Midlife Adventures: Embracing Expat Life and Starting a New Business in Portugal

Join Emily Bron as she chats with Colleen Showalter, who moved to Portugal with her family after 50. Colleen shares her journey, the ups and downs of expat life, and founding ‘Portugal, the Place’ to help other expats transition smoothly. Discover tips on planning a move, embracing change, and immersing in Portugal’s unique culture.

TIMESTAMP:
00:00 Introduction: Reinventing Life After 50
02:42 Meet Colleen Show Walter: A Journey to Portugal
04:51 The Decision to Relocate: Why Portugal?
07:17 Challenges and Triumphs: Relocating with Family
11:53 Building a Business: Founding Portugal The Place
14:15 Cultural Adaptation: Embracing Portuguese Life
22:36 Services Offered: Helping Expats Settle
31:38 Healthcare and Community: Living in Portugal
39:00 Advice for Future Expats: Making the Leap
44:28 Conclusion: Embracing a New Life

Emily: Hello, I’m Emily Bron, host of podcast Age of Reinvention, How to Find New Freedom and Purpose at Midlife, where I’m exploring midlife stage from the real life stories of the professionals, international expats, and immigrants who have found new passions. Purpose and added fulfillment in their lives.

After 15 today, I have guests from Portugal, American expat and entrepreneur, Colleen show Walter, who moved abroad being after 50 together with family and created new business expert oriented company, Portugal, the place. Hello Colleen. 

Colleen: Hello. Thank you so much for having me today. I’m excited to share our story and to meet you. 

Emily: Thank you. Thank you. A little bit about Colleen. Colleen is a classic Gen X sandwich between children and aging parents. She moved to Portugal with husband, but also with 81 years old father and 90 years old daughter. Hello. and found business helping people to relocate, providing so necessary support from the focus of building community and stability for the life in the new country.

As Colleen saying, after three years, she couldn’t be happier. Colleen in the past is CEO and now founder of Portugal, the place company. She has a rich background in project planning and business development primarily in the hospitality sector. She and her husband and daughter now live in Portugal after relocating from Oregon in United States.

And. Colleen, I’m really looking forward to hear your story because I believe it’s unique as each of us unique, but at the same time my highlights the points of family who relocating several generation of family, which is pretty unique because it’s not so easy even to relocate when you’re 50. Above 50, but you’ve had extended story.

Please share with us some details. First of all, why you decided to relocate and why Portugal? 

Colleen: I think that’s a great question. And one that I’m excited to share because we, like many other people, my husband and I had always really thought about moving to Europe, it had been a dream that we would talk about perhaps after we’ve retired later in life, it was always that Eventually conversation, but then when COVID hit, just like many others, our lives were rocked, things changed and our career opportunities changed.

And we had a moment, we had that moment where we talked and we said, what if. We didn’t continue in the corporate grind. We didn’t stay in the same pattern that we’re in right now. But what if we did everything, sold everything, put it all together and relocate it. And when we decided to do this, the country that was the first choice, the only choice in the conversation was Portugal.

And for us, it was because it was the beginning of a journey to a new place And the end point of many, many trips to Europe and many trips abroad, discovering different places and realizing that there was an appeal to Portugal that the other countries just couldn’t provide as much as we love all of Europe and we love traveling.

Portugal held a very different feeling for us. And so we pursued it with the idea that we were going to relocate and move My husband and I, our daughter was just coming out of high school and she also all of a sudden was like, okay, this is something I want to do. And then in that process, we were caring for my father and my stepmother who were living with us.

And unfortunately, my stepmother had a stroke and passed away. And I was working with my father talking to him and said, you know, at the time he was 81 said, would you be interested in relocating to Portugal? I couldn’t imagine our life at that point not being with dad. he lived with us, we’ve been together.

And my favorite phrase that stays with me forever, I think, is he looked at me square in the face and said, I don’t want to spend my last years sitting in a recliner watching NCIS. And with that, he said, let’s do it. I’ll take another chapter in his eighties. He was like, let’s do it. So we started the process.

We went through everything that you had to do, but during COVID, they closed down the consulates. So we spent some time. Exploring Europe, we are exploring the United States. Actually, we were in an RV traveling across the country. My father, my husband, and our big dog. We have 125 pound Newfie doodle that we traveled with.

Our daughter stayed behind. She didn’t join us until a year later. And we moved to Portugal through that process, kind of holding on, waiting until the consulates would open and relocating my father along with our family unit and the dog was definitely a balancing act for me. And it really exposed not only all the positives, but some of the areas of challenges, which is why we decided to open Portugal the place was because we realized there were some gaps.

And they really became apparent when I was dealing with a 19 year old and an 81 year old and finding the different areas where you were lacking support. And so now we have our company, but as we navigated the process of moving here, we We really started to understand one, how possible it is, it really is possible to relocate either a young adult child, a young child as well.

We have many families, but also my father. And it was one of the best decisions we could have made. My dad was 81 at the time. He passed away this last August after having some of the best years of his life. And, and I don’t, I of course miss him. It’s. Desperately. And we love having the memories we had of him, but what we really did get gifted was quality time.

All of a sudden, my father was having new experiences. He was exploring. We were having all these new and exciting adventures as a family. And I was gifted the experience of time with my father, intentional, new things, really getting to know each other and also seeing the new possibilities for him. He rode a horse for the first time ever.

81 years old and he got on a horse. He relocates to a country where he has no idea. He doesn’t know anything about the food. Doesn’t have any idea of what he’s going to be facing and he embraced it with gusto and to have that experience and share that with him it was worth it. every single moment of just figuring out the move and the logistics.

It was amazing to have and I, I treasure it. 

Emily: Thank you. Thank you for sharing. And what changed since in your family? Since you relocated? Where are you living, by the way? From what place you started your journey? 

Colleen: So we had to rent a place sight unseen at the time, because we couldn’t come in and do it in person during COVID.

So we luckily found a an apartment that would take our dog and my dad and the kid, you know, we had a lot of moving parts, so we’re in Alcabassa in a center of Portugal. So on the silver coast, we are about 10 minutes from Nazaré, which is the famous Beachtown for the big waves. And our city is about 25, 000 people with a historic monastery that holds the center.

It’s a UNESCO world heritage site. It’s the largest example of Gothic architecture in Portugal. And what we love about Alcabaza is when you step out the front door here, I know I live in Europe. There is no doubt. The bells are ringing. The, the 11th century church is right in front of me. There’s a Moorish castle on the hill.

It’s like, okay. I am not in the same place anymore. And that was something we really wanted. We wanted to be immersed in a full European experience. And we got that a hundred percent. So, so that’s where we landed and we thought we’d just use it as a base. We figured we’d come here and then explore and we didn’t find anything else that appealed to us more and we couldn’t be happier here, our community and family now, so El Cabasa is our home.

Emily: Great, great story. Great beginning because I believe we have some stories from you about your new life in Portugal. And I understand that you’ve had some project management positions back in the past. And I’m just wondering because the transition from project management to establish.

to establishing your own business by itself, it’s significant change. What can, can you share what was the motivation behind the founding Portugal the Place Company? 

Colleen: Well, it really came from identifying a gap. In services that seeing that there was a need in the community, my husband and I, when we relocated, I especially didn’t think I was going to be retiring.

We thought perhaps I would buy, we would buy a hotel, like a small little hotel or a bed and breakfast, something in the hospitality, but when we arrived, We saw that there was this service element that was very difficult as Americans to find the support in between immigration attorneys and real estate agents, there’s lots of options out there.

If you need to learn about your visa, there’s a lot of options out there if you want to buy a house. There’s tons of real estate agents, but the stuff in between, you know, how do I move my dog? Where do I register my children for school? How do I figure out which town is going to best appeal to me? How do I find a rental or a purchase and have someone that isn’t invested financially?

How do I get some help and some eyes on the ground when I’m in a totally different continent? So we started offering the services because of that very fact, there just is a missing element. One thing you may be aware of, and, and we certainly know is that in the United States, we relocate from state to state and that alone feels like we’re culturally changing, right?

You move from. Oregon, for example, my husband’s from Boston, you make that change. And that’s almost like two different countries because of how, how culturally significant the differences are. But you can go online to a city and go to a relocation tab on a chamber of commerce and get a fair amount of information.

And we speak the same language, right? When you come to Portugal and you’re looking You Google a city and it’s very hard to determine, is this a city that is going to match your needs? It’s kind of two dimensional. There isn’t a lot of information beyond like tourist sites or things that are very strictly in Portuguese.

So it falls flat a bit and then you start to struggle because you’re, you can’t find that match. And that’s what we decided we really wanted to focus on is helping people. Build their life in Portugal with the tools that fill in those gaps that we’re used to having in the States.

Emily: Interesting. So, actually, what aspects of Portuguese culture have influenced or affected your work? And worldview. 

Colleen: Well, a lot, I tell you a lot. It’s amazing how much you absorb and how much you realize the differences. We have a team of 18 and in our offices in Alcabaza, there’s a team of eight of us and our team here is split between North Americans and Portuguese and boy, do you learn the cultural differences quickly when you’re, when you’re blending two different backgrounds together.

And one of the things which. My team would laugh, but the people that I worked with back in the States would understand is Portuguese culture has given me the tools and almost required me to slow down. Like, you just don’t get things done as fast. You can’t multitask fast. The same way there is an expectation that you’re going to appreciate life.

You’re going to take lunch away from your desk. You’re going to, you know, sit down and enjoy something. You’re not just running, running, running all the time. And coming from the background that I came from in corporate America, my last position before I left the United States was an executive vice president in a tech company.

So I had a very high pressure travel job. And so for me now, I feel like I’m like. Really mellow and it’s because they bring an appreciation to life and they don’t work to live. They, they, they do it in a different way. You know, we live to work in the United States. They work to have a paycheck, but they don’t identify.

By their job, which is fascinating because whenever I’d go somewhere in the U. S. People used to be like, Oh, what do you do? And you’re like, well, I do this or I do that. And that’s how we identify in Portugal. When you meet people, they start just talking about the food they ate or the trip they took or what they’re doing.

But it’s not, they’re very surprised when you say, well, what do you do? And they’re like. Oh, yeah, that thing my job. It’s not the identity that they that they focus on. And that has been a big change for me to let that go and to be more appreciative of living every day and having work be a part of it as opposed to working every day and including life.

It’s been a big change.

Emily: Yes, it’s a North American way of living, now meeting European appreciation of life, I would say. Tell me please do you speak Portuguese enough? How you communicate with your employees? 

Colleen: I am learning Portuguese. It is a language that doesn’t come naturally to me, unfortunately.

It’s been harder than I expected, but to be fair, because I’m not retired and focusing on building a business, I have not taken any classes. Everything I’m learning is just kind of on the job, so to speak. It comes in fits and bursts and you kind of platform and then you get to another level. I think for Portuguese, the, the biggest challenge for me is it’s not phonetic.

You can’t spell it out. You can’t sound it out. When you go to pronounce a word, what it looks like isn’t what it sounds like. So that’s the biggest challenge for me. I’m even pronouncing one of our staff members name is Jose. So it’s very much Jose. Instead of Jose, which we’re used to with my background with some Spanish.

So it’s even adjusting to small, different sounds like that. And the Portuguese are very, very accepting of my limitations. And so my entire team is. Bilingual, trilingual, in some cases, quad lingual. They speak many languages, so they accommodate me, but I’m learning more and more, hopefully, so we can continue to improve my portuguese.

Emily: So I am serving expats, as far as I understand, not only from United States. Yes. 

Colleen: Yes. So all over, mostly English speaking, to be fair the United Kingdom, South Africa, Canada, North America, of course. And then expats that come to us a lot of times are English speaking that are in other parts of the world, for example, Malaysia, or, you know, somewhere where English is an element, but we do get a fair amount of Europeans that want our assistance because they perhaps are in Poland or one of the, Eastern side of Europe’s countries, and they want some support moving over.

And because they also speak English a lot, you know, at least conversational English, they default, they don’t have the expectation that we speak Polish or Ukrainian or something. You know, they’re accustomed to the fact that. It’s the business language, so it helps us be able to serve them

Emily: very good to know for me, and I believe for others.

And when I’m listening to you, I’m just thinking with all these changes and learning and managing the company. Do you have time for your personal life? or maybe do you have any hobby or activities that lights you up, and again, to have a life other than work, which is very needed.

And I understand that the beginning of new business, you need kind of to devote all your time and energy. And I believe your husband helping you, but with all this, please share a bit about what do you love doing when you’re not helping expats settle in. 

Colleen: As well, you know, the first years of a business, you are very, very uber focused.

You’re just everything is new. Everything’s exciting. Now that we’re moving into our fourth year I have made my husband and I have made a concerted effort to return to some of those. basic things we said we wanted out of our life in Portugal. One is travel. That’s one of the reasons many Americans want to live in Europe in general.

And Portugal is so convenient because of where we are. So we have made a commitment and are fulfilling it to travel to somewhere else outside of the country, to Europe. Every quarter. So we have our next trip, we’re going to Scotland in May and France in August. And so we have that built into our budget and into our schedule.

And it’s great because it also inspires us. We come back all refreshed and with new ideas and ready to jump in. So I think we have to keep that in mind. And then I, I made a big mistake when we moved. I listened too much to social media about what you should do when you move. And one of the things in all these Facebook groups, it said, get rid of everything, you know, divest yourself of everything.

You don’t need stuff, just put things in a suitcase and move. So I was like, okay, I need to stop being so materialistic and get rid of everything. I’m a book collector. I love books. I am I live and breathe to go into an old musty bookstore. That’s my like passion. And I sold over a thousand books before we left, got rid of them.

Then I got here to Portugal and realized I really didn’t need to do that. Our, we had space. I miss them very much. And it was a very difficult learning lesson for me, but one that I try to let my clients know and all of your viewers, wherever you move in the world, Bring with you what brings you joy, what makes you happy.

There is no right or wrong. What’s right for me is different for you. And you can’t just have some kind of like plug and play on what you must do. It’s my biggest regret is that I let go of these things that Brought me happiness and joy. And I treasured, they weren’t just things they were part of me. And I got sucked into the social media thing and was like, I must get rid of all this stuff.

And now I do regret that. So I’m, I’m building my collection back up. That’s part of my hobby. As I go to bookstores and travel and try to find anything that I feel like appeals to me and then have myself surrounded again with what, with what makes me happy. And that’s part, that’s pretty much what we do.

We travel, we spend time with our big dog who loves to take walks on the beach and explore and eat, eat Portuguese food is amazing. So we have no shortage of dinners and, and exploring new cuisine. And that keeps us very busy with everything else. 

Emily: Excellent. I’m really happy to hear the stories when people after first year of understandable challenges, enjoying the life, making life better and cherishing every day and all what, you know, life can offer and in Portugal.

As in any other place, but in Portugal you can find a lot of things to do and now just thinking, thinking about going back to your company, Portugal the place I would like to understand more what Company offers, what kind of services company offers could you share inside what additional values you already described a little bit you add to your client’s experience.

Colleen: Well, we wanted to create a very high touch point service. So we are very, very much about the people and it’s about providing a service that helps you focus on what you need to do back in your home country to prepare to leave. And we’re here to pick up the pieces in your new country so that everything goes as smooth as possible.

There’s no one title for what we do, but one thing I feel like we are the most is we are a sounding board, a resource, and a team of people that dig in and help you go through the process. Because everyone’s journey is different, something will inevitably pop up that will freak you out, and you’ll be like, Oh my gosh, is this normal?

And 700 clients. clients relocate to Portugal. What is scary to you will feel very comfortable to us. We’ll be like, we’ve seen this, we’ve been through this, let us work it through and we’ll get you, get you taken care of. But our core services are location scouting. So we do tours of Portugal that are different than just hiring a guide and doing like a wine tour or a history tour.

Our tours are designed, especially to get you intentional in the experience of seeing the areas that. are best fit for you. And what that means is first off, they’re customized. We do a lot of interviews before your service to make sure that where we’re going matches what you’re hoping for out of your life in Portugal.

And then also you can vacation anywhere. But living somewhere is totally different. So we want to get you out of the Airbnb. We actually help you try to stay in more local neighborhoods, try to get you even on your off days when you’re not with us, we build your whole itinerary so that you’re going to the markets, you’re going out and exploring the neighborhoods you’d actually live in because you know, the Airbnbs kind of are a false sense of reality.

You live in this center of some exciting city and, and you’re going to be You know, you have the beautiful white curtains that are fluttering into your space and you’re like, Oh, it’s like a movie. But then when you start looking for properties, that’s not usually the reality, you’re usually looking at something much different for day to day living, and we really want people to.

Make sure they understand what that’s going to look like. So location scouting is our core. If you’ve never been to Portugal, or you’ve only been on holiday, we really encourage folks to come and experience the full thing. So they can feel comfortable that they’re ready and then once they’re ready. And if you’ve chosen Portugal, or you’ve been here a ton of times, whatever, that We have full service relocation packages.

So we help you determine again, the location, what you need, whether it’s a rental or a purchase. We’re not real estate agents. We don’t take commissions. So we are your scouts. We are your people there to help you translate culturally, the differences, looking at it from the American lens and the Portuguese side, so that everything makes sense, getting it right.

Getting you through the whole process from the legal review of leases and properties, getting you set up in your utilities, helping you with deliveries and projects on your home, transportation, your dog, your insurance, literally anything you need to do to get your life set up in Portugal, we assist with.

And that’s the ideas that we didn’t want to have nickel and diming where you have to buy the money. A package for this and a package for that. We just have a relocation service. You sign on and then everything from there is included. There’s no additional billing. Sometimes we win, sometimes we lose. We find a house for some people on the first try and other times it’s 20 houses later and we’re still looking.

So we just dig in and do what we need to do to get you here.

Emily: I know that actually immigration rules to Portugal changed over the last couple of years. And if Portugal was for previous years at least six in a row, the number one place for relocation, for retirement and digital nomad groups. I’m interested in your opinion of what is the situation now in Portugal after the changes and based on your understanding of business development and your personal experience with the Portuguese market, what What opportunities do you foresee for expat oriented businesses in Portugal? Actually, several questions in one, and I will repeat, sorry, like how you evaluate the situation with expats and it’s, I understand less people are coming.

And from other side, what are the business opportunities in your particular business field? 

Colleen: You know, it’s interesting seeing definitely there’s, there’s pros and cons after the changes. We just had our election. We just came out the other side and it moved a little more center, right. Which isn’t necessarily, I’m going to change much because they have such slim margins that it basically is the same people running things from a little different angle.

What does that mean? You know, it’s interesting. We’re not really feeling a lack, seeing a lack of interest or change in people’s motivation to move to Portugal. What we do need to make sure is everyone understands the implications financially of what that move abroad would be. And the recommendation I can make for anyone looking at anywhere, it doesn’t matter if it’s Portugal or anywhere, is an entire understanding of your financial, Outlook from taxes to investments.

There’s a lot of things that as Americans, we have to consider that other folks don’t have to do. And that’s because we are the lucky few to be taxed on citizenship instead of residency. So that gives you another layer. Portugal just changed a status. They had a tax scheme that would give you a flat tax for 10 years.

And they removed that. It was never supposed to be long term. It was never intended to be forever. They decided it had run its course and they removed it. There is some discussion of it coming back in a different version with certain professions and certain kind of backgrounds, but for the retiree, the passive income holder probably isn’t going to be significantly returning anytime soon.

But what’s interesting is a lot of people got flat foot. Caught flat footed because it got them thinking you can’t just plan for 10 years. If you’re retiring and you’re looking for your long term retirement destination, you have to look at what would you do on your 11th year? Because these tax schemes that you get in these different countries, the tax scheme in Portugal that was in place was only for 10 years.

And it really worries me when folks are not looking at the big picture, looking beyond what is that going to look like? And so we encourage folks to do their plan based on the 11th year. Wherever they are, whatever they’re considering, look at your budget, look at your finances, look at your tax implications.

Once every option and every discount has been expired, what’s your worst case scenario. And if you can live in that, if you can live within it, in that capacity, then you work back to the current and say, okay, what’s the best fit. But that’s, that Portugal has a lot of other options that come into play.

And people think the taxing is apples to apples. And it’s not, even if you hit the highest tax bracket in Portugal, you can’t just look at your federal tax return and match it to Portuguese and say, Oh, this is higher because there’s offsets that people often forget. And I’ll use one example communication, you pay for a cell phone plan here in Portugal.

And let’s say you go with one of the major carriers like Vodafone and you get your internet, you get your TV and you get your phone and you might pay. Might pay 80 euros a month, maximum. Most people in the states don’t pay that just for their internet. There’s much, much higher packages. And if you look at your bill in the states, there’s all these taxes layered in, right?

Like you have communication taxes, and you have all these state, local, federal taxes that are layered, layered in. You can’t discount that type of tax that you don’t have to pay anymore. So those type of things are not happening in Portugal. So though you may pay it. A higher level of tax on your income, your healthcare, your lack of payments of things like the property taxes, for example, or next to nothing, you have to look at the whole picture.

You can’t just say this to that because there’s amazing other areas that offset the income tax.

Emily: By the way, how you would evaluate health care? Portuguese, I know they have public and private care. And specifically, not in the big cities like Lisbon, Porto, and Algarve, which already developed. Expert oriented services, but in other small cities where I believe lately many people are looking for places to relocate, how it’s reliable.

And obviously specifically retirees very care about this part of. 

Colleen: So the healthcare system is public. And if you become a resident on one of the visas, that’s one of your rights is to have the. National healthcare system available to you. Also though, they expect you to purchase private insurance if you are on a visa, because the logic is you haven’t paid into the system for years.

So of course they want you to supplement it with private. The healthcare system has its ups and downs, just like anything else. If you are in a very, very rural area. For example, the eastern part of Portugal, heading over towards the Spanish border in the center. This is where you’re going to be at the most risk for having a very difficult time finding English speaking doctors, navigating hospitals that might not have the most advanced services.

You’re definitely going to want to consider that when you’re looking at areas in Portugal. But if you go along the You know, the Atlantic side, you know, the coast up and down, and you’re staying on this kind of like most populated space up and down the country and across the Algarve. There is private systems, services, doctors, concierge medicine that is popping up everywhere.

So for example, I live in Alcobaça again on the Silver Coast, right in the middle of Portugal, and we have a small regional hospital here, which if you sprain your ankle or You know, need an x ray. It’s fine, but you wouldn’t want to go there for anything major, but we have less than 30 minutes away, a large state hospital, which has everything you need.

And they’re building a private hospital to meet the needs of so many people moving in. There’s opportunities everywhere. The main thing is to keep strike a balance between totally rural and urban and just make sure that you’re within striking distance of these larger centers for health care, but Portugal is a small country, so it’s not that hard to do.

You can get your calm village lifestyle and still be 15 minutes to a hospital, which is really nice for folks that are retiring.

Emily: Tell me, please, if there is already a tendency or created for years expat community centers in Portugal because the social life, it’s very important, especially when you arrived, you are new in your country and how this aspect of life organized. In Portugal, 

Colleen: it’s great. And I think actually the pandemic helped build these communities because they started them online.

And then when people could meet up again, they created a scheduled events and meetups. Every community of any size in Portugal has a very clearly defined expat opportunity to socialize, and it’s usually done through social media. So if you’re interested in living from Vienna to Costello to the Algarve, everything in between, you just can Google on you know, or go on Facebook and say, expat Facebook group for blah, blah, blah.

And it’s there. The other thing that’s really great about that is they have. Online forums, but they also meet in person. And then you also can find subgroups for interest. If you’re a walker, a bird watcher, if you’re a cyclist, if you have kids, they’ve really got a lot of great support systems for all of that.

And like Portugal, the place that’s one of the things we pride ourselves in is not just moving people to Portugal, but building communities. So we’ve created a private WhatsApp groups. We have a Facebook group for members. We connect people. So it’s funny. I have a disproportionate amount of people that like to sew and quilt.

This seems to be like a very popular pastime. So connecting people together and saying, Oh, Kate loves this. And she lives right up the street and she’ll know where to get the yarn. And, you know, and then we were able to help like minded folks get connected. And it’s something that we’ve been thrilled about.

And honestly, our back community and social life now. It’s so robust and busy compared to what I used to have in the States. We have so many friends from all walks of life. It’s amazing how this community isn’t just Americans, it’s Europeans, it’s South Africans, it’s people from the UK. So it’s a rich tapestry of folks that you can meet and expand your social network.

Emily: What about the communication with Portuguese, with local people? I know that. Generally, Portuguese are speaking English, pretty decent English. But you know, cultural differences, how this works. 

Colleen: It takes a little bit. It takes a little bit. The Portuguese are very friendly, but they also are shy. That’s hard to explain.

But we’re lucky because of the business we’re in. We’ve made very close connections. You know, very quickly because we are in a community that’s very, quite frankly, curious about what we do. They’re like, whoa, what’s happening over here? But for the average person, maybe that doesn’t have that connections, your Portuguese community will grow slower.

That’s just the, the fact, but you have to be the one to reach out. If your neighbor’s Portuguese, even if you don’t speak Portuguese enough, learn the good mornings, the afternoons, how are you? And then bringing something, sharing something is always acceptable. Neighbors will leave bags of fruit on your front doorstep.

And I found that bringing pastries at the holidays or doing something, you know, just connecting through food and just the general pleasantries will start to open it up. When it comes to talking, yes, people speak English the younger people, when you get into the older population, English is still not as prevalent.

They didn’t have the same exposure as the younger generations, but you can reach across that divide through just showing an interest in what they’re doing. And. I find that if you do have someone speaking English and you can ask them about their life, about their community, where they’re at, they are so excited to share that with you.

So it does take a little time and you have to be brave. You have to be willing to kind of break the ice. And they’re oftentimes the first question they’ll be like, Why did you move to Portugal? Like they’re like, why did you move here? And we, it’s really fun to be able to be like, we found it so beautiful and the people are so friendly and they’re like, Yeah, that’s true.

Like they don’t think about their own country the same way oftentimes that we do. And so they’re very curious, like, what, what, why did you move to our little, little country, little corner of the continent? So it’s, it’s building your community step by step, not pushing and not feeling Discouraged. I think you’ll find your people as you just open up a little bit and reach across that divide

Emily: amazing experience you have.

And actually, many expats who found the way to build new life in your place. And Colleen, what advice would you have for current and mostly for future to be expats who are considering relocation, relocation to Portugal or other country, but, you know, still hesitating because it takes time and courage to organize all the matters and actually to decide to, make this leap.

What you would say. 

Colleen: Absolutely. Well, first off, there’s no perfect time. I think if you sit around and wait for that perfect time, that time will pass you by. And I guess it’s similar to people thinking, when should I have a child? What’s the perfect time? It’s those big decisions we make in our life.

There’s no perfect time. If, if my husband and I would have thought about like, Should we wait just another year, another five years, wait till our daughter’s out of college, you know, my father would have passed away. He would never have had the opportunity, you know, so even though it’s difficult and you hope and you work as hard as you can to be prepared, the perfect time probably to put your finger on.

And if you want to do it, you just need to start working through where you’re at today and then do it on the pace that you can. The other thing that I really stress to people that are planning this, wherever you move, you cannot just plan for the move. You need to plan for your new life. It’s similar to don’t plan for the wedding plan for the marriage because at It’s so exciting the first year.

It’s anticipation. It’s, it’s all things you’re waiting for the visa. You get that approval, you get on the plane, you arrive, you see everything in a new eyes, even ordering a pizza is an adventure because you’re, you’re learning everything. But then. What are you going to do in the long run after a year you’ve, you’ve, you’ve been in your country for a year and you’ve figured all the basics out.

You’re now kind of just back in your regular life. Whatever you were dealing with where you lived before will still be there in the new place. So you have to be prepared. What does that life look like for the long run? I have a lot of retirees that have been here now with us clients that are three, four years in that are saying, you know, I’m kind of bored, like, I don’t know what to do.

I’ve only ever worked. What should I be doing? And we almost have to have like a reboot conversation. Like, what are you, what hobbies would you like? Did you used to do something when you were younger that you want to get back to? What’s going on? Because once all the excitement and the dust settles.

Life is still going to be life, and that’s something we really want people to be prepared for. There’s quite a high, and then you plateau, and then you live your life. And that’s the piece that you need to be prepared for, as much as all the changes that are going to happen immediately.

Emily: Absolutely correct observation.

It’s what actually I’m trying to instill in my clients as well, that you need to plan for your location in the first year or to a period of landing, as I say, it’s very important, but after then there is next important period, how to enjoy the life, how, what to do next, as you say, and I believe that Portugal is kind of well prepared in this regard because there are already many people, actually for years, coming from UK, from other European countries, and now not only Europeans, from Asia, now from North America, and people forming communities the next part.

Usually trying to help each other, but with all this, person should be active and to find the hobby, to find the life, to find the purpose after new life happened to him in in the different country. 

Colleen: And Portugal is a romantic country. And I don’t mean that like romance from people. I mean, it’s got a romantic, inspirational feeling.

You want to try new things here. They’re very passionate people around the arts and music and food and, and communicating, they have festivals. So if you’ve always kind of thought about maybe doing something you’ve never even tried your hand at. Yeah. You have the opportunity here because they’re very crafts focused.

Portugal has got classes and things everywhere where you can try pottery. You can try painting, you can get into music. And it just, it’s a, it’s a specifically Portuguese thing where they appreciate the art. Those moments in life. It’s something that I love about this country. My husband is starting to learn the bass.

He’s never really had a music background, but he’s always wanted to play an instrument. So we have all these bands here and people that play music and get together. And so he’s like, you know what, I’m going to try it. There’s lots of things you can do and you can stretch outside of what you have ever done before.

And here’s the really cool part. You’re going to make mistakes. You’re going to pick a location one time, maybe isn’t the best. I mean, we were lucky we landed right where we love to be, but some people go and they stay for six months and they say, yeah, I actually like this. You’re going to readjust.

You’re going to find things differently that you didn’t even know you’d be interested in, and that’s the beauty of the whole process of relocating is you’re exploring and learning more about yourself. So you can’t kick yourself if you don’t get it perfect or right the first time. It’s a process it’s something that is going to engage you for a while.

It’s not just one and done.

Emily: Thank you very much. I really enjoyed our conversation. I believe our listeners will learn a lot about Portugal, about you, sorry, about life of expats in Portugal. And I wish you success. In business, to enjoy your life, to build new fulfilling, you already built it, but to continue building your business and life and to help other people.

And it’s, I believe what we are about. We’re trying to help people. We wish to see them happy in the new place of living. Thank you very much, Colleen. 

Colleen: Thank you so much. You have a wonderful day. Thank you now.

Colleen Showalter

CEO, and Co-founder of Portugal The Place

Simplifying relocation to Portugal with personalized experiences. With 20+ years in marketing and business development, Colleen builds sustainable ventures and supports local communities. Previously, she led initiatives at Treehouse and Boys & Girls Clubs, driving growth and impacting lives. Colleen’s expertise in account management, public speaking, and team building fuels her mission to make Portugal the ultimate destination for dreamers worldwide.

Colleen is a classic Gen X. Sandwiched between children and aging parents.

She moved to Portugal with her husband, 81-year-old father and 19-year-old daughter and founded a business helping people relocate. Providing so necessary support from the focus of building community and stability for life in the new country. As Colleen said: after 3 years I couldn’t be happier.

Reinventing Expat Portugal at Midlife: International Lawyer Journey of Discovery, Adventure, and Lifelong Learning

In today’s episode of the “Age of Reinvention” podcast, we delved into the captivating and inspirational story of Colleen Showalter, an American expat, entrepreneur, and founder of the innovative company, Portugal the Place. Host Emily Bron explores Colleen’s remarkable decision to relocate to Portugal after the age of 50, along with her family, and embark on a journey filled with new challenges, adventures, and opportunities.

The Catalyst for Change

Colleen recounts her life in Oregon, USA, nestled between the responsibilities of a Gen X individual caring for both children and aging parents. The COVID-19 pandemic served as a significant catalyst for Colleen and her husband, prompting them to question the path they were on and to entertain the idea of relocating to their dream destination—Europe, with Portugal being their top choice. This decision wasn’t made lightly; it involved selling everything they had and initiating a bold move, motivated by the desire for a new beginning and an escape from the corporate grind.

Embracing A New Life

Upon deciding to make this drastic life change, Colleen, her husband, daughter, and her 81-year-old father embarked on an unexpected journey. This journey was not just about relocation but discovering joy, purpose, and a deeper connection within the family, especially during their adventurous RV exploration across the United States waiting for the consulates to reopen during the pandemic restrictions.

Their eventual settlement in Alcobaça, a city in the heart of Portugal known for its rich history and breathtaking Gothic architecture, marked the beginning of their new chapter. Colleen vividly describes the authenticity and vibrancy of living in Europe, emphasizing the community and the sense of belonging they have found in their new home.

Founding Portugal the Place

The transition from project management to establishing Portugal the Place emerged from Colleen’s challenges and observations during their relocation process. She identified a gap in support services for expatriates transitioning to life in Portugal, from dealing with logistics to integrating into a new community. This realization led to the creation of a company that not just aids in relocation but also focuses on building a support system for expatriates.

Portugal the Place offers a suite of services, including location scouting, comprehensive relocation assistance, and even post-relocation support to ensure a smooth transition for individuals and families moving to Portugal. Colleen’s emphasis on high-touch service and personal attention to clients’ needs differentiates her company in the marketplace.

Insights on Portuguese Culture and Integration

Colleen shares fascinating insights into the cultural shifts she experienced, highlighting the Portuguese emphasis on living a balanced life, appreciating the moment, and the profound communal values. She speaks to the importance of integrating into the local culture, whether through language learning, participating in community activities, or simply engaging with neighbors. This cultural immersion has enriched her family’s life and shaped their business philosophy, focusing on authenticity and genuine connections.

The Expat Community and Opportunities

With Portugal’s changing immigration landscape, Colleen provides an analysis of the current situation for expatriates and potential business opportunities. Despite regulatory adjustments, the allure of Portugal remains strong, supported by its diverse expat community, quality of life, and welcoming environment for entrepreneurs and retirees alike.

Final Thoughts and Advice for Future Expats

As our conversation with Colleen drew to a close, she offered sage advice for those considering a similar path—emphasize planning for long-term life rather than just the relocation and be open to the journey of self-discovery that such a significant change can facilitate.

Colleen Showalter’s story is a testament to the transformative power of embracing change, the beauty of new beginnings, and the importance of finding purpose and community in one’s life. Her journey and the success of Portugal the Place inspire all of us to pursue our dreams, no matter where they may lead.

Listeners, whether you’re contemplating a move abroad or simply seeking inspiration to reinvent your life, Colleen’s story reminds us of the endless possibilities that await when we step out of our comfort zones and into the world.