Living in Portugal is very “summery.” This time of year we’re in winter but the Portuguese are very outdoor people. They are very hospitable. If you are in a condominium and they’ve got a big pool, most of the people at the pool will be foreigners there because all the Portuguese will be on the beach. Come the summer, the Portuguese are very much outdoors—on the beach, walking along the beach, riding.
The Portuguese are very sociable people. They are friendly people. They can be very reserved until they’ve decided whether they accept you but I think that’s probably the case in a lot of countries. I have learned that one thing that’s very important here as a foreigner is to say, “Oh please, could you help me?” If you’re going to a government department, for example, say, “Oh please, I wonder if you could help me because I don’t know this” and the Portuguese would go over the top to help you. “Please” and “thank you” and “how are you” and “isn’t it hot” and “isn’t it cold” make all the difference. They are more than affable to you and it’s an easy way of life. Going for a coffee is very important; it’s almost part of your important everyday life, which is coffee in the morning and going out for lunch. Most people eat out a lot. That’s why the South Africans coming here find it so easy to adapt because it’s a similar lifestyle to “open horizons.”
“Open horizons” refers to a perspective which is says that the horizon is far away, as opposed to the skies and horizon being on top of your head and being narrow. The open horizons way of looking at things is broad and people with an open horizons way of seeing the world like to be outdoors (As a point of contrast, the weather conditions don’t help but in England people are much more conservative.) Here in Portugal everybody is very often outdoors and people are enjoying themselves. And in the winter, you’ll find shopping centers absolutely jammed packed because people have got to do something. They’re not people who will stay at home all day long. They’ve got to always be doing something.
Personally, I like the Portuguese lifestyle very much. I was recently in England and whenever I go back, I enjoy being in England. I like London very much mainly for the theatre and because I have several friends there and I often go to the country, which is also beautiful. The English countryside is hard to beat. But London is terribly expensive. I find that it’s an easier, more relaxed life here. Bureaucracy in Portugal is a little bit frustrating at times, but it’s improved a great deal.
There are lots of golf courses here in Portugal. On the golf course you hear a lot of Swedish because of the new permits that foreigners have to live here now. They’re all on the golf course. The French are all in there restaurants. So you hear French and Swedish all the time here now. For everyone, it’s a nice lifestyle in Portugal.
And at the moment, certainly, it’s been difficult because, financially, Portugal has been struggling. They’ve just changed the government and we have to see how that’s going to go now. A lot of the Portuguese were distressed because a lot have had their pensions cut almost by half and subsidies as well. There’s always the good and the bad. When the Portuguese hear about foreigners coming here and they don’t have to pay as high of tax then they get a little bit annoyed. Many young Portuguese have left Portugal because it’s very difficult to find jobs now.
The Swiss absolutely love it here. They want to be out of their countries now for 183 days because of the law, which provides them with tax advantages. So they all stay in their country for the summer and they’re here in the winter. The Swiss can’t believe the great weather here, so they’re on the golf course all the time. They love the restaurants, and they love the wine. They say the Portuguese people are kind to them. And of course, if you are working here, you can still work if you are a foreigner and the percentage of tax that you would pay here is less than half of what you would pay in France or in Sweden, for example, which is very welcoming. Also, if you’ve retired you don’t pay any tax on your private pensions.
(Pictured: Cascais, Portugal ocean view.)
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I was born in Santo Thomas Hospital in Panama City. My parents & grandparents worked for the Panama Canal Company & we lived on the Canal Zone. From birth to age 5 (1944 - 50) we lived in the Balboa Gavlin area on Cacao Street (in the days before the bridge to our house was on Panamá Bay).