Why We Moved From Copenhagen to a Fisherman-Village in Portugal (Ericeira)
This is a follow up to my previous article about how we have been searching for a new home in Portugal and why. I have been receiving many comments on that article so I feel a need to update everyone reading — we are not based in Tomar area anymore.
Even though at first glance that area seemed to be ideal for us, we had to rethink our decision after we had decided to move there. The reasons for our eventual move were the following:
- Small Community: When we left back to CPH to pack down our home there, several of the families that we had connected really well with moved away from Tomar. Unfortunately it meant that many people were simply not there or going to be there in the future. Other people did arrive and are constantly moving around and arriving — but we realized that this was one of the drawbacks of being further away from larger established expat communities — your circle of friends is smaller, and you’re more dependant on bonding with whoever you can find. Obviously this need is not the same when you are a couple or single, but when you have small children, you become more dependant on the other families around you.
- Lack of High-Quality School/Kindergarten: None of the offered options that we found matched our own expectations and needs towards a school/kindergarten. We were looking at various alternative options — upon further investigation we simply didn’t feel safe leaving any of our girls anywhere. This was not a sustainable long-term solution for us.
- Long-distance driving: No one lived close to one another so it became quite normal for us to drive 45 min. + to get somewhere. It wasn’t a long-term option for us with 2 small children. Another reality was that it was quite difficult to reach without a car. My husband needs to travel often to Copenhagen — at one point our car needed some repair and it suddenly became a massive operational coordination exercise to reach Lisbon Airport (and if you’re very unlucky and there is a public strike, it can cost you approximately 200–300 eur).
- Accommodation: We were not able to find many options (in fact we didn’t find anything for us). Generally it is much easier to buy as renting is not that common in the area — and- the few renting opportunities that are there are either in very traditional homes, or newly built quite overpriced, apartments (Example in Tomar we found 1500 EUR+ for a townhouse). We received different options, but we were trying to find something closer to some of our other friends to minimize the driving, but the houses that were available in that area required too much work (reparations), and we couldn’t see ourselves staying there for long.
Because of the points mentioned above we decided to move to Ericeira. Now, Ericeira had already before been on our radar, but, the final reasons for the move were the following:
Ericeira: Ericeira is a small coastal village approximately 45 km north of Lisbon. It is a cute little village to be honest — with a central square, a market, and an old blue & white old city center. It is located 30 min from Lisbon airport, and can easily be reached by Uber/ car. It is considered to be the surfing capital of Europe, so you can find tons of nice beaches — many of them have small rivers/ streams making them friendly for kids.
Large Expat Community: The type of people that come here are very different — you’ll find Australian surfers, 🏄♀️, Swiss Architects, Pilots, Yoga teachers, Climate Consultants, Digital Marketers, Retail owners, Regenerative Finance specialists, Previous Bali dwellers, Ex Googlers.. and who not from all around the world. The Ericeira lifestyle can accommodate people with various budgets — so you’ll find those living more simple to those living in mansions with pools & multiple garages. We didn’t have many friends before coming here, but we felt confident that we would be able find someone — and we did! In fact we found many!
I have been very impressed by the very high level of social capital here — people actually help each other out. Do favours. Give gifts. Lots of Goodwill. Something that I have missed a lot in my past city life. When we moved to Ericeira we received toys and clothes for the girls — stuff rotating around between the families. Recently the girls and I became very ill while my husband was traveling. To my horror our gas ran out the first day, but, before I knew it one of our new family friends came over to help right away — he fixed the gas and bought all necessary things from the pharmacy. The next day another family friend came over with groceries and fun things for the girls..and..somehow we managed to get through the week. This would never have happened in Copenhagen. And this is really interesting. Because acts of kindness like these build strong communities. When everyone experiences or witnesses generosity on a daily basis, they assume it as human nature. Can you imagine if it was considered a social norm to actually help/ be kind and give? That is one way how, collectively, we can reclaim the social capital called trust. I have never lived in a place before where something like this happened, but I have tasted it here.. and it feels really nice. It makes me want to give and be of service as well.
For mothers there are multiple active Whatsapp groups. Second hand groups. Workout groups. Running groups. Homeschooling groups. Lots of groups 😅
Lifestyle: My impression is that people come here to live a different and active life. It is not uncommon here that in between work meetings someone rushes down to catch some waves, people play tennis, run, beach volley happens regularly, crossfit, all in all people here move around! Every Tuesday and Friday there are self-arranged workout groups for mothers with their kids.
We ourselves play tennis (there’s a tennis court right outside our house), my husband surfs, and we love bouldering! Ericeira Boulder is a great place to check out of you’re into that. This Sunday we spent the day climbing outside with a bunch of other families (in Sintra).
For the kids there are multiple parks — as well as really great beaches, and activities they can go to. At the Public Swimmingpool they can sign up for swimming, ballet and gym classes. At Urban Park in Mafra there are also gym classes for the kids as well as many other activtities. There’s even a musical school, but we didn’t try it out yet.
Best place to go on a sunny day with your kids is Praia de Ribeira d’IIlhas. There you can meet a lot of other expats living here, and enjoy a cappucino or fresh juice, while your kids are either biking around or playing in the sand. We also really like Praia da Foz do Lizandro.
We really wanted to try to live differently than the life we were living before in Copenhagen — there our “active life” was mainly happening in a fitness center after or before work. Here active activities are integrated into life itself.
Here there are plenty of options for receiving veggie boxes. We weekly receive a regenerative agriculture veggie box with eggs from Santa Terrinha — but there’s also Quinta do Arneiro, and probably many others that I don’t know yet. There’s also a local market happening in Malveira every Thursday — here you can buy anything from fish, chicken, fruits, vegetables, clothes, and rabbits.. I think they have everything covered more or less 😅. What we do not get in the veggie boxes we get at this market. There is also an organic shop called Be U — they also have takeaway (can highly recommend their vegan banana-cake), where we can get more or less all our daily necessities, and at Mercearia Raiz in Ribamar you can get the BEST vegan cheese. As we’re from Denmark we really like good bread — this is possible to get at either Terco do Meio in Ericeira, or from Copenhagen Coffee Lab (in Lisbon though).
Another project that I’m really excited about is Green Elbows — a community garden starting this spring. We’ll be joining with a bunch of other families — it’s a year long project where you get a plot of land and all tools and materials necessary for growing a beautiful vegetable (or flower) garden — while doing it with other families and having community dinners and what not. For someone like I who has been dreaming about having my own garden, yet have zero experience with it, this is really a perfect way to start.
Alternative Kindergarten/ School: We found several great options that are worth checking out if you’re looking for more alternative approaches for your children : Enraizar, Raizes, Projeto Naterra and Quinta da Pedra. We know parents that have ther kids (and are very happy about it) at Enraizar (democratic approach), Raizes (forest school, very small and tight group), and Quinta da Pedra (mix of Waldorf & other approaches). Our own children are going to Quinta da Pedra, which is ideal for us — Claudia has been running the place for 20 years, and was the one who founded the first homeschooling association in Portugal. She has a background as a psychologist, and created the place many years ago for her own children. It is a beautiful and safe little oasis with children from approx 1.5 yo (there are 2 of them right now) till 17. I am very grateful for being able to be part of this little community.
All of the places mentioned are very different in their approaches, and have quite long waiting lists — so — if you’re considering any of them reach out and arrange a visit asap so you can decide from there. For those that are into homeschooling there is an active and growing Whatsapp group with weekly meet ups. Besides this Maud arranges excellent weekend art-workshops for children. This is also a good place to meet and connect with other parents.
Accommodation: Ok, so obviouosly this one is tough. We were very lucky with our place — I had signed up for receiving alerts on Idealista and was really quick in reaching out when it appeared (keep in mind though that I have been receiving alerts since February 2022). The landlord had some specific demands that we luckily met, and, voila, we had a home! We found a traditional 3 bedroom townhouse with a front & back garden situated on a family friendly street with zero traffic in Ericeira. When we moved in we realized that our neighbors were living in Lisbon and not using their own house — so we asked them if our friends could rent the house from them…and they could! My impression is that these stories happen — people know someone who knows someone who has XYZ. So best way to find a place to live is to ask around actively and reach out to people. Generally it seems to be really difficult to find something below 1500EUR, especially in the more new houses (where the rent is approx. 2000EUR+). Just keep in mind that high-season starts in May-August— so finding something there can be quite tricky. I’ve met several families that are renting their places from September-May, then move out in June, July and August, as the landlord wants to Airbnb the place. When people say that they “live in Ericeira area” it can mean many things 😅. You’ll find many expats living in Ericeira, Ribamar, Santo Isidoro, Seixal, Carvoeira, and even outside of Mafra. All those areas a worth checking out if you’re searching for something here.
On a final note: I’ve seen several posts on SoMe by people asking why people are moving to Portugal. I cannot answer on behalf of everyone, because the reasons are very different. Some move because it is more affordable, some because the weather is better.. and the list goes on. In our case our life in CPH was of a relatively high-quality. We both have higher university degrees, and quite well-posititioned professional backgrounds that allow us to more or less easily find employment. Denmark is a wealthy country, where we have access to healthcare, education and many other things (making the Nordic countries popular to live in). But, in our case, we wanted to try a different type of life for our family. We wanted our children to become multi linguistic. We didn’t want to bring them up in a 9–5 structure. We wanted a more active life for ourselves. We wanted to use our bodies more, and we wanted to challenge our own uderstanding of how one can structure and create a life.
We have met some very inspirational families while traveling around — some of these have really challenged our own ways of thinking about wealth, abundance, child upbringing and personal careers. Our life here has also given us an opportunity to take more ownership of our own experiences & life itself. The familiar boxes that we used to fit our lives into do not exist anymore — and — the usual societal classes that we grew up with are no longer relevant. This really gives one a wonderful opportunity to rethink values and the stories that we tell ourselves.
Sometimes I get asked when we will “stop hiding out” & get back to civilization. Supposedly we have traded the cities of the world for this fisherman village & my own intellectual backwardness. I mean. We didn’t even move to Lisbon. However. Somehow. This feels like luxury to me — here I can — for the first time — take residence on earth with no alibis and no self-promoting schemes. In CPH introductions are usually made by sharing your professional occupation. Then, through this, people determine which social group you belong to. Here the typical conversational starter is “What brought you to Portugal?”. I actually don’t know what most people do for work, but I do know whether they are great climbing partners 😅, or whether our children get along well. Somehow conversations happen about other things.
Here there are benches to watch the earth move around the sun. Perhaps it is good to sometimes remember that the sun will shine ✨ regardless our hatred towards one another, that the best things in the world really are the stars above us, children, music.. and the beauty that the world has to offer. At least I have a tendency of forgetting all this when I am caught up in the affairs of humans. I don't know how long time we will be here (currently my husband is planning to build a house 😅)— but till we leave — I am shamelessly enjoying the freedom that Portugal has given me - including all the intellectual backwardness ❤️.
Reach out in case you have any questions and good luck with your own search!
