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Old 28th March 2008, 06:32 AM
Bevdeforges Bevdeforges is offline
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Hi, and welcome to the forum.

In your situation, I'd start taking some sort of language lessons ASAP. Even if you can find a job with an international company that uses English as its "official" language, you'll need Portuguese for day to day stuff and for basic social contacts within the office. Then, of course, there is the old saying that, when selling, you use the customer's language.

I'm not in Portugal, but a couple observations on Europe in general that might be relevant:

It might be best to plan on renting at first so you can get the "lay of the land" and decide exactly where to buy a home. Home ownership is more of a long-term thing here. You're expected to make a somewhat larger down payment, and to stick with the house you bought for a longer period of time.

Some cultures aren't into daycare. You may want to check with the wife's parents in Portugal to see what the local customs are. In France there are state sponsored creches for younger children, and once they go to school, they're literally in school all day long, so no need for daycare. In other countries, most people leave their kids with family members and would never consider using a paid service. That may be something you have to decide on once you arrive.
Cheers,
Bev
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