US citizen who decided to retire abroad so she could visit Europe more easily. Decided on Portugal - sounds like it was initially Lisbon, but then opted on Porto. Lots of interesting points - settling in, healthcare, bureaucracy, European travels, missing Trader Joe’s, etc.
The article mentions her visa status in Portugal. I wonder if her citizenship/visa status impacts her travel ease. Or variable depending on country being visited?
Something like 100 million Americans are eligible to get a passport in an EU country based on their ancestry. Once you have citizenship in one EU country, you have the right to reside in any of them.
I got my Irish passport back in 2008 (both of my parents were born in Ireland, I was born in the US) when I was doing an extended cruise of South America and Antarctica. Since the Bush Administration was putting onerous travel restrictions on Latin America at the time and they retaliated by doing the same to Americans. I saved about $600 in visa fees by traveling on the Irish passport.
intercst
@intercst - The article mentions that she is considering applying for Portuguese citizenship. I was just wondering if the visa situation made it easier traveling to France, Spain, or another EU company. Visiting London, probably her US passport was a benefit. [Edit: She’s lived in Portugal for 5 years. Seems like she’s done a cost-benefit analysis and sees there might be some advantage to being a Portuguese citizen]
Separately, seems like she is diving fully into European lifestyle with a property investment (separate from her apartment), plus a car.