I never thought in my life I would see North Americans talk about how wonderful my country is and the cultural subtleties that exist here. A few years ago, if you asked an average American, they wouldn't even know where Portugal was on the map. I always thought I was very lucky to have been born and raised in Portugal. Even though sometimes we take certain things for granted because they are so natural to us and we don't give them the due value, seeing this type of content only brings to mind the richness and how wonderful it is to live in Portugal. Obrigado.
Hello! Thank you so much for your rich insightful comment from your perspective. We are so happy to be learning Portuguese culture and language and fortunate to live a part of our lives in this amazing country. You’re right- sometimes it takes an outsider to point out something that is amazing that is such a regular part of life. We hope you’ll stick around and subscribe. Thanks for watching! Cheers! M&D
Great video, thank you! Here's a few more for your list: #6: People greet senior citizens on the streets and in parks, even those they don't know. #7: In grocery stores and other places, seniors, pregnant women, and parents with babies are given priority. They can skip the line and are given seats on buses. #8: It's quite rare to see busy people on the streets.
Hello! Perfect! 👍🏼 you’re so right- we have noticed all those things and in a small sweet way they do make life better here! Thanks for watching and sharing your ideas! Cheers! M&D
Pastel de nata and Galao. Boom. That’s it. Actually, your point about the malls was something we immediately noticed. Patty couldn’t believe the Plaza (or what was La Vie) a Benetton store. The 80s are back indeed. Another thing related to table manners (and food) are the lack of people walking around with takeout coffee cups. Which brings us back to a leisurely Galao and Pastel de Nata. Saude! And see you soon!
Hello! Well said. That would for sure be another point. Sitting to have a coffee not walking around with giant to-go cups! Thanks for watching and best of luck with your move! ( and yes Benetton is still a thing! Reliving the 80s!!) cheers! M&D
In the malls there are not just fast foods but local healthy food too, soups and real meals like you'd make at home. There are even cafetarias where they grill the fish or meat at your asking ot make your own pizza. A meal will cost you less than €10.
Hello Antonio! Yes!!! Good point! The food courts are not just typical fast food- there is homemade soups and real meals!! Thanks for pointing that out. Thanks for watching! Cheers! M&D
Something you might see without noticing, in villages people eat at home (lunch / diner) but they go to the café to drink their coffee. They bring the kids and buy them gelados.
Hello! Isn’t that great!! Love that they make many of their own meals and eat in peace but stay social by having coffee together and teaching their children! This country keeps getting better! Thanks for watching and sharing your insights. Cheers! M&D
We just got back from a fabulous trip to California, but we are NEVER going back permanently...Love our life in Portugal! The malks are huge here and I hate them, but must go from time to time for a couple of stores...Never for pleasure! Finally, I've lived in France and now Portugal 🇵🇹...I've NEVER gotten used to the hello goodbye kiss!! Hugs here!! ❤Portugal and never going back...Except to visit friends and family!! Great vlog you two!
Hello Tamara! Great comment! Thank you for sharing your experience. Isn’t it great to go back and having a fabulous time - but know you’re coming back to Portugal?? 🇵🇹 Thanks for watching and for your on going support. Cheers! M&D
Hugs are a very intimate. If you dont enjoy the 2 kisses thing, how is it that hugs are better? I do none of them, except to my family. The rest get a hand raise or a hand shake.
Thank you guys. The clips that went with the items were hilarious. Still appreciate all your help when I was hospitalized in Madeira on last years trip. All the items were so true. I am still 2 years behind you Doug on the kissing comfort level. Btw we just drove through, Yukon, BC and Alberta. Amazing country. 2700 miles of Mountains, Forests, Rivers, Lakes and wildlife. We were in Calgary the night of game 7 of the Stanley Cup. Much disappointment but probably not as much as in Edmonton.
Hello Jim! So great to hear from you - that’s you’re doing well and it was our pleasure helping out when you were here. That was quite the road trip!! Beautiful country for sure! Yes it was a tough loss for Edmonton. Hopefully next year!! Thanks for watching and for your on going support. Take care! Cheers! M&D
Great video ,we were smiling the whole way through. We have been here four months in Madeira and still waiting to track you down. We could not agree more with all your observations. Take care,
Loved the video and agree with your 5 points! The malls were a huge surprise to me. I was wondering if it was because there is not the same "order on line" culture here in Portugal as there is in North America? I also see people using the mall as another place for social engagement which is such a wonderful thing to see. Going to get a coffee in the neighborhood is such a social experience as well. I see very few people on their phones or laptops at coffee shops.
Hello Debi! Well said. We love that people use the malls for shopping and for social engagement. Thanks for watching and for your insightful comment. Cheers! M&D
Over here in the UK, it's "elbows off the table" as my late nanny would often remind us when it comes to dining etiquette.😆But if you love malls (and I mean gigantic malls - some with ice skating rinks etc- which will make even "Madeira Shopping" look like a village precinct) and particularly the inter-generational connection, it's time you paid Asia a visit. From Seoul to Bangkok, Singapore to Shanghai, several generations of a family hanging out together in a super huge mall is a commonplace.
Hello! Fun comment! Yes - Asia is on the list! We would love to go to Singapore 🇸🇬!! One day! Thanks for watching and sharing your thoughts. Cheers! M&D
You seem like a lovely couple. Those observations and the way you analyze and decide to incorporate some of them make you humble and open-minded. They seem like simple characteristics, but all together, manage to be the big difference between one country to another.
Hello! So well said … they may seem like simple things - but all together they make a difference! Thank you so much for watching , for your kind words and your insight. Cheers! M&D
You may recall that we were staying in Parque das Nações at the same time you were there in 2022, and we loved that park area near the convention center! It was heartwarming to see so many extended families walking along the Tagus on a nice Sunday in October--including those teens that would likely never been seen walking with families here in the Midwest. It was also interesting to find many small to medium malls with surprisingly extensive food courts in the central cities, some in new construction, others using the original facades. I thought that perhaps malls are still popular there because so many European cities have maintained their traditional indoor/outdoor markets for centuries, and the modern mall is just treated as the current version of that. El Corte Inglés was also quite impressive, as we don't have those huge all-encompassing department stores that I recall from my childhood in the 1960s here any more. LOL the construction worker story--I saw a few of them enjoying a small port wine with their croissants at 7:30 AM!
I think that in many ways your points are relevant to Europe overall, except the UK, which is now more Americanised. We find that in Madeira it is like life was 30-40 years ago in the Uk. Europeans take the cheap travel for granted. From London, I can go to Paris, Rome, Vienna etc for less than £100. On our recent trip to Canada, people were so envious of this. Lovely to hear your experiences of living in Madeira. We go at least twice a year but would not move there; though I often miss some of the things you talked about. Go well, and dare you to have a big unannounced snog in that Mall 😂
Hello! Thank you so much for watching and sharing your thoughts. Very well said. Ha ha if we do kiss publicly in the mall one day- we’ll let you know! 😆 Appreciate your comment! Cheers! M&D
As a Portuguese living abroad I love finding out about these little cultural differences. For example, Italians start kissing on the opposite side of the cheek. I've had a few awkward moments happen with my in-laws 😅
Two or three or more things: 1- Having ice with any and every drink. 2 - Wearing caps all the time, even inside. 3 - The "need" to add ketchup (or any other sauce) to every food. 4 - Eating, drinking and walking at the same time... Damn! Sit down, eat and drink commiting yourself to "doing it" and enjoying the moment.
Hello Marta! Excellent points!! All things for sure we don’t see in Portugal! 🇵🇹 That’s a whole video! 😂 We certainly appreciate how meal time is sacred and no one is walking and eating/ drinking. Love it! Thanks for watching and sharing your thoughts. Cheers! M&D
Hi Doug and Lady M, hello! We have been watching lot of your videos. They are informative and high quality thank you for that! I have a general question, how many times you have visited d Madeira bf deciding retire there?
Hello! Thank you for watching our videos and we are so glad that you find value in the content. We had never visited Madeira before moving here. 😳 Our original plan was to move to Madeira and rent for one year then relocate somewhere else in Portugal- Lisbon, Porto , the Algarve…. And move every year. That would have been crazy as we realize how quickly a year goes by! At any rate, we started here and fell in love with the island and could not and can not think of a reason to leave!! We have travelled extensively throughout Portugal- no where is as amazing as Madeira. Cheers! M&D
@@Track_Us_Down thank you for letting us know! That’s a good plan, just start somewhere take time to explore. I felt I already knew you guys! Hope someday we will meet!
Omg we are almost ready to put our house on the market - hopefully in 3 weeks and I predict we will sell it within a month and then we are outta here and selling everything and moving to Madeira . We are going to rent first but we have enough cash to buy a home and won’t need a mortgage. When I finally meet you guys at some point we don’t need to kiss -we will just fist bump 👊🏻 ok ?? 😂 Just dying to get out of Chicago Every Single Day. Lynda Peterson 7:35
Hello Lynda!! Best of luck on the final steps of your journey! Very happy for you! When we meet we will hug 🤗 for sure!! Thanks for watching and good luck! Madeira awaits you! Cheers! M&D
Very interesting points about the differences about North America and Continental Europe way of life. As you know my wife is not Portuguese and she gets your point of the kissing on the cheek. Me on the other hand, I find it weird if a woman comes to me and gives me a hand shake. Man to man has to be a hand shake and the stronger the hand shake the better. I hate feather light man hand shakes.
Kids assisting and spending time with their grandparents... That used to be a thing in the US. Times have definitely changed. My nephews, nieces, and friends' kids rarely want to spend time with their grandparents, let alone their parents. They prefer to be on their phones or computers.
Hello! It’s sad that it’s changed so much. We love seeing young people with older people here. Thanks for watching and sharing your thoughts. Cheers! M&D
Hello! Thank you so much for subscribing!! That’s a great question. Love ❤️ all 3 of those countries and maybe one day will live there as well! We chose Portugal for its beauty, its history, the people, the cost of living, access to other countries, the tax incentives, the healthcare, and the safety. Thanks for watching! Cheers! M&D
I laughed so much about the table manners. We have traveled all over the world and noticed the unusual way North Americans eat. It really makes no sense to us why you need to keep moving the fork around from right to left over & over! We're from South Africa so eating with the knife in the right hand & the fork in the left is not just a "Continental " way of eating at all!.
Greeting from Lisbon. I had no idea that in the USA there are no malls ???in europe they are everywhere 😅 and yes in Lisbon there are quite a few. The one in the video Colombo is crazy. WAY too much people there, so I prefer to go to another one. Eventhough there are time where there are still a lot of people in UBBO Amadora, since The mall is more wide open it is not as bad as Colombo 😅
Hello Ana in Lisbon! Thanks for watching and sharing your thoughts. There are malls in North America however many of them are dying with B rated stores, not a lot of shoppers and some closing down entirely. We love the malls in Lisbon and they feel full of life! Cheers! M&D
@@Track_Us_Downthat is so strange to me 😅 always thought you had bigger better malls 😂 we are always learning new things. I have a degree in Tourism Management if you ever want to visit Portugal, whether Lisbon or other cities I can give you some tips 😊. I have been to Sao Miguel in Azores for me it’s more beautiful than Madeira. I actually have no interest going there. 😅 I’d rather go to Sao Miguel and the other Azores Islands. In pico there is The biggest mountain with a volcano (The only one in Portugal). And in continental Portugal Gerês is very beatiful (nature as well). My parents are from the center and north for portugal and there are a lot of beautiful places. Just been for the second time in Viseu which is a city in centre of Portugal and loved it. We call it Portuguese Venice.
The standard in the USA before the mid-1960s was a "shopping center" with groups of both large and small stores on a site with shared parking, but no indoor walkways. Malls exploded from the late 1960s through the 1980s, but now most new retail areas built in growing communities are not much different than those 1950s era shopping centers. I believe about half the indoor malls in the Chicago metro have closed since 2000 or so. Regrettably, as Doug noted, crime has been a problem, but also the rise of online shopping and having a half-dozen Walmarts and Targets closer to home than the nearest mall have contributed to the demise.
@@stephenjarzombek2903right… I know those places have everything. I wish our supermarkets were like the USA 😆 we still have cloth and home things, but it’s not like the US. Also because I really like makeup I see american youtubers that also have maybelline, loreal and such and the US has way more products from them then us. And Covergirl and ELF do not exist. And so many more. But ELF has such good things at a low price point. So the eye makeup palettes I have are the expensive ones, because there are not good ones at the drugstore. But I have been surprised with makeup from SHEIN. In Portugal people order online, but not as much as the US. For cloth and house things and even some phone devices I prefer to always go to a presencial shops. But I do order quite a few things online like skincare and haircare because I find it cheaper online than in stores. Supplements also because they only exist online or also are cheaper.
There's one thing I think it's very important. Food is healthier in Europe. Quality is strictly regulated and if you eat the same things in Portugal that you eat in North America, you will feel better and probably lose some weight.
Well, if you go to Québec (which is in North America, despite the French language :), you will see people greeting in the same way (kissing on the cheek)
Hello! Yes- as a French Canadian girl 🍁- I’ve spent time in Quebec and they do greet with the double kiss - brought over from France- especially the older people. It also happens , but to a lesser extent in other provinces among French Canadians. Overall however, nothing like to the extent you see it among Europeans. Thanks for watching and sharing your thoughts. Cheers! M&D
Remember we are a small country without any relevence ... But proud of our culture and well travelled. What we see happening in other places doesnt appeal to us...só we strongly stik to our way of life and pass it on to the youngster. A baby of 6 months sitting on the baby chair eats his meal at the table with the familly by the age of2 they should use the potty. By the age of3 they are using good manners at the table and managing knief and fork with profiency
Hello! Thank you so much for watching and for sharing your thoughts and knowledge of this amazing country and people. 🇵🇹 We love the history and the tradition that is passed from old to young. Cheers! M&D
The eating thing has to do with speed. Most Americans eat very quickly. I am American and I am a slow eater and it is a joke with my husband and friends that I am still eating and they have been done for minutes.
y meet a amarican men 55 years old in portugal, and in the conversation, y ask him do you like portugal? he said, oh yeah, please dont say other americans to come here. ehehe
You're always mentioning North America as a whole but as far as I know, life in Canada and Mexico (just to mention the more relevant countries) is very different from the US. So, it doesn't make much sense to compare life in Portugal with the whole of NA.
Hello! We are from Canada. 🇨🇦 And life is Canada is very much like life in the US. We have the same consumerism, political divide and problems. We also have increasing violence. As for life in Mexico- we’ve spent a lot of time over the years there and despite the amazing people and incredible food 🌮 - you can’t dismiss the crime , violence and lack of safety. So in our opinion- life in Portugal is way better than North America ! Thanks for watching and for your interesting question. Cheers! M&D
@@Track_Us_Down - I know you're from Canada but to my knowledge, when it comes, for example, to healthcare, education, police behaviour, work/life balance or quality of life in general, Canada is very different from the US.
It’s just our opinion and we have a background in education and law enforcement. We think it’s just the perception others - even Americans have of Canada- that there are no problems, healthcare is free - so it must be great and everyone is united in the big vast country. That’s just a perception.
Me too, I think Madeira is heaven on earth after living in really a great lot of countries. But you say Portugal. Funchal & Lisbon are really very different. Russians kiss on both cheeks, even the farewell to the dead. My father was raised as a former Zar´s bodyguard officer in St. Petersburg, so I know a lot of this culture. Table manners: it still shocks me to see women drink from the bottleneck. I became 72 now in Coimbra, where I have lived since 2021 near to the Stadium (Age is only a # 4 me, like Harvard professor MD David Sinclair says). Till June, I spent 7 months in Argentina and Uruguay, and believe me, the contrast is terrible. I came in through Madrid, I buy the ticket over the internet directly from the airline, a week or less before the flight, when I'm ready. The discount is enormous. But, the flight from Madrid to Uruguay was far better than that from Buenos Aires to Madrid. Culture problems, as you say.
