Settling in, in Portugal. Vilamoura and Tavira

Everyday Bureaucracy

We arrived as expats far more prepared for the challenges than the bulk of the Americans flocking to Portugal. But we still have a lot to learn and expat challenges every day. We expected things would not all go smoothly and we are well-versed enough to know that the hurdles would be crazy ridiculous and come from directions we could not foresee. Take for example our friends doing the same move as us, but in France. They purchased  a car, and secured car insurance. Check and check; two major expat hurdles we are yet to accomplish. Within ten days they were notified their insurance was being canceled, because they do not have enough driving experience. These gals are my age, and have been driving for almost a half century, like me. Yet the insurance company looked at the issue date of their valid US driver’s license and judged that date as the day they started driving. 

Residency Bureaucracy Continues

Our hard-earned temporary visa that got us here, is only good for 4 months.  During this period we should have another meeting with Portuguese officials (SEF) to obtain our first 2 year residency permit. This appointment was chosen by the government and stamped on our temporary visa. Mark’s was assigned in July, a good two day drive from where we live. We will make it a week and explore the surrounds. Mine is closer to home, but not until the end of September. My temp visa will have expired two months before that.

Changing SEF appointments is supposed to be impossible because the only way is by phone and getting through to them is incredibly difficult. Still we decided to try. We collected a lot of information about which of their phone numbers was favorable, and the best time of day. First attempt to call, Mark got through. He was so surprised he did, he got nervous…… and hung up! Haven’t gotten through since. 

More Expat Challenges

After six weeks in the apartment, we were finally blessed by our property manager with a second key to the front door. Every key has been a battle, the first success being the mailbox key. To no end, we have still not gotten any mail. 

The supposed pin codes for our ATM cards are out there somewhere. They come from Lisbon, 3 hour drive from here. The bank asked us to be patient with the mail service for a couple more weeks. So, six weeks in Portugal, and 5 months after opening our bank accounts, we still do not have ATM cards. Our official address is still our Lisbon attorney. We heard about other expats trying to change their official addresses; our lease will be up before we get that accomplished. Possibly our pin codes are there?

That’s Portugal. Good thing we are retired with very little else to do.

Dollars vs Euros

In the meantime we are using American credit cards and enjoying the best exchange rate in 20 years. Right now is a great time to come visit Europe. The dollar is worth 20% more right now than it was when we started this journey. We hate to benefit from all the pain happening in some countries. But we will take the gain.

Our Town Vilamoura

Vilamoura is the Laguna Beach of Portugal. Built in the 70s for expats, it does not have any Portuguese culture. No old town and few ruins to be found. Well there is a part called “Old Town.” It is cute as can be, but it is not old. Instead we have manicured landscaping and thousands of forty year old Italian stone pines that surround the whole town and the 11 golf courses. This makes Vilamoura the greenest place in the otherwise arid Algarve. We are already appreciating the abundant shade as the temperatures climb. And the birds. I will make a separate post about our wildlife. The draws here are yachting and golfing. We don’t golf and don’t have a boat, so we felt a little out of place. Until we found the third draw: Outdoor athletics.

Where American triathletes flock to San Diego in the Winter, European ones come here. Russia has a large Olympic Training Center nearby. Plus there are two large sporting complexes that attract sports teams from all over Europe for training camps. One of those is my club. Last week Belgium Rugby men and women were here. 

To fill up our time, I am at the club most mornings for some butt kicking workouts. While I am, Mark is cycling. He is seeing a lot more of the country than I am. We are both glad to be back on our old bikes. They are comfortable old friends.

Some observations about bike riding in Portugal. 

• Vilamoura has nice bike paths, but they are clogged with walkers and prams, electric scooters and slow bikers, so we are out in the street. 
• There are no shoulders on Portugues roads, so it is not for the shaky rider. 
• Round-abouts are not all created equal. Some big, some tight; not all are round, some are oblong, some triangular. You don’t notice this in a car. 
• Roundabout rules: Which lane to be in, is different in Portugal from the Commonwealth block. Since the Algarve is practically little Britain, expect roundabout chaos. Getting out in that on a bike is not for the meek. 
• American roads are engineered to be no steeper than 6%. Very rarely could a rider find a hill steeper than that; some driveways and private roads maybe. Here 12-14% grades are every day. These are taking a toll on Mark who has not done much cycling in four years. 

Tavira

We are slowly settling into our home. I have found my nomad feet are restless; old habits hard to tame. So we are planning some “Vacations” Each month we plan to take at least a week to see more of Portugal. So far we spent three nights at a nearby village: Tavira. This is probably the most authentic Portuguese town in the Algarve. It has a river running through the middle with several bridges for pedestrians including one built by Romans. Sitting outside on the banks of the river drinking coffee and wine, feels a lot more like living in Europe should. 

While visiting Tavira, we took in a Fado show (cover photo). Fado is Portugal’s answer to Flamenco. Sad songs, originally sung by the downtrodden to traditional guitar-like accompaniment. This old guy was fantastic on that instrument. We also found a delightful restaurant that was actually in someone’s back yard. This seems to be somewhat common. In Vilamoura it is quite normal to find a restaurant in the center of an apartment building. Often restaurants have pools. I kid you not; seems like an odd combination, but very, very common. (See picture above)

The American Invasion

We really liked Tavira, but Americans have found it and we fear in five years it will be another expat ghetto, this one American. Americans are flocking to Portugal if all the recent articles are right. Seems as though people think they can come here and live along the sea, in homes they couldn’t afford in the states for a fraction of the cost. They are in for a real shock. Life is different than in America. Expat challenges and surprises are too numerous to count. We like it, but not everyone will. A large home, like Americans are used to, on or near the water, costs about the same as it does in SoCal. Pass that along to all your friends thinking about making this jump. Once a week in our expat facebook group, someone is posting they are moving home and liquidating everything. A high percentage of the expats do not last very long. But we do not think we will not be among those.