Mistakes. Everybody make’s ‘em. Mostly, we don’t like to admit to ‘em but they’re there. Usually for everyone to see.
So here we go…. it’s a brief post…
Click here to read M is for Mistakes
Personal A-Z of Portugal. M is for Mistakes
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Tag Archives: A to Z
C is for Cockney
The suggestion for this post came from one of the blog readers. I took it on board but my knowledge of this subject is not that much…
Speaking with a few friends that lived all their life in East London, I’ve learned that a Cockney is someone born within hearing distance of the bow bells (note that these bells are from St Mary le Bow church in the City of London, not Bow Church), hence my friends being Cockney themselves.
[Click here to learn a bit of the famous rhyming slang and to leave your comments]
Personal A-Z of Portugal. L is for Lifestyle
When people ask us why we moved to Portugal, we come out with a whole list of reasons but, for the most part, they can all be grouped under one overall title – Lifestyle.
Click here to read my full “L is for Lifestyle” post.
Personal A to Z of Portugal. K is for Knowledge
There are a million (well, ok, maybe not quite a million!) different information websites, forums and groups out there for people who are considering moving abroad. Thousands have people have gone through something akin to what you’re about to do and so everything should be discoverable, right? Every question you need to ask, every hurdle you have to jump over, every bridge you have to cross will have been asked, jumped over and crossed before by countless different people, all happy and willing to impart their great knowledge on those who seek it?
You’d think so.
Click here to read more of my “K is for Knowledge” post
Personal A to Z of Portugal. J is for Jobs
In February 2012, unemployment here in Portugal reached 15%, 3rd highest in the EU, behind only Greece (21% December 2011) and Spain (23.6%). Youth unemployment is 35.4%. That’s over a THIRD of young people out of work! It’s quite terrifying really.
Click here to read my “J is for Jobs” post
Personal A to Z of Portugal. I is for Inglês
English is a pretty universal language and you can sometimes hear it spoken more, when out and about, than you hear Portuguese. In tourist season, you’ll wonder if you even live in Portugal at all sometimes! It’s a shame but it’s a fact of life of the Algarve. You can rehearse your restaurant order in Portuguese but don’t be surprised if your waiter answers you in English. Chances are, the German couple next to you will order and be responded to in English too. It’s everywhere!
Click here to read more of my “I is for Inglês” post
Personal A to Z of Portugal. H is for Heat
Ok, so there were several topics I could have gone with for my “H is for” offering. Holidays? Home? Hands? (that’s us!) I decided to go for “Heat” because, well, it’s one of the things we moved for!
The Algarve region has an average maximum temperature ranging from 15C and 6 hours of sunshine in the winter (yes, winter!) to 28C and 12 hours of sunshine in the summer. Not bad for an average, eh? Compare that to the UK’s winter average maximum of 7C and a summer average high of 20C, it’s not difficult to see why we prefer the Algarve.
Click here to read our “H is for Heat” post
B is for British
What exactly is a Brit?
While living in Portugal, we had a few stereotypes of the Brits. One is the “gentleman”, wearing suit, umbrella, mac and hat. Very polite, with a posh accent and some sort of royalty connection. We never see this character in real life, as he does not really leave Britain to come to Portugal (unless, of course, for the Port wine).
[Click here to read about other characters, what is Britain and to leave a comment]
A is for Architecture
Being an architect, this would be the most logical way to start my A-Z. But I will try not to write too much.
For anyone with even a minor interest in architecture, the UK is an amazing place. It is possible to find a diversity of buildings dating from Roman times to modern, living side by side, in an improbable harmony. It may be the wealth, or the need to show the greatness of the empire, or simply the creative minds of someone living in a quite-grey-and-not-that-warm place but the fact is that throughout times the UK has had some different ways of looking into the architectural trends. Every year, the London Festival of Architecture and the London Open House are great opportunities to learn a bit more about these.
I did not study British architecture in detail so I will only talk about my feelings towards what I see around me.
[Click here to continue reading and leave a comment]
Hand Family Personal A to Z of Portugal. F is for Family and Friends
F is for Family and Friends
It will come as no surprise to anyone that one of the biggest factors in people who are considering moving abroad not doing so is the thought of leaving family and friends behind.
Click here to read our “F is for Family and Friends” post
Hand Family Personal A – Z of Portugal. E is for Emigration
E is for Emigration
Let’s face it, it had to be done, didn’t it?
I think everyone, at some point in their life, has itchy feet. The desire, or maybe even the need, to get away from it all. Start again. Somewhere new. Somewhere “better”. Somewhere…. warmer?
Click here to read our “E is for Emigration” post
Hand Family Personal A-Z of Portugal. D is for Driving
D is for Driving
Oh boy, where do I start on this topic? Driving, licenses, car prices, importing, tolls, paperwork… it’s an immense topic and I’ll try not to make it too long and rambling!
Click here to read our “D is for Driving” post
Personal A-Z of Portugal. C is for Children (or, if you like, Crianças)
C is for Children (or, if you like, Crianças)
As parents, we are definitely in the minority in the “expat” world. Most people who choose to move to Portugal seem to be either “pre-children” – young couples looking for a better work/life balance – or “post-children” – looking for a better retirement. The more time I spend in online expat communities, the more I realise that parents are really the minority when it comes to moving overseas for a better family life and online resources, or lack thereof, certainly seem to back that up
Click here to read our “C is for Children” post
The Hand Family Personal A-Z of Portugal. B is for Baking
B is for Baking.
You’ll notice that my personal A-Z subjects don’t seem very “Portuguese”, however, for me/us, they are a reflection of how living in Portugal has changed and is changing our lives and the way our family has adapted. It may not seem as though they have much to do with Portugal but I can assure you they are very much specific to our Portuguese lifestyle. Hopefully, that makes them a little different too
Click here to read our “B is for Baking” post
Hand Family Personal A-Z of Portugal. A is for Anniversary!
A is for Anniversary.
This one is definitely very personal to us because today is our 18-month anniversary of being in Portugal and very approximately our 2-year anniversary of deciding to move away from England!
Click here to read our “A is for Anniversary” post
My personal A-Z of Portugal
A dilemma! I love Portugal and have lots of wonderful places and memories I’d love to share. At the same time, I have Polish family and am aching to introduce people to my father’s homeland, and some of the lovely folks I have met there. Even worse, I currently live in England and have done so for most of my adult life, and, guess what? I love England too (in spite of the weather) and have written quite happily …
Here’s Alyson’s logo for Portugal- read more of my story here
So now I’m officially off and running!
A is for Alte
Why Alte? It wasn’t an easy decision because here in the Algarve I also love the border town of Alcoutim, pretty Alvor with its wide estuary, and the lovely island of Armona. I expect we’ll visit them later in this A-Z. I’ll sneak them in somewhere.
The images that you see everywhere of the Algarve are beaches (of course!), and golf courses, but there’s so much more to the Algarve. Alte represents that other Algarve- the world away from the coasts, with natural springs and lush greenery. I’ve heard Alte described as the prettiest village in …
Click here to see why