Most people do speak English to some extent, but I have made a great effort to learn Portuguese and am now fluent. You won’t need to speak it to survive or run errands, but it makes a huge difference in terms of making friends and having a social life.

My favorite change is the slower pace of life. There is no rat race here. People work to live rather than live to work, and there’s always time for a glass of wine on a lazy afternoon.

This dish: https://leitesculinaria.com/7642/recipes-portuguese-eggs-salt-cod-potatoes-bacalhau-bras.html

Surprising: the high degree of safety and its effect on the local psyche. Because violent crime is virtually nonexistent, they aren’t ”calibrated" for danger and are prone to tell you that some place is really sketchy, but when you go there it’s fine, just maybe needs a fresh coat of paint.

Worst part: bureaucracy and government wait times. Need anything done? Go here and talk to this guy. Wait, that was wrong, it’s an online form. Wait, the online form doesn’t work. Call this number. Wait, no, go here and talk to this other guy. Then wait 6 months.

It’s a wonderful place, so go for it! Advice: everything takes forever when dealing with their government, so don’t expect a fast process. Expect it to take 12 to 18 months to get your visa in hand. Start early!

I’m here on the D8 Visa, which allows for self-employment, remote work and the like - just not taking a local job. I’m a freelance software developer so this was the correct type of visa, as I suspect it would be for a lot of Lemmings.

You can apply by mail within the US, you ultimately send your passport and a bunch of documents like your birth certificate to the Portuguese embassy in DC. In the end, you’ll get a visa in your passport that lets you enter Portugal for six months. Then once you’re here, you’ll ultimately go to the immigration agency and exchange it for a credit card sized residence title, kind of like a green card.