What is Permanent Vacation Portugal?

What is Permanent Vacation Portugal and why we started a concierge service for expats.

Permanent Vacation Portugal is here to make your lives easier.

We have created a concierge service for expats that are considering starting a new life in Portugal or planning a move within Portugal. We know that some of you are looking for an investment opportunity and perhaps not planning to move to Portugal full time. We can help you as well. My name is Shane, and I work with my partner Teresa. We are both licensed realtors, homeowners, and investors and together, we speak English, German, and Portuguese. Permanent Vacation Portugal is here to help you with the entire real estate process from general education to property search and due diligence as well as assistance with immigration and integration. We are not lawyers, but we have relationships with certified individuals to help when legal advice is required.

Why start a real estate and relocation service for expats in Portugal?

Having lived in various countries over the years, I have come to realize that integrating, understanding, and making life in a new country a habit require a significant amount of time and effort. More often than not, longer than we expect, and certainly longer than we want.

Language is the first, and quite possibly, the most challenging, and most popular hurdle of moving to another country. From office visits, documentation, and phone conversations, to driving on foreign streets, grocery shopping, and ordering in restaurants. It's easy to underestimate how many times a day language is the differentiating factor in having a relaxed or stressful experience. And language is only one barrier between you and the chilled-out life you came for.

It takes time to learn the tricks that only the natives know from simply growing up in Portugal. And as a foreigner, learning these tricks late, or "the hard way", can actually end up costing a lot of mental stress, and more often than not, money.

After living in nine countries, I have learned that it is possible to put systems in place (i.e. translator, scheduling, hiring an immigration lawyer etc.) to help you hit the ground running and worry less during the early stages of your journey.

In 2022, my parents, who were 73 years old at the time, relocated to Lagos, located on the western side of the Algarve. I followed soon after to help them settle in. Being involved in their transition exposed me to many difficulties they encountered upon arriving in Portugal, despite believing they had sufficiently prepared for the move. Even as a seasoned transient, I also had my own settling in process, which, to be honest, caught me off guard how many little pitfalls I encountered myself.

For obvious reasons, expats tend to gravitate towards eachother when overseas, especially right after arriving in a new place. Luckily for my parents, they moved into a building exclusively rented by people from various countries outside of Portugal. Interacting with the other families offered me insights into their lives, their unique transitions, and their unique struggles while sculpting their new lives in Portugal.

Since then, I have lived in Monchique (mountainous region in the Algarve), Santa Cruz (beautiful and sleepy surf town west of Torres Vedras) and now I live in Ericeira, Europe's surf capital and probably Portugal's most progressive city after Porto and Lisbon. It's located on the silver coast about 40 minutes north of Lisbon. I live there with my partner Teresa (who manages this business with me) and her daughter, who are both Portuguese. Living together has shown me another angle of life in Portugal, and most importantly for you, fellow traveler, now I know the tips and tricks, and how to make your transition as smooth as it can be and I have the perfect partner to help me do it.

We look forward to meeting you,

Sincerely,

Shane & Teresa