Thinking of Moving to Portugal? These 24 Writers Are Living the Dream
Real stories, honest insights, and a dash of saudade from people who traded old routines for Portuguese sunsets.
Pull up a chair, pour yourself something delicious, and dive into this Sunday roundup of real stories from 24 soulful storytellers who actually made the leap to Portugal.
From off-grid dreams in the Alentejo to midlife reinventions over pastéis de nata, you’ll find honest insights, gentle encouragement, and maybe even the nudge you need to start planning your own fresh start.
We’re building the ultimate library of Substackers living across borders, and the full, filterable directory already features 194+ writers in 43+ countries (and counting).
🔐 Explore the entire Substack Writers Directory here. No paywall on this one — feel free to dive in, leave a tip, or drop your favourite recommendations.
Whether you’re Portugal-curious or already knee-deep in pastel de nata crumbs, these 24 Substackers offer something richer than relocation tips. They’re making sense of big changes in real time — with humour, heart, and a healthy dose of hindsight.
Some are here for the slow mornings and sea air. Others are untangling old dreams, raising kids, rebuilding careers, or learning to say desculpa like they mean it.
Their stories aren’t influencer-perfect — they’re real, reflective, and often exactly what you didn’t know you needed.
This is what living abroad actually looks like — up close and uncensored.
Alastair Leithead
Off-grid and OPEN in Portugal — Despatches from a former BBC foreign correspondent now running an off-grid eco-luxe lodge on the Alentejo coast
🏠 Alentejo, Portugal | ✈️ Amersham, UK
Bio: Portugal trainee. Learning how to live off the grid in rural Alentejo after nearly 20 years as a BBC foreign correspondent. Collecting stories along the way.
Calling all:
💌 Soulful storytellers
🌍 Global citizens
🧘 Slow living fans
Quote: “Friday nervously came and went as a warning that unrequited expectations can put a cloud over a weekend. Today we wish upon a star: let’s hope we find the pot of gold.”
Why you’ll love him: From solar panels to soggy paperwork, Alastair’s stories prove that building a dream life in the Portuguese wilds takes optimism, off-grid tech, and a good sense of humour. If his name rings a bell, it’s because you’ve likely heard it on the BBC — now he’s reporting from a different kind of front line: rural reinvention.
Alison Krupnick
Slice of Midlife — Musings (with a foodie-focus) about this unique life stage, generously defined. Now coming to you from Portugal.
🏠 Caldas de Rainha, Portugal | ✈️ Seattle, USA
Bio: World-traveling foodie and author of Slice of Midlife -- musings on this unique life stage, with recipes! Author of Ruminations from the Minivan: musings from a world grown large, then small.
Calling all:
💌 Soulful storytellers
✍🏻 Essay lovers
🌍 Global citizens
Quote: “Song lyrics about dreams have been running through my head, especially in the wee hours when my dreams are interrupted by logistics-stress insomnia…I feel so utterly blessed, grateful, exhausted, and excited for what comes next.”
Why you’ll love her: She’s your wise, witty kitchen-table confidante — dishing up soulful stories, midlife musings, and mouthwatering recipes from her beautifully messy Portuguese chapter.
Barbara Grassey
Expat Golden Girl Life — My adventures as an (ahem) older expat living in Portugal.
🏠 Algarve, Portugal | ✈️ USA
Bio: I'm a writer and expat, currently living in The Algarve, Portugal. Find my writings at My Expat Golden Girl Life: Welcome to My Expat Golden Girl Life - by Barbara Grassey
Calling all:
💌 Soulful storytellers
🌍 Global citizens
🧘🏻 Slow living fans
Quote: “Sometime in between the hamster wheel and the final spin of the wheel of life, there’s a wheel of fortune waiting for you—where every spin is another adventure.”
Why you’ll love her: With grit, grace, and a lot of laundry drying in the Portuguese sun, Barbara chronicles the joys and jolts of life abroad after 60 — with stories that feel like a hug and a nudge. And if you’ve ever dreamed of moving abroad solo (or just love a good reinvention story), her book is a brilliant place to start.
Bryan Kramer
BEing Human — Your title’s impressive. Your humanity is what makes you dangerous.
🏠 Lisbon, Portugal | ✈️ California, USA
Bio: H2H: I believe being human is your competitive advantage. Exec Coach, past agency, and 3x CEO. Books: Human-to-Human & Shareology. TEDTalk. Sober. Based in Lisbon 🇵🇹
Calling all:
💌 Soulful storytellers
✍️ Essay lovers
🌍 Global citizens
Quote: “Stopping was its own kind of terror. It’s raw and unrelenting, forcing you to stare straight into the void you’ve been frantically filling with deadlines and dopamine hits.”
Why you’ll love him: Broadcasting from his sun-drenched life in Lisbon, Bryan writes like a wise friend who’s walked through the fire — and brought back a soulful, Portuguese-scented newsletter about trust, change, and showing up human.
Carl Munson
Carl Munson — On Life, Living & Portugal
🏠 São Martinho do Porto, Portugal | ✈️ Devon, UK
Bio: I am focusing elsewhere, find me at www.theportugalclub.com
Calling all:
🌍 Global citizens
💌 Soulful storytellers
🛫 Relocation nerds
Quote: “Hope in the mind is doomed, with its dismal tendencies and obsession with the wrongs of the past and fears for the future. Hope in the heart, however, has us see what, and who is in front of us in the here and now, which is all we will ever really have.”
Why you’ll love him: Carl is your friendly guide to Portugal’s hidden charms, sharing candid tales and clever insights that make life here feel beautifully human
Carol A. Wilcox
Our Portugal Journey – Resources, personal experiences, practical advice, and guidance from an American expat couple about moving to, traveling to, and living in Portugal. Personal consultations via Zoom available.
🏠 Cascais, Portugal | ✈️ Arizona, USA
Bio: Online content writer/publisher of Our Portugal Journey, a newsletter about an American couple’s experiences, challenges, and discoveries with moving to, and living in Portugal. Information about expat life, travel, tourism, ancestry, food and wine.
Calling all:
🌍 Global citizens
💌 Soulful storytellers
🛫 Relocation nerds
Quote: “Living like a king or queen in Portugal also can mean other things like immersing yourself in the country’s rich history and culture, savoring its delicious cuisine, beautiful weather, and enjoying its many natural and man-made wonders. It can mean making new friends and enjoying new experiences, stressing less, and enjoying life more.”
Why you’ll love them: Carol and Paul unwrap the magic (and the mishaps) of starting over in Portugal, blending heartfelt tales with practical tips you’ll actually use.
Casey Kelly
We're Moving to Europe — I and my young adult kids all moved from the US to different countries in Europe. Building a community to share advice, reliable information, and ideas on how to make your move without wasting time, money, or effort.
🏠 Coimbra, Portugal | ✈️ Texas, USA
Bio: former Texan living and working in Portugal, with grown kids in the Netherlands and Sweden, using what I've learned to build a community for Americans who are curious and/or serious about moving to Europe
Calling all:
🌍 Global citizens
💌 Soulful storytellers
🛫 Relocation nerds
Quote: “…By the time the metaphorical snake was near their boots, their only option was to take a road lined with burning trees while embers and ash rained down on them.”
Why you’ll love her: Casey brings clarity to chaos, urgency to indecision, and empathy to every step of your move. With her journalistic lens and lived experience guiding a multi-country family relocation, she’s building a grounded, action-oriented community for Americans ready to move — before the window closes.
Cynthia Wilson
(A)musing — From comedy to tragedy and everything in between, join the wild ride of adventures, hijinks, musings, dreams and nightmares, tantrums, and blessings of a life thoroughly lived.
🏠 Marinha Grande, Portugal | ✈️ Seattle, USA
Bio: Writer. Traveler. Chef. Read with me, roam with me and let me teach you how to show food who's boss.
Calling all:
✍️ Essay lovers
🌍 Global citizens
💌 Soulful storytellers
Quote: “My privilege isn’t a burden or something to be ashamed of; it is a weapon for justice and I will wield it with strength.”
Why you’ll love her: With a tongue-in-cheek flair, Cynthia turns every Portuguese quirk and culture shock into deliciously satirical essays that make you laugh, cringe, and secretly nod along.
Devyn
An American in Porto — The adventures of packing up a comfortable life in Philadelphia and immigrating to Portugal. And a few other life musings along the way.
🏠 Porto, Portugal | ✈️ Philadelphia, USA
Calling all:
💌 Soulful storytellers
🌍 Global citizens
✍️ Essay lovers
Quote: “I have always strived to find beauty in the mundane. This phone booth on a plaza on Rua de Fernandes Tomás is clearly a vestige of the past… But I find tremendous beauty in this.”
Why you’ll love him: Swapping Philly chaos for Portuguese charm, Devyn’s your guide to the glorious mess of fresh starts, vinho breaks, and learning to say obrigado without blushing.
Fernando Ventresca
Just Go Already — If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to leave it all behind, move to a new country and make a brand new start, I’ve got some stories to tell you.
🏠 Lisbon, Portugal | ✈️ California, USA
Bio: An American 🇺🇸 sharing my experiences living in Portugal 🇵🇹 Writer and Storyteller👨💻 Life Coach 🙌🏼 Former radio dj 📻
Calling all:
💌 Soulful storytellers
🌍 Global citizens
✍️ Essay lovers
Quote: “This was the year I flung open not only the doors but the windows too! Allowing that wind of change to flow through practically every corner, cranny and crawl space in the house that is my life.”
Why you’ll love him: He’s your backstage pass to Portugal’s quirks, questions, and quiet joys — all told with warmth, humour, and a healthy dose of “why not?” Come for the laughs, stay for the reflections on what it really means to start over.
Gregory Garretson
Living Elsewhere — Outside perspectives on the world, with all its craziness and beauty.
🏠 Lisbon, Portugal | ✈️ USA
Bio: Writer/linguist/educator/goofball in Lisbon, writing about culture, language, life abroad, being human. Living in Europe for 20+ years.
Calling all:
💌 Soulful storytellers
✍️ Essay lovers
💬 Language + culture lovers
Quote: “I feel a wonderful sense of agency as a result of the millions of experiences that have challenged me as I moved around this planet, like a beautiful stone that is polished to a shine by the rushing of years and years of water. And that stone is possibly my most valuable possession.”
Why you’ll love him: Gregory brings the rare mix of a linguist’s brain, a philosopher’s depth, and a stand-up comic’s timing. His essays don’t just explore life abroad — they interrogate it, gently and brilliantly, with questions about identity, belonging, beauty, and bureaucracy. Come for the wit, stay for the wisdom (and the turtle pics).
Janelle Holden
From Montana to Portugal — Real-time reinvention From Montana to Portugal — funny, heartfelt stories on expat life, freedom, and starting over in midlife abroad as an American woman.
🏠 Óbidos, Portugal | ✈️ Montana, USA
Bio: Janelle Holden is an American essayist, memoirist, and strategist turned full-time storyteller. Originally from Montana, she now writes from Portugal — sharing the real, raw, and often hilarious truths of building a new life abroad.
Calling all:
💌 Soulful storytellers
🌍 Global citizens
✍️ Essay lovers
Quote: “I don’t think paradise really is the word (though that’s what people say about Portugal) because paradise implies perfection, and no place is perfect, but some places are just right. And I do think paradise includes … a room of your own.”
Why you’ll love her: Janelle brings you inside her Portugal adventure with stories about swapping burnout for cappuccinos in Portugal, blending humour, heartache, and a little Portuguese calma into every story of starting over.
Karen Gordon
The Nomad Choice — Why I’m leaving the U.S.: A therapist’s personal and political reckoning
🏠 Lisbon, Portugal | ✈️ New York, USA
Bio: Couples therapist + nomad. Leaving U.S. for Portugal. Obsessed with moving abroad. Obsessed with what makes love work. Licensed CA + NY.
Calling all:
💌 Soulful storytellers
🌍 Global citizens
✍️ Essay lovers
Quote: “Love does not mean retreat. Love is fuel. When we let the pain of the world soften us, our tender hearts become our greatest asset. It is with this tender heart that we can create change.”
Why you’ll love her: With tender essays and a therapist’s insight, she’ll inspire you to trade your old life for something braver and more humane under Portugal’s golden skies — blending memoir and political reckoning in essays about leaving America, loving your child from afar, and staying soft in a hardening world.
Kathy Harms Creative
The Journey — A bi-weekly collection of experiences, observations, and valuable lessons on moving to a new country, and building a new life, centered around creative pursuits.
🏠 Porto, Portugal | ✈️ New Westminster, Canada
Bio: Canadian living in Portugal | Photographer, writer, and positive psychology enthusiast | Writing to make sense of it all
Calling all:
✍️ Essay lovers
🌍 Global citizens
💌 Soulful storytellers
Quote: “These sorts of things happen all the time here, but we don’t get the sense that there’s any game behind it — it’s just how things work. Moments like these are part of the texture of life here and have to be taken in stride.”
Why you’ll love her: Kathy’s gentle, luminous writing invites you into the intimate process of creative reinvention — where photography, positive psychology, and the quieter rhythms of life in Portugal shape a soulful, slow-built second act.
Kimberly Anne
Expat on a Budget — Learn how to move/live abroad on a budget! I help you afford your dreams with tips, resources, and personal stories to inspire your new adventure! I’m KA — an expat thriving on a budget in Europe.
🏠 Porto, Portugal | ✈️ California, USA
Bio: Crazed dog lover who's so optimistic, I annoy myself. Obsessed with travel, caffeine, and accidentally finding (or creating) trouble wherever I go. Expat navigating the world one plant-based meal at a time, but not in a disgruntled way.
Calling all:
🌍 Global citizens
💌 Soulful storytellers
🛫 Relocation nerds
Quote: “It’s not glamorous, but it’s powerful. It’s not polished, but it’s profound. And in those quiet or chaotic moments — watching the sunset over cobblestone streets, learning a new word, or simply surviving a tough day — you realize: this life doesn’t need to be glamorous to be extraordinary.”
Why you’ll love her: Kimberly is your candid companion in Portugal, blending hard-won wisdom and deliciously real stories about making a life abroad that’s richer than just pastel de nata and pretty tiles.
Kristin Fellows
My Portuguese Neighbors — A collection of humorous & heartfelt short stories about a small Portuguese village that has welcomed a foreigner into their daily lives. Some of the stories are hand-illustrated by me.
🏠 Portugal | ✈️ North Carolina, USA
Bio: Award-winning adventure travel writer. Freelance writer & documentary film consultant. Professional photographer & illustrator. NatGeo Photo of the Day. Atlas Obscura's "First Journey" competition semi-finalist. Storyteller.
Calling all:
💌 Soulful storytellers
🎨 Artists & creatives
🌍 Global citizens
Quote: “These simple, colorful moments of daily life in a small Portuguese farming village — this is what has captured my heart and tumbled me in love with my new life here.”
Why you’ll love her: From buying ten Portuguese properties by accident to sketching the soulful details of village life, she’s your guide to finding wonder (and a little mischief) in every corner of Portugal.
LaDonna Witmer
The Long Scrawl — True stories about life in Palmela, Portugal (and beyond) from a writer who emigrated from the States.
🏠 Palmela, Portugal | ✈️ Illinois, USA
Bio: Professional Word Nerd. Unprofessional Succulent Gardener. Irish Goodbye Enthusiast. Sometime Donkey Rescuer. Longtime Tea Drinker. Foul-Mouthed Heathen. Former Goth Girl. Current Frumpy Person. Aspiring Bog Witch.
Calling all:
💌 Soulful storytellers
✍️ Essay lovers
🌍 Global citizens
Quote: “When you’re an immigrant, every day is an exercise in facing just how much you don’t know. It’s humbling and it’s freeing. It teaches you to ask better questions, to listen for longer periods of time. I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything.”
Why you’ll love her: LaDonna makes the wild ride of moving to Portugal feel relatable and enchanting, with every essay steeped in honesty, humour, and a pinch of saudade. Her writing invites you to slow down, stay human, and savour the questions.
Lani
Coddiwompling — Coddiwompling through life, I write to help us both feel again —through breath, community, vulnerability, and the slow road home.
🏠 Portugal | ✈️ Virginia, USA
Bio: Mom of three. Currently living in Portugal. Full of coffee, carbs and sarcasm. Wannabe librarian. Bibliophile. Usually late. Always anxious.
Calling all:
💌 Soulful storytellers
👨👩👧 Parents abroad
🧘 Slow living fans
Quote: “I wanted to live outside my little bubble. It’s the best way to grow and see life from different perspectives.”
Why you’ll love her: Lani brings tenderness, wit, and vulnerability to the page, offering a deeply relatable look at motherhood, migration, and learning to sit with both joy and guilt. Her writing feels like a friend handing you a warm drink and saying, “Same.”
Luke Flunder
Flunder Wine World — Discover great wines with me.
🏠 Portugal | ✈️ England, UK
Bio: Spreading wine knowledge and positivity like warm whipped butter on crusty sourdough.
Calling all:
🌍 Global citizens
💌 Soulful storytellers
🛫 Relocation nerds
Quote: “It was when I managed, at the age of eight, to write my homework upside down and back to front that I knew things were never going to be standard.”
Why you’ll love him: Luke’s Substack is as unfiltered as a natural wine — punchy, playful, and brimming with heart. He takes the snobbery out of wine and adds in storytelling, humour, and practical gems like “The List” — his go-to supermarket wine guide. Come for the insider recs, stay for the full-bodied joy.
Maria Anderson
The Perennial Immigrant — Reflections of a 60+-year-old traveler who left her old life behind and is living in Portugal for adventures yet to be.
🏠 Portugal | ✈️ USA
Bio: “Oh but I was so much older then, I’m younger than that now.” — Bob Dylan This describes my life in my late sixties; always be the perennial immigrant, crossing borders of time, space, and place.
Calling all:
💌 Soulful storytellers
🌍 Global citizens
✍️ Essay lovers
Quote: “Saudade — that singular Portuguese word that evokes a profound longing for home, wherever and whatever ‘home’ may be. It speaks to the ache for something that may never return exactly as it was — or perhaps never existed quite as we remember.”
Why you’ll love her: With Stitch the pug at her side, Maria weaves tender, wise essays that honour cultural humility, vulnerability, and the quiet rhythms of her late-life adventure. Her writing is a balm — gentle, grounded, and rich with hard-won grace.
Meredith and Mark
Portugal Junkies — Meredith + Mark | Gen Z Immigrants from the USA + Portugal travel addicts + advisors ready to help YOU travel in or move to Portugal!
🏠 Tavira, Portugal | ✈️ Charlotte, USA
Bio: Meredith + Mark | Podcasters in Portugal | Customized Travel, Relocation Services + 1:1 Calls To Help You Travel In Or Move To 🇵🇹
Calling all:
🌍 Global citizens
💌 Soulful storytellers
🛫 Relocation nerds
Quote: “Fear is often telling you exactly where to go and what to do. So let the fear in, but if your gut is telling you to move abroad, then you’ll just have to do it scared.”
Why you’ll love them: With heart and humour, Meredith and Mark document their leap from the USA to Portugal — sharing the emotional highs, logistical lows, and lessons learned along the way. Through their podcast and posts, they make moving abroad feel less daunting and a lot more human.
Heather
Living Abroad, Grow Within — Immigrant life in Portugal with husband and two dogs. Real talk on empty nesting abroad. No sugar coating. Just cultural respect, community vibes, and zero expat privilege allowed. Ready? Vamos lá!
🏠 Lisbon, Portugal | ✈️ Florida, USA
Bio: Former Florida girl (blue dot, red state) who immigrated to Portugal. Fully, respectfully, and responsibly integrating into a new culture at 50.
Calling all:
✍️ Essay lovers
🌍 Global citizens
💌 Soulful storytellers
Quote: “Every day we would wake up with a different perspective. One day I’d be so confident. Yes. This is our path. We are going to do this. And then the next day one of us may wake up and think we were completely insane to even consider doing this.”
Why you’ll love her: With sharp insight and unflinching honesty, Heather captures what it really means to start over in a new country at midlife. Her essays balance cultural reverence, personal reckoning, and the quiet courage it takes to grow roots abroad.
Rose
Stories Waiting To Be Discovered from Rosebud Bookshop — Everything books from a cozy English language bookshop in Porto Portugal
🏠 Porto, Portugal | ✈️ USA
Bio: A cozy English language bookshop in Porto
Calling all:
💌 Soulful storytellers
✍️ Essay lovers
🌍 Global citizens
Quote: “If you are in tune with things, the signs and synchronicity are there. Some things are just chance or coincidence and sometimes you only notice the sign for what it was afterwards.”
Why you’ll love her: Like a well-loved novel tucked into a Porto shelf, Rose’s writing is warm, wise, and brimming with the courage to begin again. Whether she’s reflecting on books, life, or the quiet joys of bookstore days, her words feel like a handwritten letter from an old friend.
Vivian
The Expat Diaries — A weekly newsletter featuring interviews with people who’ve made the big leap, moving from their home country to a different country where they started a whole new life — who they are, why they moved, and what happened next.
🏠 Coimbra, Portugal | ✈️ USA
Bio: American currently living in a city by the sea in Portugal; successful litigator turned professional home organizing business owner; reader of all the books; lover of big, bright, bold, gallery walls; and lazy river floating champion
Calling all:
🌍 Global citizens
💌 Soulful storytellers
🛫 Relocation nerds
Quote: “It’s amazing how fast you can just get into the same path that you’ve always known, even though you say that you want something different.”
Why you’ll love her: Her stories wrap you up like a Portuguese sunset — soft, brave, and full of the tender truth that home is something you carry with you.
That’s the Portugal chapter — for now.
These writers are proof that home isn’t just a place, it’s a process. One that unfolds in quiet cafés, bureaucratic offices, beachside mornings, and the blank page.
If one of these voices resonated with you, go subscribe, leave a comment, or share their work. These aren’t just stories — they’re lifelines for the rest of us figuring it out as we go.
💬 Know a writer living abroad who belongs on this list? Pop their name in the comments — this roundup is just a taste.
If you’re craving more, we’ve put together a living, growing library of 194+ Substack writers who live abroad, thoughtfully organised by country, city, and theme.
🔐 Explore the full Substack Writers Directory → (for paid subscribers — scroll to the bottom of the post to unlock the link)
PS: ✍️ Are you a writer living abroad yourself?
Come join us over at ALL ABROAD — a private, chat-first collective for Substack creators building meaningful lives across borders. No algorithms. No hustle. Just honest conversation, mutual support, and a little creative magic every week.
🧳 Your Abroad Toolkit
For when you’re dreaming, planning, or simply figuring it out as you go:
🌎 Living Abroad Locales Database — Browse 304+ handpicked cities based on what matters to you: cost, pace, values, weather, and more.
✨ Destination Personality Quiz — Not sure where you belong? This 5-minute quiz helps align your lifestyle with your global match.
🧠 Dream Locale Decoder Playbook — Practical meets soulful in this step-by-step guide to choosing your next home with clarity, not chaos.
🌀 Dream Life Abroad Visualisation — A gentle, 10-minute guided meditation to reconnect with your pace, your vision, your why.
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Love this list, especially seeing people here I’ve got to know through Substack - including one who lives just down the road (river!) to me! You’ve given me lots more ‘friends’ to discover, too. And if you want a no.25 on your list, feel free to peak at my ‘Borboleta Letters’ 😉
What a fantastic list. Honored to be listed with this group. I’ve learned so much from all of these writers and really appreciate the stories they share.