Uncategorized – Page 5 – A Modern Odyssey

Healthcare: You win some, you lose some

One of the big differences in life in the US vs. Portugal is in medical services. Some things are a lot of hassle here – probably the worst thing is dealing with the National Health Service. It’s complicated to get signed up, it takes forever to be assigned a doctor (I’ve been waiting six months),Continue reading “Healthcare: You win some, you lose some”

Medical Milestones

I was going to have a food article today, but I thought it might be more interesting to talk about what it’s like to navigate the health care system here in Portugal. Healthcare was a major factor in our decision to move. It has actually colored most of our thinking about retiring out of theContinue reading “Medical Milestones”

Getting back to work

I’ve been a little quiet on this blog, and I apologize for that. I have a couple of valid excuses – at least, semi-valid. First of all, I’ve been busy working. We’ve been in the apartment for just under four months, and not only have I got the studio completely set up, but I’ve alsoContinue reading “Getting back to work”

Speaking Portuguese

My old friend Howard Grabois made a comment after my last post – “I notice that you often comment on folk’s ability or lack thereof in English. How’s it going with your Portuguese?” I’ve been trying to speak Portuguese as much as I can. I used a combination of software, online sites, and audio booksContinue reading “Speaking Portuguese”

Me as a Portuguese businessman

This is going to be another one of those articles where I expose uncertainties, so it’s going to be a little hard to write. I like to think of myself as a great planner. I do lots of research, and I try to take my time with important decisions – plus, I always have atContinue reading “Me as a Portuguese businessman”

Unexpected complications for finance

I was aware at some level that the European Union had different rules around privacy and security than the US. I’ve been reading news articles for years that talked about how the EU was introducing this measure to protect users from data mining, or that new requirement to prevent access to their personal or financialContinue reading “Unexpected complications for finance”

First week in Porto, Part II

When we last saw our plucky protagonists, they had passed out back at the hotel after an overly busy, overly ambitious day of trying to do everything at once. WEDNESDAY, we set some simpler goals for ourselves. Our biggest mission for the day was to take the metro from our stop (Marquês, pronounced “MARKsh”) downContinue reading “First week in Porto, Part II”

The first week in Porto

So, moving is always a big deal, right? Imagine that multiplied by a factor of I-don’t-know-how-much … that’s what moving internationally is. I started to try and do a day-by-day breakdown of everything we accomplished in week one, but as I was getting it all written down, I realized how much we overdid it. Basically,Continue reading “The first week in Porto”

Welcome to Porto!

On Sunday 26 July, we left Lisboa on the final leg of our travels to our new home in Porto. I have to step back in time for a minute and talk about luggage. Because it’s going to be so long before we see the stuff from the container, Kristie and I decided to takeContinue reading “Welcome to Porto!”

Takin’ care of business, Lisboa style

We devoted our first few days in Portugal to financial and business matters, although we did take time for some great food and wine and to connect with friends. As I’ve mentioned in earlier episodes, I’m moving my consulting company to a Portuguese business. This company is the catch-all for my LinkedIn class authoring andContinue reading “Takin’ care of business, Lisboa style”