The Perfect Neighborhood
Coffee time on our balcony!
In the United States, I moved several times. There was the first college home shared with others. Several different apartments after graduation. A big move to Connecticut and then New York City. Choosing a place to live was more about what I could afford and what’s available than true neighborhood shopping. Moving to Portugal was somewhat the same. But, we lucked out and landed in the perfect neighborhood for us.
I advise clients to do the following when they are making the move here to Portugal:
Stay in apartments when you come to visit. Not hotels. Hotels don’t give you a feel for true living in Portugal.
Rent when you first arrive here so that you can determine what works for you.
Research cities and neighborhoods (or let us do that for you!) so that you can find what really works for you before settling in permanently
What makes the perfect neighborhood? That’s entirely up to you and your preferences. Right now, close your eyes and imagine yourself in your ideal place. Do you hear the sound of the ocean? Do you see the bustle of city life? Do you hear just the sound of the breeze through trees? That’s a great place to start!
Our neighborhood here in Coimbra is Norton de Matos. It has a rich history connected to the Salazar regime and was the location that school teachers, nurses and social workers were required to live. It was designed for just that- living. We had never seen the apartment (or Coimbra for that matter!) before the first day of my husband moving in upon his arrival to Portugal. Google Street View was our realtor. By using this useful tool (it’s not usually up to date on exactly how things look on that day but the general layout is usually correct!), we were able to see that there was a Farmácia just a two minute walk away (that is from our door to our apartment to their front door). We also saw a wonderful pastelaria, a frutaria, a butcher, several small cafés, a school and two different bus stops almost at our front door. We could see that this was a neighborhood where people LIVED. The other thing we thought would be great but only truly came to love it was there is a soccer pitch right in front of our apartment.
We wake up each morning and have coffee on our balcony. The neighbors are making their way to work or school. Dog owners are taking their fur babies for a walk. (we’ve come to know people by their dogs!) As the day goes on, the sounds from our open window are the sounds of workers and people greeting each other (in Portuguese- another reason we wanted this neighborhood! We wanted to be forced to learn the language.) often times from their open window to either the street or the next apartment building.
When evening rolls around the sounds change to kids playing on the soccer pitch and the neighbors return from work and walk their pets again. Live music can be heard coming from the café. We will often end the evening with a glass of port. We remind ourselves each day how lucky we are and pinch ourselves that we live here!
We’ve found our perfect country, city & neighborhood!
Soccer pitch from our balcony
We’d love to help you find your perfect neighborhood! No guarantees that you will find one that is perfect on the first try, but we will never know until we give it a go!
