Last week marked 2 years since we first landed in Lisboa and made Portugal our new home. It’s been a pretty great 2 years, but of course, there were challenges as well. I wanted to go back and look at how I felt after 1 year of living here and compare it to how things are now.
Highlights From Year 2
Travel and New Places- Again this past year we didn’t get to travel to as many places as I had hoped but we did do some. We explored some new places in Portugal including Setubal, Albufeira, and some other places in the Algarve. I went to Newcastle in the U.K. We went to Malaga, Spain (which I will be sharing about soon.) And of course, I went back to the U.S. for the first time. I have a little more planned so I am excited about that. And of course, my travel list has so many places left to see on it. All in due time…
Work and Career Updates– I still don’t have a job but I have done a few things. I created my first coloring book! I still plan on putting out a couple more. I also got certified to do lashes and brow design. I am starting to take clients and hope to have more soon. I’m also exploring other possible career paths because I still haven’t figured out what I want to do with my life. My husband has some work with his computer stuff and he really loves it. I am so glad he has found a career path that makes him happy.
Friends and Community- We have been so lucky to have made such wonderful friends here and in the past year, we met even more, both expats and Portuguese friends as well. We have a pretty large social circle that I am incredibly grateful for and a group of close friends who have been so supportive and helpful with everything. I can’t even explain how happy this makes me because this was my #1 concern about moving here.
Biggest Challenges-
Well, life always has challenges, so I won’t leave out the hard parts. We had a nightmare of a time while buying our apartment, and of course, moving is always difficult. The injuries I had sucked. We had a bit of car trouble, but luckily it wasn’t too bad. And just sometimes there are struggles with being in a foreign country. Sometimes communication isn’t easy, and it gets frustrating for both us and the Portuguese people we interact with.
Adjusting to life in a new country- My journey of learning Portuguese has been slow but it’s improving. I took a class for a while. I can understand more than I can speak, but I can carry on short conversations sometimes, like when at a restaurant or shopping. I have adjusted to things being closed for lunchtime and things sometimes taking a while to get done. I’m enjoying the more laid-back lifestyle and not feeling like I have to rush everywhere and for everything.
Health- I am still suffering from long haulers. I still get really tired after doing too much. I have some brain fog and just sometimes feel like my brain doesn’t work as well. There are times I try to write a blog post, and I just can’t get anything out. It’s been challenging to navigate; however, I do think I have improved since moving here. I don’t know if it’s the altitude, not working nights and sleeping normal hours, or the improvement in quality of life, but I am a bit better than before.
Other Updates
Well, we bought an apartment (read about that process here) and paid taxes in Portugal for the first time. We went to many festivals (there are always festivals!) I had a couple of injuries; I hurt my shoulder and recently my foot. Read here to learn about healthcare and costs associated with the shoulder injury. We had some visitors, my Mom and my brother and his girlfriend came to visit. And we went to a couple of big concerts in Lisbon- Blink 182 and Hauser. Oh, and my hair changed too! Went from pink to purple and shaved my undercut again🤣
Living in Portugal with celiac disease became much easier in our second year. We learned which grocery chains were safest, how to communicate dietary needs in Portuguese, and which restaurants truly understood cross-contamination.
Overall, things have been pretty great. I don’t really feel as much like an outsider anymore. When we go to our favorite places, people know us now, and they ALWAYS remember Bodhi. It’s nice to feel like we are part of this small community. By the way, Bodhi and Wednesday both love it here, too! Bodhi loves going to all the events and getting constant attention, and Wednesday loves spending all her time on our huge patio.
What I hope for our next year
I’m hoping our 3rd year is filled with more travel! There are so many places I want to see still in Portugal, as well as so many others in Europe and Africa. I’m also hoping to figure out what I want to do career-wise. I am hopeful that my health gets better too, I have some appointments coming up that I am hopeful will help me. Other than that, I just want to continue to enjoy the life we have created here with our wonderful friends.
Be sure to check out my Instagram @vegas.to.portugal for a cute reel of our 2nd year here and more of my daily life 💙
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