the stuff about Portugal is pretty funny, I came here for a month 2.5 years ago and got stuck because of the covid circus. my wife is Portuguese and I'm American so we weren't sure if I'd ever see her again if I left (since we won't be medical experiments for big pharma or worse). now we have a little quinta near serra da estrella.

I have to admit I don't really like it here. partly I miss my friends and family but partly it just seems like people hate themselves here. Almost everyone we've dealt with here has lied to us either for profit or seemingly just for fun. they smile at your face and then gossip incessantly, and complain nonstop. Not all but most. and the corporate media brainwashing is as you say, nearly complete.

Maybe the situation is exacerbated by the lack of young people out here in the ruural areas, maybe porto and lisbon are more aware? I don't really like spending too much time in the city so I'm not sure.

I've even mostly given up on learning the language because it just seems so toxic. it seems healthier to struggle to interact than to have to listen to people lie and complain all the time.

Sorry for the rant, I mean no offense to you, obviously there are Portuguese people who are an exception (I did marry one although even she struggles against her upbringing and relapses any time we have to visit her family). I'm realizing that even though I'm happy being alone most of the time out in nature, longterm isolation is getting a bit tough on me.

Anyway. Fuck the system and their mind control.