Modern Vespa

Yep, secret to CA is accumulating a high net worth, low bills and a paid off residence.
Still lots of opportunities to get ahead for the hardworking and disciplined.
After 30 years of living low, saving, investing and paying off a residence in a good zipcode CA living is easy 🏝️

I definitely get this. I'm more of a bourbon guy, and I don't smoke, but I still completely understand the urge to sit and reflect and (as my wife says) "stroke my beard". I've traveled a bit, but not a ton. I lived in Zurich for three months when I was 7 years old, which was a great experience and taught me that the USA is not the whole world. In the earlier part of my professional career, I was sent to Singapore and South Korea numerous times to interface with the engineering teams there. I've eaten shoulder-to-shoulder with the LG workers in the company cafeteria at the LG factory in Kumi, South Korea. And I've made a few tourist visits to Europe with my wife. I retired early, so I still have a reasonable amount of mobility. Even though I loved my job and I was at my peak earning power, I was determined not to work until I die, or work until I was no longer able to enjoy retirement.

But most of all, I think I was just bored. Life in the US is comfortable for my wife and I, but it's also… uneventful. I really enjoy the process of discovery, and immersing myself in a new culture seems like the ultimate exercise in discovery.

Plus, my wife loves to travel — I didn't have to twist her arm very hard to talk her into the idea of living on the edge of Europe and having ready access to almost anywhere on the continent with only a few hours of air travel.

We even went to Spain for lunch a few days ago, and were back by dinner. That's exactly the kind of thing we wanted to be able to do.

Exactly like Dutch and German.

If I remember correctly, you're not a soccer fan?
Theatrics aside it is a really great sport.
Can only imagine the energy of the crowd watching a live European home game.
Maybe you'll get the bug.

I've tried to like soccer and just end up getting bored watching the ball bounce around endlessly with no rhyme or reason.

But you're right, the enthusiasm of a hometown crowd at Estádio do Dragão might be a worthwhile experience.

Good point. My German is of as little use as my English. I'm entertained by what seems to be an equal balance of sorting things out between either English or German similarities.

instead of trying to speak the local language I probably would learn sign language.

If you do become a fan, it's gotta be your hometown team…or else 😂
🍀

How many non-expats speak American sign language in Europe?
Reminds me of that quib about Esperanto that I read _somewhere_…

although not celebrated in your locale, did you have turkey today?

Yes. Sort-of.

I generally do a full Thanksgiving meal, and served between 12-20 people every year for a couple of decades straight, until the pandemic. But I was just terrified of trying to pull off a Thanksgiving meal in our tiny European kitchen with no counter space.

So Doug stepped in (perhaps competitively) and cooked a full British-style Christmas meal, complete with turkey (well, a very large turkey leg), pigs in blankets, potatoes, stuffing, two kinds of gravy, Brussels sprouts, cranberry sauce, home-made Irish soda bread, salmon, and a Christmas pudding for dessert.

Oh, and Christmas crackers. Because there is actually a foreign foods store near our flat, that is mostly just British foods and related items. And since we were cooking a Christmas meal, there had to be Christmas crackers.

It was delish. And he only tripped the breaker for our entire flat twice, as every cooking appliance is electric and all of them were running at once.

Will you be riding the big waves at Nazare this winter?

Err, no.

But I do recommend watching 100 Foot Wave if you have HBO.

Have you visited Portugal during various times of the year, or only during the same general time on the calendar?

The reason I ask is that my younger brother lived in Malta for two years back in 2011-2013, and he discovered that the Maltese people celebrate certain holidays in a way that was surprising to him (and stressful to his dog). They have a small cannon that they'd fire multiple times in celebration. I suppose it wouldn't be that much different than Americans penchant for shooting guns & fireworks to celebrate various holidays, just MUCH louder.

Excellent question! So far, my wife and I have been here in Portugal during the fall and into early winter (January), over a number of years. My wife brought her mom out this year during July in order to do the biometrics part of the visa process, so she at least got a taste for it at the height of summer.

We've been trying to get out here for a Spring visit, but various things have managed to sabotage those efforts. We'll keep trying.

One of the major obstacles is that Europe as a whole — including Portugal — has seen a major influx of tourists post-covid, and this makes it fairly difficult to get here from late Spring until Fall. Airline prices are the main culprit here, but the sheer number of people is also an issue that we would just rather not deal with. There is at least one holiday in Porto that might be problematic for dogs, though we are unlikely to have any dogs here. But that's a whole different subject.

Forgot to mention, I saw an article a few weeks ago about Americans retiring to Porto, but I can't find it now. All I remember about it was that it said that Porto is one of the best places for Americans to retire to.

That's been a recurring theme in retirement articles for a couple years now. And lots of Americans (well, relatively speaking) have been coming to Portugal to do exactly that. But it's becoming a bureaucratic mess, with visas being held up for sometimes years at a time, or even denied for reasons that are decidedly not part of Portuguese law. In other words, the immigration agency has gone rogue, and a lot of people are being affected by it. Myself included.

Porto over Milwaukee! I'm disappointed.

Believe it or not, I have used the phrase "Milwaukee-sized" to describe Porto to my relatives who have lived there. In actuality, the straight size comparison doesn't hold up very well — Porto city proper is much smaller — but the Porto metropolitan area is similar and I think conceptually it's still a good comparison.

We were looking for a city that wasn't so large that it was overwhelming. Lisbon is huge, and busy, and noisy. Porto is smaller, calmer, and easier to wrap your head around.

A bit like Chicago and Milwaukee, respectively.

Kind of the urban equivalent of a banana?

As a southern Wisconsinite, you're speaking my language.

A friend has recommended Sintra and Vila do Conde

Have you visited either of those yet?

We were in Vila do Conde a few days ago — it was fairly quiet while we were there, but looked like there was some serious money along the waterfront. There's quite a bit of old Roman aqueduct still standing as well.

We haven't been to Sintra. The castles seem cool, but it's a big tourist town without a whole lot more to offer. Maybe the only thing there I really want to see is the inverted stairway down to an (alleged) Knights Templar site.

When going down the stairs, remember that in the Latin alphabet, "Jehovah" begins with an "I".

Here's more about the inverted tower (I used the term "inverted stairway" earlier, which isn't quite right).

The Quinta da Regaleira at Sintra is absolutely worth a visit, and spend a good half day there. One of the highlights of our trip to Portugal back in 2014.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quinta_da_Regaleira

Here's a good start, karaoke style.

When you start using your taxable retirement, California is going to want their cut back from the time you left unless you have cut enough ties with them. This is why people establish residency in another income tax free state before CA then leave the USA and/or after they come back, before going back to California. Spend some time looking into that looking into that so you avoid problems.

I lived in Brazil for two years and was fluent on Brazilian Portuguese, although I am rusty at it now. Learning the alternate pronunciation for letters depending on their placement in a word in Portuguese really helps. I.e. you have to start with the ABC's. You'll be mostly fluent after you have memorized about 5000 words. It helps if you practice the words you use and run into on a daily basis. Hopefully you spend some time everyday practicing the language.

I assume you have tried Guarana there in Porto. It's a red berry soda from Brazil that is best in a cup full of ice.

Yep. I'm familiar with the "sticky state" problem that California poses (along with New Mexico, New York, South Carolina, and Virginia). We will probably have to establish a domicile in another state before permanently moving to Portugal.

Then again, we may never actually move to Portugal if the visa situation doesn't improve. The classic example being the letter O at the end of a word. Even though I know the rule, it's difficult to get used to. I have not -- but I haven't been to Porto during the hot summer months, either. Also, I avoid most sugary sodas (and sugar in general), so it's probably not my cup o' tea, so to speak.

Hey, Jess...sorry I'm late to the party, but I was in Porto last year. LOVED it! There's a great little bar/eatery that I wanted to turn you on to. A Bolina Bar @ Avenida Gustavo Eiffel 202 / 4000-279 Porto.

Great folks, great food! Bom apetite!

Looks great! I'm back in the US now, so will have to try on our next trip. Thanks!

Welcome home Jess. Also, "Boas Festas."

Woah. Flashback to Orvieto. Double helix staircase. Similar vibe:

I wouldn't sell Sintra short. The town is set in a beautiful and unique forest in the Sintra mountains. It most definitely has its own climate just a short ways from Lisbon. There is a reason the Monarchies (including Madonna 🤣) decided to build palaces there. It is true - you want to avoid it in the height of the tourist season. Most people go to a handful of famous sites, but there is so much more - hiking in the hills, great beaches nearby and awesome moto and scootering. Now when our visitors inevitably want to go see the major sites, I just tell them I'm going to go for a hike, hang out under this shade tree, go to the craft brew place or check out one of the lesser known sites like the nearby Convento dos Capuchos. Then there's the next town of Colares which has my 2nd favorite craft brewery in Portugal (the best is in Setubal - Ophiussa) and a very interesting and unique local wine (google it, if interested).

Thanks for the overview! I've seen so many YouTube videos of Sintra that just cover the same things over and over again, I was doubting whether there was any more to it. Glad to hear from a local!

I will move it up on my list.

Just made an offer on a house in the Algarve, we'll see how it goes…

Boa sorte!

Next time you're there Jess, I'd recommend visiting the towns up north along the Minha river from Caminha to the coast. All very pretty and all have local markets on different days. I spend a bit of time across the river in Spain and often pop over.

Not quite on the river, but we did manage to make it to Pontevedra for lunch on this last trip, and it was definitely an area I want to explore more.

We enjoyed Sintra in October a lot. Yes, there's lots of tourists, but doesn't *feel* touristy and will be less so if you make your own way by car rather than doing an organised coach trip as we did.