This is part of Why I Moved, a recurring series about Americans building a life abroad.
When New Hampshire-born Lindy Reid left the US nearly a decade ago, she didn’t plan to move to Lisbon. She just knew that she wanted a change of pace from her life in Boston. Maybe it’d be for a year or so; maybe it’d be for longer. Cut to January 2025, and Reid is now going on her eighth year as a resident of Portugal. She’s the owner of Rhodo Bagels, dedicated to “bringing bagel culture to Lisbon.” (Yes, they serve bagels with lox and New York-style bacon-egg-and-cheeses.) She has a rescue dog with an underbite, who goes to work with her every day. She speaks Portuguese, even though it’s “a very tough language” in her experience. And honestly? She has no plans of coming back to America. “I’ve built a life here,” she says during a conversation over Zoom with Condé Nast Traveler. As she speaks, she sits on a quintessential set of steps in the city, colorful buildings fanning out behind her. For most people, such a cityscape of Lisbon is just a Zoom background; for Reid, it’s the real thing. In the Q&A below, we chat with Reid about her choice to leave the US, what it's been like to settle in Portugal, and what advice she’d offer to those following in her footsteps.
NAME: Lindy Reid
LOCATION: Lisbon, Portugal
JOB: Owner of Rhodo Bagel shop
DATE OF MOVE: 7.5 years ago
FROM WHERE? Thailand
“I had done some research. I had my criteria, which was walkability, weather, and cost of living. What really sold me was the colorful buildings. It just seemed joyful and beautiful, but that was really it. I had never been to Lisbon before, so it was kind of a random choice, but it just seemed right. And I thought, worst case scenario, if I don’t like it, it’s a vacation and I try somewhere else. I knew I wanted to keep experiencing new places and different cultures, so I had actually intended to live somewhere for one year, more or less, and then continue. I wanted to experience more cities than just Lisbon, but I really fell in love with it. So I'm still here.”
“I felt a bit stuck. I was living in Boston, and it’s a beautiful city but very expensive, and it seemed like I wasn’t actually experiencing the city. I was residing there, but not living there. All of my friends were doing the same—work, gym, dinner, sleep—and I never actually got to see what the city had to offer. I also felt like I wasn't meeting anyone outside my circle. And while I love my friends, it just all felt very familiar. I had one friend who had moved abroad, and my sister had also lived outside the country, so I knew that was a great way to be able to meet different people and experience new things. First I moved to Thailand, then to Lisbon.”
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