Why Portugal Is Great for Seniors

Editor's Note: This story originally appeared on Live and Invest Overseas.

“Gosh, I am old.” This thought came to me unexpectedly the other day.

The term “old” can have negative connotations. My inner voice was certainly using it in a critical way when that thought surfaced.

I haven’t heard that critical voice for four years. I wonder if my 75th birthday being around the corner has anything to do with its return.

My critical inner voice was louder back when Jeff and I lived in the United States.

Embracing Elders as a Youth

As a youngster, I did not know that voice. I was a carefree grade-school boy in northern Minnesota, and our little town of 5,000 people embraced its elders. Their stories were important.

Conversations were passionate, animated by hand gestures, and included large, mythical beasts to us … deer, wolves, moose, or walleye pike.

They played accordions during public events at the lake park. Bocce ball and dominoes were the main pastimes every summer.

Older folks’ dishes were the best at community potlucks. I recall helping a friend’s grandparent prep and cook a casserole the day before the town’s Halloween Potluck and Dance.

The next day, after trick or treating, I was rewarded for my assistance by learning to polka at the community center. The grandmother patiently taught me how to avoid stepping on her toes.

Bygone Family Arrangements

After my grandpa died in 1958, my grandma lived with our family in the fall, winter, and spring.

She spent the summers in England with her other grandchildren. We divided the year up in this way because our house had central heating. My relatives in England did not.

I felt so lucky that I now had a grandparent living with me, just like all my friends.

My grandmother taught me how to mend my own clothes and sew buttons onto shirts. She also assured me and my brothers that it was OK for boys to know how to iron their own shirts.

Sadly, over my lifetime, family arrangements like that faded away.

By the time I was in my 60s, being an elder did not provide many benefits in the United States. I’m not surprised that my inner voice had become so negative by the time I finally retired.

Retired in Portugal

But wait! That was four years ago. I’m not retired in the United States anymore.

I live in Portugal.

My accumulated number of years is once again a good thing. I am guaranteed priority services by law. When I get on the bus or metro, folks stand back and wave me ahead. Women offer me their seats, and I know they’re older than me.

When I enter a restaurant, I’m whisked ahead of others who are waiting. I’ve even been ushered to the front of grocery store check-out lines by younger folks. A total stranger once asked me if they could carry my bulging shopping bag.

Being treated like this felt unusual at first. I now appreciate that it’s my new normal, and I like it. I have the Portuguese government to thank.

Let me explain.

Senior Priority in Portugal

A 2016 law approved by Parliament (Assembleia da República) requires all public and private entities to provide priority services to people over the age of 65.

The law is also applicable to people who are physically challenged, pregnant women, anyone holding or escorting children under 2 years old, and people with physical and/or mental disabilities.

The public, including visitors to the country, must give away their first-come, first-served privilege when waiting at customer services in public and private venues, such as hospitals, supermarkets, banks, pharmacies, airports, public transportation, and other similar settings.

It’s the law, and the law is enforced. People or institutions that don’t comply will receive a social misconduct offense, punishable by a fine of 50 to 500 euros for individuals and 100 to 1,000 euros for institutions.

Extensive Governmental Support for Seniors

When Jeff and I researched retirement in Portugal, we discovered Portugal’s extensive governmental support for older folks like me. It was one of our many reasons for immigrating here.

Portuguese communities provide programs for seniors at schools, libraries, plazas, churches, or civic centers.

Some of the activities for folks over 65 are crafts, book clubs, musical performances, tours of local venues like museums, chair yoga and exercise classes, cooking demos, bird watching, and presentations by guest speakers.

Often, there are no fees involved. Intergenerational activities are available as well.

Trips to municipal gardens and zoos are organized. All age groups process through the streets in traditional dress to open municipal festivals at Easter, Christmas, or the day celebrating the city’s patron saint.

Senior organizations spend many hours of preparation, with all age groups helping to create costumes and banners.

A Great Life for Elders

We love how the elders organize and pass down the traditions with the support of their children, grandchildren, and civic employees.

The University of the Third Age (Associação Rede de Universidades da Terceira Idade) provides classes specifically for people over the age of 50 at campuses throughout Portugal. These classes are free. And if you incur costs traveling to the classes, those expenses are reimbursed.

This is not the only example of how my age saves me money. There are discounts — not just at the movie theater but also on monthly bus and metro transit passes, train tickets throughout the country, concerts, and restaurants, to name a few.

Businesses in Portugal want me to come, relax, and enjoy.

Add to that the country’s programs for preventive health care, home visits to support living independently, and senior pensions for those without sufficient monthly income.

Yup, I like how great it is to be alive and almost 75. I’m treated with much more respect in Portugal than back in the States. A vida é boa. Life is good for this elder living in Portugal.