'I really don’t miss the fear': California costs too much — so she retired to Portugal with just 4 suitcases and a dog

Of course, sunshine and Port wine aren’t the only draws. Portugal is increasingly interesting to retiring Americans, more and more of whom are moving abroad in their later years. And, as in Dreyfuss’ case, some are taking leaps of faith on places they’ve never even been before.

“I’d never been to Portugal, so I had no way of doing a scouting trip or anything,” she admitted to CNN Travel. “I thought, ‘I’m going to go over there. And If I don’t like Portugal, then I’ll move to Spain or France.’”

A quick adjustment

As it turns out, she loves it.

She met a real estate agent within hours of arriving in Porto, found an apartment within days and bought her first of a few homes within a year.

Dreyfuss, who said she “was really ready to get away from the political situation in the United States” when she embarked on her journey in 2021, now has temporary citizenship and is in the process of applying for Portuguese citizenship.

“I feel like, ‘Oh it’s so good to be home,’” she said, adding that “that’s how you know.”

She continued, “But I really don’t miss the fear. That’s what makes me happier here. My kids miss me, and I miss my kids. But I always tell them, ‘You guys can come see me.’”

On picking Portugal

It’s no wonder why Americans like Dreyfuss are picking Portugal. The coastal country was ranked No. 1 by the International Living “Safest Places to Retire 2026” index.

“Its stunning environmental diversity is one of its greatest assets, offering the geographic variety of a country five times its size,” Kimberly Anne writes for International Living about the country, which also claimed a spot on its overall “Best Places to Retire” list. “Combine this with fresh, affordable food, universal healthcare, a compact footprint and kind neighbors. Add a climate that ranges from sun-drenched coasts to rolling green hills, and you have a recipe for an exceptional quality of life.”

Besides the fact that Portugal’s healthcare system is ranked in the top 40 worldwide — which Dreyfuss said is “astronomically” better than the U.S., “not just because of the cost, but the quality of the care” — one of the biggest benefits for Dreyfuss has been the fact that she feels comfortable walking around alone at night.

“I just feel so safe here,” she told CNN Travel, adding that Porto, in particular, “feels like a village,” where the residents are always “so warm and so nice.”

It’s easy to meet people, after all, since there’s so much to see and do. Porto is home to the UNESCO World Heritage site, the Historic Centre of Oporto, Luiz I Bridge and Monastery of Serra do Pilar — a vast landscape that spans across the hills of Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia. It sits along the Douro River, where many gather to watch the sunset, including at popular spots such as Jardim do Morro, the Dom Luís I Bridge and the Ribeira waterfront. Porto is also peppered with museums, shops and restaurants.

Dreyfuss told CNN Travel that she enjoys the local food, eating out at least thrice weekly. Back home in San Diego, she couldn’t have afforded the lifestyle she now lives on her teacher salary.

While the cost of living has gone up in the years since Dreyfuss moved to Portugal, she told CNN Travel that it’s still “probably about 40% to 50% less” than in the U.S., which allows her to live a “much better life day to day” and even travel around the rest of Europe and the UK.

Of course, the language barrier can be challenging for her, as can navigating the local bureaucracy.

“Nothing is perfect,” she admitted to CNN Traveler. “There’s some things that are almost exactly alike. There’s some things that are better. There’s some things that are worse.”

But when asked if she’d ever move back to the U.S., she replied: “They’d have to fix an awful lot of stuff before I’d want to move back.”

More Americans are retiring abroad

Americans are increasingly opting to retire abroad, a decision that surveys suggest is driven largely by lower costs of living and a search for a better quality of life. In fact, over 700,000 Americans already receive Social Security benefits overseas.

A Gallup poll indicates that about one in five Americans still want to relocate outside of the U.S. Most of them are women, like Dreyfuss, who are largely driven by political exhaustion. In fact, 40% of women aged 15 to 44 say they would move abroad permanently if given the chance.