# General Question - Difference between Portugal and US



## m2244 (Nov 16, 2020)

Hello,

This question will be somewhat negative in regards to the US, but I'd really like to know what other people think about this topic and how it compares to Portugal. First let me say that I will retire from the military in 4 to 5 years and would like to start thinking about moving to Portugal. I spent some time there two years ago and loved it.

I seem to have become disenchanted with the US over the past several years. One of the main reasons is the ******* mindset that dominates a large portion of our population. I'm incredibly tired of ATVs, mud trucks, mindless beer drinking, and aficionados of the gas pedals on large V8 trucks. I live in a small central Vermont town and lately it seems that roughly 1 out of every 4 vehicles in this town have a loud muffler. When I stopped for a coffee at our local convenience store this morning, there was a young man, maybe 28 years old, with a semi-automatic pistol on his hip, and he was buying a 12 pack of beer. This was 9 in the morning.

Does Portugal allow ATVs? If so, how common are they?

Are loud mufflers allowed? 

Any advice would be appreciated.


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## Strontium (Sep 16, 2015)

First a confession - I have worked and lived in USA and did not like it for some of the things you say. 

In my opinion Portugal is a people centered place and things are on a human scale. Relatively poor so a lot of smaller older cars, if a car breaks down in most places another car will soon stop to help. A loud muffler here is probably a broken exhaust. Gun shops exist and people go there to buy fishing gear or just chat to people not buying fishing gear, I've not seen a civilian with a gun. There's also a lot of space without fences where you can go, mountains, rivers, sea, lots of towns with castles. Google maps street view will show you the usual vehicles - here's an old town - Tomar - and the white car is a Peugeot 106 Google Maps
The driver's arm out the window is what goes as manually assisted Air Con. Lots of people travel by bus/coach and the trains are wonderful but limited on where you can go.
The only way you'd find out if you want to live here is by spending time here - obviously a bit difficult at the moment.


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## LuciaFragoso (Jul 15, 2020)

Hi, my name is Lúcia, I am Portuguese and available to answer your questions. I have created some content about moving and investing in Portugal: 



It gives some information about the people too and Portuguese regions.
Please let me know if I can help you 
Kind regards,
Lúcia Fragoso


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## Rising Nomad (Nov 18, 2020)

m2244 said:


> Hello,
> 
> This question will be somewhat negative in regards to the US, but I'd really like to know what other people think about this topic and how it compares to Portugal. First let me say that I will retire from the military in 4 to 5 years and would like to start thinking about moving to Portugal. I spent some time there two years ago and loved it.
> 
> ...


Rutland, Barre? Or smaller?


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## m2244 (Nov 16, 2020)

Rising Nomad said:


> Rutland, Barre? Or smaller?


Small town near Barre.


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## John and Cecil (Dec 22, 2019)

Hi, I have not been in Portugal very long but I will do my best to answer your questions. The answer is going to depend on what area in Portugal you are considering too, there are city areas like Lisbon with a lot of vehicular traffic and there are country locations with very little traffic. The cars are generally smaller here, a lot are diesel. There are a large number of old 2 stroke 50cc motorcycles and mopeds on the road here, and some of them can be pretty noisy. I am in the northernmost portion of Portugal and there is very little automobile traffic here. If a vehicle is noisy it is usually because it is old. There are not a lot of pickup trucks here, however there are a good amount of tractors and atvs (4 wheeled motorcycles) being driven on the roads. I never saw this in the USA but here they can legally drive some dirt bikes and atvs on the streets. A majority of the vehicles on the roads are compact cars and small mini-vans, and many of the atvs are used for economical transportation. Gas is very expensive here, about $6.50 a US gallon. 

It is very nice here. I find the homes in the north are more like homesteads but I have not been down south yet. There are not many grass lawns here. Most people here seem to use the land around their homes for gardens and for growing vegetables, grapes, fruit trees, etc or for grazing sheep, goats, or cows. It is different here, after living in the US for most of my life being here is like going backwards in time. It is very green here. The roads are twisty and narrow, many look more like a bike path than a road. It is a wonderful place if you like riding motorcycles in the countryside. The mountain highways here are sometimes overtaken by longhorn cows or wild horses. They still have a few wild horses here. Sometimes we come across a flock of sheep running along the road, and Cecil lets them know they need to get out of the way. Nothing will drive a sheep faster than a dog riding on a motorcycle!

There is no violence here from what I can see. There are probably very few guns here. The people seem very friendly but it is difficult to tell because of the Covid protocols.

I find a simple life here to be very appealing, an escape from my old life which the planet can no longer endure. I was brainwashed into believing that happiness came from possessions, however I have discovered that only inner peace can bring about true happiness. Inner peace starts with living in harmony with the other beings and other life on the planet. I used to live in Southern California, but I woke up one day and I just could not live that way anymore. I sold my car and motorcycles and I started riding an electric bike. There was so much traffic there and people were racing around in revved out pickup trucks and muscle cars, I would look at the traffic pass while waiting to cross the street and I would feel a deep profound sadness. And then there was all the guns and the violence. Everywhere I looked all I saw were lost souls. 

I do not feel that sadness anymore now that I am here. I have no desire to ever return to the US. When in doubt follow your heart.


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## m2244 (Nov 16, 2020)

@John and Cecil 

I didn't notice your little dog in the picture until I read "Cecil lets them know they need to get out of the way".  That is a great picture, it certainly makes me think of simpler times.

I agree with your perspective, and thank you for taking the time to share all of that.

Most of the things that bother me these days seem to be closely related to the state of the environment and its future. These days, I don't even like driving in my car.

Thanks again John. Good luck in Portugal.


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