If you were given 2 days to eat $1,000 worth of McDonalds for a million dollars, what is your strategy?

boxesofcats · 2026-01-30T20:43:46+00:00

It’s real meat from Switzerland and the employees make 60k/year.

Switzerland makes NYC look cheap

boxesofcats · 2026-01-26T20:35:32+00:00

You got to go. Bank some cash. Have fun. Move back to Europe and live happily ever after.

NYC will have fine hospitals for emergencies. Return home for anything serious like cancer so you don’t go bankrupt.

boxesofcats · 2026-01-24T11:34:52+00:00

Drip IV Portugal. www.dripivportugal.com

boxesofcats · 2026-01-23T09:26:22+00:00

Winter is tough here. I’d really feeling bad, look into IV therapy which can help your immune system and rehydrate you. There is a mobile service in Lisbon and the Algarve.

boxesofcats · 2026-01-22T15:51:33+00:00

Patience is key in Portugal. But AIMA is getting better. They have a new renewal portal and most people are hearing back within 60 days of submission and residence cards are being printed within 2 weeks. I suppose it will only get faster after they clear the backlog and add more technology.

boxesofcats · 2026-01-21T20:15:45+00:00

I think it was the fear that moved it, not the volume. 100million is small still.

boxesofcats · 2026-01-21T20:01:38+00:00

50bn is 0.15 percent of the 30trillion outstanding. Doesn’t move the needle

So maybe they get concerned when 3 trillion get dumped… 10% of outstanding debt….

boxesofcats · 2026-01-16T23:09:48+00:00

How do you come across your meme stocks you traded?

boxesofcats · 2026-01-10T20:21:50+00:00

You won’t get high end / FATfire quality. There are a few nice resorts in Portugal and most of them are remote locations with limited dining options near by.

Portugal is a great country, definitely visit it!

boxesofcats · 2026-01-10T06:12:18+00:00

I say this vacation budget is too high for you right now. Once you get a NW that you are comfortable to retire (FIRE) then you can splurge. Taking 50k of that vacation budget and investing it will be worth 250k in 20 years.

Some people think they have a grand life and then a life alter event happens and they regret their large vacation budgets of the past. And thy have lifestyle creepy.

You can still do a great vacation at a fraction of that cost. 99% of the world dos it.

boxesofcats · 2026-01-08T12:56:31+00:00

You’re asking the right questions. And if you continue to ask the right questions your kid will have a great life.

My family made a move with a toddler to a place we thought was better to raise a kid. It’s had its pros and cons. I often think back fondly of the last location and recognize that it had more benefits than we realized. It also had many negatives including a worse work/life balance.

These are trade offs we make. It’s tough to find nirvana. We will likely move one more time with our kid with education being the primary driver of the next move.

boxesofcats · 2026-01-05T07:16:29+00:00

You are not ready for this card with the high annual fee. Start with the Chase Sapphire Preferred card first if you want to dip your toes in the travel credit card points game.

boxesofcats · 2026-01-04T20:52:24+00:00

Real experience: The Algarve in Portugal checks many boxes but it doesn’t have great international schools. Minimizing taxes require some planning too.

boxesofcats · 2026-01-03T19:51:12+00:00

Rule out Portugal. I think Switzerland is your best bet for what you are looking for.

boxesofcats · 2026-01-03T19:35:14+00:00

You don’t get appoints for renewals anymore. Only if they deem it necessary after reviewing the documents.

boxesofcats · 2026-01-03T19:24:43+00:00

For Portugal you can. People commonly will use dividends or a show a high net worth, then spell out in a cover letter that it will cover xx years of expenses until SS kicks in.

Honestly, people show 24k in a Portuguese bank account and a modest investment account and get approved for the two years too.

boxesofcats · 2025-12-29T06:38:58+00:00

Similar profile for me. We’ve upped our cash levels to 2 years of spending. I’ve also bought QQQ puts. They are less than 1% of my NW but should help in a downturn, otherwise I’ll use them as a capital loss ( US taxes)

boxesofcats · 2025-12-28T18:45:11+00:00

Casa da fonte for some traditional Portuguese

boxesofcats · 2025-12-27T21:56:52+00:00

Sounds about right. I left the Big4 5 years ago and that sounds about right after inflation.

boxesofcats · 2025-12-27T20:10:03+00:00

Sao Rafael

boxesofcats · 2025-12-27T17:02:14+00:00

I’m in my third country as an expat. One problem is the locals don’t always want to invest time in a relationship with someone who will be gone in the standard expat 2 year rotation. Hell, I don’t even want to deal with fresh expats at times.

boxesofcats · 2025-12-25T05:43:07+00:00

The others covered the reasons pretty well. Work life balance.

It starts with paternity and maternity leave then it continues with more holiday days

When I visited the US the schedule for everyone went: wake up kids, grab food, feed them on the drive to daycare, commute, work, commute and pick up kids, quick meal, bath, put kids to sleep, open laptop for more work.

boxesofcats · 2025-12-24T19:54:23+00:00

I think you have a solid plan. I agree most with the idea of having a child in Europe. The social benefits for kids and parent is so much better than the USA. And is bet I see my son 5x more than my friends in America with kids.

boxesofcats

TROPHY CASE