Welcome to Our Portugal Journey!
Where our story begins and how a personal move slowly became a journey worth sharing.
Editorial Note 2026 - This piece was written at the very beginning of our move to Portugal, when everything still felt new, uncertain, and full of possibility. I’ve chosen to keep it largely as it was: a snapshot of where Our Portugal Journey began, while gently reframing it within the publication it has since become. What started as a personal chronicle has grown into a collection of travel stories, cultural discoveries, and reflections on everyday life in Portugal. If you’re arriving here for the first time, consider this both an introduction and a starting point - the moment when the journey first found its voice.
In August 2021, we left the U.S. with 13 suitcases to begin our Portugal journey.
We are Carol and Paul from Phoenix, Arizona. Originally from the East Coast, we moved to Arizona in 2003. I’m a travel and lifestyle writer. Paul is a digital artist (and awesome love-of-my-life partner!). We are now both (sort of) retired although we enjoy working on our online businesses, while embracing a more relaxed and slower-paced lifestyle in Portugal.
Over the last few years, many friends, family members, colleagues, acquaintances, and social media followers have asked us a variety of questions as to why we ultimately chose to move to Portugal. I have chronicled our experiences along the way, from deciding on where to move to why we chose Portugal to how we got there and what our experiences have been so far. What began as a personal record of a life-changing move has slowly evolved into a deeper exploration of travel, culture, and everyday moments discovered along the way.
Since those early days, Our Portugal Journey has grown into a collection of travel stories, cultural discoveries, and reflections on everyday life in Portugal, sometimes practical, often reflective, always shaped by personal experience.
Our story…
We’ve always been a little different from the “typical” married couple. We grew up in the same neighborhood. Our sisters played together as kids, and our parents were good friends, but we only knew each other casually at first, occasionally meeting on group dates with other people. It wasn’t until our twenties, when friends decided it was finally time we got together, that our story truly began. We were married in 1980.
While many of our friends were settling into traditional paths - raising families, buying homes, planning predictable vacations - we found ourselves drawn to something different. From 1985 to 1992, we owned one of America’s oldest continuously operating country stores, a historic building dating back to 1799. When we purchased it, the shop was a quiet antiques store with few customers. By the time we sold it, it had grown into a thriving gathering place filled with antiques, specialty foods, gifts, and a café serving fresh sandwiches, soups, cheeses, pastries, and gourmet coffee. We even offered Portuguese sweetbread baked especially for us by a Portuguese baker in Providence, Rhode Island - a small detail that feels especially meaningful now.
The store was featured in national publications, television programs, and radio, drawing visitors from around the world who came to experience its old-fashioned charm. Being caretakers of such a historic space taught us as much about people and community as it did about business.
After selling the store, we tried returning to more conventional careers, but deep down we knew we were attempting to fit into a box that never quite suited us.
In the spring of 2003, we left the East Coast without jobs and moved to Arizona, drawn by the desert landscape and its quiet sense of possibility. Over the next eighteen years we built a fulfilling life there: careers, a home, and lasting friendships, yet a sense of restlessness slowly began to grow.
Eventually, our conversations turned toward the idea of living abroad. You can explore more about what led us to that decision and why Portugal in other posts throughout this publication.
When we finally made the move to Portugal, it came with both excitement and uncertainty. The transition hasn’t been without challenges, but it has also opened space for creativity and reflection. Paul, a lifelong artist, developed Wilcox PhotoArt, a home for his photographic and digital work. And for me, this journey has become an opportunity to explore my Portuguese heritage more deeply and to write about the people, places, food, wine, and culture that shape everyday life here.
I hope you’ll continue along with us as the story unfolds one experience, one discovery, and one moment at a time. If you find something here that resonates, you’re always welcome to subscribe and follow the journey as it evolves.
Until next time…
Obrigada!
Carol.
We are in the process of selling a small country grocery store but started by my in-laws in the mid 1980’s and I’m not very attached to it. I’ve been visiting Portugal for two weeks now, cat sitting, and my husband comes over in one week. We’ve researched moving here for a couple of years but might slow travel, and possibly petsit, before making a decision. I’ve been enjoying reading your posts about your life in Portugal.
I love your story and your journey! It’s inspiring for so many who may have to wait (for whatever reason) before taking a big leap like those of us who are expats. I’m excited to go along for the ride!