Navigating identity, logistics, and meaning across borders.
Essays
When you spend 30 years moving for professional reasons, you develop a kind of useful detachment. You get very good at being open. You get good at choosing a place that's calm, planting yourself deliberately, and deciding this is the new home where you will let things slow down enough to be seen.
People ask me the same thing again and again: “Are you still enjoying Portugal?” It sounds polite. It’s really about identity, control, and the script we were taught to live by. I moved in my 50s and wrote a workbook so others could do it too. Here’s what the question means, why it persists.
From Yoruba crowns to Zimbabwean stone sculptures, Luba maternity figures to Kongo nkisi power objects, Africa’s masterpieces await beneath a Portuguese winery.
Dogon funeral masks, Punu white-faced dancers, and Kongo nkisi figures: in the Aliança Underground Museum, Africa’s spirits live on in silence beneath Portuguese wine cellars.
Cultural Identity
In the underground chambers of the Aliança Museum, Africa speaks through terracotta guardians from Niger, Fang masks from Gabon, Nkisi power figures from Congo, and Yoruba crowns from Nigeria—objects without labels, yet alive with meaning.
Beneath the wine barrels of Sangalhos, Portugal, lies a secret: the Aliança Underground Museum. Its African collection—terracottas from Niger, ivory carvings from Congo, and masks from Gabon—sits largely unlabeled, yet speaks volumes about civilizations too often silenced.
Life Between Countries
Portugal is an incredible place to live, but moving here isn't as easy as the internet makes it seem. Here's what you need to know about housing, jobs, taxes, and culture before making the leap.
Lisbon is more than city streets and river views. Just beyond the city center, forests, cliffs, and ancient trails are waiting to be explored. Here's how to find them—no car required.
Adventure Travel
Embark on a 6-day journey through São Miguel in the Azores with this free, detailed itinerary. From volcanic landscapes to hidden gems and local flavors, experience the best of the island. Subscribe today for exclusive access to this guide and start planning your unforgettable adventure!
Travel Guide
The idea of living in a ripe old age in a much less stressful environment, surrounded by history, good food, good healthcare, and natural beauty, is too tempting to ignore.
Portugal Guide
Explore the distinctions between permanent residency and citizenship in Portugal, including key legal exclusions and options.
Adventure Travel
Embark on a journey with me through the streets and coast of Almada, Portugal, along the Tagus River.