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I’m curious about how difficult it would be to move to, for example, Portugal, purchase a small property and AirBnb a room or two. My son would help me get set up…
I currently have 3 LTR’s and host my guest room as well. Son’s idea is to wind things down and take over our SF Bay Area place…
These, of course, are musings and could/would materialize when feasible.
Anyone care to indulge or smash a fellow host’s dream:grimacing:? If there’s the slightest chance, I am a scrupulous researcher & not intimidated by what is sure to be a procedural and paperwork maze.
I spent years checking out the ability to retire “offshore” and perhaps own/operate a business. It all depends on the laws of your new country. Check with their Immigration Service (can usually be found on line).
Some countries allow ex-pats to create and run any kind of business; some only allow you to own a business but hire only local people; others will not allow you to own or operate a business, or even work at a locally owned company.
I can only talk about Spain here, and overall, not difficult in the slightest.
We know several other immigrants (from the US, UK, Ireland etc) with LTR & STR property here in Spain.
Five years ago, getting anything done here was similar to our experiences in Istanbul, long waiting times and the first thing you took with when visiting many offices was a book!
However, if you do your research properly, and take it all step by step, it’s not so bad. So much more can be done online now since we landed here, and many Spanish government web sites (like the tax authority) also have English versions.
One caveat, and that is language. The better grasp of the language you have, the easier shit is to get done. We were fortunate in the very beginning, a friend of my OH from Istanbul lives 20mins away and her (Spanish) husband is a lawyer - they were a big help getting the initial stuff done.
I was astounded by a couple of guests we had recently, they were here for a weekend away from their village about 2hrs from us. They’ve been coming to Spain for sixteen years, been full time residents for a year or so and were talking about taking a translator with them to apply for the new ID cards UK citizens need to get…
Spanish is easier than Portuguese, according to my OH who worked in Lisbon for two years and from experience of spending time in Lisbon also. That said, English is widely spoken in the tourist areas of Portugal, and more Portuguese speak English than folks in our neck of the woods in Spain, although we look upon that as a plus point!
Oh, the same thing here in Mexico. Tons of retired expats who’ve been here not only 16 times, but have lived here for 20 years and still can’t speak a complete simple sentence in Spanish.
I find that really rude- to retire to a country just because you’ll be able to have a higher standard of living on your fixed income (maids, gardeners, going out to eat 10 times a week- things they would never be able to afford where they came from), yet not think it important to learn the language.
They can’t understand most of what’s going on around them, obviously have no interest or curiosity about the culture they are living in (which you can’t fully grasp, even though they think they do, unless you can carry on conversations with locals about more than what you want the maid or gardener to do that day) and they pay some facilitator to do even the most simple things for them, like renewing their driver’s license.
I’ve asked some of those people whether if they had Mexican neighbors in the US, who still couldn’t put together a coherent sentence in English after living in the States for 20 years, if they would consider them dumb beaners, and they’ve sheepishly admitted yes.
Hi @rubychix have you checked on the Portuguese embassy website to see what the regulations are for you to immigrate to Portugal and run a business there .
If not that would be a good starting point.
It’s easier for us in the Uk to live and work in Europe - not sure what it’s like for those wanting to immigrate from the US
Thanks, all for the insights and info. I actually prefer Spain to Portugal and have good foundational Spanish skills.
Anecdote: on my last visit to Barcelona I engaged a kind taxi driver who tutored me through a conversation about why Barcelona doesn’t allow Ubers. He was able to support a family of 4, driving 40 hours a week, and got benefits and paid holidays! A highlight of my trip!
My son stayed 6 months in Portugal and worked with a friend (Portuguese) whose family owned a restaurant near the beach. He also loves Spain, but we both thought Spain would be harder to “do”…
And, on the subject of ex-pats not bothering to learn the language:
My sister and her husband, both retired military, got fed up with Washington DC a few years ago and expended huge time, energy & $$ resources to move to Valencia, Spain (currently we aren’t on speaking terms or, yes, I’d ask her advice!).
She wasn’t interested in reaching out to English speaking ex pats there, because she wanted to “live with the locals” - and was sure that “everyone speaks English these days!” When the damned locals “wouldn’t try” to understand her requests (ahem, demands), and “refused” to speak HER language, she stopped enjoying herself:hushed:, couldn’t make friends and became lonely! The nerve of those folks doing that to her!
They moved back in DC 5 months later, to an even less desirable place than what they’d fled.
When we used to travel overseas, I would often start any enquiry with- Hello, I am a stupid tourist, can you help me with….?
Usually got a smile and a genuine attempt to help.
The other funny thing is how many Westerners like to refer to themselves as ‘ex-pats’ when they want to immigrate to a country rather than use the term of being an immigrant.
Yes, it’s something I see in my Mexican tourist town a lot. I’ll be standing in line at some little local store and there’s some American tourist at the counter, asking the salesgirl for something in English, and when it’s obvious she doesn’t understand, they say it louder and slower, as if they think she’s deaf or mentally deficient. They seem to assume that anywhere they go on vacation, somehow all the locals should speak English.
There’s a funny thing you can read online- “Actual complaints received by the Thomas Cook agency”. One was something like, “We went to Spain and everyone spoke Spanish- the taxi drivers, the hotel staff, the waiters. It made things really difficult for us.”
Saved up, bought a small, well-used but clean, sailboat (26ft Caribbean capable) for $1000, and found a marina here in SW Florida where I could liveaboard for $300 a month rent for the hole in the water, with free WiFi, free fresh water, free solar power for lights and charging electronics, access to nice showers and bathrooms, less than a mile walk to all sorts of restaurants, shops, grocery store, etc. Lived aboard for about the same $$ as living offshore in Latin America, operated a Personal Chef business. Sailed around the much of the Caribbean. Best of both worlds, really. Got a girlfriend/partner who has a house with a space which we list on AirBnb. Eventually sold the boat for what I paid for it and moved ashore with her. Here we are.
No it’s not. For most European countries, someone from the UK is now subject to the same terms and conditions applied to those from outside the EU.
In the case of Spain, if you’re not being sponsored by an employer, to gain residency you now need to an annual income of at least €25,560pa, plus a further €6,390pa for each family member. Add to that the cost of healthcare as the UK E111 cards are no longer valid.
Obviously some EU countries will make things easier, and some more onerous, but in general, folks from the UK have no great advantage over folks from the US, or any other country outside the EU.
Relocating to a foreign country is rather like getting a divorce. The hard part is the original decision and not being afraid to follow through with it.
After that, it’s just a matter of working out the logistics.
I did it once before, for a 2-year teaching contract, along with my late husband and our son. Totally different, of course, in that the school handled most logistics- and I was 25 years younger, for starters
Expats typically are foreigners who make a lifestyle choice to live in a foreign country on a term basis, immigrants are typically defined as someone moving to a foreign country for economic reasons and plans on becoming a citizen of that foreign country.
? If there’s the slightest chance, I am a scrupulous researcher & not intimidated by what is sure to be a procedural and paperwork maze.
and became lonely! The nerve of those folks doing that to her!