0:00 you want to know what it's really like to work remotely in Portugal well the truth just might surprise [Music] you hi I'm Rory verret welcome to Protegé Leadership Academy I've been an executive coach executive recruiter and Mentor for 30 years and I get my clients to apply career advice that works if you're considering working remotely and want to know what it's like to live and work in Portugal then you're in the right place today I'm breaking down the
0:46 10 most important factors you need to know about working remotely in Portugal and trust me you'll want to stick around till the end of this episode to hear a bonus segment for all of you traveling to Portugal working remotely for a lot of professionals is a wonderful thing working remotely from a country like Portugal with its abundant Sunshine friendly locals wonderful beaches Vineyards exciting nightlife and its overall chill dog Vibe well that's been for me a very interesting experiment has it been perfect I'll let you decide after hearing this list where it might be the perfect place for you as a remote working destination all right number one first up you got to bring your job with you the average Sal salary in Portugal is around $115,000 a year while there
1:33 are a handful of xets who got jobs here in Lisbon the overwhelming majority of us are either startup entrepreneurs small business owners retirees or we're remote working professionals like me so if you're thinking about moving to Portugal make sure to plan ahead this isn't a country where you can just show up and find a job I would give yourself one to two years to get your work situation set up get your budget ready for the unpredicted ability of moving and living abroad and managing the other big factor which is our number two issue getting your Visa number two so let's talk about getting your Visa this takes some serious intentionality and preparation for example when my family applied for our D7 visas we had to show we could support ourselves with at least
2:20 $38,000 through income and Investments That Money needs to be consistent for a few months we also had to gather a bunch of documents everything from marriage certificates to bank statements to a police background check and everything in between it is a process for sure Portugal has a major immigration backlog right now so expect to wait at least 6 months for your visas to process you have to manage your visa on the US side and the Portugal side we had an attorney who also acted as a translator during our appointment with the immigration service in Lisbon we applied in DC in April and we got our visas around September of the same year this allows us unfettered access to travel around the Shenzhen area in Europe as opposed
3:07 to having a 90day In-N-Out limitation traveling around Europe let me say again how important it is to get all of your documentation together and then prepare to wait this is in my opinion one of the biggest drawbacks to living in Portugal bureaucracy everything takes longer than you expect number three now back to the fun stuff let's talk about my work routine here I work from 2: to 11:00 p.m. managing client calls and interviews on East Coast time I start my day around 10: a.m. which is 5:00 a.m. in the US that means I have a good chunk of my day ahead of me perfect for grabbing coffee at a cafe or going for a bike ride or having lunch with my wife when I do start working I'm on calls till about 11:00 p.m. which is 6:00 p.m.
3:52 East Coast time that may seem like a strange schedule but here's the thing I get to enjoy my whole day before work back in the US i' only have a few hours to myself in the evening but here I can hit the gym walk along the Waterfront meet visiting Travelers and still get my work done it's a nice balance and works perfectly for a night owl like me the fourth thing to consider is what I call the magic of regular moments honestly the regular moments like meeting a friend for lunch working at a Seaside Cafe walking along the beach or just enjoying the amazing views from Lisbon they're all pretty amazing here this week I rode my bike 25 minutes to a cafe by the water took some work calls had lunch and it cost me
4:37 $7 here I'm getting a workout I'm working for a couple of hours and I still have time for a fairly leisurely afternoon it's not just the time though it's the friendliness and Hospitality of the Portuguese people the ease and simplicity of life and the raw Beauty I'm surrounded by every day it seems like the Portuguese live by the values of faith family festivals and fun the four fs and those well they're all right by me number five another one of the great things about working remotely in Portugal is that it's the perfect base for exploring Europe since moving here I visited France five times the UK three times and Spain twice this past summer as our family vacation we took a road trip through Europe I bought a car in
5:24 the Netherlands and instead of having it shipped we decided to drive it back to Lisbon we spent 4 days in Amsterdam a partial day in Brussels 2 Days in Paris 3 Days in the laara Valley 4 days in Bordeaux 3 days in San Sebastian Spain and 2 Days in Salam Mona Spain before heading back to Lisbon we had an amazing two-e vacation and this cost us $5,000 including all the travel hotels food and a whole lot of wine the ability to explore Europe so easily from Portugal is such a huge perk of working remotely in Lisbon number six another awesome part about living here is the community I have a group of around 50 people I hang out with on a consistent basis 50 there's always something to do
6:10 whether it's House Parties day trips or just catching up at a jazz club Portugal and Lisbon have a thriving xack community and a vibrant and welcoming local community everyone's so relaxed and friendly it really makes life here extra special I got to say I didn't have such a robust social calendar when I lived full-time in DC I to tell my friends for me to hang out on a Saturday night in DC I'm going to need 10 Alphas at a cigar bar on a rooftop with the NBA Finals plan free lemon pepper wings and free parking but here in Lisbon I'm hanging out two or three nights a week I can barely keep up with my social calendar it feels like a remix of my late 20s when I was just out of law school and number seven speaking of
6:55 special one thing that's been amazing is having the time and space to live your best life I've always had a passion for acting in high school I won the state championship in drama and won the best dramatic Duo acting at Nationals but here I am at 52 and I'm acting in Shakespeare in the park I saw him beat the serges under him and ride upon their backs he tried the water whose enity he flung aside and rested The Surge most swollen that met him fun fact there is a direct relationship between how much you overact and how few lines you have as an actor and I can tell you as someone with only 14 lines in the Tempest I made sure everyone within a mile heard my overacting character Lord Francisco I'm
7:42 also the founder of a wine club here in Lisbon and we meet up to visit Vineyards wine bars and have wine tastings it's incredible that I have the time and energy to dive into hobbies and passions I'd never have the time to do back in the States that's one of the gifts of living in Portugal the space to be your full self number eight let's talk about affordability another huge Factor I'll tell you a quick story my friends used to tease me that I was always hanging out at their parties but we never hosted a party of our own so I decided I'm going to host this night of entertainment for our friends now mind you we had not even opened up all the boxes in our new condo so I took 12 people out for craft cocktails then paid for dinner with an appetizer and entree
8:28 including a bottle of wine at each table then we had a champagne toast in our house and then we took Ubers to see this amazing and acclaimed jazz artist at an Amphitheater I mean these were sit down wooden seats in a beautiful Amphitheater the entire night everything cost $650 I can only imagine what that would have cost in the United States I'm going to guess $2,000 or more this is the case with a lot of entertainment options whether it's going to a Speak Easy a high-end restaurant or taking a sailing trip I can be a member at a high-end private golf club on the ocean front with a course approaching Tory Pines in terms of quality and it costs me less than $4,000 a year the quality of life you can have in Portugal for the price
9:15 is unbelievable and look I know that can be controversial and seem like it's a statement of privilege to highlight this but it's a fact for someone working in the US the UK Switzerland Germany or another wealthy country there is a much lower cost of living and a higher quality of life here in Portugal another wonderful Factor about working remotely in Portugal is safety Portugal is one of the safest countries in the world typically hovering between being the third safest and the sixth safest in international rankings what that means is my daughter can walk home from school at night my wife can walk around with her friends at night and we can all walk around at night after going to jazz clubs and restaurants without any fear at all of anything happening in 2 and A2
10:02 years of living and working here I've never once been afraid or concerned I rid my bike at night I'm talking 1:00 in the morning on a bike under bridges and through dark streets and alleys it's a big change of pace when you walk behind a group of young women and they don't turn around to check on you or when women don't clutch their purses when they're around you there is a deep sense of psychological Liberation about that I'm not a threat nor do I I feel threatened by police that's a major shift for me as a black man walking around a city like Lisbon free a city that has 3 million people in the metro area and crime is never on my mind number 10 and lastly living here releases so much psychological baggage
10:48 the last benefit of working remotely in Portugal is that when you combine all of this the ease of living the safety the great Community the affordability it means you're releasing layers of vigilance that you have that you might have been carrying and not know it we don't have a fear of mass shootings here we don't have a fear of crime here here I trust strangers here I'm able to be a stranger to people and help them the Portuguese are so friendly and so open and so warm and I don't want to be dramatic but it has restored my faith in humanity this is a special place with special people and I'm so glad that we have a chance to experience this wonderful place in the world and I hope you do too so if you're thinking about working remotely and relocating to
11:34 Portugal here is my advice run don't walk you will not be disappointed if you enjoyed this video don't forget to like subscribe and hit that notification bell all right here's a special bonus for you these are my top five favorite live music and cocktail bars in Lisbon please share this video with folks in your network who might be traveling to Lisbon soon these places are not in the travel books but trust me they're nice number one I got to start here Nissa Lounge niss is my good friend at Shanti golson's vibed out jazz club in algae a western suburb about 5 miles from Lisbon Center and just over a year nissus has become the go-to place not only for the best jazz in Lisbon but in my opinion
12:22 for some of the best jazz acts in all of Europe nissus feels like you're stepping into the jazz club in the movie Love Jones complete with stylish down to earth fellow guests exceptional service and creative cocktails come to nces before you head out to dinner and book your seats for their 6:30 or 8:00 p.m. [Music] sets I've been so many places in my life and time I've sung a lot of song and I made some bad I've acted out my life on
13:08 stages 10,000 people watching but We're Alone [Music] Now number two 8 Mar 8 marvilla is a multi-use entertainment Hub on the east side of Lisbon in the Marva neighborhood it's an indooroutdoor space with a wine bar wine store four restaurants some food trucks a few art galleries and the best plant store in Lisbon and a whole lot more you might stumble upon a wine tasting a vintage clothing and jewelry market a live band or a live DJ at 8ar V it's a great place to roam and chill on the weekends as they're only open Thursday through Sunday number three on
13:54 my favorite live music cocktail lounge bar scene in Lisbon is kimon Art Bar it's a whole vibe on the east side of Lisbon in the hilly and hip graa neighborhood I've been to kimon three times and I've seen three incredible acts enjoy one of their amazing pizzas and craft cocktails and lose yourself in the atmosphere of Soulful Jazz with a very Lively crowd kimonas is open until midnight Wednesday through Sunday and until 11: on Tuesdays [Music] number four on my list is scen rooftop bar scene is at the top of the tiv hotel
14:40 on avenita liberdad in central Lisbon and scene earns its name as the place to see and be scene for our Glam Night Out scene has great music but no Li bands make sure you dress to impress at this stylish swanked out Rooftop Bar and get your phones out for one of the most jaw-dropping views in all of Lisbon number five 1868 cocktail lounge last but not least this is a new place but one of my favorite areas in Lisbon is chiato in 1868 has setup shopped there over the last8 months it's right around the corner from the Aires store not that I know where that is anyway 1868 is the newest craft cocktail lounge brought to you by the folks that own Red Frog and monkey mash and if you've been there you
15:26 know what to expect Leading Edge craft cocktail in an Uber elegant venue with a dope soundtrack 1868 is open until 1:00 a.m. Tuesday through Saturday Okay so that's my list of my favorite five craft cocktail and live music venues in Lisbon maybe scene is in a travel book but most of these places are relatively new and there are so many places opening up in Lisbon all the time that it's hard to keep up Via Travel book which is why I wanted to give you this bonus episode and let you know the dope spots to go to so let me know in the comments if you visited any of these places or if you are visiting Lisbon what are some of your favorite spots in Lisbon in terms of craft cocktail bars restaurants even or live music venues well that's our
16:14 show for this week thank you for watching the prot leadership academy I'll see you next time on our next episode [Music]
