A Look Back at My First Year in Portugal.

It’s hard to believe that it has already been a year since we arrived in Portugal. We worked so hard to make it happen and the ever present anxiety that plagues my life had me believing that something would go wrong, all the way until the minute we landed in Lisboa, (Seriously, I was convinced the plane would even crash, my anxiety is really bad) I was so terrified the entire way that something would stop us from living out this dream. Thankfully, everything worked out. 

There was so much preparation for this move; visa, finances, work, and of course mental preparation. We basically jumped into this, head first, with no backup plan. What if we hated it? What if we couldn’t find jobs? What if we couldn’t make friends? What if we couldn’t assimilate? What would we do if everything blew up in our face? It was terrifying and yet even with my extreme anxiety, I knew that things would work themselves out. No matter what, we would figure it out, together.

Thankfully, I can happily say, everything has pretty much worked out! Things are great! Life in Portugal is just as great as I expected. We have so many friends, we attend community events, we enjoy our life. Sure things have been hard. But we have done alright at navigating the challenges. 

What We Have Done Our First Year:

• Traveled- Not as much as we expected to be able to but we have done a fair amount. We have been to so many places in Portugal, multiple places in Spain, and Paris. We still have a ton on the list that we will get to, but we also enjoy our life in Tavira. 
• Work wise- I had no idea what I would do after the casino. I had looked for jobs in so many different places but what do you do after a casino for 14 years? I started this blog on a random suggestion from a friend and I have really enjoyed it so far. It’s so much more work and more challenging than I thought, but it’s been a great learning experience. It also gives me a reason to go more places and attend more events because it gives me things to write about. It pushes me out of my comfort zone. My husband started learning computer science soon after we moved here and is now working in a field that he is really excited about and is loving. 
• Friends!- We have so many friends and we do so much with them. I always feel busy. We have so many social events all the time and it’s great! 
• Getting adjusted to a new place- a new country is challenging. There is a lot to learn and to adapt to. It hasn’t always been easy, but nothing worth it in life ever is right? Learning the language is a hard process. Some days I feel like I am doing an okay job with it and then others I feel so lost. Adapting to the culture and the way of life has been interesting too. There is a much more relaxed view on things. Need to have a repair done in your apartment? Maybe the repair man will come next week or the next. Or it’s 2:00 in the afternoon so everything is closed for lunch. Life isn’t always on the go here, we enjoy it much more and appreciate our time more now. 

My Reflection

It was so hard to leave behind the life we had built in Las Vegas but everyday I am so grateful that we did. We left a lot in the states, friends, family, careers. We left a home, a place we knew and we were comfortable in. We gained a lot by leaving though too. A sense of safety, far less political turmoil, an amazing chosen family that has welcomed us with open arms. We now have a better quality of life, better health and knowing that if something bad happens we won’t go broke with medical bills. 

I also personally have learned to put myself out there more, amazing things can happen when you do that and I always really struggled with that part of me. You never know what new friends you will meet if you don’t try.

I also feel like now I can explore more. My sense of adventure has increased because now all these amazing places to visit are so much closer and so much more accessible to us from here, and I can’t wait to take advantage of that. My whole life I have always thought the world was so big, why just stay in one place. There is so much to see and experience and I can’t wait to continue on this amazing journey 

I know I have said before, if you have ever considered making a big, exciting change, DO IT! There can always be a way to make it happen. It won’t be easy, it will be really fucking hard but I promise, it will be so worth it for the experience.