“Moving abroad isn’t always about boosting your CV—it’s about learning to breathe differently.”
I’m Joris, 27, Dutch to the core. For years my mornings were pre-dawn alarms, drizzle on the window, and a bike chained up under a bleary grey sky. Solid job? Sure. But I felt the autopilot stealing the best bits of me.
One November afternoon—Inbox at zero, mood below it—I spotted a Lisbon vacancy for Dutch-speaking digital support. The post showed an orange sunset over the Tagus and whispered “relocation included.” I don’t surf (yet), I thought, but I can learn… and hit Apply.
| Motivation | What it really meant to me |
|---|---|
| Sun & blue sky | Swap seven months of fog for 20 °C breakfasts in March. |
| Sea & surf | Turn “vacation sport” into “Tuesday routine.” |
| Slower smiles | People who chat over a standing coffee—my calendar needed that pace. |
| Speak Dutch… far from home | Help Dutch firms from a tiled neighbourhood that smells of cinnamon. |
| Plain curiosity | Discover who I am minus the bike, the usual friends, the familiar streets. |
I arrived with one suitcase, a contract, and two weeks of hotel keys. By the first Monday, I’d already got lost in Alfama on purpose and fallen hard for the scent of pastéis de nata.
The office—an international support hub—buzzed with accents. Training was intense, but the vibe was light: playlists swapped, jokes told, genuine “how are you?” moments. Stepping outside to a chorus of bom dias felt less like visiting and more like being invited.
08:15 Pingado on the terrace, river breeze in my hair.
09:00 Helping Dutch SMEs sell better online.
13:00 Lunch without a stopwatch, chatting wave forecasts with Greek and Italian teammates.
17:30 Metro + board to Carcavelos; first surf class included a spectacular wipe-out and even better laughs.
22:00 Hill-top miradouro, guitar, friends speaking a mash-up of Portuguese, English—and my Dutch accent no one corrects anymore.
What blows me away isn’t the pay cheque or the project name. It’s staring at the ocean and feeling light, as if life fits better here.
Learning “saudade” – Name what you miss and it weighs less.
Owning less – Two loud shirts, rented surfboard, more stories than stuff.
More daylight, more life – I work, exercise, cook—and still FaceTime family before bed.
Being the foreigner makes you brave – Every mini-challenge (directions, new friends) adds courage.
Twelve months on, with solid metrics and semi-decent Portuguese, an email popped up: internal interview—with Google. I nailed it, sure, but honestly? Even if that email had never come, every swallowed wave and sunset chat was already worth the leap.
Listen to the “what if…?” – Today’s discomfort is tomorrow’s favourite story.
Don’t wait for the perfect role – Sometimes the trampoline is a “regular” job in an extraordinary city.
Pack curiosity, not expectations – The magic lives in what you didn’t plan.
Lisbon taught me that real motivation isn’t counted in CV lines; it’s measured in how many stories you can tell while staring at the horizon.
Fancy writing yours? See you at the next sunset. 🌅