International Living Community

I am so glad you enjoyed yourself! How wonderful to find your family owns vineyards! That would keep me here even if there was nothing else. Congratlations.

I would go to the credit card company and ask. Heresay is just not worth mistakes.

Most banks will require that you be a legal resident for a short period of time before opening a local account so most expats do get their residency visa first, operating via home credit/debit cards in the interim until they can get a local account set up. Having a local account makes many things (like paying for local utility bills) easier. Though there are some expats who don't open a local account, it's recommendable to do so.

Best,
IL Panama Editor Jess Ramesch

JSWIGART2 said:
I don't quite understand Mr Baumann's comment about "you will, however, pay the difference between u.s. and Portuguese tax rates." Does he mean if I pay 25% rate in U.S. and Portuguese retirement taxes are 40% I pay an additional 15% on my retirement income?
JSWIGART2 - Yes, your understanding is correct.

This was our itinerary. It was a whirlwind trip and I'm not sure it really gave us a feel for any area, other than the Algarve. My wife didn't like the beach life that much. Neither of us were interested in the busyness of Lisbon. We loved it on the Silver coast and up North. We plan to go back and spend a couple weeks in the North before we retire.
Day 1 Porto
Day 2 Porto
Day 3 Porto - Douro Valley
Day 4 Porto - Averio & Nazare
Day 5 Drive to Lisbon with stops on the Atlantic coast
Day 6 Lisbon - Sintra
Day 7 Lisbon
Day 8 Lisbon
Day 9 Quarteira (Algarve)
Day 10 Quarteira - Sagres
Day 11 Quarteira - Lagos - Benagil Caves
Day 12 Quarteira
Day 13 Lisbon