[USER]

Hey guys, need an opinion from you all as I need to make a decision within few coming weeks.

My wife is pregnant and due in December. I want to spend initial 8-10 years with my child as I feel that’s the best time to develop a lifelong bond with them.

I have around $500k worth of portfolio (mostly ETFs, Gold and Crypto). With minimal (2-4 hours per day) work, I can continue earning a decent living for myself and my family.

Keeping the above things in mind, I am thinking to move to Portugal where I can spend lovely few years with my family. With NHR plan in Portugal, I won’t have to pay any income tax there for next 10 years for income generated out of Portugal.

I would like to have a garden, parks, beaches etc where I can spend more time with my wife, child, my dog… What would you guys do if you were at my place?

Need to decide soon because I’ll need to travel within next 3/4 weeks to start the process.

P.S.: I am of Indian origin. Have my own business here which will continue even if I don’t live in Dubai.

[Jen]

I’m toward the other side of parenting, and it was my thought that the early years were critical. While early years are important for many reasons, if you’re looking to shape your lifelong relationship with your child, time off in the teen years seems even more impactful.

Yes, early years are fun and so important, the availability and investment I am making now at 14-18 is what may most directly impact the relationship we have once they are adults.

Just a thought to invest in the years they’ll remember if your goal is to create a lifelong bond well into their adulthood.

[Elliee]

Where is your wife’s family? If she’s currently living with them or near them, I wouldn’t take her away for the first 6 to 12 months. Family can be so important for that transition to motherhood and the supports she has will be more important for the families wellbeing than anything in that first 12 months.

Of course you being present is also great but it takes a village so moving away to somewhere you both know nobody during a major life transition might not be the best timing. I’d reconsider for when the baby is 1.

They also are so reliant on the mother if breastfeeding, my children didn’t want much to do with their Dad until about 9 months old. It’s just their biological wiring and nothing to do with anything else.

My husband is a SAHD right now with a 1yo and 5 and 6yo and he’s the centre of their lives, but in their first months they couldn’t really care less for his existence 🫣🤣 overall the sentiment to keep your family together is great and is a huge part of our lifestyle choices too! Just something to consider, it may not be applicable if she’s already living abroad anyway!

[Cali]

Wait till their teen years, that’s when they need our supervision the most.

[Jillian]

We (my husband and I) left London to move to Portugal two years ago to speed up our plans to reach FI and so I could stay home when we had children.

We had our first child back in February and I couldn’t be more happy with our decision. While our cost of living here is significantly less than it was in Central London, I will caution you that in many desirable areas it’s not as cheap as the internet advertises it to be.

Every day costs such as groceries, healthcare, utilities, restaurants, services such as cleaners and babysitters are a great value versus the US (where I was raised and my parents still live) and the UK BUT real estate where we live in Cascais is considerably more than most of the US. My parents who live in NJ are shocked at how little €1M buys you where we live.

If you plan to live outside of the big cities or expat heavy areas, this may not be the case. We’ve decided to rent (and got a great deal during Covid) but if homeownership is a goal or must have of yours then you should take this into consideration.

Also, what you read about how NHR works is not always entirely accurate. You won’t be taxed on foreign passive income (like our US rental property income and US dividend income) but my husband is an independent contractor who works for solely foreign clients and he is taxed at 20% (NHR special activity rate) plus pays hefty social security payments so his effective tax rates comes to mid thirties.

If you don’t qualify as having a special activity and your income isn’t foreign and passive, you may find your tax rate much higher than the US. Definitely talk to a local accountant here to analyze your situation first.

All that said we love our life and couldn’t be happier with our decision!

Explore these too: Married couple with 2 529s one for each child – But..

[Rui]

Great choice, the cost of leaving in Portugal is very low ( compering with the USA ) but the real gem is the Azores.

[Catherine]

I love your plan, but I have so many questions, do you plan to travel and take trips during these 10 years?

10 years may sound long to some but if you have a solid plan and stick to it the years fly by FAST.

My daughter is turning 11, I went from single mom welfare to >100k on my own all in that time. I had a plan that worked out better than it was suppose to. And I managed it all under 500k for those 10 years for sure.

But again that was just expenses for us 2. Now we are a 4 people household. I have taken off 2.5 years to spend with the children as these years are so priceless like you know.

I do itch to get back in a way to financially contribute to our fire goals. But I know these times are soo limited.

[Daniel]

I just quit my job in February to spend the next 5 to 7 years traveling with my wife and 4 year old son. I don’t have enough money to retire, but I’ll go back to work when he is in high school.

I’ve struggled with the decision but this time/age is more valuable to me than retiring early.

Our plan is to live 6 months a year on our sailboat and 6 months on land somewhere. We just spent 4 months sailing from Florida to the Dominican Republic where we are currently trying living in an airbnb and going on adventures everyday. So far it’s been the best decision I’ve made

[Author]

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