man return his cart and watched how he retrieved his euro, did we understand we could get our euro back once we returned it to its original place. We said to ourselves, how many carts did we leave on the sidewalk outside and someone else returned it and retrieved our euro that first month? This still makes us laugh.

On the visa side, how would you describe the process from your perspective, from Newark/VFS to arriving and getting settled in Portugal? What steps felt straightforward, and which parts were confusing or stressful?

The Newark Consulate appointment itself was a good experience for us. Then there was the period of packing our luggage many piece of luggage while waiting for the visa to be approved.

How did the Newark consulate felt handling your process. Did it feel uncertainty feel at any time, and how did things go there?

Completing the actual visa application took a while because it was in Portuguese, so I had to figure out what some terms meant and how their system worked. After that was done and I secured an appointment, we have to start collecting our documents in earnest to be prepared for our consulate appointment.

Anchorless had us upload all our documentation prior to our consulate appointment to ensure we have everything required. So, we felt well prepared for our consulate appointments. By the appointment date, we had all our documents organized in a binder for our consulate appointment in late July and were approved by late September. The process went smoothly for us. We flew from Newark to Lisbon on October 31, 2025.

In what specific ways was AnchorLess essential to your success? Can you share 1-2 moments where you thought, “This is exactly why we hired them”?

Anchorless helped us obtain our NIF numbers and get our banking account set up, which was extremely helpful! We would not have known where to start on either of those important tasks without their support.

We also appreciated their portal timeline a great deal because it helped keep us organized and focused on what still needed to be done. And there were lots of tasks from getting the correct size visa photo to getting an apostilled FBI background check and marriage certificate, etc. The video calls were helpful as well but not something we relied on once we got going with the process. Email support was very helpful and each morning I would excitedly look for the answer from Guilherme or Raphaela to a question I had asked the day or night before.

Obtaining the apartment lease which is needed for the consulate appointment was a little stressful. We visited Aveiro in early July to find an apartment and get a lease which was needed for the consulate appointment in late July. So, we felt a little pressure to sign a lease but wanted to ensure it was the right apartment and landlord for us. One of the apartment landlords wanted us to sign a lease that was questionable so Anchorless steered us away from that situation. And another realtor wanted us to sign something which we didn’t understand. We took a photo of the paper to share with Anchorless, but we did not sign it. Anchorless steered us away from signing any paperwork until they reviewed it. Anchorless was responsive in real time. They reviewed the lease prior to our signing it for which we were grateful.

They were very helpful in navigating this process. In the end it all worked out well for us. When we were given that undesirable lease to sign (which we didn’t sign in the end), we thought this is exactly why we hired them.

Additionally, when our adult daughter decided to enroll in a Master’s Degree program in Lisbon, she quickly signed with Anchorless. They were very helpful in helping her navigate getting her student visa, in a timely manner. She arrived here before us in September 2025 and is having a positive experience to date.

If you were advising another couple in their 60s moving to Portugal on a digital nomad-style (or even passive income) visa, what would you tell them to do in their first 30 days, and what would you tell them to avoid?

The first several weeks were challenging for us because you are out of your element and your brain is trying to figure things out in real time. Simple things seemed hard because they work differently from home.

Getting money from the ATM was a project initially because of the language barrier and sometimes there were people waiting behind us so we would get fluttered as we tried to quickly enter our pin, translate the instructions, press the correct buttons, etc.

But overall, the Portuguese people have been extraordinarily patience with us for which we are grateful.

There were a few days very early on when I didn’t want to leave the apartment because I felt so overwhelmed by everything being such a challenge, but I pushed myself to go out because we needed groceries, etc. And then the next day, week or month a given task is so ridiculously simple that I smile at myself as I recall my initial angst. So be patient with yourself, observe people around you for clues and "Look for the helpers" as Mr. Rogers famously said.