From the Big Smoke to the California of Europe

This week I am celebrating 1 year since the big move to Portugal. This is an important event from a personal & professional point of view.

I remember clearly sitting outside Cafe Boheme in Soho, telling one of my closest friends that I made the decision to move to Portugal, and his response without flinching was: 'You will regret it!' Someone else I know mentioned that it would be 'career suicide' if I left London for Lisbon. There were a few close friends who saw this change as a natural evolution and alignment to my purpose. However, 1 year on, and I still get asked: 'So, was it a good decision?' - and I blame this on the fact that the Portuguese are too humble, they sell themselves short. So please allow me to help them out!

I am lucky to have had great inspirations from the books that I so love, and Brene Brown is a great council on how to deal with fear: 'Ignore the critics!'. Successful people take risks and this is the only way to achieve anything of real value.

In moving to Portugal, I wasn't running from Brexit England, but toward the ocean, nature, a more liberal culture, and work-life balance. I have thought through this decision in granular detail, and in the end settled on two equally great options: Canada & Portugal. Unfortunately, Canada is cold and Canadians get 1/3 of the holidays we get in Europe - so it had to be Portugal and the pastel de nata. My partner and I looked at the following: Democratic Freedom; Access to Healthcare; Environmental Performance; Climate Models; Peace Index; Economic Stability and EF English Proficiency Index. All in all, Portugal is one of the best countries to live in Europe.

On January 15th, 2021 - after a flight of nightmares with the UK government canceling all international flights due to Covid - I was literally on the last flight out, and arriving in Portugal on the 1st day of the 2020 lockdown right when the country was recording the highest death rate due to Covid - we decided to make Portugal our home (without any furniture, for 3 months). There is risk in change, for sure! Fear is debilitating, but I found that the benefits outweigh the risks.

London has been a great choice for many years, it has shaped my innovative, creative mindset; it is, after all, the best city in Europe. However, London doesn't have the ocean, dolphins, endless sandy beaches, and the pace of life that Portugal has to offer.

I currently live outside of Lisbon, 15 mins from the ocean, a nature park with an awesome pine forest, great areas for hikes & mountain biking, surfing, windsurfing, swimming, and golf! On a professional level, the environment I am surrounded by has been me the mental bandwidth to take on more work, be more creative, calmer, and I feel like a have a better work-life balance than ever before.

So if you have considered a move, DO IT!

If as an organization you have thought about talent in Europe, look no further than Portugal. Every single person I have spoken to here in Portugal has mentioned that they would jump at the opportunity of working with an international organization, and also many friends I know in Europe would love to have the flexibility I have to live and work in such a nurturing environment. The Portuguese speak 2-4 languages (Portuguese, English, French, Spanish) and the Dutch & Germans love it here if you want to look at incentivizing teams! There is a strong expat community here, not just the surfers, but the tech coder folk - Russian, Ukrainian, Polish that has moved and work from here.

And dear Americans, if you're fed up with the division, nonsense - Portugal has 92% vaccination rate!

If you're considering Portugal, or if you want to explore the idea, drop me a note. I'm always more than happy to chat.

Let's not forget that, the only constant in life is change!