Looking Forward, Looking Back

I wish I had thought to start this long ago, when we decided to move to Portugal. I can’t change the past, but I can do my best to recreate timelines and share memories as they come to me.

I can however commit to sharing things as they occur going forward. The future will unfold and be documented here; the past will be covered in as organized a fashion as I can manage.

Today is Monday, the 14th day of April, 2025. It’s a beautiful day here in Porto, although some might disagree. Objectively, it’s a tad chilly, breezy, grey, overcast, and occasionally rainy. But I love this weather. I am sitting across the table from my wonderful husband, and I have a nice view of Porto. This is a good life.

We arrived in Porto on 03/04/2025 (get used to European dates: day/month/year), and we have been staying in hotels until our bed is delivered TOMORROW!!! Our living arrangement is complicated. We have purchased a condo in Vila Nova de Gaia, across the Douro River from Porto, but it won’t be completed until later this year. So we had to decide: where would we live until we can move into our permanent home? We could get a short-term rental of some sort, but since we are familiar with the vagaries of construction we know we can’t be sure how long we would need to rent a place.

Our decision was made a little simpler by one of my children. She is a beautiful, brilliant young woman facing a lot of challenges. Put simply, she is transgender and autistic. Her life is daunting enough without the additional stresses being placed on her by the ever-deteriorating political climate in the United (that word seems questionable) States. I know it was very difficult for her to ask if she could come to Portugal and try to make a life here. If she is that uncomfortable in the country where she lives, it is a priority to help her find a place where she feels safe. So we decided to buy a small apartment where we will live until she arrives in Portugal. Then this apartment will become hers.

So we will be transitioning from living in a roomy two-story home in Washington to living in a 68-square-meter flat in a strange new country. Talk about adventure!

It is our desire to not live as expats surrounding ourselves with others who have moved here from other countries. While it is nice to have connections with others who have uprooted their lives, we want to learn the language and the culture and be part of the Portuguese community. I am in my 60’s, and Portuguese is a challenging language, but I am determined to become fluent. We also intend to become citizens of Portugal as soon as possible. In other words, we are Becoming Portuguese.

I will be documenting our process here. It may be very stream-of-consciousness as I think of things to share, but it will hopefully be interesting and informative. Feel free to message me with questions or suggestions. I hope that this might help others who decide to start their lives over, whatever that might look like.