Desert scenery around Fort Irwin, Calif. where I’ve been staying with my son and daughter-in-law before I leave for Portugal.

Tomorrow I fly to Portugal, the start of the adventure I’ve been planning for months, actually years.

So, to follow on my last post, here are some of the ways I accomplished my “to do” list.

How I picked a moving company

In January, I did a Google search for international moving companies. I got in touch with five companies:
Allied Van Lines
Transparent International
Worldwidemoving.UK
Global International (in Portugal)
Shippingmygoods

At first I worried about the weight of my shipment, but was told it actually depends on volume. The quotes for a small amount of furniture and boxes of personal goods totalling about 400 cubic feet of volume varied between a little under $6,000 to nearly $10,000, plus insurance.

I have a very limited budget, so I went with the lowest cost (Shippingmygoods)and agreed to pack my personal goods myself. That meant the insurance would be for total loss, i.e. if the ship sank. It meant that I could not claim for loss or damage to individual items.

I also had to arrange to get a Certificado de Bagagem from the Portuguese consulate to prove that you have owned the goods for more than six months, in order to bring it into the country without paying customs duties. For me, living in New Mexico, the appropriate consulate was one in San Francisco. They have a form online which has the language you need. You have to itemise what you will send and translate it into Portuguese. (I had a fun morning with my Portuguese dictionary.) You must send a copy of your passport and documents such as utility bills and driving license that prove you have been living at your US address for an extended period. You also need to send a check for about $51. The consulate returned the Certificado within days.

The shipping company told me the shipment would take 7 to 10 weeks once it began its journey.

More to follow …..

I’ve lived in a lot of different countries and done about a dozen international moves in my life, but this move from Albuquerque to Portugal is the biggest challenge. This time, I’m doing it all. It’s not for someone else’s job, no one is making me go. It’s because I want to move!

The past few months have been like a training program getting ready for a competition. Here are some of the things on the to-do list I taped to my refrigerator.

MOST IMPORTANT: FIND A HOME FOR MY BELOVED CATS. RESEARCH CONVINCED ME THE JOURNEY WOULD BE TOO TRAUMATIC FOR THEM!
1. Find companies that do international moves and get quotes.
2. Decide what I could afford to keep and how to get rid of stuff I couldn’t.
3. Sell stuff on Craigslist and through Facebook marketplace and held two garage sales.
4. Give “family heirlooms” to my son and niece.
5. Check on healthcare options.
6. File for Social Security benefits
7. Sell my car
8. Sell my house
9. Figure out banking options
10. When the house sells, arrange to terminate utilities and internet service
11. Say goodbye to friends.

See my next post for how I accomplished this to do list.

Well, it’s done. All my worldly goods disappeared into a moving van on Friday, April 12. I closed on the sale of my house and I leave Albuquerque on Friday, April 19. I’ll have a couple of weeks with my son and daughter-in-law in California, then it’s off to Portugal on May 4.

It’s been a busy few weeks saying goodbye to my many friends here. Sylvie and Nique, friends I’ve known for many years, held a lovely farewell party for me. My friends from New Mexico Touring Society also had a get-together. So, I’ve had a good Sendoff. I know I will miss many things about New Mexico besides the numerous friends: the glorious sunny weather, seeing the Sandia Mountains every day, green chile, breakfast burritos and Java Joe’s coffee on a Sunday morning.

Today I held a garage sale to minimize the amount of stuff I have to ship or give away before the moving company comes next Friday. I will be leaving Albuquerque very soon after 21 years here. I will miss the many friends I have made over the years in the different worlds I have participated in during my time here: Tango Club of Albuquerque and other dance groups, Le Groupe Français, the Albuquerque Journal, New Mexico Touring Society bicycle club, Women Out and About and others.

I’ve moved all over the world but I’ve lived in Albuquerque longer than any other place in my life. I love the mountains, the climate, the quirky mix of cultures, the green chile, many places in New Mexico (Taos, Silver City, Madrid, Jemez Springs, Roswell, Ruidoso, Red River and more.) But I feel the call to go back to Europe. I sincerely hope friends can come visit me once I establish an address in Portugal. I will keep in touch via email and Facebook.

Almost every time I talk to people about my plan to retire in Portugal, the question “What are you going to do about health care,” pops up.

I’ve been doing some research and gradually piecing together what I will have to do. As our glorious leader said when discussing efforts to repeal the ACA, health care is really complicated stuff!

What I’ve learned so far. Expats from EU countries and a few other European lands who move to Portugal can apply for residency after three months. I have an Irish passport as well as my US passport so I will be able to pursue that route. For US citizens, it’s a bit more complicated, you need a residency visa. One of the requirements is to show proof of health insurance.

I’ve become a member of a couple of expat Facebook groups, I Love Tomar and Pure Portugal, and have posted questions about what kind of proof is needed, but the answers I’ve received are all over the place. Today, I talked to a representative with my Medicare Advantage plan, AARP Medicare Complete which is insured through United Healthcare. She told me I would be covered for emergencies overseas, i.e. if I broke my arm, but if I stayed overseas more than six months, I would no longer be covered. She said there is also a United Healthcare global plan. So my next piece of research will be looking at the UHCGlobal.com website to see what they offer.

An expat I have been in touch with in Portugal told me she and her husband are now on the local Portuguese health service but they have also subscribed to private insurance through Mgen . Lots to consider.

Moving day is less than a month away and I am packing, packing, packing. There’s nothing quite like a move that will cost you a bundle to make you decide how much sentimentality is really worth. I’ve never read Marie Kondo but I think I’m living her philosophy.

Sometimes it’s easy to make decisions about what to give away to friends or charitable organizations, other times you relive memories that bring back sadness mixed with joy. Sometimes you ask yourself if the dream you have been pursuing is really a goal that will lead to happiness. Then you listen to the news and you remember all the reasons why it seems entirely rational to seek an alternative place to live in a different culture.

My maternal grandparents, Michael and Rose McGoohan, were born in County Leitrim, Ireland and emigrated to the US in the early 20th century. In the 1980s, my brother discovered that this could enable us to obtain an Irish passport. I followed his example and did so, by obtaining documentation of my grandparents birth in Ireland. I have kept it current since the early 1990s with the idea that it would give me options to live in the European Union because of the Schengen agreement, which enabled free movement within those countries. When I spent two months in Portugal last summer researching the feasibility of moving there in retirement, my Irish passport helped me leapfrog over some of the requirements that would have been more difficult if I had only had a US passport. With help from a contact in Portugal, I was able to get a Número de Identificação Fiscal (NIF), also known as a Numero de Contribuinte, which is needed for all kinds of daily activities such as opening a bank account or getting a phone subscription.

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton