Mastodawn

Melissa Coates Jul 7, 2023

This week I officially kicked off a new project. A data project? Nah. It’s our “Let’s Move to Portugal” project.

Lesson one? Get comfortable with being uncomfortable. A trite & overused expression…but apt. We’ve already had a few “minor culture shocks” that cause us to shrug and say….ok, that’s how they do things over there.

Lesson two? Get really organized. There’s quite a lot of stuff to do for moving overseas. I have a mighty checklist going to keep everything straight (of course I do LOL).

Lesson three? Be flexible. A couple things have happened this week waaay faster than we expected. And we know to expect some things will be very slow.

I'll use this thread to share the experience.

#MovingToPortugal #Expat #Portugal #Algarve

1/

Melissa Coates Jul 7, 2023

So, what town in the Algarve did we pick to live in?

Vila Real de Santo António (VRSA)

VRSA is the most southeast town in Portugal. It's on the border to Spain. There’s a 9-minute ferry ride across the river (the country & time zone switches in the middle of the river).

This place is delightful:
🗺️To the south of town is a pine tree forest before you reach the ocean.
🗺️To the east of town is the Guadiana river.
🗺️To the north is a nature preserve.

#MovingToPortugal #Expat #Portugal #Algarve

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Melissa Coates Jul 7, 2023

If all goes well with getting the contract finalized, our new apartment will have a gorgeous view of the river. (There aren’t that many units with water-facing views - it is a pretty small town - so we hope this rental works out.)

It’s got two outdoor porches (an L shape on the corner of the building) with 2 sliding glass doors from the living room to the front porch and another from the kitchen to the side porch. Each bedroom also has a sliding glass door off of each bedroom with a juliet balcony. And it’s not nearly as expensive as you might think.

#MovingToPortugal #Expat #Portugal #Algarve

3/

Melissa Coates Jul 7, 2023

Week 1 (~12 weeks before departure) accomplishments:

✔️ Picked which town to live in (see earlier in this thread)

✔️ Picked an apartment and did a virtual tour (a 12-month lease agreement is a prerequisite for our visa - so this is urgent!)

✔️ Communicated with another American about their experience living there

✔️ Requested our NIF (national id) & got the required fiscal representative

✔️ Had a very helpful pre-move financial/tax planning session with a Portugese accountant

✔️ Got a Portugese lawyer to draw up the apartment lease contract (it’s done separately from the realtor/owner representative there)

✔️ Started process to open a Portugese bank account (a prerequisite for the apartment lease)

Lots to do yet, but that’s a great start.

#MovingToPortugal #Expat #Portugal #Algarve

4/

Melissa Coates Jul 11, 2023

Oh my goodness I have a LOT more old photo albums & photo boxes…from the pre-digital days…than I remembered.

In related news, I used to have really big 80s hair which is good for a laugh. My husband might be starting to take offense how many times I said “look how cute you were 30 years ago” LOL.

Sidenote…The Americans is a freaking great show. I don’t rewatch a lot of tv shows, but it’s a great companion while I sort through this massive mound of photos to get digitized.

#MovingToPortugal

5/

Melissa Coates Jul 14, 2023

Week 2 (~11 weeks before departure) progress update on the international move:

✔️ Sorted through a ton of old photos to get digitized. Decided to use the ScanMyPhotos service since it looks trustworthy and is far more economical than anywhere I could find locally.

✔️ Started looking into what to do about our investment accounts. Turns out that brokerage firms have lots of limitations on how expats not living in the US are allowed to invest.

✔️ Started process of getting our criminal background checks with the FBI. (It's a prerequisite for the visa application.)

✔️ Requested duplicate drivers license copies. When we get to Portugal and get drivers licenses there, they will take our US drivers licenses. (We don't expect to need a car full-time, but we will rent a car from time to time to tool around the country.)

✔️ Got our NIF (national id) which is a prerequisite for pretty much everything. Big step.

#MovingToPortugal #Expat #Portugal #Algarve

6/

Melissa Coates Jul 21, 2023

Week 3 update on the international move
(~10 weeks before departure):

✔️ Got fingerprinted for our criminal background check (needed for our visa app).

✔️ Scheduled and started final set of dr. appts.

✔️ Started process to open a bank account in Portugal. Need to get account validation letters from our bank & we need to change names on our bank accounts to exactly match our passports.

✔️ First round of household goods & clothes went to thrift shop.

✔️ Sorted a bunch of financial papers. (Next up is to scan in the important stuff we need to keep.)

✔️ Ordered int'l shipping boxes. For about $1000 we can do 6 large boxes that can be 60 pounds each. It'll take 2-3 months for them to arrive.

✔️ Did a little yard/house "sprucing up" to prepare for pictures our realtor will take when he's here next week to talk about listing the house.

✔️ Progress on the apartment lease. Still waiting for paperwork from the owners to finalize it.

#MovingToPortugal #Expat #Portugal #Algarve

7/

Week 4 update on the international move
(~9 weeks before departure):

✔️ Passed our criminal background check! Our fingerprints didn't reveal any unsolved crimes...whew...ha ha. Now we're ready for the next steps of our visa application.

✔️ Met with our realtor and the house will go on the market in 2 weeks. We're listing it for more than twice what we bought it for 11 years ago…which is crazy! But it's still a real seller's market because there's very little inventory.

✔️ Starting to prep for pictures & showings of the house. Thankfully it's all easy stuff like power washing the driveway and removing a couple pieces of furniture to make it seem roomier.

✔️ Sorting through my technical books to send a bunch of old ones to bulk recycling. This one makes me sad but old SQL Server 2005 books and such just won't have value to anyone anymore.

✔️ A wee bit of progress on digitizing financial papers. Still lots to do.

#MovingToPortugal #Expat #Portugal #Algarve

8/

Melissa Coates Jul 31, 2023

Today we got a draft copy of our new lease agreement for our apartment in Portugal (very exciting milestone). 🙌

Some of the language and phrasing is unfamiliar, as I'd expect. But what's really surprising is how much personal data is included in the lease for both the owners as well as us renters:
-Full names
-Current home address
-National ID numbers
-Passport numbers
-Where we were born
-Where we were married

Not a big deal, just interesting from a #DataPrivacy perspective (especially since it's the EU).

#MovingToPortugal #Expat #Portugal #Algarve

9/

Melissa Coates Aug 12, 2023

Update on the international move
(~8 weeks before departure):

Huge happenings this week.

✔️ Got our in-person visa application appointments scheduled…finally! They’re at VFS Global in Washington DC in Sept. We didn’t know it would take so long to secure an appointment so it’s looking like we’ll go to Portugal in October on a travel visa while waiting for our applications to be finalized…we’ll need to come back to the US for a few days in the final stage (when they take our original passports).

✔️ Put our house on the market. First showings are tomorrow. I’m so excited to see how it goes.

✔️ Reviewed a draft of our apartment lease in Portugal. That will be finalized soon. The lease starts Oct 15th.

✔️ Had a remote call with a Portuguese lawyer so she could watch us sign our bank account opening paperwork. (Geez, there was a ton of paperwork. Seriously like 100 pages of stuff.)

#MovingToPortugal #Expat #Portugal #Algarve

10/

Melissa Coates Aug 14, 2023

Today we signed a contract to sell our house! Five days on the market and $25k over asking price. Closing in 7 weeks. That’s one more big milestone towards our international move from the US to Portugal. 🥳🙌🥳

#MovingToPortugal

11/

Melissa Coates Aug 18, 2023

Update on the international move
(7.5 weeks before departure):

✔️ Bought our plane tickets to Portugal for Oct 12! We'll fly into Faro with just our 4 suitcases.

✔️ Received our 6 boxes for stuff we're going to ship to Portugal. Those boxes will depart a month before we will (since it'll take them 2-3 months to arrive) so now that house showings are over, the sorting of what to keep/eliminate/give away begins.

✔️ Signed a contract on our house. That means I'm getting a wee bit sentimental about leaving.

✔️ A bit more progress on the apartment lease in Portugal that starts on Oct 15. This process sure is teaching me patience for how things can move slowly over there. We're close…the lease *must* be signed before our in-person visa interviews in Washington DC in 3 weeks (to prove we have secured accommodations).

✔️ Opened a bank account in Portugal. That's really important for the visa process so a surprisingly important milestone.

#MovingToPortugal #Expat #Portugal #Algarve

12/

Melissa Coates Aug 25, 2023

Another update on the international move
(6.5 weeks before departure):

✔️ We have a signed apartment lease! 🙌 That's huge - not only because we need a place to live - but because proof of accommodation for 12 months is required for our visa.

✔️ Finished getting the rest of our paperwork/prerequisites for our visa applications. Our in-person visa meeting is in a couple of weeks, so my brain is very happy we're all set.

✔️ Inspections on the house we're selling are happening.

✔️ Started investigating cell phone options. I know we'll need two eSims for two numbers (one US and one Portugal). Haven't figured out providers yet.

✔️ Progress on sorting/scanning/eliminating paperwork that stacked up over the years. Down to 1 box left which is exciting. We'll only take just one folder of original docs with us.

✔️ Got 899 digitized photos back from ScanMyPhotos. That process worked nicely. (Organizing photos will be a later project.)

#MovingToPortugal #Expat #Portugal #Algarve

13/

Melissa Coates Sep 13, 2023

Update on the international move
(4 weeks until departure):

✔️ Our in-person visa appointments are complete! 👏👏 Getting that documentation ready was a big job. Now we wait for official approval of our residence visa applications from the Embassy of Portugal.

✔️ Closing on our house is set, and all inspections are done. 👏 👏

✔️ Many non-essential items have been removed from the house. The buyers are taking a lot of the furniture, so that’s a big help.

✔️ Still working on shifting money around since most investment firms don’t want to keep a relationship if you aren’t physically in the US. 😩

✔️ Utility setup for the apartment in Portugal is in progress. Even though a local person is helping me, there are still language barriers. (Becoming competent with Portuguese will absolutely be priority 1 once things calm down.)

#MovingToPortugal #Expat #Portugal #Algarve

14/

Melissa Coates Oct 21, 2023

Just noticed I goofed getting part 15 (from a couple weeks ago) into this long thread properly so am adding the link to the bottom of this thread just for the sake of history.

https://techhub.social/@sqlchick/111149708707203015

Melissa Coates (@[email protected])

Time for an update on the international move (just under 2 weeks till departure): ✔️ Pre-move travel to see family here in the US is complete. ✔️ Got our 6 big boxes shipped. We'll see that stuff again in 3 or 4 months. ✔️ The house is clearing out. We'll be out of the house in 9 days. Closing is in 10 days. ✔️ Sold our paddleboards and bikes so they'll get some more life. ✔️ Cell phone device upgrades are done (since electronics are more expensive in the EU). ✔️ Currently working on setting up eSims so we can get a Portugal phone number (for most daily use) + keep our US number (with wi-fi calling we should be able to get by with a small plan except when we travel to the US). ✔️ Upgraded our personal mailbox service. I'd already been using PostScanMail for my business address, so now it can be used for all of our personal incoming mail too. That way we keep a US address. ✔️ Rolled over a couple of old IRA accounts to simplify. #MovingToPortugal #Expat #Portugal #Algarve 15/

TechHub

Melissa Coates Nov 2, 2023

We’re back in the USA briefly. Since our residence visa applications were approved, the next step was to send in our passports so the Embassy can stamp them & then we’ll enter Portugal that way.

We wanted to drop off & pick up our passports in Wash DC, but we were told nope. So, yesterday we used Fedex to overnight our passports.

Fedex did a great job today…but it took 3 delivery attempts + 2 phone calls.

Attempt 1: At 8:00 am, delivery failed because the office doesn’t open until 8:30. By default, it would be tomorrow before they tried again but when I called Fedex they were great about saying they’ll try again.

Attempt 2: At 10:15, delivery failed again. Something about a security issue. I called Fedex & once again they agreed to try again. Now I’m getting a little more nervous because the embassy is only open 8:30-1:00.

Attempt 3: Success! Big relief. 😅

We should get them back within the next couple of days. 🤞🤞

#MovingToPortugal #Expat #Portugal #Algarve

16/

Melissa Coates Nov 2, 2023

We have 6 boxes of stuff being shipped to our new home in Portugal. We chose Seven Seas, because my stepson had used them. Well, I learned a lesson today — check the shipping routes.

They picked up our boxes 6 weeks ago and they’ve been in NY since then awaiting departure. I checked the tracker today and was excited to see they’re loaded and on their way….

…to Hong Kong. Which is a VERY long way in the wrong direction from Europe. So I called Seven Seas and they say every shipment goes through their main hub. The boxes will take a month just to get from New York to Hong Kong. Then they’ll be headed for Europe. To be fair, the time estimate was 2-4 months but I’m still bummed about it. 🫤

#MovingToPortugal #Expat #Portugal #Algarve

17/

Melissa Coates Nov 11, 2023

We’re back in Portugal “officially” this time with our residence visas. Initially we can stay 4 months. The next big step is to meet with the immigration office & that residence permit will allow us to stay 2 years. Since the immigration office (formerly SEF, now IRN) is undergoing a major switchover, we didn’t get our immigration appointment pre-assigned so we’ll need to call to schedule it. (Easier said than done I hear!)

Beyond having fun, what else will we need to tackle next?
📋 Finish setting up our flat.
📋 Get drivers license (we’ll occasionally rent a car to go exploring)
📋 Register to become tax citizens in Portugal.
📋 Apply for favorable tax treatment if we’re still allowed (the NHR program is…quite understandably…being phased out to eliminate tax benefits the locals don’t get).
📋 Register with local health center & get healthcare number & buy private insurance (for waaaay lower than I was paying in US).

#MovingToPortugal #Expat #Portugal #Algarve

18/

Michael Borland Nov 12, 2023

@sqlchick Sounds like pure madness. Hope everything works out.

Angela Henry Aug 14, 2023

@sqlchick that’s amazing! One step closer 😁

Melissa Coates Aug 14, 2023

@Sqlswimmer Indeed. The whole experience is a massive series of baby steps (though this one is a pretty big step).

Ben Watt Aug 15, 2023

@sqlchick brilliant news!

Anders Pedersen Aug 1, 2023

@sqlchick How did I miss this thread before??? So stinkin happy for you that you are finally making this happen!

Last time I did an international move it took one duffel bag and carry on!!!

Melissa Coates Aug 1, 2023

@arrowdrive Hey thanks! Well then you know this is a big task. If it were up to my husband we’d absolutely go with just our suitcases…shipping a few boxes of stuff is pretty much for me to avoid having a meltdown. 😆

Anders Pedersen Aug 1, 2023

@sqlchick oh I get it. Wonderful opportunity to truly decide what is important to keep eh?

Looking forward to read and see pictures of getting settled in.