Moving to Portugal with my eyes open and without rose-tinted glasses is essential. I’ve committed lots of time to plan and feel logistically prepared. In reality, that is the easy part. Planning the practical actions is my default position. But I need to ensure I focus equally on the stuff I can’t plan for. Feelings…
Tag: Planning
The “buy or rent dilemma” to secure a property for my D7 visa application
Following the UK’s withdrawal from the EU, moving to Portugal from the UK is more challenging. There is a process and there is a criterion. The list of criteria isn’t long, so it should be trouble-free. Easy. Simple. Famous last words. Reading and hearing other people’s stories regarding applying for the D7, some people experience…
Balancing my tactical planning with feelings and emotions
There is no stopping time. Days become weeks. Weeks become months. Every new month is one closer to my adventure beginning in Portugal. I’m following a road that has been travelled many times by other people. It’s not a straight road, but there are many milestones set along the way. I was born in Bath,…
Plan, share, review. Repeat. Planning means less praying
Two years to develop and implement a plan is a long time. Or is it? It really depends on the size of the project. And how detailed does the plan need to be? When I made the decision to move to Portugal, I gave myself two years to plan and make the move. It definitely…
Squeezing every euro and cent out of foreign exchange rates
Getting the best exchange rate is a challenge. Predicting the future currency exchange market is almost impossible. The exchange rate goes up. And it goes down. When changing pounds to euros, I tend to change relatively small amounts at a time, although as the rate increases, then so does the amount I exchange. While I…
Buying a left-hand drive car in the UK
It’s all in preparation. And timing is important. If you miss a deadline, then it can be costly. With that in mind, and my adventure to Portugal starting properly in about nine months, I’ve bought a left-hand drive car. A Nissan X-Trail. Yes. Some people will say it’s a premature purchase and ask why I…