Two Years in Lisbon!

Sarah and I still pinch ourselves frequently as we pass the second anniversary of our move to Lisbon. It seems hard to believe that we have not lived in the US for nearly six years now since we moved to India in the summer of 2017.

We understand that the life we’ve chosen is not for everyone, so we thought it might be good to reflect a bit on what we’ve discovered about ourselves and our lives here, since we are no longer (only) tourists in Lisbon, but immigrants intent on living here long term. We just recently received our extended Portuguese Residence Cards so we are all set through mid-2026 when we can apply for citizenship. Of course, we will retain our US citizenship so we will actually have two passports.

When we returned to visit family and friends in the US last summer, a nephew asked us a perceptive question in terms no one had before: How has your life in Lisbon surprised you, met or exceeded–or failed to meet–your expectations, and even changed your lives? Wow! As Sarah and I thought about that question, three elements came to mind and they are all present on a regular basis in our lives here.

First of all, another person recently asked us, with genuine concern, “Don’t you get lonely?” We realized that we hadn’t really thought much about how we might make friends in a new city . . . a new country . . . even a new continent. When we had moved to India, Sarah’s professional school community was welcoming and there were new teachers and spouses moving in every year, so it was relatively easy to connect, share in events, and develop friendships with built-in connections. But moving to Lisbon, we had only connected via video conferences with a real estate person and an immigration firm, and, of course we had never even been to Portugal at all due to the restrictions of the pandemic. Sure, there were Facebook groups with helpful info and some friendly folks, and we were aware of some of the ways life worked here, but our move was in early 2021, at the height of the covid lockdowns, so, initially, there was very limited social activity.

At any rate, as Covid restrictions began to loosen, we were able to explore more of the local tourist attractions and restaurants and, more importantly, Sarah joined a group called International Women in Portugal. Through that group, she connected with many women from the US, the UK, and other countries living here, and from that initial connection, we began to establish some local friendships. But it was only after we moved from our first apartment in the historic/touristy Chiado neighborhood to our new flat here in the freguesia (parish) of Avenidas Novas, right in the heart of the commercial and cosmopolitan center of the city, that our network of friends began to multiply exponentially. It turns out this neighborhood and a couple other nearby ones like Saldanha, Estefania, Arroios, Picoas, Campo Pequeno, and Bairro Azul are all locations where newcomers are finding a sense of community.

As more and more folks relocate to Lisbon, our network of friends continues to grow and, frankly, we meet new folks nearly every week. Sarah takes part in a regular coffee gathering with women every Wednesday morning, and I do the same with a growing group of men on Saturday mornings, with both of our regular gatherings taking place at cafés where we sit outside, winter or summer, rain or shine, (it’s Europe, right?) and share backgrounds and interests and develop our network. What is so fascinating is the way these new connections lead us to learn of so many different experiences and to be offered new perspectives and new viewpoints, yet all within the overall context of exploring a new life in a new city and country. Sarah loves going to her gym where she takes classes and swims laps a few days a week and is also part of two active book clubs, not to mention becoming an avid knitter and taking classes at a famous knit shop, Retrosaria Rosa Pomar, that specializes in unique yarns from rare Portuguese sheep. I’ve connected with a marvelous photographer who has recently moved here and he is starting to guide me in seeing the world in black & white; and I’ve even joined forces with a musician buddy in composing and recording three original songs with more to follow. Go figure! (Yeah, they’re on Spotify and Apple Music, jus’ sayin’.) Of course, one of our primary social activities is sharing a good meal so we never go hungry and love discovering new venues and experiences with friends old and new. This expanding network of acquaintances and friends delights us and far exceeds any expectations we had, so, no indeed, we do not get lonely!

The second element of our lives here that we hadn’t really anticipated, yet one that thrills us consistently, is our immersion in the arts and live performances of classical music. As we’ve noted, our new flat in Avenidas Novas is only a leisurely fifteen minute stroll to our concert subscription series at the Gulbenkian Foundation, where we will enjoy another delightful twenty-two event series of orchestra concerts from September through next May, with ticket prices a fraction of those in most cities. The Gulbenkian Orchestra–and its sister Gulbenkian Choir–is, we believe, a hidden gem among European orchestras and one that seems considerably underrated. We continue to relish the unique, one of a kind experience that live performances bring, with all the elements of freshness, communication, and genuine human interaction and emotion that involves. It’s even a delight when a few ducks fly in to land on the pond outside the floor to ceiling glass that serves as the backdrop to the stage, as the Gulbenkian’s buildings are set in the midst of a tranquil park of 7.5 hectares filled with lush gardens, ponds, and winding pathways where families and lovers can picnic and stroll. Of course, it’s even more of a treat sharing these experiences with long time local Portuguese supporters of the symphony who sit near us in their ongoing subscription seats, as well as probably a dozen or so of our immigrant friends here who also have season subscriptions or simply attend as as many performances as possible.

We have also loved exploring fado, the marvelous, passionate music of longing and yearning that seems to reflect the soul of the land and the people here. We have a favorite fado bar in Bairro Alto where we love to take visitors and where we know the musicians, and we recently were thrilled to attend a fado concert by Katia Guerreiro, a legendary singer who is also a practicing doctor! She was accompanied by several guitarists, including two fado guitar players who are famous in their own right. And the night was made even more complete when Katia thanked the audience for singing Feliz Aniversário (happy birthday) to her and introduced another living legend, Mariza, who was sitting just a handful of rows in front of us. Be still my heart!

And music is not the only artistic delight we enjoy, as the Gulbenkian is first and foremost and art museum where we got to see their latest acquisition, a lovely painting by Portuguese artist Paula Rego, in the lobby when we attended another of the Gulbenkian Choir’s series of free concerts last week. We continue to add to our list of explorations with the Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, the Museu do Oriente, LX Factory, and the fabulous Oceanário de Lisboa featured in the header photo above. Many more remain to be discovered.

And finally, probably the most surprising to us, in retrospect, is our absolute love of the full on urban lifestyle in the heart of Lisbon. Who would have thought that, after decades of home ownership and long distance commuting and hunting for parking places in three different cities in the US, we would have sold our cars and gifted pretty much everything and moved to Portugal with five suitcases and a guitar? And instead of those wonderful suburban properties that we loved, we now adore our flat in a building built in 1910–which makes it a pretty new building here, actually! And we recently learned that a flat above us was the clandestine headquarters of the Partido Socialista (PS) or Socialist Party, of Portugal when it was founded in 1973 and that was integral in forming the new republic after the 1974 Carnation Revolution. History all around us!

We love our walks to the traditional Mercado de 31 Janeiro for our fresh seafood, chicken, and vegetables, where the merchants have come to know us and just how Sarah likes her dourado and her carapauzinho filleted and her frango inteiro spatchcocked. Other grocery basics are available at any of the several neighborhood grocery stores, part of larger chains but of a smaller, well, neighborhood size and very convenient. For our few times a week fresh bread, it’s just across our street to Dava for daily fresh pão de Mafra, a crusty, traditional, hand-kneaded European white bread, then next door to Perola da Chaimite, for coffee beans to grind. Of course, we’ve already noted the many cafes and restaurants nearby—and shown several of our favorites above—so we can dine on almost any cuisine we like, from local, traditional Portuguese fare to the occasional Michelin Star, all within that easy walking distance.

As mentioned, we don’t even own a car anymore, and that’s the case with the majority of our urban friends here. The public transportation system here in Lisbon is free for us since we have achieved a certain age milestone, and access via metro and bus is wonderful. Even Uber and Bolt, when needed, are quite dependable and relatively inexpensive. What a delight not to have to drive!

Of course, we miss our daughters, who have come to visit us here a couple times, and we love our frequent chats via messenger or zoom. And our flat has plenty of room for us to host friends and family to experience a bit of Lisbon and Portugal for themselves. So, now that we have relaxed into truly living here in Portugal, made so many new friendships, imbibed so much deeply stirring music, and immersed ourselves in the rhythms and routines of our neighborhood and city, yes, we can say with certainly: we absolutely love our lives here in Lisbon.

Now, our goal is to explore more and more of this beautiful country and its culture . . . and taste some more of its vinho, perhaps.

But of course that’s another story, right?