Three Lessons I Learned Moving Across the World and One Huge Thing That Would Have Made Life Easier
Moving to another country encompasses a whole list of adjectives. It's exciting, terrifying, fun, overwhelming, expensive, confusing, and completely amazing. I would 1000% do it again, and in fact, I eventually hope to. I have always thought that this world was way too small to live in one place forever. I want to experience as many cultures and see as much of this world as I can. I have been in Portugal almost a year and now that I am mostly settled, I have been thinking about how crazy these last few years have been and everything we had to do to make it happen. With that in mind, these are the top 3 lessons I have learned during my process of moving across the world.
3 Lessons Learned
1. Learn more about investing and make better money choices!
We sold our house and made a great profit which was how we were fully able to make this move happen. I should have spent time learning about investing better and I still need to. It's on my list and I will do it. I was never taught much about money and have never been good at saving, which is why I struggled so much despite making a decent salary. I know my money could be working so much harder and I could be making so much more off of it. I wish schools taught us more about money management but they don't so you have to figure out how to learn for yourself. There is tons of information about how to do it well all over YouTube, social media, and online in general. But you have to find it and learn. I don't ever want to live the way I was financially in Vegas again. Also, be smarter with the money you do have and what you spend it on. I really don't need a giant closet full of clothes and shoes that I may never wear, but I do want to be able to take as many trips as I want. Make better money choices and invest what you can.
Experiences are way more important to the quality of my life than material possessions are now.
2. Moving to a new country is hard!!!
Sounds obvious but you never really understand it until you do it. I think it can be a different type of “hard” for everyone. In all the research I did about moving, I heard non-stop “it's hard” but no one ever explains “hard” how. I can't really explain “hard” how either because everyone I have talked to has their own point of when “hard” hit them. I had moved to Miami at 18 and Vegas at 21, so I figured I could do another country at 37. And yea I did, but it was a very different move. You are in a totally different country, with a different culture and customs, different language and even different stuff.
All of a sudden, even going to the grocery store is a totally different experience because there are some foods you don't recognize, labels are in a different language, sizes are different in a different measurement system and you feel like you have never bought groceries in your life! It's so overwhelming!!!
3. Put yourself out there!!!
I have pretty bad social anxiety. I have always been really shy. Somewhere in my 20s I learned how to fake it a little and apparently it worked because no one ever believes me when I tell them I’m shy. But it still REALLY gets me.
My biggest fear of moving here was not being able to make friends.
I moved away from my family at 18, so my friends in Miami and then in Vegas became my family. I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to do that here. Before I moved, I joined a few local Facebook groups hoping that I could meet people. A week after arriving, there was a meetup for one. It was womens only so I was going to have to go alone. I had to talk myself into going. On my walk over, I called one of my besties so she could calm me down and encourage me. I almost turned around to go home so many times during the 10 minute walk. I almost walked out the door when I walked in to about 60 women sitting at tables and I was alone. But I pushed myself. I heard someone speak with an American accent and gathered every bit of courage I had to ask her if I could sit with them (I felt like the new girl in the school cafeteria.) And of course, she welcomed me, everyone welcomed me. Through that group I met women who became friends, her included, and through them, I met others. And now I have a full social circle and really great friends who have become our Tavira family. None of that might have ever happened if I would have let my social anxiety win that day. I still struggle with talking to people but I try, because you never know how a random conversation could end up changing your path or how important someone can become with just a simple hello.
1 thing that would have made it easier:
HAVING A JOB!
During the shutdown and when I got sick with Long Covid, I started looking for remote jobs. Long Covid made it almost impossible to work my job and I knew having a remote job would make the move easier. I actually started one working with a friend of mine with his real estate business but then the market started to slow right before we left Vegas and he had to let me go. I continued to look for others but I didn’t have any luck and I was so busy with the move that I couldn’t spend a ton of time searching. Now that we have been here, I have been searching again. I started my blog but I still feel like I should get a job to to alleviate some of the stress of living off the money from the house. So now I look more often to see what I can find. I really want something part time or at least something I will love because I never want to work in a place I hate again. There are so many jobboards out there, it can be overwhelming. (I think maybe life in general is just overwhelming for me tbh.)
My favorite jobboard is Nomad Job. They have so many new jobs posted every day and it’s easy to apply to as many roles as you want.
If you have ever thought living in another place would be so cool, do it! I know it sounds like it's impossible but there are ways. I went through 2 years of so much work to make this happen. There were days I thought it was going to be impossible to but I kept working at it. I cried, I screamed, I nearly pulled my hair out with everything that we had to do to make it happen but every bit of that was so worth it. My life is just better now. My quality of life is far greater than I ever thought was possible. Every time, I talk to people from back home, they tell me how much happier we look, and they are right, we are so much happier! I know there will still be challenges as we continue to adjust to our new home, but I think we have done a pretty amazing job so far.
If you are curious about how exactly we made it all happen and why we chose Portugal, check out my other blog posts on FromVegasToPortugal.com and follow my Instagram to see life in Portugal, my travels and adventures @vegas.to.portugal.
About Natasha:
Natasha Thomas is a passionate nomad.
The Covid shut down gave her time to re-evaluate her life, where she realized she was no longer living the way she wanted. So she, along with her husband, dog and cat, uprooted their lives to embark on an exciting journey from the vibrant and hectic streets of Las Vegas to the charming town of Tavira, Portugal. It's been nearly a year since she made this bold move, embracing new experiences and cultures which proved her adventurous spirit and determination.
Natasha has found inspiration in the beauty of Portugal's surroundings and has plans to travel throughout Europe. Through her words, she paints vivid pictures of her travels and experiences that reflect her journey of adaptation and growth in a foreign land. Her unique perspective has garnered a dedicated readership that eagerly awaits each entry.
Beyond her writing, Natasha enjoys exploring the local cuisine, customs and hidden gems Portugal offers as well as spending time with her new friends, and taking her dog to his new favorite place, the beach. Her story is a testament to the power of following one’s passions and dreams and embracing the beauty of change. Join her as she continues to craft stories that bridge continents and hearts, all while embracing the joy of life in her new Portuguese haven at FromVegasToPortugal.com