OT: 114th Obsequious Banter Thread: One fortnight and counting

[Appleyard]

Think I am going to move to Portugal aha... was always the plan one day for the last 3-4 years...

but spent half the summer here and the thought of going back to the Netherlands makes me very sad. Guess will give notice on apartment within next week.

Girlfriend is down as well even though it miiiight slightly limit her job opportunities.

Really not sure any other European country offers as many perks with as few a downsides.

 

[Kermit the Prog]

Think I am going to move to Portugal aha... was always the plan one day for the last 3-4 years...

but spent half the summer here and the thought of going back to the Netherlands makes me very sad. Guess will give notice on apartment within next week.

Girlfriend is down as well even though it miiiight slightly limit her job opportunities.

Really not sure any other European country offers as many perks with as few a downsides.

Don't you mean flat? I'm getting a bit skeptical that you're British at all.

 

[Beef Invictus]

Think I am going to move to Portugal aha... was always the plan one day for the last 3-4 years...

but spent half the summer here and the thought of going back to the Netherlands makes me very sad. Guess will give notice on apartment within next week.

Girlfriend is down as well even though it miiiight slightly limit her job opportunities.

Really not sure any other European country offers as many perks with as few a downsides.

Guzzle some port for me.

 

[Appleyard]

Don't you mean flat? I'm getting a bit skeptical that you're British at all.

Well in the Netherlands and Portugal they are apartments aha.

appartement and apartamento.

Tbf as well... if you have a nice flat in England you generally would say it is an apartment as well aha. Flat implies more that it is either council owned or smaller and only on one floor.

Guzzle some port for me.

I never liked port before I was here regularly... had a bad experience once that ended up with a stay in hospital due to port! (I say due to port, it was more due to me being rambunctious in part due to the port. Drank a whole bottle for a bet and did not end well.)

But the white port especially? If good quality it is unreal. Girlfriends step-dad is a bit of a wine connoisseur, so he introduced me to some amazing ones.

 

[Flybynite]

West Coast video used to have a porn section with a walk of shame entrance. It was hilarious how dudes used to try to shimmy themselves discreetly through the entrance...

We used the West Coast video that was on Torresdale/Levick and yea they did have that hidden porn room entrance in the back corner lol.

Also probably had the easiest crane machine I have ever used.

 

[Young Sandwich]

Think I am going to move to Portugal aha... was always the plan one day for the last 3-4 years...

but spent half the summer here and the thought of going back to the Netherlands makes me very sad. Guess will give notice on apartment within next week.

Girlfriend is down as well even though it miiiight slightly limit her job opportunities.

Really not sure any other European country offers as many perks with as few a downsides.

Planning a vacation there next year. I've never been but have only heard incredible things.

 

[Flybynite]

Jack Bauer never used the toilet.

 

[swami24]

We used the West Coast video that was on Torresdale/Levick and yea they did have that hidden porn room entrance in the back corner lol.

Also probably had the easiest crane machine I have ever used.

A porn crane? Somehow seems appropriate.

 

[Flybynite]

Said he was on the passenger list but still have to confirm he boarded the plane apparently ...

Wow. Russia finally did kill a Nazi. Took long enough guys.

 

[Appleyard]

Planning a vacation there next year. I've never been but have only heard incredible things.

Lisbon might be the best city in Europe...

and in some ways does not always feel like a European city. The large amounts of Brazilians and Africans (Angola, Cape Verde, Sao Tome and Principe mainly) mean that one of the only places on continent where on Friday and Saturday have street parties in the city centre... can usually find people outside in central areas with sound systems and crates of beer etc, and people often just stock up from shops before they close at ~2-3am and just drink and dance in the street. And ofc therefore culture/cuisine/restaurants from three continents! Which is awesome.

The weather is incredible... basically San Francisco summers and LA winters, so rarely cold (was 75f on New Years Day when here the other year) and not many days where it rains. But also not tooo often it gets above ~95f. And as right next to the Atlantic often have a nice breeze even when warm.

And the city has everything. 2.5 million people and a massive city centre. Amazing beautiful hills to the north (Sintra) and some of the best beaches in Europe, well, everywhere. Some of the best surf spots in Europe actually in the city. Also... basically all shops stay open until midnight, which is crazy... can go and buy shoes or do your weekly shop at midnight in the bigger shopping centres!

And ofc there are a lot of other places across the country that are awesome. I love Sagres for example on tip of country. Porto is also beautiful. The Algarve is incredible as well.

And it is veeery reasonably priced!

 

[Embiid]

Lisbon might be the best city in Europe...

and in some ways does not always feel like a European city. The large amounts of Brazilians and Africans (Angola, Cape Verde, Sao Tome and Principe mainly) mean that one of the only places on continent where on Friday and Saturday have street parties in the city centre... can usually find people outside in central areas with sound systems and crates of beer etc, and people often just stock up from shops before they close at ~2-3am and just drink and dance in the street. And ofc therefore culture/cuisine/restaurants from three continents! Which is awesome.

The weather is incredible... basically San Francisco summers and LA winters, so rarely cold (was 75f on New Years Day when here the other year) and not many days where it rains. But also not tooo often it gets above ~95f. And as right next to the Atlantic often have a nice breeze even when warm.

And the city has everything. 2.5 million people and a massive city centre. Amazing beautiful hills to the north (Sintra) and some of the best beaches in Europe, well, everywhere. Some of the best surf spots in Europe actually in the city. Also... basically all shops stay open until midnight, which is crazy... can go and buy shoes or do your weekly shop at midnight in the bigger shopping centres!

And ofc there are a lot of other places across the country that are awesome. I love Sagres for example on tip of country. Porto is also beautiful. The Algarve is incredible as well.

And it is veeery reasonably priced!

A lot of people got those Golden Visas. Also heard the locals were saying expats were driving up housing costs for them. Not sure how much buying power Portuguese have compared to expats but surely it is much less. Guess it's a double edged sword for them in many respects.

Americans flocked to Portugal for cheaper, more peaceful lives, but newcomers also brought crowds and drove up the cost of living

People moved to Portugal for sea views and a European passport, but the country's popularity is making it harder for others to move themselves.

www.businessinsider.com

"Eurostat, the European Union's statistics agency, found that house prices in Portugal rose 157% from 2020 to 2021, with rents rising 112% from 2015 to 2021."

 

[JojoTheWhale]

Planning a vacation there next year. I've never been but have only heard incredible things.

You're going to have an amazing time. A friend of mine went to Lisbon on vacation with her spouse. Long story short, they moved there in May. They're not planning on ever leaving.

 

[Appleyard]

A lot of people got those Golden Visas. Also heard the locals were saying expats were driving up housing costs for them. Not sure how much buying power Portuguese have compared to expats but surely it is much less. Guess it's a double edged sword for them in many respects.

Americans flocked to Portugal for cheaper, more peaceful lives, but newcomers also brought crowds and drove up the cost of living

People moved to Portugal for sea views and a European passport, but the country's popularity is making it harder for others to move themselves.

www.businessinsider.com

"Eurostat, the European Union's statistics agency, found that house prices in Portugal rose 157% from 2020 to 2021, with rents rising 112% from 2015 to 2021."

Yeh... it is still relatively cheap.

Average salary is about 10x less than the average house price country wide. Lisbon is probably similar. If lucky can still pick up a nice apartment or in some cases house within 10 minutes from the centre for ~$220,000. Like 2 bed-room, 1110 square feet. And rent for similar place is probably on average around 1000 dollars a month.

But in Lisbon US, UK, Chinese, Russian and French etc are really doing some shitty stuff too to drive up prices... buying up whole housing blocks and using illegal means to break peoples contracts who already live there etc.

Laws are being put in place to tackle it. They changed the Golden Visa rules to exclude real estate and are putting in place laws about vacant properties etc.

 

[Embiid]

Yeh... it is still relatively cheap.

Average salary is about 10x less than the average house price country wide. Lisbon is probably similar. If lucky can still pick up a nice apartment or in some cases house within 10 minutes from the centre for ~$220,000. Like 2 bed-room, 1110 square feet. And rent for similar place is probably on average around 1000 dollars a month.

But in Lisbon US, UK, Chinese, Russian and French etc are really doing some shitty stuff too to drive up prices... buying up whole housing blocks and using illegal means to break peoples contracts who already live there etc.

Laws are being put in place to tackle it. They changed the Golden Visa rules to exclude real estate and are putting in place laws about vacant properties etc.

The jackals always got to mess up a good thing for everybody else....

Hopefully, they can rein it in for the benefit of all.

 

[Embiid]

Some nice yields out there on 3 month CD's (upwards 4%) if you have some decent cash on the sidelines or in lower bearing interest accounts...

 

[achdumeingute]

I would have been on the first ticket out of Russia & trying to cut a deal with the west if I was that dude.

Yea I just don't get what that guy was doing. Once you started, should have just rolled in (unless he didn't have real backing). Going to die either way.

 

[Beef Invictus]

Some nice yields out there on 3 month CD's (upwards 4%) if you have some decent cash on the sidelines or in lower bearing interest accounts...

What about pelts

 

[Surrounded By Ahos]

Drank a whole bottle for a bet and did not end well

The important thing is that you won the bet. Everything else is secondary.

 

[Embiid]

What about pelts

Pork bellies are more lucrative. Why Flahr may be hiding these days

 

[Tripod]

Some nice yields out there on 3 month CD's (upwards 4%) if you have some decent cash on the sidelines or in lower bearing interest accounts...

Up here we have GIC's doing the same thing. No risk. Guaranteed return. 3 months ago I dumped $130,000 of my company money sitting idle in bank into a 3 month(30,000) and a 1 year term(100,000). One was at 4.5% the other 4.75.

I looked at it as a free trip down South next year.

 

[Embiid]

Up here we have GIC's doing the same thing. No risk. Guaranteed return. 3 months ago I dumped $130,000 of my company money sitting idle in bank into a 3 month(30,000) and a 1 year term(100,000). One was at 4.5% the other 4.75.

I looked at it as a free trip down South next year.

Gotta love compounding interest....free lunch

 

[Embiid]

Wow. Russia finally did kill a Nazi. Took long enough guys.

Supposedly now they are saying it may have been a body double...lol

 

[BackToTheBrierePatch]

I see the hills have eyes on that guy on the left

 

[Chicken N Raffls]

We used the West Coast video that was on Torresdale/Levick and yea they did have that hidden porn room entrance in the back corner lol.

Also probably had the easiest crane machine I have ever used.

I remember that at the West Coast in my hometown. Before the chains got big there was a mom and pop video rental place my parents would go. This is back when you could rent VHS or Beta. Their porn section just had beads as the door. When my parents weren't looking I would get "very interested" in the movies right outside that door

 

[Embiid]

I remember that at the West Coast in my hometown. Before the chains got big there was a mom and pop video rental place my parents would go. This is back when you could rent VHS or Beta. Their porn section just had beads as the door. When my parents weren't looking I would get "very interested" in the movies right outside that door

Was it anal beads?