# Emigrating To Portugal.



## Johnny2Puffs

Got tired of working so took early retirement 2 months ago. Kids and other family members emigrated to the UK some years ago so we alone here now. My wife and I can now do our own thing and relocate where we want to. 
The reason I chose Portugal is because it is 30% cheaper than South Africa for the same lifestyle we have here in Cape Town and the kids are only 2.5 hour flight away. The UK is just too expensive for us.
We don't speak Portuguese but English is a compulsory lingo at schools as it is in most of Euro. So no prob there. We do after all live in the electronic/Google age. 
I don't expect any answers here but will carry on posting as if it is my blog. Some people might be interested.

Reactions: Like 8 | Winner 1


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## Tom

that is gr8! and all your reasons are good reasons. I am going back to Germany in Feb, partially for family reasons.

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## Johnny2Puffs

Tom said:


> that is gr8! and all your reasons are good reasons. I am going back to Germany in Feb, partially for family reasons.


Good for you. Keep posting your experience here for us to read. With all my research over the past year, Germany was my second choice. Strangely Germany is the most lenient of all the Euro countries for foreigners. Local tradesmen and engineers exiting more than they expected.


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## Zodiac

Thats so cool Johnny, new beginnings, all the best to you and your relocation

Reactions: Like 1


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## CraftyZA

All the best man! Take up surfing. amazing scene in Portugal.

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## Johnny2Puffs

Thanks Zodiac.
Nobody here knows me personally so here is my calculated risk.
I have no pension fund and am relying on my investments to carry us. I will be living in Portugal but my investments will be here in SA on the JSE and will have to make monthly withdrawals and transfer the money to PT. 
My tax will be deducted here and no tax payable in PT as their tax system allows the total income to be split between spouses and therefore no tax. (SA tax will also be deducted as per the Double Tax Treaty).
I have just under R2M in investments and that is a bit concerning but I'm sure we can make it.


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## Stroodlepuff

All the best

Reactions: Like 1


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## Johnny2Puffs

Just checked. The factor is 4 and debatable to 5. What I mean by this is that your monthly withdrawals times 12 times 4 (or 5) must not exceed your total. Just thought I would share this. I'm borderline.


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## Andre

All the best. From you calculations (especially the tax deductions) seems like a prudent move. Keep us updated please.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Silver

Johnny2Puffs said:


> Thanks Zodiac.
> Nobody here knows me personally so here is my calculated risk.
> I have no pension fund and am relying on my investments to carry us. I will be living in Portugal but my investments will be here in SA on the JSE and will have to make monthly withdrawals and transfer the money to PT.
> My tax will be deducted here and no tax payable in PT as their tax system allows the total income to be split between spouses and therefore no tax. (SA tax will also be deducted as per the Double Tax Treaty).
> I have just under R2M in investments and that is a bit concerning but I'm sure we can make it.



Hi @Johnny2Puffs

Wishing you all the best with your decision and hope it goes well for you. Will be great you are closer to your family.

Just wanted to ask, when you say you are invested here on the JSE - what are you invested in? I hope it's something solid?

Also, there is a risk with your strategy in that your currencies are mismatched. You will be investing and earning returns and dividends in Rands, yet your spending requirement is in Euros. That is dangerous. If the Rand were to fall, not only would your "fund" be worth less in Euros, but the dividends and other income would also be worth less.

Let me also ask you another question. How long do you plan on staying in Portugal? I assume indefinitely - or are you planning to return to SA at some point in the future? If so, when?

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## Johnny2Puffs

I invest in stocks on the JSE directly. Doing good so far. Yes, the ZAR has weakened but I don't expect it to go much lower. You can live like a king on R25k pm in Portugal and that is a fraction of my gains on the JSE.
Some guys on the Portugal expat forum live great on R15k and they pay rent as well.
Before the 2008/9 market crash, apartment blocks mushroomed in the south and bought up by Brits and Germans. Now thousands are back on the market and cannot be sold or rented out. Hence the low prices.
We don't intend coming back as we have nothing to come back to.
So much to do. Been busy spring cleaning to get rid of junk. Pack personal items for shipment and sell furniture, car and electronics. Travel here from Cape Town to Pretoria for my passport. Get SARS and SARB stuff sorted. Pay Exit Tax. Get banking sorted. Visa for my SA wife.
Expect to exit in March.

Reactions: Like 2


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## Tom

that so much sounds like my current agenda...just leaving in +/- 2 weeks. at least my wife's visa was sorted before xmas already, the embassy is just waiting for the final flight details.
Back to your life story. Portugal was always a beautiful place to be, mid 80's we drove 3 times nonstop to Lagos (in P, not NIG ), from Germany, the full 2700 km's. For 3 weeks in our summer vacations. But the coastline made up for the long drive! Nice waves, especially in the Sagres area.


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## Riaz

all the best man and goodluck

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## Johnny2Puffs

Thanks guys. We are going to Viana do Castelo in the north. The south is just too British with Tesco supermarkets and Brit bars.
Will be living in the old city center at the river mouth where the shops and markets are. Fish markets are my favorite. Won't need a car and the fishing spots are walking distance. Train station round the corner to travel Europe. 
Don't wanna drive on the wrong side of the road yet. Will take time to get used to LHD.

Reactions: Like 2


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## Silver

Hi @Johnny2Puffs, it sounds all so exciting and sounds like you are well prepared with all your plans. 

With regard to the JSE, my only advice would be to make sure you are invested in solid companies. Preserving your capital with a little bit of growth looks to be more important than trying to shoot the lights out and take too much risk. 

I still stick to my original point that earning in Rands and spending in Euros is risky over the longer term. As an example, our JSE All Share index grew by about 20% in 2013. That's a fantastic performance. However, our Rand slid against the EURO by 29%. So if you were just invested in say Satrix40, you would have been down about 10% in EURO terms

On your point about the Rand not getting much weaker from here - I personally agree with that. I think it will strengthen over the next year. But it has in the past done weird things so anything is possible in the short term. Over the longer term (ie 10 years) it is likely to slowly depreciate to the EURO. 

Also, I assume you have factored some inflation in Portugal into your longer term calculations.

All the best!!

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## Johnny2Puffs

Thanks for your concern Silver. Since 2009 I have made 380% pa or 1800% odd since 2009 but now have diversified to more moderate stocks for my retirement. Been doing this for years. I can take a 3 year drawdown and still manage to recover. Made the calculations and am confident that I will survive for many years.

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## Silver

Fabulous Johnny! That is truly a spectacular performance! Wish I had those kind of returns 

I think I should ask you to invest for me !!


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## Johnny2Puffs

I would't dream of investing in Satrix40. Notoriously low gains and too cyclical. I have written instructions in my portfolio file for my wife should something happen to me. She knows nothing about investing and does not watch the stocks as I do.
As we have no steady pension, she needs to withdraw monthly from the investment gains. The most steady growing is SatrixIndi that averages about 30%+ pa and has had no deep drawdowns.
Cannot live on Satrix40 as it has had a mere 14%pa average.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Johnny2Puffs

An update. I am now well over my projected gains. Far more than I expected so I am exiting on the 28 May.
Will book the tickets as soon as I can transfer the money from the JSE.
I hope I can get my 29 bottles of juice through customs. It will take me awhile to find sellers in Portugal.
Perhaps I will should look at the old forum for Portugal or Spain.
Will keep you posted on my journey.


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## Silver

All the best Johnny
Wishing you a good, safe and peaceful relocation. 

Do keep in touch and let us know of you find great juices on that side of the world !


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## BhavZ

All the best @Johnny2Puffs


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## ET

happy travels and may your greatest worry be running low on battery power


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## Johnny2Puffs

Thanks guys. My exit date is now 28 May. Booked and all. Now for SARS. I will have to pay exit tax at 33.3% of all my assets. That sucks but so be it.

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## ET

if it's cheaper to buy plane tickets for some of us to come visit with locally purchased diamonds, give a shout


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## Gizmo

Cheers Johnny wish you all the best there bud!!


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## Johnny2Puffs

Thanks for the thumbs up. Been checking up on Vapers and juice in Portugal hence my absence here.


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## Silver

Do log in and let us know how its going occasionally. 
Tell us what the vape scene is like there.

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## Zodiac

All the best Johnny, travel safely and do keep in touch


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## Johnny2Puffs

So busy with passport, permit for SA wife, selling furniture and car. And SARS. What a shlep to emigrate. SARS wants most of my investments to exit. Banking stuff etc.
Anyone want a Smart 44 at R10k cheaper than you can find it in similar condition?


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## Metal Liz

Best of luck dude! Hope you have a blast 

Sent from my GT-I9500 using Tapatalk


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## Johnny2Puffs

Been too busy with emigrating stuff to post for some time but I must share this.

We had to travel from Cape Town to Johannesburg for my passport. We decided to make a holiday of it and went by train. Many of you might be shocked at our decision. Train travel in SA is seen as a poor man's method of travel. I thought this as well until we did it.
Shosholoso Meyl train is great. Four sleeper compartment has 220v 2 plug and 3 plugs for your electronic stuff.
Your own running water dish, toilets outside on both sides of the carriage with showers. 
Bedding is supplied at a cost but we took our own.
Food!! great breakfast, lunch and dinner in the diner cart. The stewards come around with carts of beer and other beverages from time to time. You can also have your food bought to your compartment when they come around with the menu. We took our own food as we did not know this but did order beef stew. Was great. They even have fish and burgers.
In the morning they come around with coffee. And if you want more beer, you can just go to the diner cart and buy it and off you go to your compartment to drink it there and watch the scenery.
We felt so safe that we could have slept with our door unlocked. 
This cost us R1200 pp return but was worth it.

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## Rex_Bael

My sister recently made the same trip and could not stop singing the praises of train travel for weeks afterwards.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## crack2483

Silver said:


> Hey @Oupa, what's the eVic like?



Most importantly: did you vape on the train? 

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk


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## Johnny2Puffs

Part 2.
We had to travel from Germiston to Pretoria for our passports. What a shlep to be there at 08.30. Far too much traffic on the roads.
We took the Goutrain. I was worried about getting on the wrong train and catching the wrong Goutrain bus to our destination. I downloaded the Goutrain App and just followed the green thing for my destination.
What a breeze. We overtook the traffic jams at 180 km/hr and was soon in PTA. What a smooth ride and air conditioned. There, I got on the green bus and was at the embassy 30 minutes early.
We got something right here in SA.

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## Johnny2Puffs

Yes we vaped and had our door open to see both sides of the scenery. Nobody complained as I am sure they all smoked discretely.

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## Johnny2Puffs

I will love to make the CT to Durban or JHB to Durban trip on the Shosholoso Meyl.


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## vaalboy

How long did it take from CPT to JHB?


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## Die Kriek

I must agree with you on the service of the onboard staff of the Meyl, although I rode it Tzaneen to Musina, so no sleeper. R70 a trip is dirt cheap (about 2 years ago), staff is friendly and very helpful. And the Guinean fella I sat next to on my last trip seemed friendly enough, although I don't know enough French to be absolutely sure.

Reactions: Funny 1


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## Silver

Most interesting and thanks for sharing @Johnny2Puffs


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## Johnny2Puffs

It took 28 hrs. Almost half of that you get lulled to sleep with the train movement. I love sleeping on a train.
The 28 hrs might seem long but looking back, it seems a breeze as the experience was well worth it. Just looking out at the scenery was well worth it. Cheaper than flying if you are not in a hurry. 
Same as living in a small apartment that changes scenery as you go along.


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## Johnny2Puffs

As to my emigration, I had to postpone it to 16 June as the Portugal embassy has a 4 week waiting list for visa for my wife.
Cost me R4200 to change dates. Sucks but had no option.
We will be landing in Lisbon and accommodate overnight then go by EurRail to Castelo 4 hours to the north.
When we get there, I will just have to feel my way around to get longer term rental before we find a permanent place to buy. 
And yes. I am frightened at this move as I have never liked change but will have to see how it goes.

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## Silver

Wishing you all the best @Johnny2Puffs 
Thanks for sharing your experiences
You may be frightened, but it does sound exciting.


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## Cat

Johnny2Puffs said:


> I don't expect any answers here but will carry on posting as if it is my blog. Some people might be interested.



 i am very interested, registered here because of it. 
i just did an intro in the intro thread, mentioned it there, want to "pick your brains" a bit...sometime. if i may.

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## Johnny2Puffs

Anytime Cat. I will be posting as we go along. So much paperwork to be done as we will leave assets here and transfer monthly our gains or losses to Portugal. I can transfer all but I have no knowledge of the stock market in Europe so I will keep doing it here.
Had I not had any assets here, I would not have "Formally Emigrated". Just ducked like our kids.

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## Johnny2Puffs

For the interested. SARS has introduced section 9c that states that if you have held shares, UT's or any other Mutual Funds for less than 3 years and sell, the gains will be revenue and all the gains will be added to your your other income. ie, You are trading as if you have a business with shares. So effectively you will pay 40% tax on the sales.
Only if you hold your investment for at least 3 years, will SARS see it as Capital Gains Tax and you can deduct R30k as an exclusion from your gains and 33.3% of the result will be added to your other income. This is about 11% if you are on the top bracket.
Very much better than the top example, not so? Be careful when selling your investments. This leads me to my next post.


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## Johnny2Puffs

Section 9c also states that the source of your income is in the country where you apply your mind, wit and labour to make profits even if you live in Timbuktu and invest in ZA, your income will not be in ZA but in Timbuktu.
This is where I score big time in Portugal. There is a 10 year tax exemption incentive for new immigrants.
I can now sell/buy stocks in ZA as need be and not be taxed anywhere.

Reactions: Like 1 | Informative 3


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## Silver

Thanks for sharing. Very interesting


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## Johnny2Puffs

Thanks Silver. Portugal has become a Tax Haven. So if you want to emigrate, go to PT and you will save yourself big bucks in tax. 
I have done much research into different countries as to Cost of Living and weather. PT was my choice as the North has the same weather as in Cape Town. 
It is greener than the the south and cost of living is cheaper than here.
Of cause you can go to the eastern EU countries and pay less for rent and beer but you will get hit with the harsh winters. I hate the cold.

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## Johnny2Puffs

Do you have kids that are working abroad and don't intend to return? Then this is for you.

Chances are that they just ducked without Officialy Emigrating as they had no assets. Mine did.
Now if you had to go to Vaper Heaven and leave them more than R1m each in your will, they will have endless problems getting the money out.
They will have to Officialy Emigrate BEFORE you expire otherwise it will complicate the procces even further.
This they must do even if they record zero assets on the MP336b form. No need for Tax Clearance if they have been out the country for longer than 5 years as Prescription applies.
I can do it for my kids with Power of Attorney but I don't want to go through it all again so I suggested agents to do it for them at a cost of a few grand but ZAR is peanuts compaired to what they earn in GBP.
Exchange4free.co.za is by far the cheapest according to my research. 4Free you might ask? As did I. And they charge R1k to R2k for the

Reactions: Informative 1


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## Johnny2Puffs

Can't seem to paste on this forum. I can copy but when I paste, it says to use CTRL+V and my tablet does not have a CTRL key.
Got my emigration experience typed out on my notepad and can't seem to paste it here.


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## Johnny2Puffs

Tested pasting on 2 other forums and it works normally. Seems that this forum does not do copy and paste with android.


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## Johnny2Puffs

Finally arrived. Got to Dubai at midnight and tried to sleep in a chair till 06.00 for our next flight with no success.
Reached Lisbon 8 hours later still no sleep. Booked into the hotel and had a restless night due to stress about where and what platform our train to Porto would be. 
This was made more difficult with the heavy luggage we had to manhandle about.
Lisbon is a really cool city. Everyone speaks perfect English and is multi cultured. The most visited city in Europe.
Late now and the sun has just set at 9.30 so will keep updating as I get time.

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## Johnny2Puffs

TapaTalk works with pasting.

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## Johnny2Puffs

Posting in sections for those that are interested. I hate long posts.

Still looking for long term rent after all the hotels. There are many here but but no replies to my emails. Must be that my emails are going to their Spam folders being in English.
We are now in an expensive holiday apartment on the beach 6km outside of Viana do Castelo. There are rows upon rows of apartments and no tenants. We are all alone in our block. Not much to do here except tan.
Tomorrow we are catching the bus to Viana to have a look at a 2 bedroom apartment for sale. Fully furnished with all the mod cons like dishwasher, washing machine, Esspreso machine etc. Newly painted and all. Cost is €50,000.
Just love Viana with those narrow cobbled streets with a cafe/pub and outside seating. Too many to chose from as there are around 6 to a block. Love the vibe too. Very busy.
Must add that pedestrians have the right of way here. As you approach the road to cross, the cars stop as if there are mystical switches in the roads that automatically activate the brakes. You can cross the streets without looking. The cars here seem to have no hooters.
Another thing that shocked my wife and daughter is the dress of the chicks. Most wear the teeniest micro shorts as if they are competing with their compatriots in Rio.
No burglar bars on windows and people leave their shopping openly at the entrances of supermarkets when entering.
No graffiti and no rubbish anywhere to be seen. The teenagers are very respectful to their elders and go out their way to help us. If they don't speak English, they will find someone who can. Those that can, will not let you go easily as they practice their English.
Just love it here.

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## Johnny2Puffs

Good weather here at around 24° with a slight breeze.
Got tired of waiting for the water guy so went walkabouts around the apartment block and lo and behold, I found a big box that had pipes and valves in with numbers on. Our valve was closed so I opened it and we had water. Now I'm waiting for the flying squad to come arrest me.

About prices here. Where do I start? VAT is 23% except on some foods like meat, milk, bread etc. Fish is about R20 cheaper per kilo than in SA and frozen crayfish tails are R10 each. There is a such a large variety of fresh fish in all the supermarkets and minimarkets. Mostly strange to me. Live crabs, octopus and crustations I have never seen before. There are fish mongers on every street corner selling cod, bream, sea trout, sea bass, makeral etc from mobile trolleys at low prices. Portuguese sardines are R20 per kilo and are 12" long.
Pork and chicken is about R20 per kilo cheaper but most beef is imported from Spain and is around R100 per kilo. Rabbit is popular here and goes for around R90 per kilo.
Household items are sooo expensive due to VAT. A normal frying pan is R200 so are plain pressed aluminium oven pans. The cheapest kettle we could find was R230. A big box of washing powder cost us R220.
Internet is cheap at R250 uncapped and unlimited. We have no English channels here so will have to use internet TV with an android tv stick and watch free to air TV.

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## Johnny2Puffs

Actually, there are so many channels for free on the net. I have over 400 and can get more from porn to kiddie programs. Not that I do kiddie channels. 
Had I had cheap internet in SA, I would not have bought a DSTV package. I would have gone for internet tv.
Here I pay R250 pm for uncapped unlimited internet. Watch TV and all 3 of us can surf the net at the same time.
No buffering of the video. Super speeds here.
You guys are being ripped off with internet cost. 
We paid R290 odd for DSTV for the small bouquet plus R300 for my tablet internet plus another R250 for my wife's internet in SA. That is R840 pm that we paid in SA and we have a plus of more channels

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## Johnny2Puffs

We cannot adjust to the foods here. Seems that they do not sell much spices but use fresh herbs instead. All we can find is curry, salt and pepper. I am a tea drinker and all the tea here are flavored with fruits. No plain tea. All the coffees are strong and mostly perculted stuff served in thimbal size cups as in kiddies play stuff.
This is also strange to me. The cheapest meats are Chicken drumsticks at R35 pk. Locals don't like the dark chicken meat and export it. Same as USA does. SA exports the wings as we don't like them and import the drumsticks as we love them and they don't.
Pork is also cheap but beef is far too expensive as it is imported from Spain. Not much cows here due to the small farms.Portugal is small.
The most amazing is that the banks have no bullet proof windows. The tellers mearly take and give money over an open counter.
No burgler bars on any buildings or houses. 
You can leave your shopping at the entrance of a shopping mall and it will still be there when you exit. No security needed to watch it.
Strange that I have not seen a black person here since we arrived. Perhaps they don't like Portugal.

Reactions: Like 4 | Winner 1


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## Andre

Lol, you are incorrigible, @Johnny2Puffs. Enjoying your journal, thank you.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Cat

!  i'm so glad to see you! Wondered what happened. i need to go home, will read properly later, but i did see at least two interesting and pleasing points. 
...Enough to make me put Portugal on my list. 
Next chat with the retirement fund consultant on Wednesday. min dae.


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## Tom

interesting read. and i can feel it  cheap internet, no burglar bars, no security concerns, expensive beef ... welcome to Europe!

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## Johnny2Puffs

One thing we have noticed is that there are hardly any fat people here. Perhaps it is the diet? Most people eat fish and veggies. The most popular is the salted Cod. 
This is a fish dried out with salt and is about a meter long. You can buy it and just chuck it in your pantry and leave it for years.
To eat, just cut a piece and soak in water for 2 days and rince to get the salt off. Then you can cook it with veggies. This is a Portugals most favoured dish.
Must try it sometime.

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## Tom

Johnny2Puffs said:


> One thing we have noticed is that there are hardly any fat people here. Perhaps it is the diet? Most people eat fish and veggies. The most popular is the salted Cod.
> This is a fish dried out with salt and is about a meter long. You can buy it and just chuck it in your pantry and leave it for years.
> To eat, just cut a piece and soak in water for 2 days and rince to get the salt off. Then you can cook it with veggies. This is a Portugals most favoured dish.
> Must try it sometime.


Bacalhau? I had that in Angola before, it was actually quite good. I was told they put it into milk to rehydrate.


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## Silver

Loving your posts @Johnny2Puffs !

Lol about you switching on your water. I assume they didnt arrest you 

Wishing you well for your move
Do keep on posting and let us know how its going. Its so interesting!


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## Johnny2Puffs

As a keen angler and love fish, I took this photo near the river mouth. These fish are pan size (40cm) and are fished by the locals.
I walked along the river for about 4km and there was no end to these fish. BTW, the walkway is built above and against the river bank with steps down to the water and about 4 meters wide with 1foot marble, yes, marble edges. So clean and beautiful.


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## rogue zombie

Johnny2Puffs said:


> One thing we have noticed is that there are hardly any fat people here. Perhaps it is the diet? Most people eat fish and veggies. The most popular is the salted Cod.
> This is a fish dried out with salt and is about a meter long. You can buy it and just chuck it in your pantry and leave it for years.
> To eat, just cut a piece and soak in water for 2 days and rince to get the salt off. Then you can cook it with veggies. This is a Portugals most favoured dish.
> Must try it sometime.



Portuguese generally use thin (wine) type sauces, not very thick flour'y based anything. The food in general is not very fattening. Very simple, yet delicious. My favourite by a country mile.

The best way to have bacalhau is "bacalhau a brasa"! 

Otherwise it can be a bit tough and salty. I struggled with it growing up, being cooked in more traditional (boring) ways.


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## Johnny2Puffs

Bacalhau na Brasa is fresh or frozen Norwegian cod like this pic. Also popular here but expensive. The salted cod can be salty if you don't soak it for 24 hours and replacing the salty water at least 3 times. This is becoming a cooking thread

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## Johnny2Puffs

We have a fruit and veggie shop across the road and love browsing there. The variety of strange veggies! The baby marrows are the size of English cucumbers. You can also buy beer and wine there even on Sundays. 
The beer is good especially Superbok beer. Even my wife as a non beer drinker loves it. Similar to Lion Larger but smoother. Price is about the same as in SA.
I love dry white wine and had difficulty finding it when we arrived until I found that all white wines are dry as are reds. Found that the cheaper no name brands in cartons from 1ltr to 10ltr are just as good as the expensive bottles and cheaper than SA wines.
We can drink a lot here for cheap.

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## Johnny2Puffs

Quote"Twelve years ago, Portugal eliminated criminal penalties for drug users. Since then, those caught with small amounts of marijuana, cocaine or heroin go unindicted and possession is a misdemeanor on par with illegal parking. Experts are pleased with the results".End Quote.

I have not seen drug usage here at all. Nor have I seen any beggars or homeless people. No drunks or any unsavory people at all since my move.

I was under the impression that Portugal was a third world country. Not so by far. They have the most sophisticated banking system compared to the US . and most EU countries. They have the most ATM's per capita than any other country. Almost one ATM per block. Even in suburbs. None get broken into ever. 

I must say that this was the best move I have ever made.

Reactions: Like 2 | Agree 1


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## Johnny2Puffs

Well, Christmas is once again upon us. This is pretty evident when visiting the city center here in Viana. The Portuguese take Christmas very seriously.
Last week, hordes of trucks pulled into town and set up camp in a park. In a matter of days, they transformed the center into a scene from a fairy tale book.
The narrow cobbled streets are now lined with xmas decorations and xmas trees with sparkling lights and long red carpets laid down. Overhanging arches with big stars light up at night making the streets look like unbelievably colourful tunnels.
Speakers playing xmas carols (in english) from a centeral point have been placed 15 meters apart throughout the city center making window shopping such a pleasure. The shops were still open at 11pm when we left.
This is the first time since childhood that I have experienced a real xmas feeling.
Nothing gets packed away at night and in the morning, all is still there.

Reactions: Like 3 | Winner 1


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## johan

@Johnny2Puffs we need some photos, please.

Reactions: Agree 2


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## Johnny2Puffs

johan said:


> @Johnny2Puffs we need some photos, please.


Here is a panoramic pic taken from the old cathedral overlooking the old quant city center in the middle. We live near the bridge called the Eifel bridge as it was designed by the same guy as the French tower.

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## Johnny2Puffs

This is the entrance to the old city center from where we live. Notice the lights on that church.

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## johan

Thanks for posting these awesome photos @Johnny2Puffs


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## Cat

Great. 
Thanks again for showing us, telling us. Feel free to post updates more often.  it helps keep me motivated. So much to do before i can go.


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## Silver

Love your posts and the photos @Johnny2Puffs 
As much as they make me sad sometimes, I still love reading your impressions


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## ET

awesome posts sir, please keep them coming


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## Jimbo

Awesome pics @Johnny2Puffs 

We also have these xmas lights all over South Africa, we just don't have electricity to make them shine.....

Reactions: Funny 4


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## Johnny2Puffs

No, you have not yet seen the pics of the city center. Mine did not come out too good with my new cellphone but will try this weekend. Seems the people here only go out at 10pm according to my daughters that came home at 3am.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 1


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## johan

Sounds like the right place for me to hangout


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## Johnny2Puffs

@Cat, before you do so, contact me as the red tape is as long as the distance from there to here. After 6 months I'm still busy with SARS and my bank.
I can write a whole new blog on this and by now, I should get an honoury degree in tax.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Cat

What you say there about the Christmas lights and people being out late, reminds of something i read years ago...a South African family that moved to Medellin, Colombia. Awesome Christmas lights in the central city park, families and groups of friends there from early evening to late, picnics and so on a lot of drinking but he said he never saw any serious aggro and so on. 
i wish i could find the blog again - if it still exists, it was about 7-8 years ago.


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## Johnny2Puffs

Boxing day.

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## Johnny2Puffs

Cellphone pic so not too clear. Taken on boxing day.

Reactions: Like 2


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## Johnny2Puffs

Walking down the city center.

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## Johnny2Puffs

Same night.

Reactions: Like 3


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## Johnny2Puffs

Outskirts of town.

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## Johnny2Puffs

This is the tallest natural xmas tree in Europe. Just outside the center. Lisbon has the tallest artificial one in Europe.

Reactions: Like 3


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## Silver

Wow, those are lovely and amazing photos - thanks for sharing @Johnny2Puffs


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## ET

gorgeous pics, thanks a bunch


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## Johnny2Puffs

I must actually change my Profile Picture as i am blonde. This is the first thing locals see here and immediately know you are not local.
I have blue eyes and this is very uncommon here. All Portuguese have dark brown eyes and all men have black hair.

Here in the north of Portugal, it was controlled by the Celtics for many years and therefore different from the south where Arabic and other African influences from colonisations and inter racial copulation over centuries have caused darker skin colour.

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## Silver

Love your posts @Johnny2Puffs 

Been meaning to ask, what are you vaping on these days and what juices are you vaping?
Have you had to ship them from lisbon or are you importing them from elsewhere in Europe?
Does your town have good vaping supplies?


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## DoubleD

Man! I wish I could move to my home land

Reactions: Like 1


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## Cat

Just do it. 
(Although of course, having an income is the key thing.)


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## Johnny2Puffs

I used to get my fix from TotallyWicked UK but the import tax and VAT at 23% made it too expensive. A 30ml bottle cost around R190.00. 
Now I import from Ego2Store in Poland at half the price and no import duty or tax paid here. Works out to about R40.00 a 30ml bottle if I self mix.
There are 3 e-cig shops here in town but very expensive. Don't know how they survive as in the past 6 months, I have only seen 2 people vaping.

Reactions: Like 1 | Thanks 1


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## Johnny2Puffs

Been away for awhile so will post some financial stuff first before I get into the misconceptions some posters have in emigration matters.

I have just been accepted into the "Non Habitual Residency" Tax Regime in Portugal. That means I have a 10 year tax free holiday here. In short, if your income is from outside of Portugal then you pay no tax. If your income is from within Portugal, you will pay a 20% flat rate. 
My income is from SA and my tax record is still open with SARS and will have to submit returns for this season but once I have sent off my "International Certificate of Residency" to SARS, the Double Tax Agreement comes into effect and my file with SARS will be closed.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Johnny2Puffs

My wife as a non EU citizen can travel with me to any EU state without a visa with just her Portugal residency card. This was previously denied by the UK as it is not in the Schengen area.

A court case last year overruled this as the UK has to follow the EU Directive of 2008. Reluctantly, the UK changed their rules and from April this year, my non EU wife can now visit our kids in the UK with only her PT residency card.

The plot thickens with UK nationals married to non EU spouses trying to enter the UK. I will get into this later as it is beer time now.

This might be boring for some but I will update my life here in PT after clearing the misconceptions.

Reactions: Like 3 | Informative 1


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## ET

Awesome thanks, good to hear stories from the other side of the fence

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Johnny2Puffs

Emigration to the UK from outside the EU is impossible unless you have £1m to invest and have at least a Tier2 qualification. Even if 1 of the married couple has a Brit citizenship, it will be impossible.
A case in point:
A British housewife married to an Argentinian Doctor arrived in London from Argentina with the intent to stay. She as a Brit had to sponsor her husband but as she was a housewife, she had no funds to do so. He as a doctor with money did not matter so he was deported back to Argentina.
Their only option was this;
*You may be able to apply for an EEA family permit as a family member of a British citizen who has worked in another EEA country. 
This is known as the ‘Surinder Singh’ route.

You must also be able to show that the British citizen genuinely lived (based their ‘centre of life’) in the EEA country in which 
you were both resident for at least 3 months before returning to the UK.*

So the best way is to emigrate to an EU country such as Ireland first and then enter the UK using the EU Treaty "freedom of movement" treaty rules. This bypasses UK immigration rules.

Reactions: Agree 1 | Informative 4


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## johan

I agree @Johnny2Puffs - Ireland currently only requires 500,000 Euros business investment, there are other cheaper routes but a lot of red tape.


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