Building Your It’ll Be Fun Life
- itllbefunretiremen
- Jan 1
- 4 min read
By Leslie – It’ll Be Fun
France vs. Portugal: The Adventure, the Dream, and the Math That Keeps Us Grounded
One of the great myths of moving abroad is that once you choose a country, the other options fade quietly into the background. That you “decide,” settle in, and never look back.
That hasn’t been our experience at all.
As we begin a new year and continue our Building Your It’ll Be Fun Life series, we want to be honest about something most expats won’t admit out loud: some countries never really let you go. They keep tapping you on the shoulder, whispering what if, long after you’ve built a good life somewhere else.
For us, that country is France.
The House That Started (and Restarted) the Conversation
Last fall, we found ourselves standing in front of a medieval stone house in Sarlat-la-Canéda, in the heart of the Dordogne. It was the kind of place that makes you stop mid-sentence. Thick limestone walls, perfectly weathered blue shutters, and that unmistakable smell of woodsmoke drifting through the village as evening settled in.
We had just come from the weekly market, carrying a baguette still warm from the oven and a bottle of Bordeaux tucked under my arm. Like most decent bottles we found there, it cost somewhere between twelve and fifteen euros—more than Portugal, but somehow entirely justified in the moment.
Standing there, it felt easy to imagine a different version of our life. France makes that very easy. You don’t just see a house; you see a rhythm. A slower pace. Long lunches, short errands, and days shaped more by light and weather than by schedules.
We didn’t buy it. We went home to Portugal, grateful for our warm, solid house and our low-stress daily life, and told ourselves the chapter was closed.
Until curiosity crept back in.
Just the other day, we checked the listing again. The house was still on the market—but now the price had dropped from €150,000 to €85,000. And suddenly, the story restarted.
Why France Pulls You Back In
This is where France becomes dangerous in the best possible way.
At €85,000, that house stopped being a fantasy and started looking like an opportunity. If you put another €200,000 into thoughtful renovations—modern heating, insulation, plumbing—you wouldn’t just have a place to stay. You’d have a remarkable home in the center of a medieval town that people from all over the world travel to experience for a few days at a time.
That simply doesn’t exist in the United States. Not without HOAs, enormous property taxes, or sprawling suburbs far removed from history. In France, you can still buy your way into centuries-old streets, walk to dinner, and live inside a place that feels deeply rooted.
This is why people choose France even when the math is harder. France isn’t just about affordability or tax efficiency. It’s about how life feels when you step outside your door. Markets that have existed for hundreds of years. Towns designed for people, not cars. A culture that expects you to slow down and actually be present.
France doesn’t promise ease. It promises texture.
The Rabbit Hole We Know Too Well
Of course, once the price dropped, we did what any rational people do: we went down the rabbit hole again.
Could we buy it as a long-term project?Could it be a second base?Could it be something we pass on to Wolf someday? We buy it Wolf! So many options!
That’s where the romance begins to collide with reality.
Buying the house is straightforward. Managing inheritance laws across three countries—Portugal, France, and the United States—is not. Each system has its own rules, its own tax triggers, and its own ideas about who should inherit what and when. Every possible solution seemed to create two new complications.
At some point, the message becomes clear. When a dream turns into a legal engineering problem, it’s usually a sign to pause.
Why Portugal Still Works Better for Our Life
Portugal doesn’t inspire the same medieval daydreams. It doesn’t have the same dramatic pull on the imagination.
What it does have is balance.
Our house is warm in winter and inexpensive to run. Our property taxes are low. Our cost of living allows us to enjoy life without constantly thinking about money. More importantly, our long-term planning—residency, citizenship, and inheritance—is clean and predictable.
Portugal gives us something France would struggle to offer: peace of mind.
And for us, at this stage of life, that matters more than romance.
But Here’s the Important Part for Americans Who Choose France
This is where we want to be very clear: France can be a fantastic choice for the right American.
If you are retired, living primarily on U.S. Social Security, and don't have 6 children between the two of you. France offers a meaningful advantage through the U.S.–France tax treaty. In many cases, Social Security and pensions are taxed by the United States and not by France, which can make the monthly math far more workable than people assume.
For someone seeking adventure, culture, and a deeply immersive European life, France is not reckless—it can be strategic.
The key is alignment. France rewards those whose life structure fits its system.
Loving a Place Without Living There
We’ve learned that you don’t have to live in every country you love. Some places are meant to be visited, explored, and enjoyed in chapters rather than committed to full-time.
We’ll go back to France. We’ll rent. We’ll wander the markets. We’ll eat too much cheese. We’ll keep an eye on real estate listings late at night and laugh at ourselves for doing it again.
But our It’ll Be Fun life—the one that works day after day, year after year—stays rooted in Portugal. Where's your It'll be Fun Life going to be?
France will always be our beautiful what if.
And honestly, that’s part of the adventure too.
It’ll be fun. Alan, Leslie and Wolf
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