Thinking about leaving Portugal

[JackSolo]

We're a retired American couple (one of us is Vietnamese) living in Portugal but considering moving to France. While Portugal has worked for us, we find it limiting and socially closed-off, less walkable, and with poorly constructed and planned infrastructure in housing and public spaces. We're a bit drawn to France for its cultural diversity, better cuisine (debatable, we know), walkability, social openness, and higher housing standards. We have felt more at ease with French people as well in the past, and already have a few friends there.

We're looking at areas near Paris with nearby forests, ideally with a house and a simple yard. We'd need to learn French (maybe A2 level or better), possibly get a car, and understand visa and/or citizenship paths like the VLS-TS. Staying in Portugal could lead to permanent residency and citizenship in a few years, but we want to make the most of our time now.

We would love to hear from you.

 

[HIMYM]

I get where you're coming from. So when I was looking for where to migrate, I came across France. It felt warmer in every sense. If you're comfy outside the city noise, places like Fontainebleau or Rambouillet might tick all your boxes. Good luck!

 

[HIMYM]

We're a retired American couple (one of us is Vietnamese) living in Germnay but considering moving to France. While Germany has worked for us, we find it limiting and socially closed-off, less walkable, and with poorly constructed and planned infrastructure in housing and public spaces. We're a bit drawn to France for its cultural diversity, better cuisine (debateable we know), walkability, social openness, and higher housing standards. We have felt more at ease with French people as well in the past and already have a few friends there.

We're looking at areas near Paris with nearby forests, ideally with a house and a simple yard. We'd need to learn French (maybe A2 level or better), possibly get a car, and understand visa and/or citizenship paths like the VLS-TS. Staying in Portugal could lead to permanent residency and citizenship in a few years, but we want to make the most of our time now

We would love to hear from you

Hey, just want to follow up if your thoughts are any different now?

 

[Cathery]

The lifestyle shift sounds exciting, but one concern might be navigating French bureaucracy especially around healthcare, residency permits, and property ownership as retirees without fluent French, that can get overwhelming without strong local support.

 

[sandwichstack]

You could say I'm biased, but between France and Portugal, I'd choose Portugal. It feels generally warmer and more welcoming. As for the language barrier, you might need to learn porguese, not everyone speaks english over here.

 

[JackSolo]

I get where you're coming from. So when I was looking for where to migrate, I came across France. It felt warmer in every sense. If you're comfy outside the city noise, places like Fontainebleau or Rambouillet might tick all your boxes. Good luck!

Thank you, these are beautiful places. Me and my wife are taking time our time talking about all the suggestions we get.

 

[JackSolo]

The lifestyle shift sounds exciting, but one concern might be navigating French bureaucracy especially around healthcare, residency permits, and property ownership as retirees without fluent French, that can get overwhelming without strong local support.

This is very true, thank you for bringing this up.

 

[JackSolo]

You could say I'm biased, but between France and Portugal, I'd choose Portugal. It feels generally warmer and more welcoming. As for the language barrier, you might need to learn porguese, not everyone speaks english over here.

Yes, the same challenge in both.