Hygge Journey

Top 7 Reasons Why We Moved To Lisbon, Portugal From London – #1

2021-04-02T16:49:54Z

Welcome to our first ever YouTube video where we share the 7 reasons why we moved to Portugal from the UK 🇵🇹.

Please share your own reasons for wanting to visit or move to Portugal.

Please subscribe to join us on a journey of a new life in Portugal. don't forget to hit that notification bell too 🙂

Our channel is about expat life, tips and adventures here. Head over to https://hyggejourney.com/ to sign up for our newsletter to receive notifications of new videos and helpful tips about living in Portugal.

To contact about business, collabs or to simply share feedback, please contact us at hello@hyggejourney.com

Here are the useful links mentioned in the video: FREE Online Portuguese Lessons https://pptonline.acm.gov.pt

Access a Portuguese course for foreigners https://www.acm.gov.pt/-/como-posso-frequentar-um-curso-de-lingua-portuguesa-para-estrangeiros-

How to request your SNS number for healthcare as a resident https://eportugal.gov.pt/en/servicos/pedir-o-numero-de-utente-do-sns

Relocating during the pandemic 😷 – To Lisbon, Portugal – #2

2021-04-05T20:08:35Z

We moved during the pandemic 😷 Yikes! The timing was important so that we didn’t get caught out at the end of the Brexit withdrawal period. We tell you how we did it. Please feel free to reach out with any questions.

How we learn European Portuguese #3

2021-04-11T10:30:40Z

In this video, we share the different ways that we learn European Portuguese.

Please do like, comment and subscribe if you found these tips helpful 😊👍🏽

Please share any methods that you use in the description box 📚🇵🇹

⬇️Check below for the links mentioned in the video and BONUS suggestions ⬇️

You Tube - Mis Esmeriz is the European Portuguese teacher on YouTube https://youtube.com/c/LearnEuropeanPortugueseOnline - B

ONUS: Check out Liz from Talk the Streets on YouTube who is another European Portuguese teacher who we like to learn from https://youtube.com/c/TalktheStreets

Preply App http://tracking.preply.com/aff_c?offer_id=7&aff_id=2395

Gramática Ativa 1

Book

Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/3wJOo8L
Amazon ES: https://amzn.to/3mwhyDU
Amazon DE: https://amzn.to/3s09kVL

Udemy 3 minute Portuguese Course : https://www.udemy.com/course/3-minute-portuguese-full-course-1/ Government

Website for FREE online Portuguese lessons https://pptonline.acm.gov.pt

BONUS: To access FREE Portuguese lessons in your area then contact migrant support services who will out you in touch with your local school. https://www.acm.gov.pt/-/como-posso-frequentar-um-curso-de-lingua-portuguesa-para-estrangeiros-

#portugal #europeanportuguese #learningportuguese #portugueselanguage Affiliate Disclaimer Some of the links above are affiliate links. This means that if you click through and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission. As a customer, it does not cost you anything extra nor does it influence our opinion. Thank you so much 😊

6 Months In Portugal – Are we staying? #4 – #hyggejourney

2021-04-25T08:00:58Z

How have we settled into Portugal so far? Will we stay or has bureaucracy taken us over the edge? Watch and find out😊 We love when you like, comment and subscribe to our channel. It helps us grow and share with more people 🙏🏽

Mentioned in the video: Free Translation services for migrants to Portugal https://eportugal.gov.pt/en/servicos/...

Buy a Coffee for HyggeJourney https://ko-fi.com/hyggejourney

Wise (formally TransferWise) | Transfer currency without high fees (affiliate link) Get free transfer fees (conditions apply) https://wise.prf.hn/l/rpOzJxe

SurfShark | Unblock content from your home country (affiliate link) Get 83% off subscription at https://surfshark.deals/HyggeJourney

Connect with Us 😊 Please follow our NEW IG PAGE @hyggejourney.com ✨

Do you want to continue the conversation? Let's talk: https://www.facebook.com/jannikhansendk/

For business and collabs hello@hyggejourney.com

#lisbon #hyggejourney #livinginportugal #expatsinportugal

Want a remote job so that you can live in Portugal? (Part 1) #5 – #hyggejourney

2021-04-25T08:04:15Z

In this video, we share our tips on how you get a remote job before OR after you relocate to Portugal.

Some of the Job sites for Remote Work
https://weworkremotely.com
https://remote.co
https://www.flexjobs.com
https://www.workingnomads.co/jobs
https://talent.hubstaff.com
https://angel.co

You can also check out LinkedIn jobs, Indeed, Glassdoor and even Google ‘Remote jobs in’ Portugal (or UK for example).

Professional Resume / CV review
https://www.topresume.com
https://www.topcv.co.uk

Buy a Coffee for HyggeJourney
https://ko-fi.com/hyggejourney

Wise (formally TransferWise) | Transfer currency without high fees (affiliate link) Get free transfer fees (conditions apply) https://wise.prf.hn/l/rpOzJxe

SurfShark | Unblock content from your home country (affiliate link) Get 83% off subscription at https://surfshark.deals/HyggeJourney

Connect with Us 😊
Head over to https://hyggejourney.com/ to sign up for our newsletter to receive notifications of new videos and helpful tips about living in Portugal.

To contact about business, collabs or to simply share feedback, please contact us at hello@hyggejourney.com

Please follow our NEW IG PAGE @hyggejourney.com ✨🧔🏻👩🏾👦🏽👦🏽

Do you want to continue the conversation? Let's talk: https://www.facebook.com/jannikhansendk/

Lockdown fun with the kids

2021-04-27T22:16:00Z

The beauty of leaving the UK for Portugal is the fact that we get so much more quality time with our children. Lockdown made sure of it! We made every effort to make sure that our kids didn’t get lockdown fatigue by making sure that we got out to exercise as much as humanly possible without breaking the rules. We also tried to keep things fun by making up games and doing activities together. We have a few favourite games / activities which are ideal for indoor or outdoor play.

We love Jenga (Amazon UK, Amazon ES, Amazon.com)! Even our youngest son participates. He is 2.5 years old with special Jenga skills! After a few rounds, the kids use them as fun building blocks to make buildings out of. They can get very creative!
We are huge fans of educational games and puzzles. Our boys have fun while learning at the same time. A great example is the Orchard Toys Series like Match and Spell. We play by the rules at first and then the kids make up their own versions of the game.
Our boys love to pretend that they are superheroes. They received the perfect gift from their Godmother which means they get to play a different hero each day. They are easy enough to wear out too.
Creativity is a big thing in our home. Our children are always making up stories, painting, drawing and making music. They enjoy puzzles and crafts. We love this geometric shape kit where children get to recreate images on the cards contained in the kids. Hours of fun. They come in an easy travel kit so you can take them with you for weekends away or days out.

5. There is so much beauty to capture here in Portugal. Our boys have developed a love of taking photos from their Dad and Farfar (Danish grandfather). We found these cute children’s cameras which the boys enjoy (Amazon UK, Amazon ES, Amazon.com). They have so much taking pictures of anything and everything. They are pro-selfie takers now! We will use some of their pictures to make collages to send to family.

6. We print colouring materials from the internet for the children to enjoy at their leisure.

Amazon ES, Amazon UK, Amazon.com

We have a lot of road trips to look forward to now that things are starting to open up. One piece of car kit that we love is the handy toy storage solution. It means that the kids can fill up the pockets with their favourite toys and snacks. It comes with a warning though: it does not stop kids fighting over toys 🙂

Stay tuned for a video coming soon which will cover some of the fun activities that you can do with your kids in Portugal.

Ways that we live a Hygge life

2021-04-28T21:55:00Z

My husband Jannik is Danish. Hygge has become an international phoenionan and I find it fascinating. We pay homage to Hygge in our channel name. For Danes, it’s cultural DNA. It has a multitude of meanings including; the pursuit of everyday happiness, cosiness, spending time with loved ones, gratitude, relaxation, good quality of life, and living in the moment (mindfulness). I think the principles of Hygge are a great way to live a balanced life regardless of where in the world you are. It’s not about being happy all the time (although global surveys suggest Danes are the happiest in the world) but more about appreciating all the small things that make life better. It can be something as simple as creating a cosy atmosphere and sitting down for a family meal. Especially during lockdown, we paid closer attention to creating those Hygge moments with our children. Some of the ways that we do this include:

Amazon UK, Amazon.com

Making ‘special’ meals together that we eat together with our children. No phones or other tech allowed. We decorate the table nicely and our children help. We lay the food out as if it was a Christmas meal with all the trimmings and naughty desserts. At the end of the meal, we play games together, listen to music and do arts and crafts. If you are in the market for clothes https://www.fakewatch.is/product-category/richard-mille/rm-62-01/ our platform is your best choice! The largest shopping mall!
We prepare picnics to enjoy at the beach or in nature. Again we include the children in the preparation process, they tell us what food they would like to include. We pack toys for the kids and wine for the grown ups!
We have a serious amount of candles and room scents! We enjoy beautifully smelling rooms with a great atmosphere. We choose time to talk over watching TV.
I practice mindfulness using the Calm App. Each day we think about what we are grateful for.
We practice ‘an acts of kindness’ towards each other in our daily lives. It can be a challenge when we are busy but it’s important.
We try to do things that make us feel good. For me, it could be dancing, for Jannik playing Tennis and for the kids it’s easily the park or beach with the undivided attention of their parents.
We love spending time with our extended family (when allowed) eating together, sipping wine and catching up while the kids play together and even the dogs join in!
We enjoy the simplicity and practicality of Danish style and design. The lack of clutter and organisation means that we have less chaos in our daily lives which is important when we mostly work from home.

It’s a simple concept that many people do without thinking. It’s the mindfulness, presence and appreciation of the particular act or moment that makes it Hygge.

Check out one of our favorite books about living a Danish Hygge life. It is The Little Book of Hygge by Meik Wiking. It’s a lovely read and makes a great gift. X has been called the king of happiness and is the world expert on Hygge.

Amazon ES, Amazon UK, Amazon.com

Learning European Portuguese

2021-04-29T21:43:00Z

Wow, learning Portuguese is not easy. It’s the pronunciation and the complexity of the grammar that makes it tough for me. Ask me to say anything with a double r such as Carro (Car) and my throat immediately tenses up. My Portuguese teacher told me that it's the same sound you make when you have a cold and your throat is full of mucus. Not the most charming of images.

Then it’s finding the confidence to speak. Especially when I’m somewhere particularly busy and there’s a queue of people behind me. I always preface my sentence with “Falo um pouco Português”. This has been so useful in a) getting a smile from the other person b) being afforded much more patience from the person I’m speaking to c) getting help with anything I’m stuck on. It has been a lifesaver. I think in time, my confidence will grow. I always think I sound weird speaking Portuguese with an English accent. On a few occasions, I’ve felt awkward when I’m not understood but believe that it’s a natural part of the process.

I initially signed up to the free online Municipality Portuguese class that was available to me when I became a resident. It was wonderful to meet so many new nationalities of people. The entire lesson was in Portuguese. Even the instructions. Yikes! I can definitely see the value in this but it was quite intimidating especially when the voice of the teacher was muffled with 20 people answering questions at the same time! There were people who were more advanced in Portuguese so they got much more benefit out of the fully immersive experience. It felt quite overwhelming sitting on Zoom for 3 hours straight after a long day at work. I stuck it out for a while and then figured that I’d probably benefit from a learning plan that was more individualised.

I signed up to Preply and haven’t looked back. I found a super tutor called Sofia who has incredible energy and passion for teaching. We bonded over her love for Jamaican reggae. As well as teaching me about Portuguese food, culture and customs, she’s just an awesome teacher. She provides me with a tailored learning plan and homework as I’ve requested. She puts me through my paces. I also managed to find a tutor for my son on Preply. His teacher actually lives in the UK but was born in Porto. She is incredible and has the patience of a saint! She prepares exercises for my son using his favourite cartoon characters and always makes it fun. Even his teachers at school have noticed an improved confidence in his Portuguese. We couldn’t be happier!

The platform is a great supplement to the other ways that I pick up the language. Many of the ways that we learn Portuguese are included in our video.

As I mention in our video, I like to learn in a structured way so I use a European Portuguese Grammar book Gramatica Activa 1 (all in Portuguese).

Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/3wJOo8L
Amazon ES: https://amzn.to/3mwhyDU
Amazon DE: https://amzn.to/3s09kVL

It comes highly recommended by two of my Portuguese teachers. It’s an excellent introduction to the basics of the language. It is an ideal way to support any learning that you do with a teacher or on a course. It has plenty of exercises which you can do with answers at the back of the book so that you can mark your own work.

I’ve discovered other useful sources which include:

Practise Portuguese

I love the fact that you can see how words look and sound. It’s exclusively European Portuguese and has free and paid access to the materials.

I find the Linguee App useful to use as a quick reference dictionary on my phone.

I’m pleased with my process so far but the more I know, the more I realise that I don’t know. It’s funny when I tell Portuguese people that I’m learning their language. The reaction is always hugely positive followed by anecdotes of their own struggles in learning the language. Some say that it will take years. At least it’s comforting to know that I’m not the only one who finds it difficult 🙂

How can you best deal with mold in your property? (Portugal)

2021-04-30T22:23:00Z

Unfortunately there are many properties in Portugal that have damp / mold.

Damp is like a plant, it's grows and spreads. Therefore it needs to be prevented or managed by establishing the cause. It's not always something that easily can be removed but there are definitely things you can do to reduce it.

Many bathrooms and some kitchens have little to no ventilation. This means that every time you create condensation by showering, taking a bath or cooking, the steam does not have an adequate escape point. This can create damp issues in another rooms.

Also if the building quality isn't very good or aged, gaps in windows can exist where water (or the damp) can get in, this can also create a build up.

As a rule of thumb when you are cooking, make sure you try to ventilate by cracking a window. After a shower, maybe let some fresh air in for a few minutes. Try to dry your wet clothes outside if possible.

Dehumidifier - is this the solution?

What you can do is try to have a few dehumidifiers around the house that will certainly help the issues. It could be bedroom, rooms next to bathrooms, or close to where you dry clothes (if inside).

Amazon ES, Amazon UK, Amazon.com

Air Purifier

Damp is not good for your health, especially if you have young kids or pre-existing lung conditions. Personally, I suffer from various allergies and have been diagnosed asthmatic. This means that many things can easily have an impact on my quality of life.

An Air purifier is essentially a special fan with an allergy filter built in. Usually, they are built for a normal size bedroom. So you should consider having one of these in each of your bedrooms or rooms that you spend a lot of time in.

This can also give you a much better sleep if you suffers with allergies. It has been excellent for me.

Amazon ES, Amazon UK, Amazon.com

Unblock your content / internet from your home country, even you are in Portugal

2021-05-01T22:52:29Z

I left my 'home' country Denmark back in 2010. I always like to be able to watch programs from there, however it's restricted.

Furthermore, my wife being from the UK has the same issue with everything from BBC, ITV, subscription services such as HULU, Amazon Prime, and the UK version of Netflix.

Just because you are in another country you don't want to miss out! Unblock content with SurfShark VPN. Signing up will easily and anonymously connect you to another countries' network so that it looks like you are actually in that country.

As we have a Youtube Channel with a growing international audience, Surfshark has agreed to give us an incredibly generous discount code for you, where you get 83% off the normal price + 3 months extra for FREE.

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How to get the best Home Office in 2021

2021-05-02T06:59:11Z

We've now had Covid-19 around for just over a year. Suddenly every single home now has some sort of home office.

Some work at the dinner table or wherever else in the house they are able to find a spot. If you are one of those people that have realised, that this "working from home" (WFH) is not disappearing any time soon - or maybe you enjoy that you save the commute. Then now, is the right time for you to invest into a proper home office.

As I have been working mainly from home since 2008, I do have an advantage in knowing the things that you should invest in for you to thrive.

Mindset before office

Before we get into all the fancy equipment ideas, let's just quickly discuss how you can get a healthy mindset.

It takes quite a lot to get into the "mood" of enjoying Remote Work, especially if you are used to the open office buzz, where you constantly have colleagues around you. This can be both good and bad, but it takes some effort to make sure you get into the right mindset.

This entire concept of having big offices is no doubt something from the past that we haven't quite managed to re-design. A leading company in the pre-Covid remote space is Basecamp. The founders of the company are seen as the authority on the topic. Many remote firms live by their blue print. The two founders live in Spain and Chicago (US), which is a challenge in it self, just to juggle the time zone.

They have written a great book, I most certainly recommend that you read about their experiences. Amazon UK, Amazon ES, Amazon.com

Desk

Amazon UK, Amazon ES, Amazon.com

When you are working from home you are no longer as active as when you are working in an office space. So you have to do more to keep your body active and performing the best it can. What I personally find most natural is to get a desk that you can quickly elevate, so you can work standing up or sitting down.

This naturally means you walk more around the house as you are standing and working.

This is still only a part of the change you need to do. Try to go for a walk during the day, just to get a bit more exercise. You might have a bit of extra time if you re not commuting. Try to use this time as an opportunity to create healthier habits.

Screen (Monitor)

When you need to find a screen, there are a few things you need to think about. First find an actual screen, choose a resolution, find a brand you like. Once you are through with that, you should try to mount the screen to the table, so you raise it from the desk. This gives you both more space on the desk, as well as getting the desk up a level so you don't have to strain your neck.

After having tried a number of brands over the years, I certainly prefer a Samsung screen. I would go for a 4K so you have a decent resolution and it's good for most eyes. What I prefer with Samsung screens is that I can easily change the colour and light settings so it suits the room i.e. if it's a very sunny room or if I work late into the evening.

Amazon ES, Amazon UK, Amazon.com

Computer

If you didn't already work on a Laptop before Covid, this might be useful for you. When you are choosing a new laptop, there are a few things you need to look out for.

Windows based laptop:

When you are choosing Windows based laptop you need to focus on two main things. You need to get at least 256 GB SSD hard drive (preferable 512 gb). Make sure this is SSD. If you are just working with normal email, internet and maybe Microsoft Office products, all you really need is 8 gb of RAM. My own setup is a bit higher as we do video editing, but this is fine for the majority.

Amazon ES, Amazon UK, Amazon.com

Mac

If you prefer working on the Mac environment then you should consider taking a look at Macbook Air. Even the base model has plenty of power for nearly all types of work tasks.

Amazon ES, Amazon UK, Amazon.com

Best Bluetooth Mouse

Whether you are working on Mac or Windows it's important that you get a really good mouse. I prefer to get one that is powered by AA batteries, so even if you work while travelling you can easily pick up new batteries.

My preferred mouse is manufactured by Logitech, but under the Microsoft brand. It's a very reasonable priced mouse, but will last you for years. Typically one set of batteries lasts me for about 2 full months working 6-7 days a week.

Amazon ES, Amazon UK, Amazon.com

Transferring money into a new country with little or no fees? Or get a currency friendly VISA/Mastercard

2021-05-25T09:25:30Z

When you transfer funds from your home country into a bank account in Portugal there is a few things you need to look out for...

There is a transaction fee for IBAN - this can easily be from $2-$10 - or sometimes 1%.

When you are changing the currency from GBP, USD etc then into EUR, the price the bank is selling the currency for is usually not very good. This can easily be 5% as a normal day rate!

Therefore we use and recommend Wise. Formally called Transferwise.

What they do is essentially operate as a multi-currency bank account. As soon as they have received your money locally where you are based, they will release the same amount of money from somewhere close to your destination.

This means that not only will the money get there a lot faster - but also a lot cheaper.

What you see on their website, is the actual day rate for the currency - and then their small fee is openly displayed. This way, you know exactly how much commission they are making on the transaction. This means that you don't get any surprises from your traditional banks.

Spread the word and share this article!

Staying positive during your property search

2021-09-23T09:47:40Z

I realise that the more we learn about the property market here in Portugal, the more there is to learn. We are looking for a main home. The main requirement is that we want to be a reasonable commuting distance to school. We don’t have grand criteria otherwise and we are prepared to do renovations if necessary. We have a pre-qualification process that we go through before we schedule a visit. We ask questions such as why the property is being sold, if there are any building projects in the near-by vicinity and we enquire if there are any major issues with mould as well as many other questions.

We have only viewed a few properties post-lockdown but we have realised that we need to be asking a few more questions.

One of the properties that we were interested in was built right next to a power substation! We did not know this until the location was confirmed. There are many studies to suggest that living in close proximity to a substation can lead to the onset of a multitude of serious illnesses. In some countries, there are laws preventing the building of residential properties too close. Another property was next to a mobile phone mast. Again similar implications as living next to a substation. Such a shame as they were beautiful properties. We are just not prepared to take the risk especially as we have young children.

Another thing that we are mindful of is those properties that have been listed on long-term Airbnb or used as holiday homes. We saw a couple of beautiful houses that were seriously damaged due to the fact that no one had been living in them full-time. Not that the damage had affected the price. The prices are still on the high side! The homes that are ‘lived in’ tend to be much better quality overall. Closer attention is paid to the ongoing maintenance.

We found one property that had been abandoned. We were excited by the possibility of restoring it. Its former owners had made some bad investments which sadly ended up in bankruptcy. We imagined what the house would have been in its former glory; there had been no expense spared in building what had been a traditional Portuguese dream home for a business man with a large family. The location was perfect. A short commute to all the places that we needed to get to easily. On the day of the visit, we were so excited at all the possibilities that we had mapped out in our minds. What we encountered was a house of horrors! It was nothing like the online images. We later found out that the house was owned by an investment firm who had insisted on the use of ‘old’ images to lure in unsuspecting potential buyers. I felt bad for those who had flown all the way to Portugal to see this house only to be sorely disappointed. What we hadn’t been told was that the former owner had intentionally set out to sabotage the sale of the property by damaging everything as much as he could. I’ve never seen anything like it. Someone had taken an axe to some of the walls

We find the process exciting but it can be a little frustrating when the lack of urban planning lets a property down. We are going to stay positive in the hope that we will eventually find our home. The search continues….

You can also check out this video about our search

How do I keep my foreign phone number while living in Portugal? (Dual Sim in a normal iPhone)

2022-02-16T11:48:59Z

Having lived outside of my own country since 19 years old I have truly felt the pain of high roaming costs related to retaining my old local phone number. We see more “unlimited” roaming package deals BUT they are not all so ‘unlimited’ in reality.

If you read the fine print of the conditions you’ve signed, the maximum you can use the packages for is normally around 3-4 months and then you get 14 days notice until they suspend your roaming package. In today’s digital age, where we rely on data ‘on the go’ we simply need more Mobile data.

So is there a way we can keep our old local number and not pay roaming charges?

The answer is: MAYBE.

The hidden secret is that today most newer phones can run Dual Sim mode. For example, I have a normal iPhone 11 PRO from 2019. Nothing fancy. I have 2 sim cards in it. The trick is for me - Vodafone and MEO have ESIM cards (Portuguese providers). So I walked into a MEO shop and they took my Prepaid MEO card and gave me a QR code that I could scan. A few minutes later, then I had a Portuguese number.

Then what do I do about my roaming number?

For me, it’s important that I have a Danish mobile phone number for work purposes. However, they have the same roaming restrictions as mentioned above. So I set up the phone so all the data comes from my Portuguese sim, and all my calls/texts from my Danish sim.

high-endrolex.com

For my Roaming sim, what is most expensive for them is the data. So by using the trick, I have never triggered the Roaming warning message. This is a clever little trick to keep a foot in two countries.

New law: Maximum rent deposit limited to 2 months in Portugal

2022-12-12T11:19:38Z

Good news! The Portuguese Government has decided to update the law and the maximum deposits are now limited to the amount equal to 2 months' rent.

For the longest time since the introduction of NHR, we have seen a rental market under increasing pressure. We have seen 12 monthly contracts where the landlord demands a mix of pre-paid rent and deposits exceeding 12 months upfront.

This has especially been the case because the Visa process does in many cases require you to have a minimum of a 12 months rental contract and with many either being denied or changing their mind then this has certainly created an unhealthy culture.

But according to Portugal News, this is now past.

If you haven't already please check out our tutorial on how to rent in Portugal:

You may also want to check out our interview with a rental agent:

Why you should not buy a property in Portugal in 2022-2023!

2022-12-13T22:59:52Z

Who am I to tell you this? No one, just yet another expat spending a few years in Portugal. However, I've seen more than 100+ houses for sale, inspected them, attempted to buy a home and decided that it's too dangerous. Let me explain. My family and I arrived in Lisbon in 2020 and for many reasons, we've loved Portugal. We quickly found some areas, a school for our kids etc - but housing kept being an area where we simply couldn't make progress. The Portuguese construction industry has had great problems all the way back to the former financial crisis in 2008. The industry has never truly recovered and yet the demand is exploding. In Denmark where I am from the cost per hour of labour is probably 2-3x higher than in Portugal, yet the houses (building a new family house) is 2-3x more expensive in Portugal for similar specs. So why is the demand so great? Portugal has been in a crisis for a long time and truly tried to get out of it. The solution they thought would be to sell passports to anyone buying a property (Golden Visa) and offer a tax incentive to everyone but the locals. So wealthy and semi-wealthy people have really started the race. In 2018, you could easily find a T1 (1 bedroom) in Lisbon for under €100.000. Now it's not unrealistic that the price is €350.000-€500.000. The price has literally exploded. There is no longer such a thing as a price per sq. meter. The price is simply whatever the foreigner is willing to pay. SOLD to the highest bidder! But hey! It's still dirt cheap compared to New York! If just the price was the only thing I could complain about, I would never have written this blog post. Portugal has some of the proudest and patriotic people and this can be confusing:

But it's simply not true. Let's start from the beginning:

Portugal does not know what isolation is, if they say they do ask them what Rockwoll is...
Because of the cold air from the Atlantic Ocean and the geography of Portugal, it's simply hard to avoid heavy mould problems when you are not heating your houses. So mould is a real problem!
The windows in Portugal are not to keep the heating in, but simply just to stop the wind.. I'm not joking... If you want real windows, you must import Velux or similar high-spec windows.
Lisbon (where we have done our research) is sitting on an earthquake zone. The history is tragic. There hasn't been a major earthquake for many years. But with earthquakes, we are sure they will be back one day. Unfortunately, Portugal has some of the worst building quality I have seen. Insane settlement cracks and very little thought is put into earthquake proofing buildings. I would be very scared of what this would mean - yet NO ONE talks about this... Hence why I had to write this blog post!
Ventilation isn't often well thought out either, so there is a lot of humidity in the air inside. This means you do need to invest in a few larger dehumidifiers from retailers like Worten or Leyroy Merlin.

Alright, now I'm sure I've found the perfect property... what is it that I still don't know? Portugal has a very high transfer tax that is due when you buy the property. This is 0-6%. If you ever want to sell your property again, the real estate agent's commission is 6-7% and you won't get anything back on the property tax, so you have to sell your property a good bit more expensive than you bought it to gain a profit. There is NO public record of what the property has been sold for so you have very poor negotiation power to get yourself a good price.

high-endrolex.com

We've seen properties for €600k where the bank comes out and values the property to €350k (the real value in their eyes) and says you can have an 80% mortgage of the €350k. So you just need to get €320k in deposit + the 6% (€36k) in property tax. When all of that is said, then I hope you enjoy Portugal. This does not turn us off. Just please keep the above in mind.

Mold

How to land a remote job you can travel with?

2022-12-19T16:07:36Z

After moving to Portugal, I think the most asked question is how to get a remote job or how you can become a true digital nomad.

As I probably started the digital nomad lifestyle back in 2008-2009 I have been doing this since before it was invented and I have a few things you should consider.

What to think of before going ahead?

You are leaving what you know, you are leaving your network, family etc so you have to build your village on the go. In today's world, you can almost find a Facebook group of nomads in each destination. However, more than the social aspect you also will suffer that you are quite fragile if you should lose your job.

Save up before you change your lifestyle

You should at least have 3-6 months worth of cash before you head over to this new lifestyle, just in case this isn't working for you that you can afford to restart without it tearing you down.

Get a remote job before you start nomading

Just because you want to get on the train of digital nomads and you want that remote job - it's a good idea that you test that you actually like to work remotely without being in an office and you can live without the social aspect of your colleagues. Therefore you should truly consider having a trial period. Keep your home, but get a remote job for some months.

Where can I find remote jobs?

This is a list of 10 popular sites you can find jobs from:

We have also covered this topic in a couple of videos - part 1:

Part 2:

CHAVE MÓVEL DIGITAL (CMD) for foreigners moving to Portugal

2023-01-02T11:27:53Z

RESIDENTS IN PORTUGAL CAN ALSO REQUEST THE CHAVE MÓVEL DIGITAL (CMD)

The Chave Móvel Digital (CMD) can be requested by Portuguese and residents to carry out online services.

The Chave Móvel Digital (CMD), created in 2014, is a secure mean of authentication to prove identity, allowing users, Portuguese or residents, to access various public and private portals, as well as digitally sign documents.

Residents can activate the CMD with their Passport or with their permit or residence card, associating a mobile phone number. To activate the CMD with the permit or residence card you also will need to have a NIF (Portuguese tax number).

CMD requests can be made in one of the Espaços Cidadão network counters (the citizen shops in each Municipality)

You can find your local citizen shop here

Are you giving birth in Portugal as a foreigner? Your baby could obtain Portuguese citizenship!

2023-01-09T03:46:00Z

If you have been 1 year in Portugal before giving birth, your child could be eligible for Portuguese nationality at birth. This means that literally days after being born your child can get a Portuguese ID card and passport. So what's the process for this? We live in an area with barely any ex-pats, so at least we had to get an official translator. The requirement was that it needed to be someone who spoke both languages with a Portuguese ID card. The translator is being registered as a part of the process and therefore you cannot get a translator just over the phone as we are able to do in most other situations, as this is an official naturalisation process. Once you have found yourself a translator to

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help, head to the Citizen Shop (Loja de Cidadão) in your local council. On arrival, you need to get a ticket for the registering the birth (registar um nascimento). You can check out the official process on this link

How is the salary in Portugal? (Reality Check!)

2023-01-09T04:11:28Z

Portugal is getting some serious love around the world with probably the grandest title of "Europe's version of California". I personally would not compare it to that. I can't avoid the fact that the infrastructure in each respective county are so far from each other.

Portugal doesn't really have any convenience services. it's HARD to find reliable cleaners, nannies etc. So trying to buy help to ease the day-to-day family life can be a bit of a challenge. And nothing happens quickly!

Furthermore, you have to remember the language barrier - for you to thrive here you must learn the language.

Salary - can I get a job in Portugal?

The short answer is - absolutely no!

Portugal will require that you speak Portuguese in many jobs - and if you are employed even on NHR you have very high taxes. You can check out our video on this.

In California, you will see the avg. salary be around $62,000 which at the time of this article is more of less the same in euros. In Portugal, the amount is just €22,000. So the salary is just 1/3. (Source for this)

But does this matter when everything is cheaper in Portugal, you may ask?

No doubt, Portugal has been known to be an affordable country. But, especially in the last couple of years, Portugal has exploded in popularity. With Covid 19, we have seen remote work becoming a "thing" and the explosion of the digital nomad concept. Even digital nomad families have taken the journey overseas.

Portugal has struggled to issue visas and literally as the public services do not have the capacity and resources. This process has been the limitation to how many can successfully settle into the country.

This has impacted lots of things e.g house prices are now to the point where you don't have a chance to buy/rent a property in good areas on local salaries. We now see a workforce in Lisbon that can't afford to live anywhere near the city. This is for sure adding extra pressure on the limited public transport but also on the roads into the city. Thanks to our partners https://fakewatch.is you can find ties online to suit every preference and budget from budget to top-of-the-range super stylish models.

Places like Lisbon are one of the hardest places to find parking and good accommodation for reasonable prices, so it's not always just about spending more money the availability is also an issue.

So what are our recommendations before arriving?

Get a job that you can travel with - the remote workforce is growing every day, so already before you apply for a visa to get into the country, you should have changed over to remote working, finding a remote job that you enjoy.

This is our recommendation as we have also met people that can't thrive in remote working. This will of course jeopardise your ability to live in Portugal if you don't have the stable income that is required.

You should also have a hefty savings account before jumping out as there is a lot of pressure on the country. Sometimes things just turn out to be much more expensive than you have accounted for, so you should be prepared for this.

Hygge Journey

Top 7 Reasons Why We Moved To Lisbon, Portugal From London – #1

Relocating during the pandemic 😷 – To Lisbon, Portugal – #2

How we learn European Portuguese #3

6 Months In Portugal – Are we staying? #4 – #hyggejourney​

Want a remote job so that you can live in Portugal? (Part 1) #5 – #hyggejourney​

Lockdown fun with the kids

Ways that we live a Hygge life

Learning European Portuguese

How can you best deal with mold in your property? (Portugal)

Dehumidifier - is this the solution?

Air Purifier

Unblock your content / internet from your home country, even you are in Portugal

How to get the best Home Office in 2021

Mindset before office

Desk

Screen (Monitor)

Computer

Best Bluetooth Mouse

Transferring money into a new country with little or no fees? Or get a currency friendly VISA/Mastercard

Staying positive during your property search

How do I keep my foreign phone number while living in Portugal? (Dual Sim in a normal iPhone)

So is there a way we can keep our old local number and not pay roaming charges?

The answer is: MAYBE.

Then what do I do about my roaming number?

New law: Maximum rent deposit limited to 2 months in Portugal

Why you should not buy a property in Portugal in 2022-2023!

How to land a remote job you can travel with?

What to think of before going ahead?

Save up before you change your lifestyle

Get a remote job before you start nomading

Where can I find remote jobs?

We have also covered this topic in a couple of videos - part 1:

Part 2:

CHAVE MÓVEL DIGITAL (CMD) for foreigners moving to Portugal

Are you giving birth in Portugal as a foreigner? Your baby could obtain Portuguese citizenship!

How is the salary in Portugal? (Reality Check!)

Salary - can I get a job in Portugal?

But does this matter when everything is cheaper in Portugal, you may ask?

So what are our recommendations before arriving?

6 Months In Portugal – Are we staying? #4 – #hyggejourney

Want a remote job so that you can live in Portugal? (Part 1) #5 – #hyggejourney