Sadly, things may not work out the way you intended, and for a variety of reasons, both concrete and psychological, you may end up having to admit it is time to move on, and move back. Some situations can be avoided by careful planning and circumspect management, others are simply thrown in the way and depending on your circumstances, you’ll either sink or swim by them.

Reasons For Change

Although there are some definite long-stay residents in the Algarve, and a handful elsewhere in Portugal, and the vast majority of mid-term visitors come back year-on-year, there are also those who, for one reason or another, just do not hack it, and decide, or are obliged to move back ‘home’. These reasons may include:

• lack of work
• lack of what is deemed ‘suitable’ work
• lack of work for partner
• non-integration into Portuguese life
• not at ease with foreign community: too ‘British’/‘Dutch’/‘German’ etc.
• boredom – too much non-routine leisure time
• run out of money
• illness
• bereavement – either in Portugal or back in UK
• business goes bust
• legal problems
• family squabbles
• good old-fashioned homesickness.

Now you may be saying ‘Well that won’t happen to me, as I’m not one of those all-day G&T drinkers, I’m a grafter, I’m not running away from anything/anyone in the UK, my nose is clean’ etc. That may well be true, but with the best will in the world, the unexpected does happen when you are abroad, and learning to cope with eventualities is part of the process of having a happy and continued life out there.

Avoiding Failure

So, how can you minimalise the types of problems which may send you scuttling back to Old Blighty?

• Be realistic about your expectations, how long it will take to settle in, what you will be able to achieve, and what life there will be like.
• Prepare beforehand by learning about the place, the people and how they tick.
• Learn Portuguese!
• Think about the kind of work you could do, not what you can do.
• Be prepared to go out and look for work.
• Be flexible in what you will accept – work/wages/conditions.
• Think about how your family will cope – what can your partner do?
• Be strong as a family unit and plan things together.
• Try not to succumb to the cheap drink – keep it in moderation.
• Keep fit and healthy so you can avoid unnecessary illnesses.
• Keep in touch with people back home, and try to arrange visits from them.
• Be nice to yourself and treat yourself sometimes, even a good long walk on a summery morning can work wonders for low morale.
• Be prepared professionally, if you are taking up work for a company out there.
• Try to establish a network of colleagues or acquaintances who will be there in times of need.
• Budget ahead for all eventualities – do not underestimate how much you may need to tide you over.
• Above all, keep a sense of humour!

If you are still apprehensive about life overseas, support, advice and contacts are available on a variety of expatriate and travel websites, such as:

www.directmoving.com
www.expatboards.com
www.expat-moms.com
www.livingabroad.com
www.savewealth.com/travel/warnings
www.travelfinder.com/twarn/travel_warnings.html
www.tradepartners.gov.uk
www.expatspouse.com
www.suzylamplugh.org/worldwise
www.bbc.co.uk/lifestyle

Some of the above are available only to paying subscribers, so trawl carefully.

If all else fails, remember, at least you chose Portugal, and not New Zealand – it will only take you around three hours to get home!