- I was raised in NYC, but my French partner and I just moved to a Portuguese town, sight unseen.
- I’d always considered myself to be a city girl, so the initial change was a shock.
- After a year, though, I love how balanced my calmer, quieter life is in Portugal.
I was born in Paris and raised in New York, which has made me a city girl through and through.
I didn’t think I’d ever leave NYC, but when my partner — who grew up in a tiny town in Normandy — suggested we look for a calmer life across the Atlantic, I considered it.
A few months later, we were moving all our things across the Atlantic to a small town in Portugal we’d only ever seen in a travel book.
It took me a minute to recognize I wasn’t happy with my fast-paced city life
When talks of moving began, we had just returned from a one-month road trip around France in a van my partner had built. We came home to New York, and the traffic, construction, and fast-paced commuters that were always familiar now felt intrusive.
I reflected on my last year in the city, how consumed I’d been with work and making enough money to pay rent. The stress of living there was taking a toll on my mental and physical health and my ability to focus on other things I care about, like my writing.
I wanted to regain the calm I experienced during the road trip. So, one day, I turned to my partner and said, “OK, let’s move.”
Her eyes lit up in disbelief — those were the words she’d been wanting to hear and the ones she’d never thought I’d say.
We ended up picking our new town largely based on a few beautiful photos
We flirted with different options — Hawaii, Alaska, France. But Hawaii was too far, Alaska was too cold, and France, well, was too familiar.
My partner and I are both French-Brazilian, so we decided France and Brazil were out of the question. But since we both speak Portuguese anyway, we settled on Portugal.
It felt like a nice mix between our European and South American cultures. Plus, my partner can surf there, and we could be near our families without being too close.
During our French road trip, we bought a book that listed all the must-see European coastal places. One of the towns, Ericeira, Portugal, caught our eye.
A few months later, we packed all of our things, shipped them across the Atlantic, and flew to Portugal.
The changes scared me at first, but I love how balanced my life feels here
We arrived in our town full of hope, but the first night walking around Ericeira, I burst into tears. The cons were sinking in: I was far from everyone I knew and loved, it was small, and it was unfamiliar.
But my partner reassured me that we’d find friends, an apartment, and things to do. Everything would be fine.
She was right. A year later, we’ve made what we hope to be lifelong friends, found a beautiful apartment a minute from the beach, and have the work-life balance we’d been searching for.
I have time to do yoga, read, and write. And we regularly embark on excursions with friends that don’t involve drinking — like sunset hikes and morning surf sessions.
We’re also happy to finally be able to put aside money for our future since life is more affordable here than it was in New York.
If I could tell 16-year-old me that 10 years later, she’d be living in a quaint Portuguese town, she wouldn’t believe me. That’s the magic of life: We change.
I still sometimes miss New York, but I can visit whenever I want. As soon as I land, I’m that same city girl again — just a little calmer.
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