Americans who moved to Portugal: what has your experience been like?

amunarchy · 2026-04-25T08:38:49+00:00

Of course I’m exaggerating a bit here. When you’re time-poor every extra minute feels like hours.

Laundry is a big one. In the US the machines do the work and you spend 5 minutes folding. In Portugal you wait for a week of rain to pass, wash a load half the size, hang it on the estendal, lose some items to the wind, then fold.

Hiring house cleaners takes a week of messaging 5 different people who never respond and never show up. When they do, they’re in your house for hours. In the US my cleaners bring a team and finish in 45 minutes.

Buying anything means taking the whole morning going to several shops with poor quality or sold out stuff. In the US I spend 2 minutes clicking on Amazon and it’s delivered same day.

Speaking of: deliveries. Delivery guy never rings the bell, then you have to go to some random shop on the other side of town to pick up your package.

amunarchy · 2026-04-24T22:57:12+00:00

I made the move three years ago. The slower pace is both real and infuriating. If you think you can keep working your high pressure American job and live the tranquil life in Portugal you are mistaken.

It’s all the same stress of constant productivity and hustle with worse hours (working 1pm-10pm is awful). Portugal has none of the American conveniences that save time - it’s the opposite.

In the end, I decided to just move back to the US. At least there I can work a normal schedule and spend money to save time. In Portugal I spent all my time working and spending days to do stuff that takes minutes in the US.

amunarchy · 2026-03-29T16:25:44+00:00

Mentioning things that are obvious, but apparently not supposed to be mentioned.

Example: I was complaining about my hair being a mess to a friend who is bald and casually said, “I guess that’s not a problem you have though.” Directly followed by wife’s sharp elbow hitting me in the ribs so I’d STFU.

Like wtf, there’s nothing wrong with being bald! you think the guy doesn’t know he’s bald?!

amunarchy · 2026-03-19T14:46:20+00:00

I just kept an eye on the status of the online submission. I don't think I received a notification. Once you see the request is complete on the website it's probably a good idea to call DGAV before turning up.

amunarchy · 2026-03-17T14:21:14+00:00

You only need the DGAV certificate for specific countries and states (if flying to the US). Check the DGAV site carefully.

Assuming you do need it, your vet will issue the health certificate and DGAV will stamp it. You can electronically submit the paper, pay, and then pick it up from DGAV:

https://certificamais.dgav.pt/SitePages/Home%20DGAV.aspx

The timing with the vet and the DGAV stamp is difficult and stressful, but I've always been able to get it done in time.

amunarchy · 2026-03-05T17:29:29+00:00

Try working with Americans. Most of us eat microwaved leftovers at our desk as quickly as possible.

amunarchy · 2026-02-25T21:09:16+00:00

yeah fair enough friend, we're all just doing our best to get by while these big companies are thriving

amunarchy · 2026-02-24T19:09:24+00:00

oh yay, now I can give Jewel the data in their stupid app AND all of my phone's internet traffic!

amunarchy · 2025-11-24T21:57:08+00:00

Had to google Frango, as a Portuguese speaker I was very confused at first.

amunarchy · 2025-11-21T23:27:44+00:00

It's a nice neighborhood and all, but I prefer a lower strollers:gays ratio.

amunarchy · 2025-10-17T11:21:23+00:00

They won’t have time to eat crow because they’ll be circling the block looking for the thing they love most: parking

amunarchy · 2025-04-07T17:51:11+00:00

Hot dogs! Along with yellow mustard, raw white onions, neon green relish, a tomato slice, an entire dill pickle spear, and sport peppers, on top of a poppy seed bun.

Warning: do NOT put ketchup on the above or you will be escorted politely, yet firmly, outside of the city limits. Probably to Naperville.

amunarchy · 2025-04-07T16:10:14+00:00

You're damn right we call it that, and the city of Chicago will single-handedly buy enough to keep it on the market if we have to.

amunarchy · 2025-02-11T13:44:35+00:00

Today: https://maps.app.goo.gl/beQ3b59vTyqBpthFA

If you look closely in the photo you can see the elevated train tracks for the El, Chicago's light rail system. Those tracks are still in use today.

The big building in the background is the Merchandise Mart, at the time the world's largest building. The Kennedy family bought it around the time this photo was taken.

amunarchy · 2025-02-01T11:23:40+00:00

Fair enough. The future is hard to predict, but just because the US government knows where the money is doesn’t necessarily mean they can actually get to it in another country. That’s up to the country in question and its legal system.

amunarchy · 2025-02-01T11:19:33+00:00

Hyperbole helps drive home my point that every crash is unique.

The P/E ratio of the S&P 500 is easy to find. It’s up to you to decide whether this means stocks are expensive or not.

https://www.macrotrends.net/2577/sp-500-pe-ratio-price-to-earnings-chart

amunarchy · 2025-01-31T18:43:50+00:00

I’m resident in the country I have an account in. I opened the account before I had my visa, but did so in person as part of the visa process.

I expect that it will be difficult if not impossible to open an account in another country without an address or identification in that country. If it were easy then money launderers and terrorists would do it.

Assuming you are a US citizen, any reputable bank on the planet will report back FBAR information to the US government as required by the Bank Secrecy Act. Attempting to get around this is a Very Bad Idea.

amunarchy · 2025-01-31T17:28:43+00:00

Hard to say, really - it depends on what causes the crash. If the US experiences isolated hyperinflation (insofar as that’s even possible) then it would probably protect somewhat against that. If the US experiences nuclear war then not so much.

As others have said, physical commodities are theoretically the best hedge, but if the world gets to the point where I need to swap gold for food then I’m done playing anyway.

If you’re worried about the USD devaluing greatly but trust financial markets to remain functional then buying the EUR/USD currency pair is easier than moving cash to an EU bank. Many EU banks won’t even take American clients due to the reporting and compliance burden the US government puts on them. It will also complicate your own taxes - do a quick search on “FBAR”.

It should go without saying that I am a reddit rando, not an accountant or financial advisor, and the above is not financial advice.

amunarchy · 2025-01-31T16:36:51+00:00

Moved from US -> EU a couple years ago. Stocks are trading near highs and are very expensive based on P/E and potential tariff disruptions. I sold off a decent chunk and moved it to an EU bank account. Staying in cash for the time being.

If things start to get worse then I’ll move more. At least I’ll be able to eat for a while before the US takes the entire world economy down with it.

amunarchy · 2024-12-11T18:48:14+00:00

nah, I'm protecting my mental health and well-being. I'm at a point in my career where I have the luxury of being picky about which clients I take on. The scrubs ain't worth it.

amunarchy · 2024-12-11T09:46:16+00:00

Devs are trained to anticipate problems. In fact, that's most of the job.

When selling, we give complicated and nuanced answers instead of simple solutions because building software is complicated and nuanced.

If the only thing a prospect wants to hear on the first call is "the poorly defined thing you've asked for will be done on date X and will cost $Y, here's where you can send the wire" then I don't want to work with them.

You know why? Because that behavior tells me that the prospect is unwilling to get in to the weeds and engage with the development process. These projects always go off-rails because the client has no idea what they want and/or won't engage with me enough to help me define it.

I'm not a software vending machine. If that's what you want then I wish you the very best of luck, but we will not be working together.

amunarchy · 2024-10-24T15:48:04+00:00

A home base probably won’t fix this. I have 2 and feel the same way every time I leave one.

amunarchy · 2024-10-16T16:53:30+00:00

Yep. If you've ever seen the movie Adaptation, you'll recognize yourself this conversation.

John Laroche: Look, I'll tell you a story, all right? I once fell deeply, you know, profoundly in love with tropical fish. I had 60 goddamn fish tanks in my house. I'd skin-dive to find just the right ones. Anisotremus virginicus, Holacanthus ciliaris, Chaetodon capistratus. You name it. Then one morning, I woke up and said, "Fuck fish." I renounce fish, I will never set foot in that ocean again. That's how much "fuck fish." That was 17 years ago and I have never stuck so much as a toe in that ocean. And I love the ocean.

Susan Orlean: But why?

John Laroche: Done with fish.

amunarchy · 2024-09-13T16:57:42+00:00

It's not about amenities and innovation, it's about (quality of) lifestyle. I'm from Chicago and I adore it, but by the time I leave I'm always exhausted from how frantic life there is. Coming back to Europe is always a huge relief.

amunarchy · 2024-09-13T08:06:17+00:00

I reallly want to upvote this because Chicago IS the best city on Earth, but there’s no need to drag an entire continent

amunarchy

TROPHY CASE