In spite of the doom and gloom around Australia at the Rugby World Cup, it hasn’t been knocked out yet.

Eddie Jones’ misjudged bluster about winning the tournament with a young squad died after consecutive defeats to Fiji and Wales over the last two weekends, but his Wallabies are alive until Saturday evening at least.

If, by then, Fiji has beaten Georgia with a bonus point in Bordeaux then Fiji joins Wales in the quarterfinals from Pool C and the Wallabies are shut out of the knockout stage for the first time ever. If Fiji loses to Georgia or doesn’t get a bonus point, it still has one more chance to make the quarters next week against Portugal.

In the meantime, the two-time champion Wallabies can cross as many fingers as they can to hex Fiji, and will know their fate before they complete their pool campaign on Sunday in a first meeting with the lively Portuguese.

Os Lobos have done their country proud for a team that was the 20th and last qualifier to make the Rugby World Cup, 16 years after its only other appearance.

A Wales second string was flattered to win by 28-8 and Os Lobos could have beaten rival Georgia but drew 18-18 last Saturday for its first World Cup points.

The Wallabies, following the dismal 40-6 defeat to Wales last weekend, have dumped centers Samu Kerevi and Jordan Petaia and replaced them with Waratahs pair Lalakai Foketi and Izaia Perese, who have a combined 13 tests but don’t feel out of place. They are between Waratahs mates Ben Donaldson at flyhalf and Mark Nawaqanitawase on one wing. Perese will make his first start in his second test.

“Foketi has trained well the whole tournament,” Jones said on Friday. “Samu has probably just been a little off. He’s had a tough run-in to the World Cup, coming back from an ACL, two hamstring injuries. He just hasn’t been as sharp as we’d like him to be.

“Jordy Petaia had a bit of a calf issue. He’s fit now but, again, with Izzy, he’s trained really well the whole World Cup.”

Fraser McReight has gone into the back row, and the reserves were freshened with Rob Leota, one-cap back-rower Josh Kemeny and two-cap scrumhalf Issak Fines-Leleiwasa.

Prop James Slipper will become the most capped Wallaby at a Rugby World Cup with his 21st game, leaving behind George Gregan.

The lineup confirmed squad captain Will Skelton and first-choice tighthead Taniela Tupou were still unavailable following their training injuries after the opening win over Georgia.

“A tough old week,” Jones said. “We trained the day after the (Wales) game because we wanted to get back out on the field.

“With the young players we thought we wanted to get their thoughts in their head about how we want to play against Portugal. We’ve got a clear plan.

“I think we’ve trained really well but we are not getting the results, and sometimes the scoreboard is the last thing to change. And that’s hard to take and I know it’s hard to understand, but sometimes that’s the case.”

Portugal made four changes from the Georgia draw, all in the forward pack. Loosehead David Costa and back-rowers David Wallis and Thibault de Freitas make their first appearances in the Rugby World Cup. Martim Belo comes into the second row after 14 minutes off the bench last week.

___

Lineups:

Australia: Andrew Kellaway, Mark Nawaqanitawase, Izaia Perese, Lalakai Foketi, Marika Koroibete, Ben Donaldson, Tate McDermott; Rob Valetini, Fraser McReight, Tom Hooper, Richard Arnold, Nick Frost, James Slipper, Dave Porecki (captain), Angus Bell. Reserves: Matt Faessler, Blake Schoupp, Pone Fa’amausili, Rob Leota, Josh Kemeny, Issak Fines-Leleiwasa, Carter Gordon, Suliasi Vunivalu.

Portugal: Nuno Sousa Guedes, Raffaele Storti, Pedro Bettencourt, Tomás Appleton (captain), Rodrigo Marta, Jerónimo Portela, Samuel Marques; Thibault de Freitas, Nicolas Martins, David Wallis, Martim Belo, José Madeira, Diogo Hasse Ferreira, Mike Tadjer, David Costa. Reserves: Francisco Fernandes, Duarte Diniz, Francisco Bruno, Steevy Cerqueira, Rafael Simoes, Joao Belo, Joris Moura, Manuel Cardoso Pinto.

___

AP Rugby World Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby

The post Australia preserving calm and shifting on to Rugby World Cup end in opposition to Portugal appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

Jamie Dixon landed in this hilly seaside town nine months ago, ditching her luxury trailer in Malibu for a two-floor rooftop apartment that’s twice the size for a fraction of the rent.

Her escape from her native California came amid growing costs of living, encroaching wildfires and a waning sense of safety after the burglary of a neighbor’s home. The fitness-trainer-turned-startup-worker decided it was time to reinvent herself in a foreign land, but like many American expats she didn’t want to feel too far from home.

In this wealthy enclave about 15 miles from the Portuguese capital, Lisbon, she found her slice of California on the west coast of Europe: ocean breezes, mountain views, hot spring days on palm tree-lined promenades, and the glow of sunsets that seep into the night.

An expatriate family in their home

“Things were just becoming too much back home, but I didn’t want to leave everything about L.A. behind,” said Dixon, 37. Dressed in yoga pants and cross-trainers, she sipped white wine at an organic cafe that overlooked waves crashing into Big Sur-like cliffs a short walk from the rental she shares with her actor husband and 7-year-old daughter.

“With Portugal,” she said, “we could keep the parts we liked and leave the rest.”

Cascais, a wealthy seaside enclave in Portugal, reminds California expatriates of home.

(Jose Sarmento Matos / For The Times)

Dixon has plenty of company in a country that has become an international destination for tourism and residency alike.

This once seafaring empire known for Port wine and Fado music can feel a lot like California. Except it’s much more affordable on a U.S. budget. That’s one reason the slender nation on the Atlantic has attracted — and even advertised to — Americans who are packing up.

In the last decade, the overall population in Portugal has declined even as the number of foreigners has grown by 40%. The ranks of American citizens living in this land of 10 million shot up by 45% last year. Within the mix of retirees, digital nomads and young families fed up with issues including the costs of housing and healthcare, Trumpian politics and pandemic policies, Californians are making themselves known in a country once considered the forgotten sibling of Spain.

The boardwalk at the Tagus River is a favorite of locals and newcomers alike. In the background is the 25th of April Bridge.

(Jose Sarmento Matos / For The Times)

“I’d say 95% of my clients are now Americans,” said André Fernandes, a 38-year-old Porto-based real estate broker who, upon seeing the surge in interest in his homeland, moved back from New Jersey three years ago and switched from installing fire sprinklers to selling housing. “In the last week, I’ve called or emailed with people from California, Arizona and New Mexico.” One recent client, he said, was a Netflix writer.

Portugal emerged from the financial crisis of the mid-2000s as one of the European Union’s poorest nations. With the economy in shambles, Lisbon lawmakers drafted immigration laws to aggressively court foreign professionals, from the wealthy, who could essentially buy residency by purchasing land, to remote workers, who could secure a path to citizenship by earning money abroad but spending it here. More recently, the nation, which for the last seven years has hosted the Web Summit tech conference, has fashioned itself as a tax haven for crypto investors.

The government estimates that foreigners have invested more than $6 billion in Portugal since 2012 through property purchases alone. The closely related tourist and rental industries brought in more than $10 billion last year and, before the pandemic, represented 15% of the nation’s GDP. (During the same time in the U.S., tourism accounted for less than 3% of the economy.)

For Dixon, a fourth-generation Californian, the visa process was textbook. She and her husband, Joey Dixon, had to open a Portuguese bank account with savings equal to about $21,000 — about twice the minimum wage — and lock into a yearlong lease.

Joey Dixon, who has appeared in “Yellowstone” and “S.W.A.T.,” is starting an acting school for other Hollywood transplants. His wife, who at first went through bouts of loneliness, now comes home to plastic containers of homemade soup at her door from the neighbor below, an older Portuguese woman, and has befriended a nearby couple and their child who moved from New York and started a relocation company.

Jamie Dixon picks up her daughter from school in Cascais, Portugal.

(Jose Sarmento Matos / For The Times)

A few blocks down the street, the Dixons have met a California couple — one of them works for Adobe — who recently made the move. A family from Seattle is expected to arrive in May and will occupy the first floor of the Dixons’ three-story gated apartment building. Seeing an influx of Americans, their daughter’s school recently hired an English teacher and now has bilingual instruction.

“My Portuguese is still bad,” said Dixon, who has taken classes but uses her favorite phrase to describe her attitude toward the slow journey of integration: não faz mal (“no big deal”). She hopes to speak enough in five years to pass the citizenship test, which would gain the family European Union passports. With them comes the freedom to move and work throughout much of the continent.

“You just don’t know where America is headed these days. Are we going to be fighting with each other forever? Are we in the Cold War again with Russia?” Dixon said. “Getting that second passport would be a relief.”

But resentment of newcomers is growing. Angelenos can’t always escape — and sometimes are at the root of — questions over gentrification, income disparities and immigration. The phrase “expat” itself has become loaded in Lisbon, a city that attracts tens of thousands of working-class immigrants from Brazil, Ukraine, Romania and India. In Facebook groups and cafe meet-ups, well-to-do Westerners debate over how to define themselves. On the streets, Portuguese activists have protested against evictions and skyrocketing rents caused in part by foreigners with banks that count in dollars and pounds.

“There’s no doubt that the foreign investment has greatly helped Portugal’s economy and made the cities more beautiful,” said Isabel da Bandeira, an activist who co-founded the Lisbon housing rights group Aqui Mora Gente (People Live Here). “But this process has also hurt the long-term residents who don’t recognize parts of their communities anymore or can’t afford to live in them.”

Across Lisbon, the largest urban center with 550,000 people, it’s hard to miss the Californians. The city, where tourism has boomed over the years to the point that entire streets in its historic core are made up exclusively of hotels and Airbnbs, has attracted monied newcomers from across the world, including the United Kingdom, Cape Verde, South Africa and Russia. But Americans are now growing at the fastest clip when it comes to foreigners buying expensive property, surpassing the Chinese.

A tram goes up a hill in the historic Alfama neighborhood in Lisbon, Portugal.

(Jose Sarmento Matos / For The Times)

An article last year in the Lisbon-based newspaper Diário de Notícias extolled the ties between California and Portugal. “It’s fundamental to put Portugal on the map for Californians,” Pedro Pinto, the Portuguese consul general in San Francisco, said in the piece, as he suggested a direct flight from Los Angeles to Lisbon was in the works (there’s already one from San Francisco).

California has long drawn the Portuguese. Spain and Portugal claim 16th century colonial explorer Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, who was the first European to land on California’s shores, as one of their own. In the mid-19th century, droves of farmers from the Azores made their way to Central California. In San Jose, the Little Portugal neighborhood pays homage to the region’s immigrant history. But today, the transplants go the other way and are of a different variety: upper middle class or wealthier with online jobs or well-managed retirement accounts.

After years of divisive politics, failed wars, worsening wealth gaps and fights over national identity, Americans are perhaps more flexible in their patriotism and willing to make a home beyond their borders. For residents of California, where the best and worst of America appear to constantly collide, the shores of Portugal have offered a respite.

From the retiree villages of Mexico and Central America to the red-white-and-blue enclaves scattered throughout Asia and Europe, Americans have long had a curious and at times contentious relationship with the world and its cultures. They are often viewed as wanting to cast other nations in their image, a criticism cleverly distilled in Graham Greene’s novel “The Quiet American.” They want the exotic so long as there’s a scent of the familiar.

UPDATED May 12, 2022 | 3:01 AM

How are U.S. citizens relocating to Portugal?

The “golden visa” program and D7 visa are two popular options U.S. citizens have used to relocate.

Who is making the move?

It’s not just retirees and the ultra-wealthy. Middle-class Americans, young professionals and families have also relocated to Portugal.

Where are people relocating to?

Respondents to our survey of Californians who moved to Portugal frequently mentioned Lisbon, Porto, the Silver Coast and the Algarve. However, the “golden visa” program is no longer taking applications in the biggest cities.

How does the cost of living in Portugal compare with that in California?

For those on a U.S. budget, Portugal is much more affordable. Many Californians are paying a fraction of their former rent for a larger home in Portugal. However, rents and sale prices are rising in places such as Lisbon.

How has this influx changed life in Portugal?

The national economy has improved with foreign investment and immigration. At the same time, evictions and skyrocketing rents are making some parts of Portugal unaffordable for people who have lived there for generations.

In Portugal, some recent California expats have taken it upon themselves to make the pitch for how to conjure a bit of their home state while living abroad.

Jen Wittman, who moved with her husband and 13-year-old son to Lisbon in March last year, runs a Facebook group called Californians Moving To/Living In Portugal. In a community of migrants where dozens of Facebook pages function as a how-to library on moving, Wittman said she created hers a year ago after “getting mocked in other groups for our very California questions, like where to get good avocados and Mexican food.”

Jen Wittman enjoys ice cream with husband Doug Sanders and their son, Bodhi.

(Jose Sarmento Matos / For The Times)

The avocados have been easy to come by. The Mexican food, not so much, though she’s found a San Diego couple who have a homemade tamale and Mexican import business.

“I feel like we as Californians have more particular things we want. We want the sun, the water, the amenities, the fresh and organic food,” said Wittman, 47, a former chef who runs an online consulting company for small businesses with her husband. “We also tend to have higher incomes than other Americans.”

Residents of Playa del Rey for 20 years, the Wittmans left for Lisbon after a stint in Sonoma County. For Wittman, it was her mother’s death and a desire to rethink the future that spurred the move. She also wanted her son to have free college tuition in EU nations once the family gains citizenship.

A tourist, left, walks up one of Lisbon’s many hills in the Alfama neighborhood. Right, a streetscape in the Chiado neighborhood, where the growth of tourism and new international residents have caused strains over affordable housing.

(Jose Sarmento Matos / For The Times)

The rent on their furnished three-bedroom apartment, tucked away on a cobblestone street next to a 13th century stone cathedral in the Alfama district, is $2,400. With its elevator access, renovated kitchen and a view of cruise ships on the Tejus River, it’s a steal on their budget. Wittman, accustomed to quick workday meals back home, now has leisurely hours-long lunches at her favorite Portuguese restaurant, where a plate of salad, chicken legs and potatoes is served with wine, espresso and mango custard for 10 euros, or about $11.

Her neighborhood, one of Lisbon’s oldest where every other apartment is now housing for internationals, has been the center of protests over evictions and gentrification. The Wittmans, who mostly mingle with foreigners, said they’ve received no hostility from locals. Instead, they too have felt the crunch of Portugal’s growing popularity.

“We were able to get a deal because of COVID and few people visiting the city,” said Wittman, who still maintains bits of her Midwestern accent from her Indiana upbringing. That was before a lease renewal offer came in at $3,650. “Now that our time is coming up, we can’t even find anything affordable in the city.”

Tourists enjoy one of Lisbon’s lookouts.

(Jose Sarmento Matos / For The Times)

This month, the family is moving to the suburbs across the river, 40 minutes away.

Luis Mendes, a geographer at the University of Lisbon, said the effect of Americans and foreigners in Portugal is mixed.

“You cannot deny that places like Lisbon have become much more appealing for young, creative people with money to spend. The effect on the economy and the way the buildings look — no longer empty — is astronomical,” said Mendes. “But the average Portuguese person can no longer afford to live in the center of Lisbon. Rents have gone up five times over a few years. Even the basic things, such as buying groceries, take longer trips outside the city center than they used to.”

The trend has hit not “only lifelong, lower-class residents but also gentrifiers who see a 1,000-euros-per-month rented flat transformed into a 120-euro-per-night Airbnb,” said Jordi Mateo, a professor at NOVA University of Lisbon.

Postcards from Portugal

These Californians relocated to Portugal. They share their stories.

The government has recognized the crisis. As of this year, the nation’s popular “golden visa” program, which offers residency to foreigners who buy homes priced at least 500,000 euros — Americans dominate the program — is no longer taking applications in the biggest cities. That includes Lisbon, Porto and the Algarve, the southern coastal region long popular with retirees and lovers of surf culture.

In just a few years, evictions have more than doubled in Lisbon. The city’s former mayor, Fernando Medina, had launched an initiative to rent out hundreds of Airbnbs to use as housing for local workers only to see his ambitions fizzle because owners could make more on the private market. “Lisbon, don’t be French,” said a recent comment on the Facebook page of the activist group Stop Despejos (Stop Evictions), a reference to the exorbitant costs of expat-heavy destinations in France.

While the nation’s popularity has grown fast during the pandemic with prices for locals and newcomers alike doing the same, those who arrived earlier have in some ways fared better.

Therese Mascardo, a 39-year-old therapist from Santa Monica, flew to Lisbon 2019 after experimenting with online sessions to cut down on her four-hour daily round-trip commute to Orange County. Frustrated with the Trump presidency, mass shootings and a car-bound lifestyle, she said she sought out “the antiquity and charm” of an old European city that was walkable. Mascardo was attracted to the fact that right-wing parties have not made the same inroads in the nation as they have elsewhere in Europe.

Today, she can afford to work just two days a week — on a California schedule — while building out an online social media therapy content brand in her free time. She has money to spare after paying her monthly 1,000-euro rent. One Sunday a month, she leads a rotating museum tour for digital nomads on stopovers in the city.

Therese Mascardo at her apartment in a Lisbon neighborhood.

(Jose Sarmento Matos / For The Times)

From the streets outside her three-bedroom apartment that straddles the Estrela and Lapa neighborhoods, Mascardo, who grew up in Orange and studied at UC Berkeley, can look downhill and spot the the 25th of April Bridge. Modeled after the Bay Bridge, it is painted in the same red as the Golden Gate and reminds her of home.

But despite twice-yearly trips to Los Angeles, where she lugs in cheap Vinho Verde and stocks up on Anthropologie candles and Trader Joe’s pea chips for the return, she has no plans to leave.

“I love my weekly stroll to the farmers market and being within a 15-minute walk of most of my friends,” Mascardo said. “I love the kindness and hospitality of the Portuguese people, especially when they graciously endure my nascent Portuguese-language skills and gently offer corrections and tips. I love that people eat bread here and aren’t always talking about the restrictive diet they are on. I love that dressing down is the standard way of existence here. I feel happier and not just trying hard to be happy.”

Jamie Dixon feels the same way.

Walking recently along the Avenida da República, the cliffside road near her new home that’s lined with cafes overlooking the ocean, she was for moments convinced she was back in Malibu at a sort of Point Dume on the Atlantic. But as she crossed the road and glimpsed the Portuguese street signs, she was reminded that it takes time and patience to build a new life in a distant land.

A volleyball game on a Cascais beach in Portugal.

(Jose Sarmento Matos / For The Times)

“I miss knowing people when I go out to a restaurant or bar. I miss frolicking in the desert. I miss Palm Springs. I miss how easy it is to pay bills or renew my license. I miss being fluent,” Dixon said. “It’s taken months to just feel like we are barely settling in. But I feel safer here going out alone. I’m excited my daughter will speak other languages.”

She was on her way home to pack for a family trip to Mallorca, something that would have required a week of time off and thousands of dollars when she was back in the U.S. From here, it would be a quick weekend jaunt on the cheap.

“I thought L.A. was the end-all, be-all and the only place out there,” she said. “But, sometimes, you have to take a leap and realize America isn’t home forever.”

The post Expats are transferring to Portugal, taking gentrification with them appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

We thought about going abroad for several years. We did research and visited many wonderful countries. Portugal has always been at the top of our list. This small nation is located in southwestern Europe, bordered by Spain to the east and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. When viewed on a map, it resembles the state of California but is only about the size of Indiana.

If you are looking for a place abroad to make a new home, you should consider visiting to explore this beautiful country. Here are some of the reasons why we chose Portugal when we moved abroad.

Brunch by the sea in Cascais, Portugal (Photo: Sue Reddel and Diana Laskaris)

1. Amazing food

We admit it. Food is one of the most important aspects of our lives. Of course, writing about food and travel is no coincidence. So when we started looking for places to relocate to, we knew there had to be quality food with fresh ingredients and enough variety to keep our interest going. Portugal meets all requirements.

Incredible fresh seafood and produce, meat, dairy, bread and baked goods abound in Portugal. Each region of the country also has its own specialties, making them fun to explore. Everyday restaurants are affordable and delicious. And if we want to spoil ourselves with Michelin stars, we have 28 restaurants to choose from. We won’t even go into the phenomenal wine regions here. It’s an embarrassment of wealth.

2. Friendly people who accept foreigners

Another consideration for us was how easy it would be for us to start a new life when moving abroad. Luckily, Portugal has a well-deserved reputation for being warm and welcoming. This friendly attitude extends to both visitors and foreigners like us who decide to stay in the country long-term. We’ve had wonderful experiences with everyone from fellow drivers to people we happen to meet at restaurants and walks in the park. There is a special sense of belonging here, even if you have just started a new life or are planning to retire in Portugal.

Duna da Cresmina in Cascais, Portugal (Photo: Sue Reddel and Diana Laskaris)

3. Diverse landscapes

We love varied landscapes. The landscapes that spark our enthusiasm include mountains, oceans, valleys, farmland and vineyards, rivers, lakes and everything in between. Luckily, Portugal has all these landscapes and more. It’s not uncommon to go from a sandy beach to a pine forest in under an hour. While we don’t miss the snow in the Midwest just yet, when we find we need a dose of the white stuff, we can even head into the Serra da Estrela mountain range to build snowmen, go skiing, and have a hot chocolate at the to sip fire. There’s also Madeira and the Azores if we fancy an island vacation.

Caldas da Rainha Sculpture Park (Photo: Sue Reddel and Diana Laskaris)

4. Art and culture abound

While not as familiar as its larger neighbor Spain, Portugal has a long history of exploration. Art and culture abound. Whatever our interest, there are many places where we can find education, information, entertainment and pure enjoyment. The architecture is stunning, from churches and historic buildings to churches and the tiling of train stations. Portugal has symphony orchestras, ballet troupes, opera companies, live theater and cinemas. It has art museums as well as unique attractions that celebrate Portuguese heritage, natural history, science and even the sea. There’s also a lot of pop culture and we love the variety of options waiting for us to enjoy.

Cascais Marina (Photo: Sue Reddel and Diana Laskaris)

5. Moderate weather

Many who, like us, experience cold, wet, and snowy winters in places like Wisconsin and Chicago, at some point consider moving somewhere warmer. We like Portugal’s temperate climate, which varies across the country. The weather is cooler near the coast. The north can get quite cool and very wet in winter. Larger cities can be warmer and drier, as can the Algarve in the south and some of the areas further inland. We like the fact that the temperature we live in is generally mild and usually not too hot. We definitely feel the seasons changing, but nothing like the Midwest.

6. Security

As we considered where to move abroad, our personal safety became more and more important. Not only do we have to consider the fact that we are a same-sex couple, but we also began to worry about the increasing violence around us.

Portugal is a peaceful country. We weren’t afraid of gun violence, carjacking, and violent crime in general. Drugs have been decriminalized here and are nowhere to be seen. We feel safe everywhere, even as two women walking alone through a city late at night. Many friends here feel the same way. Portugal is LGBTQ-friendly, recognizing same-sex partnerships since 2001 and same-sex marriages since 2010 when it was included in the country’s constitution. What is important is that in reality we have not experienced any discrimination and continue to feel safe.

7. Visa Requirements

When choosing a stay abroad, practical considerations sometimes have to play a role. One of the places we considered was Greece, where Diana has family associations, but the process was long and arduous. Portugal has several different visas, each with their own requirements. For us it was a fairly straightforward process that took several months to prepare and only a month to get approved. It doesn’t always happen that way, and as we often say, we’d rather be lucky than clever. But overall, the visa requirements were clear and we were successful with our first application.

8. Value for money

While we don’t want to fool anyone into thinking that you can live for next to nothing in Portugal, the value and quality of life here is excellent. Housing can be expensive as it can be anywhere, but the location, size and amenities we have are comparable to what we had in the United States at the time. We can have wonderful food and enjoy wine and dessert at reasonable price in local restaurants. Using public transport is easy and saves a lot of money. Plus, there are so many places, activities, and experiences that cost us little or nothing to enjoy, leaving us plenty of time to keep ourselves busy while staying on a reasonable budget.

9. Strong expat/immigrant communities

Moving abroad can be scary, especially if you don’t speak the local language. Luckily, Portugal has some wonderful expat and immigrant communities that we tapped into before we arrived. Facebook Groups, Meetups, and other groups of people who share languages, interests, and locations are easy to find. Friends of friends living in Portugal introduced themselves. From there we met some of their friends, introduced them to some new friends we had made and kept expanding our own social circles. We also enjoy meeting up with others who come to Portugal to explore or just for fun. We have met some who fell in love with Portugal like we did and soon they will join us as friends here too.

City shot of Lisbon (Photo credit: Photo credit: Sue Reddel and Diana Laskaris)

10. World-class city centers

Enchanting villages and fairytale towns were certainly an attraction for us, as they are for many who choose to move to Portugal. But for everyday life we ​​need access to cosmopolitan cities with many amenities in the modern hustle and bustle of life. With three major airports, one in each region, Portugal has accessible and vibrant big cities as well as charm.

Lisbon is a world-class city center with industry, technology and all types of business imaginable. It is home to an annual Web Summit that brings tens of thousands of technologists to the city to learn and advance the state of the art. Lisbon is a city that works. Up north, Porto is another phenomenal city that could be compared to San Francisco for its creative, slightly less buttoned-up vibe. There are many resources in both cities.

Editor’s Note: Stuck between the two cities? Here are the main differences between Lisbon and Porto.

Beyond the established metropolitan areas, areas like Oeiras are quickly becoming home to corporate headquarters from around the world.

Santa Maria Lighthouse Museum in Cascais, Portugal (Photo: Sue Reddel and Diana Laskaris)

11. A great home base

When deciding where to live abroad comfortably, practically, safely and affordably, Portugal was the right place for us. Being in Europe makes it a great base for many of our trips. There is a good infrastructure and means of transport that make it easy for us to get around Portugal and explore other parts of Europe. We can also fly non-stop to the United States from Lisbon, making visits to family and friends manageable.

These are just some of the many reasons why we chose Portugal when we moved abroad. We love our new home and look forward to exploring its many wonders in the years to come.

Further reading:

The post 11 Causes We Selected Portugal When Transferring Overseas appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

• The buying frenzy fueled by the pandemic forced many Americans to buy real estate unseen.
• A family from San Francisco even bought real estate in a country they had never visited.
• It took a year of intense coordination but they are moving to Portugal in June. Here’s how they did it.
• You can find more articles on Insider’s business page.

LaDonna Witmer will visit Portugal for the first time in June. She has no return date.

Like so many other Bay Area residents, Witmer and her husband were motivated to rethink where to raise their families when the pandemic broke out last year. Over the summer, the couple had an open conversation that was guided by a question many Americans have asked themselves over the past year: “What if we just don’t go back to any kind of normalcy?”

San Francisco is expensive, they argued, and they’ve spun Silicon Valley’s hamster wheel for decades. Could they find a place to stay that would keep their salaries going? Where could you cut your working hours to spend more time with your 10 year old daughter?

They always wanted to live abroad, they said. Now may be the time to make the dream a reality.

In a few months, the family – with their boxer-terrier mix Vila and the South American parrot FeeBea in tow – plans to move around 5,680 miles from San Francisco to the coastal city of Setúbal in Portugal. The city, 30 miles south of Lisbon, is known for its sardines and muscatels.

You will be staying in a light pink four bedroom house on a quaint cobblestone street in Setúbal, just blocks from the water that you bought unseen for 230,000 euros ($ 277,600).

The house in Portugal LaDonna Witmer and her family bought for about $ 280,000 – entirely online.

Courtesy LaDonna Witmer

With the purchase, Witmer joins the growing ranks of Americans who bought real estate before they ever set foot in the house. A recent Redfin report found that over half of U.S. homebuyers in the past year – a whopping 63% – made deals on real estate without ever keeping an eye on them. In comparison, only a third of buyers made unseen offers in 2019.

Witmer buys differently, of course, because it’s abroad.

Setúbal’s relative affordability made it easier to take the plunge. Zillow calculates the median house value in San Francisco at $ 1.4 million. That is more than five times what Witmer paid for the Portuguese hiding place. The stark contrast in real estate markets was a driving force behind their decision to move abroad. They still have a house in San Francisco that they want to bring on the market. You can expect a quick and fruitful sale: sell houses within a week and above the asking price.

Still, the pandemic buying process abroad has hiccups. It was easy to choose Portugal as your expatriate base, but finding a house while locked up on the other side of the world wasn’t like finding a home.

Witmer searched through Portuguese listing sites throughout October and November. She created elaborate spreadsheets with possible options. She spent hours playing around with Google Earth, understanding the placement of each property, learning about the neighborhoods, and introducing herself in the local bar and grocery store. After all, she’s never been in the area.

Witmer sought advice from a friend of a real estate agent, who put her in touch with a Keller Williams agent outside Lisbon. They developed a relationship and kept emailing, WhatsApping and zooming while the agent was visiting properties on behalf of Witmer.

In December 2020, Witmer’s family settled in a house after months of aggressive property checkouts. They made an initial offer just before Christmas, which was accepted in January.

A view of the beach in Setúbal, Portugal, where the family will finally move in June.

Cavan Images / Getty Images

The next challenge was the paperwork. Securing visas amid a global pandemic as countries actively tried to keep American visitors out was not an easy task. Witmer described “tires to jump through” including attempting (and failing) to open a Portuguese bank account and posting pages on notarized documents pages, including background checks, in the mail overnight, only to delay broadcasts due to massive weather events such as the snow storms in Texas.

Witmer’s family closed the house in mid-February. There was a charter they participated in at 3 a.m. through Zoom. It was laborious: the seller appeared on the screen with “all these official people in suits” as the certificate was read out. At one point Witmer muted her microphone, leaned over to her 20-year-old husband and said, “I have a feeling we’re getting married.”

But despite the stress of tedious bureaucracy, the pomp of morning document readings, and the fear of going somewhere she’s never been, Witmer is hopeful about the move. It helps that her father, an Illinois native nearing 80, confirmed her decision.

“If you don’t go,” she said, he said to her, “you would sit in San Francisco for the rest of your life wondering what would have happened.”

She’ll know this summer.

“I’m just looking forward to exploring roads that Google Earth wouldn’t drown,” she said.

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