After decades in New York and Santa Fe, Doug and Rich were ready for a new chapter. So, they moved to Portugal, recreating the experience of retirement on their own terms. This is their story.
Doug and Rich are travellers at heart. They spent most of their adult lives on the East Coast of the United States, particularly New York City, where they built their careers and shared a love of adventure that would take them to over fifty countries. Doug, with a PhD in mathematics, worked internationally in the electric industry, focused on the transition to renewable, sustainable electricity. Rich started out as a certified public accountant and later moved into corporate finance, strategic sales, and general management.
They met in New York, married in Santa Fe in 2014, and maintained strong ties to the U.S, serving on boards and committees in the energy sector. But after decades of work, they craved something different.
“We wanted new,” Rich says. “We wanted to be able to experience new things in our life as we got older. We didn’t want to retire on our couch and just watch television all day.”
So, they moved full-time to Santa Fe, where they had a vacation home. They semi-retired, Doug continuing to work on a consulting basis, Rich telecommuted and then consulted with his firm in New York. But the idea of moving abroad began to take root, especially after a previous stint in Paris.
Their love for travel, their growing discontent with the U.S. political climate, and a desire for reinvention made them ask a new kind of retirement question: not when, but where.
Why Portugal?
Initially, Portugal wasn’t at the top of their list. They considered Spain, Mexico, even Canada. “Canada would’ve been easy,” Rich explains, “but it doesn’t really want people who are in their 60s and 70s. And in many ways, it’s just like a gentler, kinder United States. It wouldn’t have been a truly new experience.”
Portugal by contrast, had struck a chord. They’d first visited more than twenty years ago and were drawn in by the warmth of the people and the culture. “We met Portuguese people almost immediately, and had a very positive impression,” Rich recalls.
“When we watched an episode of House Hunters International, and saw another gay couple that was house hunting in Porto… that was when we discovered the Golden Visa program.”
They started exploring other Golden Visa programs and quickly found Portugal’s to be the most attractive.
“We didn’t know exactly when we would move, and it was COVID, and the Golden Visa gave us flexibility to spend basically one week a year in the country and take our time thinking about where we might like to live.”
Unlike most applicants, they opted to invest through Golden Visa-approved investment funds rather than purchase property. “We are both numbers guys,” Rich says. “It made sense to go with a fund.”
Retiring abroad, with a plan
Doug and Rich’s decision to retire abroad was methodical. They researched their options, weighed the legal and financial implications, and ultimately chose an investment route that gave them flexibility and security. Increasingly, they’re not the exception.
According to the Global Retirement Report 2025, more retirees are trading familiarity for freedom, driven by the accumulative desire to access a better lifestyle.
One of the most common visa pathways that enable retirement abroad are Golden Visas, formally known as a Residency by Investment (RBI) programs. These programs grant temporary or permanent residency to non-EU citizens who invest a set amount in the host country’s economy. While program details and investment criteria differ across jurisdictions, the benefits typically include the right to live, work, and study, access local healthcare, and travel visa-free across multiple countries.
Importantly, these programs aren’t just for the ultra-wealthy. “Golden Visa programmes remain accessible across several EU countries with property investment thresholds that cater to a range of budgets rather than just millionaires,” says Patricia Casaburi, CEO of Global Citizen Solutions.
Portugal’s Golden Visa, introduced in 2012 during the aftermath of the global financial crisis, was one of the first of its kind in Europe. The country needed to attract foreign investment, and as a desirable destination, offering residency rights in exchange for capital made sense. While previously, the most popular investment avenue to residency was through the purchase of property, in 2023, the Portuguese government closed this route, doubling down its efforts at channelling direct foreign investment to other, vital areas of the economy. One of the most popular investment routes today is in fact investment funds, the same route Rich and Doug used to gain residency in Portugal.
Today, Portugal’s program allows applicants to gain a five-year residency permit, the right to live and work, and visa-free access across the Schengen Zone—all with a minimum stay of just seven days per year.
Doug and Rich chose the fund investment route rather than purchasing real estate when the option was still on the table. Despite the Golden Visa no longer allowing property investments, Americans are finding other ways to move to Portugal for retirement. Namely, the D7 Visa allows applicants to reside in Portugal on passive income visa of €870 per month.
For retirees considering Portugal, two of the most common residency pathways are the D7 visa and the Golden Visa. Both offer the right to live in the country, but with different requirements. The Golden Visa suits those seeking flexibility, with a minimum stay of just seven days per year and an investment-based entry. The D7, by contrast, requires no upfront investment—just proof of stable passive income, like a pension but it demands a physical presence of at least 183 days annually.
A booming property market fuels retirement
Many who relocate to Portugal end up buying or renting properties.
In 2024 alone, Americans represented between 48% and 58% of all foreign property purchases in Portugal, translating to an estimated 9,000 to 10,000 homes sold to U.S. buyers.
Global Citizen Solutions has seen this trend play out, noting a 250% uptick in interest from US clients compared to previous months. This shows just how many U.S. nationals are vacating their homes in pursuit for a better life abroad.
For American investors, Portugal offers European Union access, community, and a safe, comparably affordable cost of living compared to the US. Factors that, when combined with competitive property values and accelerating market momentum, continue to drive sustained interested in the Portuguese property market.
What’s becoming increasingly evident is that retirement migration is no longer a niche concept afforded to the wealthy. The Global Retirement Report 2025, which analyzes 44 countries with passive income and retirement visa options, found that:
- 93% of programs offer a clear path to citizenship, often allowing dual nationality
- 50% of countries offer citizenship in five years or less
- 61% set income requirements below €2,000/month, expanding access beyond just the wealthy
- 68% of programs charge under €2,000 in application fees, making entry relatively low-cost
- 93% allow family reunification, including dependent parents
- Over 60% score above average for safety, English proficiency, and ease of integration
Tax planning is also central. 61% of programs offer retiree-specific tax perks, such as flat-tax regimes or full/partial exemptions on foreign pensions. Many also offer territorial tax systems or zero inheritance and wealth tax—making these visas especially attractive for high-net-worth individuals looking to preserve assets across borders.
For Doug and Rich, the Portugal Golden Visa offered the kind of optionality they were looking for. Their approach echoes a wider truth: today’s retirees are actively rethinking what retirement should look like and where life can take them next.
Moving, and the many realities with it
Doug and Rich knew they couldn’t manage it alone. They partnered with the global mobility firm, Global Citizen Solutions, that could assist with immigration paperwork, fund selection, and the complex bureaucracy that followed. “Doing this on your own would be frustrating—and potentially disastrous,” Rich confesses. “You need to work with someone who knows the law, the process, and the country.”
Their own residency process wasn’t without setbacks. Their visa approval took more than three years, delayed by a post-COVID backlog. In the meantime, they navigated everything from health numbers to tax registration to finding a place to live.
They eventually rented in Vila Nova de Gaia, just across the river from Porto. “Lisbon,” Rich says, “felt a little too much like New York. It’s big, crowded, hot.” Porto, by contrast, “is calmer, cooler, and better suited to our pace of life.” They’ve since purchased a home in the area.
They also found community, particularly within Porto’s LGBTQ+ circles.
“We quickly found a community and quickly started making friends, and that has made the process of getting acclimated to living in Portugal and the Porto region much more pleasant.”
Doug, now 74, is learning Portuguese. “It’s a frustrating language…don’t get me wrong but I like it. I love going to my class. I like discovering Portuguese culture. I never thought, until a few years ago, this would actually happen.”
Lessons learned, lessons applied
Doug and Rich’s advice to other retirees considering the move is refreshingly straightforward: integrate.
“If you come here as an American and just socialize with other Americans, and make no attempt to learn the language, it’s going to be a disappointing experience,” Doug says. “You can’t automatically become Portuguese, but you can try.”
Rich agrees. “You should come appreciating the culture, the history and the people of Portugal, and wanting to learn about them, and to integrate that into your life. If you just move here with the same mentality, you would have moving to Florida to a retirement community, then why bother?”
For them, retirement means reengagement. A decision not to downsize life, but to expand it.
“Older folks, retirees like ourselves,” Rich says, “instead of falling asleep in the La-Z-Boy watching reruns, think about living abroad. It’s very stimulating. It will keep you young.”
