Portugal CULTURE SHOCK for an AMERICAN - After One Year

culture shock in Portugal for an American [Music] so I've been living in Portugal for an entire year now and these are the things that still give me culture shock today or make me just go wow that's different for me hanging clothes to dry on the balcony now in the United States in many places this is prohibited this is a very typical thing to see in Lisbon and Porto as the apartments don't have a lot of room so where else are you supposed to dry them [Music] [Music] hour now this is a really funny one and one I am still not used to even in my own house the light switch being outside of the bathroom for the ones that like to play pranks on people or just an accident from a family member you might leave them stranded in the bathroom without the lights on in Portugal it's very important to look where you're walking a lot of the roads are unrepaired so you always have to watch where you are walking unlike the United States where everyone sues the city and everything for all of their injuries and everything in Portugal that is not the culture here it is very easy to step into a hole and hurt yourself very badly if you are not looking down and you might step in something smelly if you know what I'm saying so it's better to look down while you're walking around in Portugal beer costing cheaper than water now this one definitely takes a bit to get used to as in the United States beers are currently costing upwards of seven dollars or more and here usually you can get a nice Lager beer made in Portugal like super Bach or sagres which are the two kind of Flagship beers here in Portugal and they range from about 50 cents to a Euro or a Euro 25 depending on where you're at so it's pretty easy to drink a lot of beers when they cost only this much money so if you're an alcoholic and you plan on coming to Portugal maybe this isn't the best option for you it's nice to wake up after a night of drinking to see that it didn't impact your wallet that much speaking of beers what is up with these tiny ones most Americans when they see these small beers will go hey where the heck is the rest of my beer and that is exactly what I thought when I first arrived in Portugal however there's something very clever about these smaller beers and that is when it is a very hot day now what's very cool about it is if you are on a beach or out at a cafe and you keep ordering these smaller beers your beers always stay cold and fresh because I always think about drinking Mega pints in the United States and by the end of the IPA the beer getting quite bitter warm and not so good so this is one thing that is actually all over Europe and these tiny beers serve a great purpose keeping your beers very cold on a very hot day at a cafe or on the beach the Burger King and McDonald's are better in Portugal now anybody that has been to Europe has probably noticed that the McDonald's and Burger Kings are much better than the ones in the United States here they have Artisan burgers with things like prosciutto and gouda on the burgers at Burger King or at McDonald's which is just crazy to me because it is so basic in United States smaller roads and tight Alleyways now one thing in Portugal that's quite a bit different than the United States is because it is so much older now I have been in some hairy positions driving through Alleyways or driving through roads next to cars make sure you give yourself plenty of room when driving on the small roads in Portugal it is actually against the law to change the outer appearance of a house especially if it is historical so a lot of places on the outside can take on an older and run-down looking uncared for appearance but when you walk into some of these places you are astounded by how amazing it has been remodeled brand new windows brand new kitchens everything inside is modern the only thing that's not is the outside super expensive cars now Portugal is one of the most expensive places to buy a car in the whole European union and that's because of the import tax they impose was on the vehicles that enter into Portugal for example in the United States a Toyota RAV4 entry base price is around thirty five thousand dollars and in Portugal that same car starts around forty five thousand Euro so as you can see that is quite a bit of money and the markup on cars is pretty crazy no elevators in older buildings now a lot of the modern buildings have to have elevators for things like wheelchair access but many of the buildings do not this can be very difficult if you are moving into a new place and you have to carry everything one by one up the stairs now the United States is a massive massive country compared to Portugal Portugal's population pretty much fits inside the whole city of Los Angeles so that's pretty crazy to think about one thing that is shocking to me sometimes is that there is always something really cool only a 20-minute drive away whether that's the beach or a cool Village or a city or a landmark or a castle you're never that far from something super interesting in Portugal starting a business in Portugal now starting a business is definitely a bit different here than it is in the United States sure you form a company just like an LLC or something that you would in the United States but here you typically would hire a lawyer to help you along with the process especially if you are a foreigner and you want to make sure you are doing it correctly now one thing is that sometimes the bureaucracy here is a little bit unfair I recently started a company and when starting a limited liability ability company here in Portugal you have to by law be assigned an accountant 15 days from when the company is established however it took over 15 days for them to send us the forms of the company formation which costed us a fine of 200 Euros and there's not much that we can do about it we can fight it but after two years of struggling to get our 200 Euros back and paying our lawyer to fight it it probably isn't worth it and I'm guessing they might know that hidden bars or restaurants in the middle of nowhere or in Alleyways now one of the things that's really cool about Portugal is that some of the best restaurants are off the beaten path a little bit in between not so well-lit alleys or streets where you go down and all of a sudden you open a door and you're in this beautiful incredible Michelin star restaurant or very cool cocktail or wine bar it's one of my favorite things about Portugal all of the Hidden gems that are sometimes hidden in plain sight ancient traditions in the United States we do not celebrate ancient Traditions from the indigenous people unfortunately but in Portugal they still do pre-roman festivals like intrudo where kuretos run through the streets in these awesome masks I'll be doing a full documentary on this Festival you will definitely not want to miss this the word push in Portuguese actually means pull spelled p-u-x-e it is pronounced push but this word actually means pull so sometimes this can be a bit confusing if you're at a restaurant and you can't open a door and the Portuguese person next to you is saying push and they're actually saying pull to you which has happened to me a couple times when I first came to Portugal and I see this happening to Americans which is really funny to see it now so when you see the word p-u-x-e it actually means pull not push driving in Portugal Now American citizens can drive in Portugal without having to have a global driver's license however there are some key differences that you need to look out for and it's very important to understand some differences in how things work there are a lot of roundabouts in Portugal and if you don't know the correct rules of a roundabout I suggest you study that before coming to Portugal as you're probably going to be in a lot of them things like tailgating seem to be a little bit more more common here in Portugal as people in the United States know that if you tailgate the wrong person there can be some serious consequences the other one would be driving very fast in the rural areas now I live in a rural Village and people drive really really fast especially the work trucks so definitely stay cautious if you have kids or pets I wouldn't let them out on the rural streets as these are kind of the back roads that people in Portugal Drive the fastest on to make up time and it's definitely something to be cautious of that is for sure on this channel I will be posting educational videos about Visa processes buying a house in Portugal or leasing a car I'll also be doing travel guides and bringing you the best places to visit in places like Lisbon and Porto but unfortunately YouTube monetization does not pay much to small creators like me so I'd like to give my subscribers the opportunity to support my channel via patreon patreon is a really cool website designed to help artists and content creators like me get support from their Community it allows supporters the ability to become patrons And subscribe to different monthly subscription tiers to get rewards like early access to my videos a private Community to chat with people just like you interested in Portugal travel guides to cities like Lisbon and Porto and even private 15-minute video chats one-on-one with me personally this support will help me spend more time creating quality content to help future people just like you learn more about Portugal these beginning times can be tough for any Creator and I could really use the support right now any amount really helps restaurants closing around 3 pm and not opening back up until seven remember that during the hours of three to seven it may be difficult for you to find a normal restaurant that is open in cities like Lisbon and Porto there is usually always an option and most villages will have cafes called snack bars that have sandwiches and pastries and things so you don't go hungry and that leads me to the late dinner in Portugal it is very typical to eat dinner around eight or nine PM which is very late for Americans as we typically eat around 5 or 6 p.m but in Portugal If you go to a restaurant right when it opens at 7 pm chances are there won't be anybody in the restaurant and you will be able to find a table now this isn't as true for tourist area restaurants as they always are usually busy especially if the place is popular no right turns on red lights now in the United States in most places unless designated not to you can turn right freely after stopping at a red light but in Portugal that's illegal and I did this a couple times until a Portuguese friend yelled at me and said hey that's illegal don't do that so if you come to Portugal and you stopped at a red light do not take a right as you could get a ticket for it now as you can see by this bottled water here this one is 17 cents that's one thing about Portugal that is really awesome is that water is very cheap for everybody to be able to afford it now in the United States it is more typical to be able to get water at any restaurant for free that you go to just on the tap that is not as popular in Portugal although there are restaurants that have filtered water typically when you order a water in Portugal it will come in a plastic bottle the gasoline pumping now in Portugal a lot of the gasoline pumps will automatically start when you put it into the car places like Lisbon and Porto in the inner city do not do this but in many villages and smaller cities the gas pumps will start automatically without you having to do anything in United States this would never work because people drive off and would not pay for the gas but in Portugal there are cameras that look at your license plate and most people are honorable and trustworthy and don't run off with the gas now this is one thing that I am definitely not used to is my neighbors burning all of their trash now not everyone does this as it's only legal here to burn organic substances like wood and things that are burnable and you're not supposed to burn Plastics you're also supposed to let the city know but a lot of people don't do that they burn all of their trash and the smoke is black and toxic and that's something that's more normalized here in The Villages which I really hate it and I hate the way it smells and I don't want to be anywhere around it and this is something that is a huge culture shock for me and something that I just hate not everybody in the rural parts of Portugal do this but it is very common in Portugal there are a lot of abandoned structures typically they are older places that are dilapidated and unhabitable the ruins can be demolished but this can be a long bureaucratic process that can take a long time and not everyone is willing to go through it so there is a lot of abandoned structures all around Portugal which can be an eyesore for a lot of Americans used to more modern structures that aren't from places like Detroit after a year of being here I have gotten more used to it nobody ever answering phones the phone will ring and ring and ring and ring and usually nobody answers this is especially true for State offices like the finances or tax buildings it's almost impossible to get a hold of them to set appointments so you have to go in and physically do it in person or on the Internet it is just not a norm here for these places to answer the phone and it is very annoying sometimes when you're trying to get an answer or a question about something typically this is because those businesses are highly understaffed but it can be frustrating sometimes now in cities like Lisbon and Porto there are a lot of vegan options and healthy options but in a lot of Portugal it is hard to get just a good side of vegetables which is a little bit puzzling because they grow amazing produce and vegetables here in Portugal but you only really get that when you get home-cooked meals from people in their houses usually in most of the Portuguese Cuisine you might get a small side salad or some chopped up vegetables but it's not quite the same as getting say like a side of broccoli or a side of asparagus or just a simple healthy vegetable side but there are a lot of great vegan and vegetable healthy restaurants all over Portugal even in some of the smaller places dogs barking all the time in the rural areas there are a lot of hunters and sometimes they can own up to five to ten dogs that go out with them to hunt the wild boar so in villages a lot of times five dogs will start barking another five will start barking and next thing you know it sounds like 50 dogs all barking at once which at 2AM in the morning is a complete nuisance and definitely not ideal it's amazing to me that the owners can't hear the dogs barking but I think they've just complete lately gotten used to it but recently on my trip to Porto there was a dog barking all night as well the slow pace of life now most of the time this is absolutely amazing but sometimes when you're trying to get things done like check out at the grocery store or get into finances which is the tax service to get help with your Visa processes can take a very long time and I have to say that after living in Portugal for a while I have slowed my Pace down which sometimes isn't the best I have noticed that living in Portugal has definitely made me much more tranquilo but sometimes I am lacking a little bit more of the drive to make videos like these and to put in the work that I used to in the United States I think this is a good thing because I am trying to find a work life balance which in my opinion is much more common and easy to get into the rhythm of here in Portugal convenience stores now in Portugal there are no 7-Elevens or Walgreens in Portugal you go to pharmacies to get aspirin or allergy medicine unlike in the United States where you can purchase this stuff at gas stations and convenience stores I know I know the Portuguese people are thinking wow it's because Americans are a bunch of drug addicts but it would be nice once in a while to be able to just stop at a gas station or convenience store to get some aspirin or allergy medication you can't trust Google reviews now this is one that's very funny because in a lot of places the Portuguese don't use Google reviews and I mean that it works both ways I've been to places that are rated extremely high like a 4.8 that aren't very good then I've been to very authentic Portuguese places that are amazing and they're rated like a 3.8 so for me I don't really trust the Google reviews you have to go to a place to see if you really like it or not whoo with all that being said I absolutely love living in Portugal still after one year and I can't see myself returning back to the United States anytime soon although I would probably like to visit and live there at some point in my life just not right now it's nice to have fun with this stuff once in a while and laugh about the culture differences in different places you go as that's what makes each Place unique and funny in their own right if you want to see more content about Portugal make sure to hit the like And subscribe button and turn on the notification Bell to see when I post new videos I'll be posting videos on this channel weekly all about Portugal my name's Dave in Portugal and we'll see you next time thank you [Music] [Music]

Channel: Dave in Portugal

Views: 208,804

Keywords: Living In Portugal, Culture Shock, Moving to Portugal, Culture Shock in Portugal, D7 Visa Portugal, Remote Work Visa Portugal, Dave in Portugal, Lisbon, Lisboa, Algarve, Alentejo, Nazare, Silver Coast Portugal, Golden Visa Portugal, American in Portugal

Id: CIsG78Ve_78

Length: 19min 26sec (1166 seconds)

Published: Wed Apr 05 2023