Why I moved to Portugal (Part 2)

So, January rolled around. Me and my friend Michelle packed our bags, grabbed our cheap flights, and headed to Albufeira for what was meant to be just a quick weekend away. Honestly, I didn’t expect much — I thought it would just be a bit of winter sun, some sangria, and a change of scenery. But from the moment we arrived, I knew something felt different in me and I needed change.

After years of feeling like I didn’t quite fit in back home, Portugal just felt… right.

We spent the weekend wandering, eating, chatting, laughing — and something inside me just clicked. On the flight home, I said to Michelle, I am going to book a one way ticket and a hotel for 2 weeks, see if I can find a job and somewhere to live. If so, I will stay for a year to experience a different way of life, if not ill have a nice holiday, go back and sort myself out. And as soon as I landed back in the UK, instead of unpacking, I was already online looking at flights to return.

By spring, with no big plan, no safety net, no “sensible” roadmap — just a one-way ticket to Faro and a two-week hotel booking. That was it. I was 100% winging it, and honestly, it was the best decision I’ve ever made as it threw me so far out of my comfort zone and changed me in the best kind of ways.

It wasn’t all sunshine and cocktails, of course. The early days were full of challenges, confusion, and a lot of “what on earth am I doing?” moments. Also, I drank a LOT of alcohol in the first few years, being able to drink while working was the best kind of novelty for me and I well and truly embraced it!

Part 3 to follow!