Meredith
[ 00:00:07 ] Welcome back, Portugal junkies! Hello, well here we are, here we are indeed sitting here in Portugal, in the middle of our what I would like to call grief process, yeah. Post-election, yes. I told Mark today that you know we knew we were going to be recording this podcast because we made that promise to you last week after we took a little break. I don't know if I'm even there yet; there, I'll be honest, like it's hard for me. It's not the process isn't even close to being done for me, yeah, and I know it's the same for you, it's the same for me, and I think it's the same for so many people around the world, yeah.
Mark
[ 00:00:56 ] Well, listen, yeah, I ran the world of people.
Meredith
[ 00:00:58 ] that are amazing Americans that are entitled to vote whether they're at home or abroad and other countries watching and other countries watching sure yeah because there's a lot of people in particularly Europe for many different reasons but you know obvious one that are absolutely appalled and worried about the whole they should be we never set out with an intention to make any of our conversations political what I think it's impossible not to for sharing our true experiences right so if you like it great if you don't I'm sorry but we are we are one of we I mean I'm not sorry not sorry if you don't like it then go find somewhere
Mark
[ 00:01:42 ] Else, I just don't have the capacity right now, yeah, I think honestly, I think this leads back to an episode we did a couple of weeks ago about friendship and how do you grow a friendship sort of abroad, and I think that that's kind of a larger question, it's not just abroad, it's not just abroad, it's not just abroad, but it's back home, you start to see people that have hidden in the depths of Facebook and tick-tock and all of the other social medias, oh yeah, you just start to think to yourself, really I never knew, I would never have suspected and I've got to be honest, I think everybody has one of those or more and I was.
Meredith
[ 00:02:23 ] On you know, I feel like it's 2016 all over again, it was before I even met Mark, um, but you know, I felt so duped by so many people in my life that I had respect for and that I'll be honest with you, a bunch of people from my church growing up, you know, experiences like that that like are people that were your, you know, maybe the adults in your life when you were a kid that were trying to teach you morality and teach you right and wrong, and a lot of that for me was done through church because that's how I grew up in the south. I no longer ascribe to that much anymore, um, I'm much more of a spiritual person than a person who attends church every Sunday. However, those were the folks that really shocked me into questioning humanity right in 2016 and I did a cleansing; I did a real cleansing because you know I just didn't have time then for letting that infiltrate my life in that way and I feel like here we are again and it's even worse because it's a repeated decision, even knowing worse things that he has done already, right?
Mark
[ 00:03:44 ] And so that because now there is no opportunity to say 'oh, I wasn't absolutely certain' -there is no way that you could not be certain about any of it; no. And I'm not pointing at one person; I'm pointing at the whole lot of them, oh yeah, you know, because they Are just absolutely up high those that voted for the right side of history, um, it will be seen to play out; it really will, and for those that voted for him, I think you're just going to get exactly what you wanted. The problem is, it's going to affect everybody that knew better than you.
Meredith
[ 00:04:24 ] I-I, it's really hard because we've always tried to gain people back, and what this has done right is; I'm going to try to turn things around, okay? Now, yeah, I hang in there, but I think what he said was so positive about it, and could be, and I don't want to sacrifice anything. And so, I would just stay on the ground if it's someone that you know and know that people. Didn't want it, you put that off, but it does give you so much love, yeah, I think it makes a lot of sense, yeah, I know I wouldn't want to; we should have more, more action or either, I mean, I don't know why we also is a very real, yeah, emotion it's a justified feeling, yes, and I feel like the suffering and the grief process that many of us are going through this week is so big, like it's so big, and the the the feelings are so big, and so many of us are going through it at different stages right at different stages of this grief which is this the only way that I can call it, it's grief, and so what I start to think about is that collective, that collective grief that so many people are feeling and that feels even worse sometimes it feels like solidarity and sometimes you just feel i feel like the weight of not just what i'm angry about what you're angry about and what you're angry about and what you're angry about and what you're angry about what everybody else is suffering from all of those things it just feels really icky yeah and this week has been trying to decide what to do with that emotion but it's not going to be solved in a day it's not a week or a month but this is why i wanted to say you know the first few minutes of this podcast we've been venting and now i feel like we owe it to our listeners to talk about action, yeah, because I feel like when you are in despair, you have to do something to bring yourself out of it, like you have to take action steps. So as promised last week, we are going to talk about the big thing which is if you think you're ready and if the election results have catapulted your plans into a situation where you're going to be in a situation where you're going to be in a situation where you're going to be in a situation where you're going to be a potential move abroad. We want to be a resource for you, and so we're going to talk today about like the first steps that we would recommend. You take if you're seriously considering this, yeah, I would say as well that you know that there's two different, well many different elements to it.
Mark
[ 00:07:17 ] But there's two different groups essentially, I think. And one is those which have already been on a on a process of looking at immigrating and this has sped that up. And there's another group of people that are just sort of not even a knee-jerk reaction that's rude but just a reaction to hell, shit, I'm getting out here, and mean it, absolutely mean it. They've got the opportunity, they've got the means, they've got the necessaries, and everything else, so it speaks to both. Groups, just make sure it's right for you that it works-it's not because sometimes it's you've got to be running to something, not just from something.
Meredith
[ 00:08:00 ] And again, when we can, yeah, but sure now we're in a situation where I don't know if that I'm gonna argue with you on this because we've talked about it before, just this week. It's like I used to say that and I still stand by it, but right now, we one week post-election, if you feel a pull to go, then go-there might be results from that that you have to look at and weigh, and go, was I running from or running to? So I'll give you that. But at this point, the disappointment from so many people, I feel like It's hard to even bring that up and saying don't feel like you're running away because most people want to run away and they're justified in wanting to run away because it feels so bad it feels so embarrassing it feels so disappointing. It's like she has broken our heart over and over. And by she, I mean the United States. Last night I got up from the couch and I said, I hate people. And I went to bed.
SPEAKER_2
[ 00:09:04 ] Yes, you did. I don't think I was included in that. I think I was okay. Half of Americans. I marked myself safe.
Meredith
[ 00:09:12 ] God. Okay. So let's talk about it. If you are sitting here and you're like, yes, Meredith and Mark. Yes, Portugal junkies. Yes, I want out. Let's talk about the first five things that you need to do.
Mark
[ 00:09:26 ] There aren't many more, but let's talk about the first five.
Meredith
[ 00:09:29 ] First five things. The first thing you need to do is start looking for the country that best fits your future vision of your life.
SPEAKER_2
[ 00:09:41 ] Yes.
Meredith
[ 00:09:42 ] And so let's talk about why we chose Portugal. And Portugal's not the only one. Obviously there's like, Anastasia. I'll actually look it up and put it in the notes here. There are six or seven that have a digital nomad visa right now. There's other paths to immigrate to many other countries, especially in the EU. But Portugal is the one we chose. Why?
Mark
[ 00:10:03 ] Safety. Safety.
Meredith
[ 00:10:05 ] 100%.
Mark
[ 00:10:05 ] At that point in time, cost of living was in our favor. And still is. For sure. Climate. And healthcare.
Meredith
[ 00:10:17 ] That would be another thing. So those are like, if I'm sitting here going, I want to get out, but I don't know where, that's where I would start. The two places that we initially looked at were Portugal and Costa Rica. And that was because we really literally Googled affordable, most affordable countries to move to, right? To immigrate to. I encourage you to do the same thing. If cost of living is something that you are concerned about, like most of us, yes. Right? Start there. And then look at the climate. And then look at your healthcare opportunities. And then look at all those things that are important. Safety was a big one for us because we were so tired of the gun violence and threat in the United States.
SPEAKER_2
[ 00:11:04 ] And that's only going to get worse.
Meredith
[ 00:11:05 ] And you're right, we've already seen it this week. So safety was number one for us. And Portugal is ranked number seven in the world, safest country. And we are here to tell you that. That is our experience here. Like I have rarely felt any kind of threat whatsoever in terms of my safety. Even walking around the night through the town; walking around the night, nothing. Especially in our new place here in Tavira. Yeah.
Mark
[ 00:11:29 ] Really, really.
Meredith
[ 00:11:30 ] It's peaceful and lovely and beautiful and all those things. So, that's the first thing I would think about is like brainstorming where and then using your resources online to kind of whittle down and follow a couple of different social media accounts. Yes. Honestly, there's a lot of YouTubers out there that have done the same thing and are kind of giving advice about certain countries. There are a lot of countries that are beautiful, that are likely not the first thing that will come to your mind. Right? And there are easy or easier paths to immigrate to those countries other than Portugal too.
Mark
[ 00:12:13 ] And in some cases, you know, look at your heritage. Oh, yeah.
Meredith
[ 00:12:17 ] If you have a path for citizenship.
Mark
[ 00:12:18 ] Absolutely. Through hereditary. You know, Ireland, for instance, if you can, I think, go back to a grandparent. And there's a couple of things you have to make sure are in effect. But again, that's an opportunity. There are different ways and means. And I think it's just important to research all of the opportunities, all the options.
Meredith
[ 00:12:44 ] One of the best resources that we used about cost of living was Numbio. Numbio. com. N-U-M-B-E-O. com. You can actually compare city to city.
Mark
[ 00:12:54 ] Yeah. That was absolutely insane. And it might be off by a percent. You know, it costs a pint of milk. It might be out by a cent or two. It's really pretty accurate. It's really good.
Meredith
[ 00:13:07 ] The one thing I would say is the piece of information that I would, like, double check in a different source would be, like, the rental rates and home prices. Yeah. In a certain area. For, like, for instance, Portugal, it might be outdated by now because prices have been rising so swiftly. So just, like, use local listings in that area of where you're looking to double-check that.
Mark
[ 00:13:33 ] Again, it lines up with, you know, one of the other things to do in that is about the house search or where you want to live. And again, it's just leapfrogging a little bit. I'll come back. And that is get in touch with a realtor or have access through Idealista or Supercasa or something. Something like that, that you actually get a reflection of a three-bedroom house in a built-up area where you want to be. See what the rates are today. Yeah. But everything, you know, a three-bedroom in the town is different to a three-bedroom in rural.
Meredith
[ 00:14:03 ] Yeah.
Mark
[ 00:14:03 ] So with a pinch of salt.
Meredith
[ 00:14:05 ] Yeah.
Mark
[ 00:14:06 ] Is all I would say. I agree.
Meredith
[ 00:14:07 ] So location research.
Mark
[ 00:14:09 ] Yeah.
Meredith
[ 00:14:10 ] If you are interested in more information about Portugal, obviously, we've been doing this podcast for almost 30 episodes now. So I would say if you haven't tuned into those, do that. And we hope, hopefully, we've given you a very good idea about what it's like to live here for real. Yeah. Okay. So the second step is determining your path. Right. So, unfortunately, you just can't pick up and go. You have to plan that out. Meaning, you're either going to have to come here through your citizenship a little bit. Right. You were talking about if you have a path via citizenship. Right. Which is a small part of the population. But if you have it, use it. If not, then you have visa opportunities. Okay. And some of those could be retirement visas. Some of them can be buying into properties. Like there was a Golden Visa program here in Portugal. There may be that in other countries as well.
SPEAKER_2
[ 00:15:09 ] Yeah.
Meredith
[ 00:15:09 ] Where if you invest or you buy in a certain area, then they will give you the visa for doing that. Yeah. And then your traditional visas, like our retirement visa, and then digital nomad visas.
Mark
[ 00:15:23 ] I think that the nomad visas are becoming much more popular. Thank you. More countries are moving towards some form of a-Yeah, because in the day, if it's a digital nomad visa for two years, and you bring two years' Worth of living and paying into the local economies, restaurants, this, that, whatever, you know, it all makes a big difference. And I think that a lot of countries are becoming a lot more serious about that. Yeah. There are still some that are way back.
Meredith
[ 00:15:55 ] Well, and they're competing with each other to get immigrants in and boost the economy, all those things. And that comes with some good and bad. But I think other countries might be looking at each other and going, oh, they already have a D8 or they have a remote visa option. And we don't. So I think it's moving toward that. Yeah. So it's doing your research about those visas. But specifically with EU, let's talk about the Schengen.
Mark
[ 00:16:21 ] Yeah.
Meredith
[ 00:16:21 ] Let's talk about that.
Mark
[ 00:16:23 ] So the Schengen countries, I think 26 countries in Europe, where you can stay 90 days in a row. So essentially, I wouldn't even say it's three months.
Meredith
[ 00:16:33 ] 90 out of 180. Yeah.
Mark
[ 00:16:34 ] I wouldn't say it's even three months. It's 90 days, very specific. We'll put a link in the notes about a Schengen calculator. So you can go in and out of the country, or any Schengen country. So 90 days in any 180 day period.
Meredith
[ 00:16:49 ] So any of the Schengen countries.
Mark
[ 00:16:51 ] Yeah. So, for instance, let's say you move to Portugal for 90 days. And on the 89th day, you left and you went to England, which is a non-Schengen country. And you stayed there for 89 days. And then you come back to Spain. Because Spain is part of the Schengen area. And you can flip-flop between this 90-180 days. There are different ways and means that you can do it. Yeah. You don't have to do it all in one lump sum of 90 days. It's rolling monthly. But that's one of the benefits of this Schengen calculator. It will do the work for you. You put in the day that you leave and the day you arrive at a new place. Anyway, it will take care of that for you. That really was something that we toyed with in the very early stages of; we don't know what we want to do and where we want to be. So might this be a great way to explore Europe? I mean, hell yeah.
Meredith
[ 00:17:42 ] It's almost like slow travel.
Mark
[ 00:17:43 ] Yeah. And I think if you haven't got anything. I think holding you back in terms of, well, in terms of anything, whatever it is that's, you know, however you run your life, that's a fantastic opportunity.
Meredith
[ 00:17:56 ] We ultimately chose not to do that because we had the dog with us. And we know that there are certain countries that are not as easy to go in and out of with her, specifically the UK, right? So our plan to do, you know, maybe Portugal for 90 days and whatever it is, and then hop over to the UK, you know, we would never be able to really fly in to the UK. We would have to get her there some other way, thanks UK. But that was, again, there are all these different reasons why you should and shouldn't. But it is an option and it doesn't require a visa other than your travel visa, right? And travel insurance. Exactly.
Mark
[ 00:18:37 ] And health insurance and away you go.
Meredith
[ 00:18:40 ] Exactly. So if you are interested in a true, true visa though, like a visa like we did or something similar to the options. A residency visa. A residency visa, thank you. The place to start is vfslobal. com.
Mark
[ 00:18:57 ] And I think VFS covers pretty much the world. I think it covers most everybody. There may be some specifics in different countries, not totally familiar. Again, it depends on where you want to stick the pin in the map.
Meredith
[ 00:19:10 ] I mean, I literally think when you go to their homepage, it says, 'I am.' Like, I'm in the US and I want to move to Italy, and it will help you, help guide you through that process. Talk about the requirements, help you set up your initial appointments for immigration. And again, we've done many, many podcasts about the immigration process and specifically to Portugal, obviously, because that's where we've moved, but it hasn't been the easiest, right? There's a lot. There's an influx of people who were already wanting to come to Portugal. Prior, prior to the election results. So keep that in mind. You kind of have to be patient.
Mark
[ 00:19:49 ] Portuguese patience. We've spoken about this many times. We've had to learn it. We continue to have to learn it on a daily basis.
Meredith
[ 00:19:57 ] Think about a timeline right now. If somebody is listening to this podcast right now and they think that they want to move abroad, what do you think is the timeline? You may be lucky to get into another country by the end of 2025.
Mark
[ 00:20:11 ] Yeah. I mean, you need to level set yourself. Yeah, I think you'd be.
Meredith
[ 00:20:16 ] Unless you came and did the 90-90-90-90. Yeah.
Mark
[ 00:20:19 ] And there's nothing to stop you doing that.
Meredith
[ 00:20:22 ] But here's the other thing. If you're going to do that, and then you think you want to apply for a true residency visa, you're going to have to apply in person from your home country. So just keep that in mind. You can slow travel and do the 90-90-90 thing for a while. But when you want to actually apply, you cannot log on in Italy and attend any kind of event.
Mark
[ 00:20:44 ] And you can't even do it through a VPN because it will know. No.
Meredith
[ 00:20:47 ] You have to present yourself in person in the United States at a local office of VFS to get things started. So just keep that in mind. You could do that, and then kind of feel it out and see how it feels.
Mark
[ 00:21:01 ] And I think we were quite lucky with our timeline.
Meredith
[ 00:21:03 ] Yeah.
Mark
[ 00:21:04 ] From the moment that we had our VFS appointment in D. C. to getting a visa was 90 days. Literally, to the day. And prior to the VFS appointment, was what, three months' work? A lot of paperwork and things like that. Putting things together. So it was maybe six, seven months to actually get here or be ready to get here, you know, in that sense. And I think that's no longer. For sure.
Meredith
[ 00:21:34 ] And I think, too, you know, I think back and I go, how stressed we were about all the steps that it was going to take us to do this dream that we had in our head. And I still would do it over and over and over again.
Mark
[ 00:21:50 ] I would still choose it. Right.
Meredith
[ 00:21:52 ] And there is a lot that can be overwhelming about it. But I will also say this. This is why you have to find the right people to help you. Exactly. And we're going to keep talking about this stuff. And we're going to I'll definitely put some resources in the notes here for you guys to look at. But, you know, you need leads us to step three, which is finances. Understanding your finances. What it's going to cost to actually move. What might the cost of a visa look like? That's usually nominal.
Mark
[ 00:22:22 ] But it's really about showing.
Meredith
[ 00:22:25 ] It's usually showing that you have financial viability so that you're not going to be a drain on the country when you get here. If you're a remote worker, it's going to be showing like what your contract says and your salary and making sure that it meets the requirements of whatever country it is. And those are just high level things. But you need. You need to understand what you need to present in your application to show those things in the best light so that you're presenting yourself in the best light. Now, I'm going to refer you back to our previous. I mean, I want to say it was probably in the first 10 episodes. It's a D7 visa overview for Portugal. Again, I'm going to disclaimer here. That was then. Things could have changed a bit. I haven't heard of anything huge. But. Just make sure this was like an overview type of here is what we did to present. Like the steps, the requirements, the documentation that we were asked for. And those will be different country to country. But I think the concepts of them are likely the same. Like your identification, you know, like your passports and stuff, your financial ability, your insurance. Some other things. Oh, background checks, things like that. Like the government wants to know these things before they say, sure, you can come live here. Right. And so anyway, that is one piece of what I think in step three about financials is important. The other thing, though, is the whole tax implication, because you need to understand what the tax ramifications are in the country that you're moving to, because that will impact your affordability, and the United States is still going to be taxing you.
Mark
[ 00:24:21 ] It's one of only two countries in the whole world that taxes its citizens abroad.
Meredith
[ 00:24:26 ] And the only way not to do that is really to renounce your citizenship. Right. But that's a whole different thing.
SPEAKER_2
[ 00:24:34 ] We're not going down that road.
Meredith
[ 00:24:36 ] Yeah. So anyway, we are. We have an excellent tax. We have an excellent tax guy and we have an excellent immigration attorney here. We will get you all that information as we talk about the resources at the end. Yeah.
Mark
[ 00:24:49 ] If you feel like you're alone in this, you're not. No. You're not the first person to do it. You're not the first person to come up with whatever the question that you've got thinking, how the hell am I going to find the answer to that? Somebody's answered it because somebody's asked it. Lean on the resources that either we've got or that you find trusted. And. And just know that you are not alone. I don't want to make it all like that, but you're really not. And especially now, there is such a coalition of people, particularly those immigrants that have gone elsewhere, that they see you. It comes down to the bare bones of we want to help.
Meredith
[ 00:25:31 ] Okay. So we've talked location. Yeah. We've talked your visa or non-visa path or citizenship path.
Mark
[ 00:25:40 ] The options.
Meredith
[ 00:25:40 ] The options. We've talked about finances. And this next one is kind of related to that. It's your work decisions.
SPEAKER_2
[ 00:25:48 ] Right.
Meredith
[ 00:25:49 ] So you. We're not. So if you're in the position, obviously, to retire or take a break like we have. Yeah. We like to call it. We're playing retired for a minute.
Mark
[ 00:26:00 ] We are reverse retired.
Meredith
[ 00:26:02 ] For a hot second. But seriously, like it's getting your ducks in a row. Yeah. About your work opportunities. And what that means is, is your company going to support you if you wanted to work here remotely? If not, what company will? Honestly, there are more and more people who are saying, screw this. Well, like me. My company was not even going to. They weren't even going to entertain. I didn't even ask because I knew better. They were not going to entertain. They weren’t even going to entertain trying to support me and only me in Portugal. Yeah.
Mark
[ 00:26:46 ] Because if you did it.
Meredith
[ 00:26:47 ] Not even that. It's just the tax implications and all the things that they have to do to all of that. It can be complicated for a company that is only basically U. S.-based. Right. So, the broader thing here is if you want to get this done and you want to move to a different country, you may have to change your work environment and your company. And/ or go out on your own and do some things that are risky. And we know that feeling, too. And so, but it all comes down to figuring out, like, how you want to live your life. And do you want to bet on yourself or do you want to stay where you are? And there's no judgment who on people who decide that they're not willing to take those risks. But it is a situation where if you are looking at the results of this election and you are worried about big things for you, your family, your kids, sometimes those things are worth the risk. Yeah. It's broad, but it is. You're going to have to figure out the work situation or if you're lucky enough to not have to worry about that. And that's great. Even so. Yeah. Get your ducks in a row. Call your investment guy or girl and figure this out.
Mark
[ 00:28:09 ] And there are ways of doing it. I mean, we, I think, in the D7 structure of how to get the finances in order, the way we did it with our company and paying dividends and things like that. So it's not impossible. It just means that you need to speak with somebody that can help set it up.
Meredith
[ 00:28:29 ] I will say this. I have known people who have come over here because their investments funded what the minimum was. They're note-pairs. They matching account for the D7 or can change their bank account for the D7 retirement visa. Okay. You may be in that situation. You may be in the opposite situation where it's like, I can't go over there, I don't have enough money to do that. And I totally get that, too. It's figuring out and, and working from a place of yes, not assuming a no. So if you want to make this happen, you've got to talk to the right people. And you've got to be guided by people who know what to do when they look at your financial situation and tell you straight up if it's going to work or if it's not going to work. And so again, we will come back to some resources that we felt like really helped us and continue to help us, quite frankly, here. But that's the real deal on the whole work situation. If you are not, you know, lucky enough to be able to just go ahead and retire, and you know, I totally get that too. There's going to be a swath of people who were like, you know, maybe it is time that I just retire early after this and I'm just going to be gone. Maybe. Because it can happen and you can make it happen, especially if you're moving to a place that is more affordable for you than you were in the United States.
Mark
[ 00:29:53 ] So all of that to say. Each to their own in terms of finance.
Meredith
[ 00:29:59 ] Yeah, but you got to face it and you got to figure out from a place of, I know we can make this work. Right. Or at least let me invest. Investigate if I can make this work before I go throwing my hands up and throwing my dream away because you haven't done your research. It's possible. People do it every day. It just might take you steps, step by step to figure out how to do that. So if you're sitting there within a company who is not supportive of kind of worldwide work, then maybe start looking at ones that are. Yeah. It is step by step.
Mark
[ 00:30:34 ] Yeah. If your dream is to move out of the U. S.
Meredith
[ 00:30:37 ] Correct. Yeah.
Mark
[ 00:30:38 ] Okay.
Meredith
[ 00:30:39 ] Last but not least, housing. Okay. So once you go through all this process and you really start thinking about the visa or even if you're applying for a visa here, you've already had to do this step. But I wanted to kind of pull it out specifically because you need to look at the local housing wherever you are. For instance, in Portugal, Idealista. pt is like the list. Listing's place that's semi-okay. There's not an MLS.
Mark
[ 00:31:12 ] Right. There is no MLS. In Portugal. And Idealista. pt is probably the most dominating force of collective agencies that are showing and showboating their places.
Meredith
[ 00:31:26 ] Yes.
Mark
[ 00:31:26 ] Be aware that many of the listings on there may have already gone and they still exist on there because the agents don't pull them down because they want people calling them. Oh, no, sorry, that one's under contract. Yeah. And maybe I can help you with something else. It's no different to how it works in the U. S. It's just that over here, there's no regulation on it to pull a listing off. So that being said, it goes back to what I said earlier. If you align yourself with somebody that knows that area, that can do virtual tours for you, that can help with scouting, that can help with information of if you're moving to a bigger city, then it's really more important to have a list. Have somebody that understands the neighborhoods and the differences. Because for Porto, from our point of view, there's like seven or so, probably more, but seven areas, neighborhoods that we were looking at and we were discounting based on watching YouTube videos from people, our own experiences and excursions, other people's opinions from real estate. It's so important that when you land, you land comfortably.
Meredith
[ 00:32:34 ] But I'd also say our friends, Taylor and Mike, who've been on the show, they're all going to say, 'A couple of episodes ago, they had never lived in Portugal before they got their visa.' So again, risk tolerance.
Mark
[ 00:32:48 ] Are you a person? If you go back and listen to their episode, they're like, 'Hell, straight out.' They love it.
Meredith
[ 00:32:54 ] They decide to do something, they go do it. But we get it that not everybody is like that. And the rational person, the rational brain of me, I would be like, 'Yeah, I want to see this place.' Because I want to feel it. I want to understand how it makes me feel. You can't get that often from a video on YouTube, right? You can only go by what other people say. And that doesn't mean that you're going to feel that way. And so, that is just my perspective. A scouting trip would be ideal. And, you know, just making sure that you truly understand what, not only about the listings and the pricing and all that, but I was really more talking about like, you know, what's going on in your life. Like, what is the differences between your lifestyle there and what things look like and how you live here or in another country? It can be very different. And not always in a bad way. I'm just saying that you need to be realistic about what is actually available in your price point, whether you're renting or buying, and understand those differences. Because nothing is ever going to be the same. You're going to have to be realistic about what you're going to get. It's never perfect. Portugal is definitely not perfect. Correct. Our documentation of this whole process has been very good, bad, and ugly. Truthful. Right. And truthful with our listeners about our experiences and the things that we've had to adapt to and the things that were a struggle. Those things are still going to be there no matter where you go. The difference is, what is the struggle that you have in the universe? What is the struggle that you have in the U. S.? Versus what is the struggle that you would have in a new country and adapting and assimilating? And you have to weigh it out and go, which one would I rather struggle with? Because that's the real truth. It is never going to be perfect anything. Even the political environment here in Portugal. It's certainly not perfect. But there's a peacefulness here that is less polarizing to me.
Mark
[ 00:35:09 ] That's exactly it. I mean, through our eyes, it's less polarizing. And I'm sure if you get into some of the nitty-gritty Lisbon, Porto, big inner-city neighborhoods, I think maybe there's different opinions.
Meredith
[ 00:35:25 ] Well, I mean, there's still an immigration argument here. Right. And we're now the immigrant. Right. And so, you know, there's challenges everywhere. It's really just. Yeah. Evaluating.
Mark
[ 00:35:38 ] This is not just like, oh, it's going to move and it's going to be a quick and easy fix. It really isn't. But that was not what it was ever about for us.
Meredith
[ 00:35:47 ] No, but would it be for them?
Mark
[ 00:35:49 ] It could be. Right now. Everybody is different.
Meredith
[ 00:35:52 ] Right. So we have always wanted, we've always strived on the podcast to give our perspective and our experiences in a true, raw form, but also ask questions, so that it makes you guys think about things that you need to be thinking about. Right. Like, it just goes back to what I challenged Mark on earlier where it's like, don't be running away. Maybe I feel differently about that. You know, now. Maybe I encourage the running away at this point. Because I get it. And in the past might not have said that, you know. Right. Different, it's a different time, it's and this is why we're doing these steps again in a different way for people because we know that feelings are raw right now and um knee-jerk reactions are happening and we also want to encourage yet caution because it will not be perfect and it will not be without its own individual challenges, a hundred percent. And the you have to be really wanting it to keep moving forward with the process of the visas and all those things. I'm not saying it's terribly hard or complicated; I'm just saying it's not like you sign a piece of paper and they say 'yay' welcome and then you show up and everything's perfect. I would love that, it's just not reality.
Mark
[ 00:37:28 ] Well, yeah, i mean if it was that easy then you know i think Portugal would be more flooded, yeah already.
Meredith
[ 00:37:34 ] Okay, so let's recap here are the resources that we want to bring. Attention to for all of you guys who are this is all resonating with and that you're really ready to move forward with some concrete, not even plans but some research that will lead you to whether or not you are going to be moving abroad or not. So the first one is our podcast; we have if you are just tuning in and you've just just happened upon us, welcome! But we have 30 almost 30 episodes to binge, and we have talked about everything from the visa process, preparation, um, the ups and downs emotionally, the things that we had challenges adapting to Portugal, it is; it has run. The gamut and we are proud of that, so please. Um, we've, we've I feel like I've titled our episodes pretty clearly, so people can go, 'Oh, yeah, that's probably a good one to listen to depending on what you're really trying to look for. But we would love for you to to really listen to all of them to understand the path since I mean we've documented since May, but it was kind of talking retroactively since we moved here in December, so I would also and most episodes would be pretty much the same between like 30 and 40, yeah, they're not long on purpose. That's the first thing. And also, please, if you are enjoying this podcast, we need your ratings. And reviews wherever you are listening because it will help us to reach more people and help more people in your situation, especially post-election. So that's number one-tax and legal help. So let's start with taxes: our tax uh lawyer here in Portugal, who was very blessed to move to Portugal last month to help address the stories of others. Very well-versed with the United States side of things, as well his name is Hui Borges. He we have had him on twice in the past, I don't know two months or so, on the podcast, so he has two episodes where he is talking about tax implications and specifically the non-habitual residency tax benefit for people who are immigrating to Portugal and what all that looks like doesn't exist in its old format right, but some format is going to exist.
Mark
[ 00:40:01 ] Listen to it, he lays it out.
Meredith
[ 00:40:03 ] Yes, he is listed as a partner on our Stand store and our website portugaljunkies. com and stand. Store slash Portugal Junkies and he has partnered with us to do a discount, uh, for our listeners. Okay, so if you if you want to chat with him, do a consultation call, and then his list of services is on there as well. If you end up working with him, he's going to give you a discount because you came in through our listenership.
SPEAKER_3
[ 00:40:33 ] Thank you very much.
Meredith
[ 00:40:34 ] Same thing with our attorney Joao Pinto. He is our immigration attorney. He has helped us gosh since we moved here. Um, he is also on the website and the store. He is also offering a discount, but actually, he does everything with the visa, so he can help you from start to finish if you really want it. If you exactly if you want that help, um, and he actually helps find homes and helps with real estate transactions as well. So, if you're thinking about buying or even renting, yeah, I mean, he does that as well. Okay, so those two folks are on our website at Portugal Junkies. Come under our partnership page, yep, and we would love for you to check them out there's a link right there that can help you get in touch with them.
Mark
[ 00:41:23 ] There's the relocation services, yes, so we actually really really enjoy it.
Meredith
[ 00:41:30 ] Yes, Mark is working on it; he's actually got two packages for relocation services if you were thinking moving to the Algarve because that's where we are now, so geographically we are serving the Algarve, basically from Sagres to Spain. We can help you with finding an apartment um and vetting even a home if you were interested in doing that. And so more information on that also on our stand-store, understanding different neighborhoods, you know people will say, oh I want to move to the Algarve, well which bit well i want it to be x y and z okay well that's more likely to be the west coast or the east coast or central or i don't like kids oh that's probably not going to work over here then or whatever it is you know yeah we actually just helped some people securely this week last night yeah so that was exciting no that's last night like a week ago because this goes out on friday anyway some several days ago yes that was good so that is also on our stand store for more information there yeah yeah so when ph Creo will come back i do another podcast so yeah so that's cool so as i said you guys have been potin i know were pulling through춘 do your Thing is we have auditors that are they think you have to think about you know that's um to ask and, but it wasn't so like themed, right? That it's not all tax questions and it's not all real estate and it's how does this work with the pets? And there's just, we are here to help support you if you just need an hour of our time. Okay. So that is on the stand store as well. And we are, our calendar is right there. So you will be able to book the call and pick a time that works for you. And we will join you on Zoom and be happy to help in any way that we can. It's just very, it can be overwhelming and sometimes you don't even know where to start. And we do feel like now that we've had this year of experience, year and a half of experience, that we can help more people. Yeah. So think of that as an 'ask me anything' type of call, but that is on the Stand Store as well.
Mark
[ 00:43:51 ] Yep.
Meredith
[ 00:43:51 ] Can you think of anything else? I'm going to put all these resources in the description. So you should be able to click right on them as well.
Mark
[ 00:43:59 ] No, I think, you know, I think that's probably covers it. Yeah. The only thing I would say is, you know, if there's something you want to know, email us, text us, message us, all of that.
Meredith
[ 00:44:09 ] We're happy to help. Thank you guys. We are sending our support, love, hugs. All of it. We are. We, I feel like a collective sadness this week and, and we hope that our podcast is a little bit of a light. Yeah. Although we spent a lot of the time today pitching and moaning, but.
Mark
[ 00:44:34 ] Hey, look, I think that's, that's. It's us. That's just keeping it very real. It is. And on point with who we are. Yeah. Because if we didn't, I would look at us and go, eh.
Meredith
[ 00:44:45 ] Yeah.
Mark
[ 00:44:46 ] That's, you know, you've got to, you've got to cover everything. The good, the bad and the ugly.
Meredith
[ 00:44:52 ] Yeah. And I, I do wish all of you, all of you, all of you, all of you, all of you, all of you who are listening, peace this week. Yeah. I know it's a big, a big ask. I hope that you find a way forward and into action. And also I'm a big fan of letting yourself grieve the way you're being led to grieve with this. You can't jump the steps, I don't think, and move forward until you actually are okay with. Feeling the sadness and feeling the anger and then going, 'okay, what's next? What do I need to do?' Yeah. And I encourage you to reach out when you get to that point and you're ready to take some action and you are ready to help me.
Mark
[ 00:45:42 ] Yeah. Welcome into the community. That's right. And being a community of people like-minded. Absolutely.
Meredith
[ 00:45:49 ] Thanks, you guys. We will be with you next week.
Mark
[ 00:45:53 ] Indeed. Um, not sure what we're going to talk about yet, but we'll, uh, we'll definitely be talking. Cheers, y'all. Take care. Bye.
Meredith
[ 00:46:05 ] For more content about our move, the visa process, Portuguese culture and destinations, and tons of support resources for your own decisions and potential move abroad. Follow us on Instagram and TikTok at Portugal Junkies.
Mark
[ 00:46:21 ] Stay in touch and help us reach more people by subscribing here and following us there.
Meredith
[ 00:46:26 ] Cheers, y'all.