Coming back to Life, in Portugal

I went to Central for beer, and came back blessed 😍

This is my 50th article for the Resident, so pretty much a year’s worth of contributions, and another year living in Portugal upon which to reflect. It’s a good moment to consider the recent past and ponder the future, for myself, for my family, for foreigners in Portugal, and more broadly, for the country as a whole, in what we might agree are tumultuous times.

In such times, I find myself wondering about the prognosis of humanity in general, and I am sure I am not alone in that inquiry.

Questioning of this kind, i.e. the ‘big questions’ and even extending into the very meaning and purpose of our human existence, is not everyone’s cup of tea. Such philosophical probing can quite easily foster retorts of “that’s a bit profound, isn’t it?”, or “I haven’t bothered with that since I was under the influence of the ‘Devil’s lettuce’ one late night at college  ... read more

With grateful thanks to Karsten Ehlers for capturing this for us. 

More about the Cistermúsica Festival

More about Novo Era

With grateful thanks to GuMPer John Heimbach for capturing this for us. 

Contact John here

You might remember an American chap by the name of Victor Kiam, who – so impressed by his wife’s gift of a Remington electric shaver – decided he’d buy its manufacturer. “I liked it so much, I bought the company,” he famously said on TV commercials in the late 70s and early 1980s, incidentally turning the loss-making company into a rapid and notable success.

If you don’t recall smooth-talking and smooth-faced Victor, you can look him up and fact check me later. But after you’ve heard about a similar scenario whereby a woman, so engaged and inspired by the things she heard, week in and week out, about Portugal, decided to move here.

That woman is Sarah Davie, a Brit born in Durham, North East UK, now officially a resident of Portugal, who now lives among the expats and immigrants she began helping, and continues to help, with the vital matter of foreign currency exchange.

I share this life-changing journey with particular interest and joy, as one of the voices that whispered to Sarah’s subconscious on numerous Portugal-promoting webinars, and am delighted to call her a friend, a fellow foreigner of a friend, who shares my passion for the ‘Portuguese Way’.

To be fair, life was conspiring long before we met, with Sarah’s formative years including time served at a travel agent, dealing with holiday money conversions, and numerous visits to the USA, that now make retrospective sense in terms of her career path. Pre-graduation, she applied for jobs in banks and brokerages that dealt with commercial foreign exchange, and in her early working days, she helped British clients emigrate to places like Australia, New Zealand and Canada, or retire and buy holiday homes in Europe and around the world.

“What I saw then, which is still apparent now,” says Sarah with her near 20-year experience, “is that while we are assisting with something technically transactional, people are making life-changing decisions like buying property and transferring large sums of money. Decisions that are not taken lightly and can cause a lot of stress and hassle, but where the results can bring great joy.”

“I am very mindful about how I speak to and support clients during difficult and exciting times,” she adds, spending a lot of her professional life involved in webinars sharing valuable tips with clients around the world, especially Americans, who want to move to Portugal. 

Read more   Sarah / Spartan FX

Highlights here from a VERY memorable trip (the Gumper Schist & Beirao outing, 6th October 2023) with our dear friend and constants source of support and inspiration - Filomena Pascoal.

Join Filomena's even waiting list (and learn European Portuguese) at - trips4brits@gmail.com

Contact Filomena via The Portugal Club

Portugal Resident article

I've had a cocktail named after me! Now that's #delightful 😁

More about 'My Cocktail Mind' to follow as Johnny Cocktail takes to the airwaves...

Delighted to see a new project and blog from GuMPer Ana Singh, who says: "I believe that curiosity, connecting and joy are powerful forces that can transform lives. Taking bold steps, no matter how small, can lead to extraordinary outcomes." 

"Joyful Leap! celebrates curiosity, resilience and exploration.  It celebrates the beauty of stepping outside our comfort zone, learning, connecting and thriving," she adds.

A 'place for dreamers, doers, believers and thrivers' and for 'celebrating a re-set, exploring, making connections and thriving from it!', this project is right up our street at Delight in Portugal!

"I lost my connection. I think making concessions and losing touch with my support system was a big part of it. My connection curve dipped like a trough. It dipped for a long while. A big wake up call was being treated for breast cancer," says Ana, telling us more about her inspiration.

"Embrace The Joy! Embrace The Leap! Share Your Wonder!" right here.

Connect with Ana via the Portugal Club