It’s never too late to start over. Teresa’s journey to Lisbon.
By Teresa Howie
I grew up in a single parent household. My parents divorced when I was very young and my dad never looked back. We were poor, but our house was filled with love. I was fortunate at the age of 17 to be selected as an exchange student to Italy. However, my parents had to pay for most of the expenses and my mom didn’t have the money. The local chapter of the organization really wanted me to attend so they raised all the necessary funds so that I could go to Italy. It was a wonderful experience and I met people from all over the world. Through that experience, I thought it might be nice one day to live abroad.
After that, I honestly didn’t give much thought to the dream of living abroad because my main focus was graduating from school. After graduating from college and law school, I found a job that I truly loved. It was tough but I enjoyed my work. After working for several years, I finally made it back to Italy, actually almost 30 years later. After that trip, I made it point of making time for myself to travel. My life took a major turn when my mom became ill and later died from pancreatic cancer. I always thought I was a ‘tough chick’ but found out I wasn’t that tough. My attitude towards my job and life in general changed.
A few years after losing my mom, I lost my best friend. It was then that I decided I was DONE. My first thought was to move to Florida, but I remembered that old dream about living abroad. I had visited Portugal several times because my nephew lived in Lisbon and decided it would be where I would start my journey. I was so nervous, I even had problems sleeping. Did I have enough money to leave my job? Was I ready to end my career? Could I sell my house after investing so much time into a major renovation? What about all my furniture? What about my dog who was sick and couldn’t travel? How would I survive without knowing the language? Would I die from loneliness?
My nerves really got to me when people at my job looked at me like I had lost my mind. I was in my mid 50’s and they wanted to know what I was going to do, my response was enjoy life! People still continued to question me about my move. I stopped talking about my plans. In many ways I had been planning my escape for years. The house was just a house, not a big deal. I think I did a little happy dance at closing. I sold some furniture, gave some away, and donated the rest. I even moved stuff out to the front of my yard and put out a sign, “Take me home, I’m free.” The hardest thing was leaving my dog, but he was adopted by a couple that spoils him rotten. I know he slaps his paws every day that I moved out of the country because he is now living the good life (he goes out to dinner/brunch a few times a month, outdoor concerts, receives clothes for every holiday, and vacations at the beach).
Life here in Lisbon isn’t perfect, but it’s pretty good. There has been more than a few lonely moments but I have met a lot of people here. In many ways I have become a bit of a social butterfly. I have also found that Portugal is a good jumping off spot to travel to other countries. I have been to Malta, Italy a few times, Greece, Morocco, South Africa, and all over Portugal. I have plans to travel to Vietnam in November. Like I said life is far from perfect, but I feel I owe it to the people who truly loved me to live the best life I can. I would encourage others who are thinking about making a similar journey, just go for it. You should ask yourself like I did, what is the down side of making the journey. I’m not sure how long I will be in Portugal, it’s a big world out there. I always remember the line from my favorite movie, “Get busy living or get busy dying.” If any of you ladies make it to Lisbon, please reach out. The first bottle of wine is on me!
Teresa Howie is an attorney by trade who wants to encourage women that it’s a big world and life can begin at 55+.