Once we got home and recovered from jet-lag the real work of crafting our escape began. We decided that, yes, we really needed to sell the condo and that we also needed to move somewhere more affordable. After two weeks in Portugal, Porto became the target but, honestly, anywhere in Portugal would do. After much research, it became apparent that to get resident visas in Portugal, we needed jobs that we could take with us. ideally, remote online work. We would have to go to San Francisco in person to apply for visas. This was going to take some time. My wildly optimistic hope of moving to Europe in June was out the window. Trusting my real estate gut instinct, I knew we needed to sell quickly, while prices were still sky high here in Denver. (Housing prices surpassed mile high in Denver a while back!)
That said, once we sold the place, where were we going to live while we made our work and visa arrangements? My friend Dennis to the rescue! We have been friends for years, and I had driven carriages for him for many years as well. (Yes, horse-drawn carriages in downtown Denver. I called it draft horse wrestling!) Oh, and wait, he is also my hairdresser! Conveniently enough, he has a beautiful three-story Victorian house near downtown Denver, and the third-floor apartment was available. It was a great deal, big enough for us, and he was willing to rent to us on a month to month basis until we were ready to ship out. Done deal!
We got back to Denver on March 5, 2018. We listed the house for sale on May 3rd. We had four showings, and from those came two offers. By May 8th we were under contract, as they say here in Colorado, and the closing was set for June 15th. The next steps: purging and packing. The goal is to get rid of at least 80 percent of our belongings. We sold most of the furniture with the house, so that was a start.
We now have about six days to finish the purge and vacate the premises, as they say, and my next post will be forthcoming after we move to Capitol Hill. We saw this sign in a wine bar in Lisbon:
Here’s to re-creating ourselves and starting a new life abroad!
theroadtoportugal.com 