the hot goddess

Midlife Summertime Firsts in Portugal

Summer officially comes to a close in the Northern Hemisphere on Sunday with the fall equinox. Looking back on my second summer as a midlife solo expat and retiree in Portugal, I experienced a variety of firsts here this season.

For expats living in Portugal, there are tax-related links at the end that could be helpful.

My random replay of seven summer firsts:

1

First summer experiencing an earthquake. I slept through last year’s 3.4-level quake in my village but was wide awake for the shaking, rattling, and swaying of this summer’s 5.4 rumbler. It was brief and without incident, leaving folks here more afraid of what might be coming next than anything else. Fortunately, there was nothing more.

Click images for sources.
Initial reports put the August quake at 5.6 on the Richter scale before it was downgraded to 5.4. I was surprised at the drastic drop in global annual frequency from level 5.4 to 5.5.
I found this enlightening and surprising. I learned that I’m not supposed to get out of a potentially collapsing house when an earthquake hits, but should instead stay in the house and under a table. If the shaking is severe, I should hold onto a furniture leg and move with it. If the shaking is severe and I’m in my house by the ocean, I should run to the highest place I can get to.

2

First summer without dating apps. Also earth-shaking. I’ve traded the boys of summer for a lasting partner. However, a teacher’s work is never done, and I was drafted into a new role. Summer school class was in session, apparently, for a group of misbehaving midlife women expats.

First summer sleepover party for grown women, complete with tutoring. Not my idea, but still laughing.
Master class professor 🫡. Never say never.

3

First summer attending a string of outdoor concerts all season long in different venues around Portugal. Beach raves, museum garden performances, and opera outside a monastery. Heavenly.

Outdoor Opera in Óbidos
Nothing says Sunday like cocktails and free live music. Summer at the beach is tourist season, so nearly everything is posted in English.
Nearly everything. “2024 Summer Program” on the Silver Coast
“Sounds on the Sand” stage set-up for a summer night’s beach concert.
Free indoor and outdoor performances in Lisbon were a summer treat.

4

First summer visit to a dark-sky park in Portugal, and first-ever photo captures of the Milky Way. Beyond heavenly. Portugal’s Alentejo region is a star-gazer’s dream.

Darrrrrrk

5

First summer checking out a book from a beach library.

“The Rules of Summer“
Books, beach, and “bolas” (“balls” or scoops of ice cream). Is this heaven or what?
“Never miss the last day of summer.”
From the book, As Regras Do Verão.

6

First summer playing card games at a coastal village brewery in Portugal. First time playing card games at any brewery ever. And what a spectacular hand was played! Just in time for the spectacular repeat performance of the runaway summer hit (or miss…again) fantasy, Fake Assassination Attempt: Putting the Ass² in Assassination. Playing at golf courses and rallies near you.

I love card games. This is the actual winning hand played by my boyfriend. He is not American, but, like my 91-year-old Portuguese nextdoor neighbor, he knows what he knows.
Mais ou menos

7

Expat Resources:

Ta-da! First summer acceptance notice for my spring tax filing in Portugal and first official Portuguese certificate of no debt. You get this when your taxes have been paid in full or you do not owe any taxes. The certificate is good for three months and can be continually renewed on the Finanças website as long as your account is in good standing. Hooray!

Sample certificate from Portugal Tax Authority. I don’t know when, where, why, or if I will need this certificate, but I plan on having a current one when I renew my residency permit next year.

For more expat resources and immigrating to Portugal Q&As, check out THG’s Midlife Expat Learning page.

Happy end-of-summer weekend. May every season give you reasons to smile. Thank you for reading! ❤️

The Hot Goddess

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35 comments

  6. Those free outdoor summer performances look like so much fun! So glad you had a wonderful second summer there! Hope you have a great fall/winter as well! Also that Cards Against Humanity win is so good! hahaha hilarious cause you know it’s true hahaha!

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    • Carole, how thoughtful. Thank you! 💜 I am thankful not to live near the fires. I learned about Portugal’s fire season when I was still living in the US, and followed the fire maps on https://fogos.pt/ as part of my where-to-move research. So far, our coastal area continues to be spared. All is well in your Algarve area too, I hope?

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  9. Quite a summer of firsts. We live in earthquake country, so it takes a lot to shake us up (no pun intended) most of the time. We’ve had two bad ones over the years, one that caused a bridge to come down. Two years ago we had a good shaker and every room in our house had things come down in the middle of the night. That was pretty unnerving. On the other hand, we’re visiting our son in South Dakota right now, and they’ve had their fair share of tornadoes historically, so it seems like we’ve all got our hazards.

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    • Yes, I am fortunate and grateful to be able to live here, Pete, and happy that all my research on where to move has paid off so far. Many places around the world have to deal with the challenges and tragedies of natural and man-made disasters on a regular basis.

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