Phil Gold

The Financial Impact of Moving

One of the immutable truths of being an expatriate is this: it’s going to make a difference to your bottom line. In our case, we knew decades ago that we probably wouldn’t be able to afford to retire in the US and have any kind of a decent lifestyle. If nothing else, the cost ofContinue reading “The Financial Impact of Moving”

The Long Drive

We’ve just returned home from a round-trip road trip from Lisbon to Valencia. We had several goals in mind: According to Apple Maps, the fastest route takes about nine hours. We left Lisbon at 06:30 on a Monday morning and crossed into Spain by 09:00, which instantly became 10:00 thanks to the magic of timeContinue reading “The Long Drive”

Our Anthem of Departure

As you may know, Kristie and I have moved around more than most people. We met in LA, where we lived in two different apartments over the first year and a half that we were together. We then moved to Portland Oregon, where we lived in two apartments and one house over five years. NextContinue reading “Our Anthem of Departure”

Movers and Moving

Back in 1995 when Kristie and I moved from Portland to San Diego, we were young, strong, and foolish. I hired a couple of guys in Portland to help me load a 24’ truck, and then we drove it for two days (over the Siskiyous in winter) while towing a car behind it on aContinue reading “Movers and Moving”

Finding an Apartment

One of the most anxiety-ridden parts of any move is find the right place to move to. When you’re doing a long-distance relocation, this becomes somewhat challenging, but it can be done! While we were still in the, “Is this possible?” phase of thinking about the move, I started looking at long-term rentals in Valencia,Continue reading “Finding an Apartment”

The Next Milestone

We’ve just returned from a productive, whirlwind visit to Valencia — and we’ve got the paperwork to prove it. Moving can be a real pain in the neck. Even moving across town can be challenging, so you can imagine how moving cities – and countries! – can require a higher level of planning and coordination.Continue reading “The Next Milestone”

Bacalhau to Bocadillos

I’m back – and with big news. I originally started this blog back in 2020 to chronicle our move from the US to Portugal. But it’s hard to keep the momentum going, and I didn’t have much that was exciting to talk about after we moved from Porto to Lisboa in 2021, so things haveContinue reading “Bacalhau to Bocadillos”

Uma piada em portugues

Um famoso cientista de anfíbios estava fazendo uma apresentação na sociedade zoológica local. “Boa noite, senhoras e senhores. Eu tenho aqui um sapo simples. Observem!” Ele colocou o sapo na mesa e ordenou: “Pule, sapo, pule!” O sapo saltou dois metros. “Como vocês podem ver,” disse o cientista, “um sapo pode pular dois metros emContinue reading “Uma piada em portugues”

The Taberna Típica Quarta Feira (or, Why I love Portugal)

A few years ago, when we were still in pre-move investigation mode, we arrived at the airport in Lisboa and stepped up to the Immigration Control desk to pass into the country. The official looked through my passport and said, “Hmm. You’ve been here before.” “Yes, I have,” I agreed. “And you came back.” “Yes,Continue reading “The Taberna Típica Quarta Feira (or, Why I love Portugal)”

Bureaucracy Update: I Have a Driver’s License!

Despite the best efforts of the IMT, combined with a brilliant assist by CTT (the Portuguese Postal service), I received my driver’s license, good until 2026, in today’s mail. If you’ve been following this blog, you know how much of an uphill struggle this has been (See “The Worst of All Bureaucracies” for details). TheContinue reading “Bureaucracy Update: I Have a Driver’s License!”