Questions I Asked Before Moving Abroad

Creating a life in another country.

You probably already know Tiny, Private Love Letter is divided into two parts: the paid “private parts” and the free “public displays of affection.” Because the recent U.S. election sparked a digital terramoto—my WhatsApp, Instagram, texts, and Facebook are flooded with messages asking about coming to Lisbon—I’ve been reflecting on what I can offer to help.

📸 Image Description: My friend Pooja from Portuguese language class and I celebrating a mutual friend’s Pasni ceremony.

In a future public display of affection, I’ll point you to places to get great info about visiting or moving to Portugal. For now, because the decision to move abroad is such a huge step, I want to share a few things I’ve learned along the way in case it makes the process easier for you.

As an American living in Portugal, it’s worth re-upping the fact that this is my third time leaving the U.S. to live in Europe. Some of you may have experienced living in other regions of the world, or to a greater number of countries. Here’s what I did to figure out what was right for me in this moment:

1. Identified my life priorities—because those would matter no matter where I chose to live.

2. Kept an open mind about moving to any country, then narrowed it down to a handful of places that aligned with my priorities.

3. Researched visa options for my shortlisted countries and re-prioritized the list accordingly.

4. Lived in my top-choice country for a month during the time of year when the weather would be at its worst.

5. Reevaluated whether this was the right time and place to go.

Notice: I didn’t choose Portugal first, then figure out how to make it work.

Instead, I started by really evaluating what I wanted out of life in general. For me and for right now, all signs pointed to Portugal, and I really love it here. But, everyone’s journey is different. In case sharing mine help you figure out your own path, too, here are some insights and tricks I’ve picked up along the way.