"If I run out of money and I’m not a famous writer, I’ll come back and be a Starbucks barista or a Walmart greeter."
Said Heidi Dezell, 57, quoted in "Want to Retire in Portugal? Here’s What to Know, as Americans Move There in Droves. Retirees are drawn by a low cost of living, healthcare, a sunny climate and tax incentives" (Wall Street Journal).
For some, Portugal’s newfound popularity comes with a cost. “Americans are challenging the loudness scale,” says Susan Korthase, 71, founder of the Americans & Friends in Portugal Facebook group. She moved to Portugal from Milwaukee in 2010 and says she now sees the “Californiacation” of Portugal. “You hear them in restaurants,” she adds. “Americans laugh with an open mouth and they laugh out loud. Other nationalities have a quiet chuckle.”...
We're being updated on trends by a newspaper that can't spell "Californication." They're writing about laughing while not perceiving the contents of the portmanteau. Maybe the Americans who laugh too much for Milwaukeean taste are getting more of the jokes.
I think every person in this article is female. It ends with the story of Linda Correll, 52, an Ohioan who found a small apartment in Porto where "When it rains heavily, all the water comes into my apartment."
“I don’t know if I have met any men over 50 who came here by themselves,” says Ms. Correll. “You get a lot of couples, but single women are much more common for some reason.... It’s a safe country, and the people are friendly,” she says. “The healthcare, the food, the whole vibe is the reason I’m here. I don’t have any desire to go back to the States to live.”
She says "for some reason," and then she, unwittingly, gives the reason. You're leaving your home country for some very bland comforts and no excitement. But maybe this article will prompt some older male Wall Street Journal readers to quit their job now and retire to Portugal. There are lots of health-and-safety-loving Midwestern ladies there longing — in their leaky apartments — for a man maybe something like you.
ADDED: For those who think the Red Hot Chili Peppers coined the word "Californication," here's the Wikipedia article, "Californication":
Californication is a portmanteau of California and fornication, appearing in Time on May 6, 1966[1] and written about on August 21, 1972, additionally seen on bumper stickers in the U.S. states of Idaho,[2]Washington,[3] Colorado, Oklahoma,[4][5] and Texas.[6]
It was a term popular in the 1970s and referring primarily to the "haphazard, mindless development [of land] that has already gobbled up most of Southern California",[7] which some attributed to an influx of Californians to other states in the Western United States....
On November 7, 1972, in a statewide referendum, Colorado voters rejected a bond issue to fund the hosting of the 1976 Winter Olympics. The venue for the games would have been spread over 150 miles (240 km), and was widely viewed as license for unbridled development. As part of the opposition to the bond, the slogan "Don't Californicate Colorado" was coined, appearing on bumper stickers and placards across the state. This rejection by Colorado voters followed a trend in the western states to blame California-style "mindless development" for the urban growth problems experienced in states like Colorado, Montana, New Mexico and Oregon.[7]
The Chili Peppers' album and song "Californication" came out in 1999. Anthony Kiedis was 4 years old in 1966. So was Flea. The 2 little Peppers were 10 in 1972.
Posts
75 comments:
Something? Someone?
No thanks. And the two examples given are too young to retire unless they are trust fund babes.
I live in Texas, so Portugal offers nothing to me.
I think the WSJ writer spelled Californiacation just how she and the quoted woman wanted to as opposed to the Red Hot Chili Pepper's album and tv series spelling of Californication which is about working fornication into the spelling.
But, 50+ year old men looking for women have proven to be interested in Thailand, Bali, The Philippines, or various Central and South American countries... All of these have young, legal and/or many sex workers.
Wealthy older men also tend to buy younger models as trophy wives...Donald Trump...
Most men simply aren't looking to jump into the second half of a marriage at that age. Middle age crisis. Buy a sports car, buy a new young wife...
Many are drawn by a low cost of living, healthcare, a sunny climate, tax incentives and because Portugal’s resident visa requires less income than many other countries in Europe.
What "tax incentives"? They don't talk about it anywhere else in the (too long) article. Red flag.
Can't these people just move to Florida or some other no income tax state like everyone else? The US is stunningly beautiful in a lot of places.
I don't begrudge them, however. To each their own. Most people don't have the time to just have no job and be a student of Portuguese.
It’s a safe country
Sarah Hoyt, who emigrated from Portugal to the US begs to differ...
If Ms. Correll is willing to share her older male WSJ reader with some of the other single women, I'm sure they will come. But if she wants one all to herself to rescue her and no one else from a boring leaky life, she is free to keep wanting.
all these "retire overseas" articles seem to be about single women or affluent couples going to American enclaves. And I always wonder: Who will care for them when they get sick?
Ironically, a lot of Americans (over 100 thousand)live here in the Philippines, but rarely get any mushy articles about why they moved.
A lot are ex servicemen, or guys married to local ladies, or Filipino Americans returning home to retire. Some live in Yankee enclaves, but most of us just live with family members...and if we get sick, we have extended family here to care for us.
The smart single men over fifty are moving to Southeast Asia where the cost of living is low and there are thousands of young, beautiful and very feminine women who are hoping for a relationship with an older foreigner.
I’m moving.
You're leaving your home country for some very bland comforts and no excitement.
isn't it; hooray for boredom?
But maybe this article will prompt some older male Wall Street Journal readers to quit their job now and retire to Portugal.
Certainly sounds like something for me to think about; i guess i should pack my tarpaper?
I was thinking of Portugal a few years ago, but when I listened to a few of my friends around the country, and more than one neighbor here tell me of their wonderful vacations there, I figured the jig is up (if I can say that) for Portugal. We've "discovered" it, and we're doing what we do when we "discover" a place that has existed longer than we have: we inundate it as if it's the answer to the universe and we were the first ones to find it. I love us Americans. There will be no turning back now for the Portuguese. They've let us in. They're doomed. Target is just around the corner. Copies of 'The Atlantic' making their way through the Portuguese mail system (which I will assume is far superior to ours) as I write this.
I do wonder about those who move to another country with the claim about "their healthcare system", when those with means in rest of the world always comes to the US for major (and minor) surgeries. It seems to be a cultural belief based on nothing but faith among those on the left that the healthcare is always better just over the hill. Good luck when you really need it. In the meantime, I thought Obamacare was to take care of all of that, no?
I dunno. I'm gonna need to react more quickly to these coming place trends. The next time I have an inkling, a gut reaction, a bad dream, I'm going to have to react and talk to my wife about it. I guess no men over 50 do this alone, so...
I confess, I read this and ask myself "how many copies of this are going to get forwarded to Sarah Hoyt?" She's a nice lady of a certain age who is also concerned about safety.
She knows more about Portugal, especially Porto, than these folks do. It works until it doesn't, and when it doesn't, then what? I wish them the best of luck and a safe, stable future.
Finally get away from it all. Then write about it so that everything and everyone shows up on your doorstep. I gather this isn't one of those articles but the ones which preceded it probably were.
From the sounds of it, Americans ate still loud laugher because they haven't been as narcotized as Europeans. But also, wherever she is may not be the place the British and Germans go on their vacations.
No thanks.
I didn't rad the article so I don 't know what type of career the subject has retired from, but I've heard from multiple first hand sources that older women are the only reliable hires available today. These are semi skilled retail / light manufacturing positions. They are responsible, show up on time, etc. All the things that are assumed to come with "having a job".
I've also heard that anyone under 30 is useless and likely to call off before the first week is over and quit before their second paycheck.
As a man at 70-ish I'm here to tell you there is no shortage of available 50+ year old women anywhere in the world. Great dates, conversation and sex abound in any language you choose wherever you wander. Stock up on Viagra and hit the road guys. Life is good.
P.s. If you still have all your hair and an upper middle class soft Southern accent it's...unfair.
Seriously, I’d never move from Omaha. I’ve got to stop OPPD’s $28b spending spree on solar and wind.
Do not crucify Nebraskans on a cross of wind turbine blades.
Single American male expats move to places like Costa Rica and Thailand.
Yes, "Don't Calfornicate Colorado" was a great slogan though it prevented nothing.
The Duchovny series permanently soiled the word and I can understand wanting to avoid using it.
How one feels about reputed sex addict David Duchovny playing a sex addict for umpteen seasons on cable may be something to contemplate though.
@Heartless—
Seek immediate medical help if you experience a soft Southern accent lasting more than 4 hours. 🤣
Sound advice for those wishing to flee the US: Live in a country for at least one year before you commit.
"Can't these people just move to Florida or some other no income tax state like everyone else? The US is stunningly beautiful in a lot of places."
We consider moving from Madison, but I find it very hard to come up with a good place. What Portugal has is a very long history, causing the cities to be pleasing in a way that's very hard to find in the U.S.
But if the places fill up with older Americans who aren't bringing ambition and beauty, it might take on the ambiance that I call "the antechamber of death."
"You're leaving your home country for some very bland comforts and no excitement."/"isn't it; hooray for boredom?"
If that's addressed to me and refers to what I collect under the tag "I'm for boring," you're badly mistaken. I hate to be bored and I actively avoid it by getting out of boring places, away from boring people, and following my own interests (and being aware of what they are rather than being deluded into thinking I'm interested in what other people seem to find interesting).
"I'm for boring" refers to politics and a preference that those who hold political power be boring. I don't want weird or thrilling people to be the candidates and I don't look to our leaders to make my life interesting or exciting. I don't like it when other people get excited about a charismatic political leader. I think that's dangerous or at least stupid.
You can move to any small rural town in Iowa and buy a house for less than $20K A dependable car for $5k and you can drive 20 minutes to a part time Job. Join the church across the street, and date the guys at the American Legion.
But Whats your goal?
"a newspaper that can't spell "Californication.""
"Can't spell"! Funny. Am I allowed to laugh out loud?
"When it rains heavily, all the water comes into my apartment."
Part of those "pleasing" cities. European rain is so much better. Nourishing. Part of the superior healthcare system, in fact.
"You're leaving your home country for some very bland comforts and no excitement."
Do the motives and choices of single American women overseas require any revision of feminist assumptions?
"But maybe this article will prompt some older male Wall Street Journal readers to quit their job now and retire to Portugal.'
Or maybe this article will prompt some older male readers to know where not to go and retire. Gentlemen, add leaky apartments to the hot/crazy/writer matrix.
Great life rules Althouse.
Nation of Portugal let Americans have healthcare... without paying into the system first?
I'm skeptical.
The entire world has free health care. Except us. We only have Obamacare...
Reading one random article about expat retirees is not evidence of Californication or Americans ruining these places. Sounds like fun to me, but we will stay here in The Spirit of America to Live Free or Die until our grandkids all go off to college, which is about 8-years.
I would NEVER leave the United States; land of the free and home of the brave. I'd feel like a traitor.
Actually, the word would be Californiazation if you weren't trying to work in "fornicate." Clearly what the Coloradans meant was: don't f*** up Colorado. I think Californiacation is an attempt to have it both ways.
And Portugal is charming.
Do not crucify Nebraskans on a [...] cross of wind turbine blades.
=========
you left off spinning / revolving / rotating
Yeah, I agree with the comment about Loud Americans. When we went to Europe, I noticed almost everyone on the train/Subway talked quietly to their neighbors EXCEPT the Americans. You could hear their conversation about Aunt Maude and her latest operation all through the bus/train car/subway car. Talk about fucking annoying. Same with the cafe. Loud American voices everyone else fairly quiet.
No doubt the WSJ hit the woman over 50 thing because of their readership. How many people under 50 read the WSJ? And if they do, how many read any of the non-financial news articles?
"You can move to any small rural town in Iowa and buy a house for less than $20K A dependable car for $5k and you can drive 20 minutes to a part time Job. Join the church across the street, and date the guys at the American Legion."
This is a great idea for someone who needs a TikTok/Instagram project.
Obrigado,não.
We lived in the UK for a couple of years in the early '90s-- end of Thatcher era. Pre-Blair. It was a great place. Thatcher had brought energy and enterprise back into English life. We loved the people; we loved the life. We were amused by the "man in Whitehall knows best" attitude of many Britons, even after eleven years of Thatcherism.
But my wife and I are Americans through and through, and I never wanted to call anywhere else home.
America has changed more than Britain in the full generation since we lived there. The willingness of Americans (who really should know better) to accept nonsense from the government and restrictions on their liberty has grown. The administrative state and its power have grown.
Next up: swingeing levels of taxation on the middle class (think national VAT and return of millions of people to the income tax rolls) to pay for all that government service imposed by the administrative state. There is no alternative, as Mrs. Thatcher used to say about a different national crisis.
Jeff said...
there are thousands of young, beautiful and very feminine young women
Some of whom have actual ladyparts
"This is a great idea for someone who needs a TikTok/Instagram project."
I agree. We have a house in small town (pop. 1,400) west Michigan. You could live exactly that life...except the American Legion and the VFW are dying out. Join the church and sign up for programs at the local library and the local art school. There is a bowling league and a golf league, too. Meet the guys at the Rod & Gun Club.
why would Americans want to leave our leftist Soviet Government Psaki NBC affiliate paradise?
She makes Portugal sound sad and worth avoiding which shows an amazing talent. Perhaps Portugal hired her to prevent Californication. Europeans can be so devious.
"Nation of Portugal let Americans have healthcare... without paying into the system first?
I'm skeptical."
Who says they're not paying into the system?
I'm curious how those old people's brains are plastic enough to adapt to a new language. I think I could do it -- immersion-learning of Portugese -- but it would be a challenge to learn the different rhythms/sounds of the locals.
"The entire world has free health care. Except us. We only have Obamacare...."
Not free; paid for by taxes, as we pay for our interstate highways, dams, bridges, and other public works that benefit the public as a whole.
Obamacare, which did help people obtain health insurance who could not obtain it previously--meaning, it's not worthless--is mortally crippled by being yet another cash funnel to the insurance companies.
If you are living where a 2-bedroom apartment costs you $5K a month, it may look cheaper to move to another country. If you are paying $1200 a month, the savings in moving will probably be eaten up in the cost of connecting with family back in the US. I lived in South America for 18 months in the late 80's and loved the experience. If I was very wealthy, I would cheerfully spend a few months in Paris, Tokyo, Rome, etc, from time to time but moving everything to another country permanently doesn't interest me. Moving to get away from an issue rarely works - you generally just take the problems with you.
This is a great idea for someone who needs a TikTok/Instagram project.
Or the next great SM platform. It would be interesting in a fish-out-of-water type way.
R. Cook-
This is rather elementary, Robert.
If you are a NEW resident to a nation - You haven't paid into the system.
“As a man at 70-ish I'm here to tell you there is no shortage of available 50+ year old women anywhere in the world. Great dates, conversation and sex abound in any language you choose wherever you wander. Stock up on Viagra and hit the road guys. Life is good.
P.s. If you still have all your hair and an upper middle class soft Southern accent it's...unfair”.
I’m 62, but yup.
I know a guy how grew up in New Zealand. He moved to the states, and now lives in San Diego.
He was thrilled to move away from NZ... For various reasons including job/work opportunity, and leaving the high cost of the socialist way of life in NZ.
I've always wanted to move to New Zealand despite the very high cost of living there.
New Zealand has a very strict immigration policy. If you are over 50, the restrictions on immigration ramp up significantly. New Zealand does not want anyone in need of social programs like healthcare, sucking off a system that was never paid into. So therefore, over 50 = not welcome. There are a few difficult ways to get in, including proving you are independently wealthy, and plunking down big bucks.
The funny thing is that California was ruined by the influx of immigrant commie pinko flatlanders from the Northeast during the late 60's to the late 70's. Thus, Californication has little to do with the natives sons and daughters of the Golden West.
I grew up in a part of New Jersey that has received a lot of immigration from Portugal, and it continues to this day. The local Portuguese community reminds me a lot of an earlier generation of the local Italian community, playing big roles in construction, produce, and small businesses like bakeries and restaurants. There is a lot of family-level entrepreneurship. There also seems to be very little interest in returning to Portugal, aside from maybe spending a week to visit the older relatives before they are gone. Maybe the WSJ should interview the Portuguese immigrants next door for a more complete picture.
Portugal is a relatively poor country that is struggling to overcome a history of corruption, authoritarianism, and socialism. Portugal can be quaint for well-off visitors, but articles like the WSJ article remind me a little bit of the patronizing chapters of old school textbooks that would talk about the "friendly, hard working natives" of various countries.
Moving south to retire in Portugal, Spain or France was very popular in UK until Brexit. Imagine that and the pandemic changed things considerably.
Well, I am in rural Tennessee, and loving retirement. We have three fantastic lakes within 45 minutes, we have theater in Crossville that is semi-pro at least, if you want Broadway then they all hit TPAC when they start touring, which is only 1.5 hours away, world class airport barely more than an hour away, 7 to 8 hours to the beach, beautiful state parks all over the state, hikes galore, low taxes and decent home pricing, though that is getting worse, great medical care, Smoky Mountains only 2.5 hours, we really do have something for everyone. But if you come, please see Glenn Reynolds for the welcome wagon lecture, we have very little interest in changing, so if you come, be prepared to adapt to us. We say grace, we say ma'am, if you ain't into that we dont give a damn kind of thing.
I like how her fat American ass arrived in Portugal, she dropped her fat American suitcase on her fat foot, and some nice people moved her 4 fat heavy American bags and her fat American ass to the doctor, and that is all it took for her to realize she was home.
yeah - I can see it. No one in America is gonna do that.
"Nation of Portugal let Americans have healthcare... without paying into the system first?
I'm skeptical."
They have to buy in, but just like in Spain few expats do so because it's also possible to establish an annual insurance program with a local private hospital or clinic for a few hundred euros per year, and thus avoid the socialized system. If they do go with the socialized system they normally buy a supplemental private policy. I suspect Portugal is the same as Spain where it's almost impossible to see the same specialist twice because they're all on a circuit to multiple clinics. Plus, socialized healthcare means exactly that - if you want food or help getting to the bathroom or changing the sheets, a family member is expected to do those things because the hospital doesn't. Americans assume that socialized medicine means you get the same thing in a foreign system that you get in the US. Not even close.
"This is rather elementary, Robert.
If you are a NEW resident to a nation - You haven't paid into the system."
But they begin paying into the system once they become tax-paying residents. Why would they have to have pre-paid into the system?
This woman is also looking for love in all the wrong places. Most expats, including Germans, US and Brits live in the Algarve where there are hopping scenes in Lagos, Albufeira and Faro.
My work meant that I travelled to Washington State at least once a month--and frequently more often, from 1985 to 2000. Californication showed up in local newspapers and on the local's lips. The other phrase used was "equity aliens". Those danged Californians were selling their overpriced shacks in California and buying mansions in Washington--or so the theory went.
Since 2000 Washington State--and more particularly King County and Seattle has managed to ruin its own self without help from immigrating Californians.
I know many charming, energetic, interesting women over 50 who would like a long term romantic interest, but are unable to find one.
I feel for them, not exactly pitying them, because they are the sort of person who makes the best of what they have and do not need pity, but also wishing they could find someone special to share their adventures.
Many of the comments in this thread are disgracefully unkind towards this sort of woman, who most often has done nothing so very wrong as to deserve this loneliness, and who have so much to offer, and who do make this world a better place in many small ways.
Please, a moment of appreciation and good will towards older single women!
But they begin paying into the system once they become tax-paying residents. Why would they have to have pre-paid into the system?
Excellent example of Socialist thinking.
Blogger Howard said...
The funny thing is that California was ruined by the influx of immigrant commie pinko flatlanders from the Northeast during the late 60's to the late 70's. Thus, Californication has little to do with the natives sons and daughters of the Golden West.
Says the resident of taxachusetts. California was ruined by lefty Karens who drove manufacturing out of the state, then filled the void with illegal immigrants.
Again Robert - If you are NEW - you have not paid into the system.
I'm not an expert on Portugal's healthcare system, but certainly the American way of thinking is "cut the line - it's all good, Everyone does it. Free health care!"
Plus - See Jaydub's comment at 10:52.
"There are lots of health-and-safety-loving Midwestern ladies there longing — in their leaky apartments — for a man maybe something like you."
Where did you get the "longing" part? They sound like lesbians to me. Americo-Portuguese lesbians.
"But they begin paying into the system once they become tax-paying residents. Why would they have to have pre-paid into the system?"
Now, do millions of immigrants of unknown provenance coming across the southern border of the US without authorization or pre-clearance, or, indeed, health checks. Since they don't have authorization to work, are they paying FICA? They are probably off the books, right?
And as to emigrants to Portugal, if they don't work, under most European tax systems they don't have to pay tax on capital (including savings) brought into the country. The USA is one of the few countries that taxes worldwide personal income.
An aged clump of colored cells presenting as male with masculine gender would be hired. #SpikeProteinEnvy
The best thing about retiring in Portugal is telling people that you are retiring in Portugal. It sounds so adventurous. I had a temporary foreign service assignment in Madrid for a year and a half, and spent enough time in Portugal to get my car broken into.
The people are very nice. As you might expect, very family oriented and loyal to their friends. Driving from Madrid to Lisbon, Portugal seemed more antiquated than Spain as I crossed the border. The resort areas, like the Algarve, are very nice and populated with Brits. Living there, an ex-pat would find that many things that we take for granted, aren't necessarily available and the entire system is different. Being an ex-pat is a challenge that one only makes sense if there are specific attractions, like friends and family, in the other country.
I'm skeptical of people who are ex-pats because of the low cost of living. The teacher in the WSJ article bought a mountain hut in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean for $100K. More likely a person gets to middle age, and doesn't like the person they've become or the life they've built. Without close ties to friends or family, a dramatic move proves that they aren't boring. I don't think many poor and struggling Americans emigrate to Portugal.
Enigma said, of men : "Middle age crisis. Buy a sports car, buy a new young wife..."
This is sexist, ageist and ableist.
Let's flip it: the middle age women discussed in the article are old, crazy, post-menopausal women panicking over reaching old age. (I don't mean that, and wouldn't never say that in seriousness).
Why can't we be happy that people have choices and celebrate that? If it's men headed to Thailand, or women headed to Europe, thank God we can still get on an airplane.
Are the guys at the “rod and gun club” the models for the art classes?
Caliunicornia is a state of mindlessness.
"'But they begin paying into the system once they become tax-paying residents. Why would they have to have pre-paid into the system?'
"Excellent example of Socialist thinking."
I'm sure you decry the health system in Portugal and most other civilized nations as socialist anyway, so...?
"'But they begin paying into the system once they become tax-paying residents. Why would they have to have pre-paid into the system?'
"Excellent example of Socialist thinking."
I'm sure you decry the health system in Portugal and most other civilized nations as socialist anyway, so...?
Skeptical Voter said...
My work meant that I travelled to Washington State at least once a month--and frequently more often, from 1985 to 2000. Californication showed up in local newspapers and on the local's lips...
I lived there from 1985-2018 and was around for the Great Californian In-migration. The locals were blaming 'Californians' for everything. I didn't really see much difference between the locals and the Callie's myself, but now I'm not so sure. WA went from red-purple to blue (at least the 3-4 counties around the Sound). Now I see the same thing happening in Arizona. They wreck their own state, move to a new place, and then begin the process again.
“They wreck their own state, move to a new place, and then begin the process again.”
Human termites.
Gee whiz, seems I had wrongly assumed it was the young native internet addicted Texan and Arizonian voters with the purple hair and LGBT , La Raza, BLM, Transsexual clubs and parades who were turning the states blue.
Surprised to find it is the Social Security boomers doing the deed.
Not to mention greedy neighbors selling their homes at inflated prices to Californicators, putting housing out of reach of young locals.But that is another matter.
Post a Comment