hello from new member
 

Hi,

I'm a young 42 yr. old female from the states and dying to get back to Europe
I lived in Eastern Europe for four years but had to come back to the states for health reasons. I've basically recovered now and need to be in a European city which offers the things I don't have here.

I have a small income and don't need to find work. I have been planning on going to Portugal next fall, but I'm so ready to leave now, that I hope to come out in December and find a transitional place possibly to rent for six months to a year (or longer if the apartment is available, otherwise I will just find a small place to stay during the tourist off-season).

Bratislava is a place I may also consider and hope if anyone has suggestions for a place to rent, they can let me know.

I'm adventurous, intelligent, somewhat quiet but fun-loving, open-minded, etc.

I think this is a great active site and think it's wonderful that so many people are so willing to help and make these transitions much easier.

Look forward to sharing,

Penny

Re: hello from new member
 

Hi there Penny...welcome to BE.

As this forum is mainly for British Expats I'm not sure how you would obtain a visa to live in Europe...so I'm sorry I can't help you there.

I'll give you the link to the main index page of our Europe Forums. You will see a list of all the forums dedicated to a specific country...Portugal being one of them. Euro countries that do not have a dedicated forum come under the general Europe forum. I see you have already started posting in the Europe forum.

BE is a large expat website...so it's understandable that you may have problems finding your way around our many forums. We have a team of concierges who will direct you around the website. You can find a list of their names at the bottom right hand side of this page.

For all other problems or concerns please contact a moderator...their names are located at the bottom right hand side of each forum's index page. Moderators' names are in bold font.

Please give me a shout if you need any help.

Re: hello from new member
 

Thanks for all your time and help Jerseygirl. I plan for the first year to exit every three months and won't be looking for a job as I have my own income.
My son's father lives near and this is good for them too. Again, thanks so much.

Re: hello from new member
 

You are very welcome...it nice to see new members join our cyber community.

Sounds like you have a plan. :thumbsup:

Can you move from one Euro country to the next every 3 months...or do you have to leave like the you would have to leave the US? Like I said I don't know anything about immigration in Europe...only that I could live and work anywhere. ;)

Re: hello from new member
 

(I mean that I would take a short visit outside Portugal and when I return I can stay another three months.) I worked in Eastern Europe in the early '90s and had a visa then, but some people would leave the country for a few days and come back allowing them to legally stay another three months. (I think that was the time frame. I may have accidentally said thirty days instead of three months). I don't plan on moving around; I would like to find a place to eventually stay for at least four years. I can't bear the culture in the states, it just doesn't fit me and how I want to live.

Thanks,

Penny

Re: hello from new member
 

Hi Penny

Glad to see you are starting to find your feet on our Europe forum. I am sure you will find loads of good folks on there who can offer lots of tips and advice to help your move go smoothly.
Glad to hear also that you're back to good health and ready for your next adventure. Good luck with your plans for Portugal - it's a lovely place.
Oh - and of course welcome to BE from me too.

Dread - x

Re: hello from new member
 

Thanks for the note. This is a very well organized site. Other expate sites I've seen don't have the involvement this site does; very impressive. This site is packed with very useful information and it's obvious that many people have taken a lot of time and care in their posts.

Thanks again,

Penny

Re: hello from new member
 

Thank you Penny...it's very kind of you to take the time to say that. :)

Re: hello from new member
 

I'm sure you won't like to hear this, but things are different now. If you do follow through with your plan, be prepared to leave at a moment's notice (which will make it hard to settle).
Portugal is part of the Schengen Zone, which has special visa rules of its own. It's not so easy to 'live' somewhere now on tourist entries and border runs. As technology has caught up everywhere, more documents are required and it's not so easy to slide around.

US citizens are limited to 90 days in the Schengen Zone, and can not be readmitted until they have spent 90 days out.

Re: hello from new member
 

I thought that may be the case as per my post #4...thank you for clarifying.

Re: hello from new member
 

Hi Penny

Don't give up. I am sure there is a little corner of Europe for you to settle in.

Dread - x

Re: hello from new member
 

It would be nice to think so, Dread, but it's very difficult for Americans to relocate to Europe.

Re: hello from new member
 

THANKS so much everyone. I just realized last night that I would also have problems with rent documents. I had a student visa and work visa the previous two times.

I am married to someone in Eastern Europe but we don't live together now. I suppose I could live in his country possibly, but that wouldn't help me elsewhere would it?

If I just stayed for ninety days to get my "fix" is something like a pension the only rental option? I don't know if I could afford tourist rates.

Every time I've come back to the states I'm desperately "home sick" for Europe. And just can't and don't want to adjust to the culture here, it's just absolutely not a fit for me;

YOU'VE PROBABLY SAVED ME A DISASTER. I wasn't initially planning to try the move until next year, but was almost ready to jump into something just because I thought I had the finances.

Re: hello from new member
 

Penny, which country is your spouse from and what is the legal status of your marital situation? There may be a way for you to go based on that relationship.
Without knowing which country, it's impossible to say if it would be of use to you in other countries or not.

You may be able to find a private rental to use for a tourist visit vs staying in a pension. But you'll probably still have to negotiate down from 'tourist rates'. You could also look into a home swap; I've heard good things about people's experiences with that.

Re: hello from new member
 

Hi Meauxna,

He is Slovakian, living in Bratislava. I'm thinking after the other helpful posts that I will possibly go there for a while until I can educate myself on how all this might work. I will be working with someone with a website business, so I think that worrying about work visas shouldn't be a concern; I'm guessing I would just need to learn about how to rent and stay legally for long term. I'm only beginning to consider these things in detail now; it's a complete mystery to me.

We were married and living in the states and have not divorced. I stayed here for health reasons and he moved back to Bratislava.

Really appreciate all the thoughtfulness and advice from everyone on the site. These life changes are so important. I've always tried to help people out in the past and it's so nice now having so many people helping me in these little/HUGE ways. I could have been going into this blind with too many assumptions and ended up in a lot of trouble.

P.