You’ve decided to move to Portugal and now the fun begins! You probably have a million questions and a gajillion loose ends to tie up before you can make the big leap over the pond.
Deciding when to get help with certain tasks and knowing where to find it can feel like an impossible hurdle. We’re here to share the resources that helped us make the move so that hopefully they can help you too.
Trello
It is absolutely critical for you to keep track of the many tasks required for your move to Portugal. We used the software, Trello, which is free for a basic plan. Trello provides easy ways for you to build multiple checklists to keep you on-track.
We had one for our business, another for our house, one for the household goods shipment we sent over, one for all of the requirements associated with moving our dog, and one for the sale of our personal vehicle. In our case, there were close to 150 different tasks of various sizes to keep track of before we left the Pacific Northwest. It felt great to check them off one by one, knowing we were that much closer to physically moving to Portugal.
Americans&FriendsPT
There are several Facebook groups you can join for free that will help you plan your move to Portugal. Undoubtedly, AmericansandFriendsPT is the very best. You can get free advice by searching the history and ask your personal, specific questions to a group who is very happy to help you get things on-track.
Unfortunately, we didn’t join the group until we first landed in Lisbon and that was a mistake. When we did join, there were just over 22,000 members. In the nearly two years since then, the group has doubled in size. As you can imagine, there is a wealth of information and people eager to share their expertise.
Don’t miss their super helpful PDFs found in the Files section of the group. There you’ll find checklists for applying for your visa, helping with your SEF appointment, relocating your pet from the states, and exchanging your driver’s license.
Expats Portugal
Luckily, we did find this helpful resource before we made our move and searched the Expats Portugal help files often for useful information as we planned our relocation. There is an annual fee to join as a full member but there are ways you can participate without paying for membership. We paid for the first year so we had access to more planning resources but did not renew.
We’d found our footing after arrival and did not need their help quite as often as we did in the planning stage.
Our Rich Journey
When we were in the dreaming phase, we watched a lot of YouTube to hear from other people who had made the leap. The videos were instructful to find out what went well, what went poorly, and how we could future-proof our move. When considering Portugal, there are a handful of really well-known Youtubers to guide you on your way. We probably watched all of them. Yet, we found the family, Our Rich Journey to be really well grounded. They uploaded videos we watched again and again. We especially liked the one where they discussed why they chose Portugal and not Spain.
Their channel focuses on helping people build financial independence. They educate viewers on how to grow their personal wealth in preparation for early retirement. Moving to Portugal was just one component of their overall plan.
However, since moving here, they’ve learned a lot and want to help others. That’s why they offer an online course to help you put the puzzle pieces of relocation together and make the move to Portugal. We’ve taken two of their other courses on investment strategies and retiring early. We can attest that they are excellent guides.
We wish we would have taken their course on moving to Portugal. I’m sure we could have found answers to our questions easily and been able to rely on their expertise.
Note: the link is an affiliate link – that’s how much we believe in and trust their expertise.
EIMigrante
There was one service we did find in advance of our move – EIMigrante. They were referred by Expats Portugal as relocation assistants and their help was absolutely invaluable. We paid for a video conference where we asked specific questions about our personal circumstances and received expert guidance.
We relied upon their expertise for several different phases of our move since they offer a variety of services. They helped with everything from securing our visa from the Portuguese Consulate, facilitating our SEF appointments, and even securing our first apartment.
While their services are not free, it felt good to have someone in our corner who we could ask questions of as they arose, and who could smooth the path for us with the Portuguese authorities.
We had so many other things to take care of in preparation for our move to Portugal. Being able to rely upon their expertise made everything just a little easier and that was worth paying for.
We hope these resources have been helpful as you consider your move to Portugal. We’d love to hear about the tools that helped you relocate as well!
Charity:
Yes, this is tremendously helpful. I can’t think of all the different ways to say “thank you” for your generousity in sharing so much vital info here as well as your emails to me have been. The need to be organized, orderly and sane is a must. I’m praying that what’s most important will get done. Time is needed actually to just read, review and absorb it all. It will happen. I know in the end everything will be worth the effort. You’re such a dear spirit in helping to guide us in getting through this. Sincerely, Imani and Ken
We’re so glad our post helped you in some way. If there’s any other pieces of information or tips and tricks that could assist you, just let us know! We wish you and Ken smooth sailing as you set out on this journey!