Life update: Moving to Lisbon!
Here’s to the end of the beginning and the start of everything else.
I’m really excited to share that Ben and I are moving to Lisbon at the end of the year. We’ll be kicking off 2018 married – and in a brand new city!
It’s something we’ve wanted to do for a long time, but the decision was given a proper nudge three months ago, when we got notice to vacate our lovely cosy home in Ringsend. I was just three months into freelancing and the thought of venturing out into the current rental market was, frankly, terrifying.
We decided to take it as a giant hint from the universe. Ben has penned an FAQ over on his site, tongue very much firmly in cheek.
Our decision to move to Lisbon specifically was both romantic and practical. Dubbed the City of Light, it really lives up to that name. I first visited in 2014 and loved it. There are the charms that hit you right away, that have no doubt been around for centuries – patterned tiles, pastel buildings, flaky, sweet custard tarts, crooked cobbled streets and gorgeous sunsets. There are more modern charms too; cool, creative communities, a great number of co-working spaces and a growing tech scene. It’s also on the same time zone as Dublin and offers reasonable rents and reasonably priced flights, which will hopefully mean lots of scope for friends and family to come visit, which was a big priority.
Right now, we are elbow-deep in boxes, bubble wrap and tape, trying to pack up one life here while planning another there. We’re excited and nervous and very much open to any and all insights about our new city. If you have any advice, recommendations or friends in the area, please let me know!
We’ll be sharing what we’re up to in some way, shape or form, so if you’d like to keep an eye on us sign up here to get notified.
Portraits by wonderful Lisbon-based husband-and-wife team The Barilles, taken around some popular Lisbon landmarks including at the top Elevador de Santa Justa and Praça do Comércio. Quote at the top of the post from this Maggie Rogers Insta post.