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Collapsing Roofs and Crumbling Walls

Where everything is so new.


Tim and I came to Portugal from southwestern Utah. We were raised in California, the origin of lookalike houses in large-scale suburban developments. Arizona, Nevada, and Utah easily adopted the formula for rapid, cookie-cutter construction with high profit, where the land is open, flat, and dry. Most Americans in the West now live in planned neighborhoods built in the last 40 years -- ticky-tacky little boxes. This song will stick with you, I promise.


Aging in Place.


Europe is old. Most houses are old. Neighborhoods are old. Infrastructure can date from the times of the Romans. Maybe you view the old streets and structures as charming, quaint, and architecturally artistic. Such places are worth long flights and your precious vacation time. Or perhaps you see the crumbing bricks, moldy walls, and sagging roofs as neighborhood blight (which is probably a uniquely North American term).

House for sale by surviving grandchildren who now live in Europe's cities. Imagine the challenges to get a rehabilitation permit, complete the work, and get a habitation license over 3 to 4 years.


Our little neighborhood in the hills above Alcobaça is a typical Portuguese mix of houses spanning decades, surrounded by small groves of pine and eucalyptus, vineyards, fields of corn and squash, apple orchards, old olive trees, and fallow fields. Our house was very, very old, but was rehabilitated in 2022. In fact, the kitchen was not yet installed when we signed the lease. Unlike traditional homes, ours features modern utilities and an excellent energy rating. It had no heating system, however, and no closets. Read about last winter's cold here.

The roof spires on the house in front of ours dates it before 1940. Our landlady's paternal grandfather built the house, and later I will share some history and the folklore of the spires. Uphill from us are mostly newer homes (40 years or less), but many houses down by the river are old and abondoned. Next to our driveway is a partially rehabilitated house that is left unfinished.


Housing is in such short supply all over Portugal that many young adults live with parents and grandparents. So why aren't old houses renewed and rented or sold? A combination of factors inhibits the rehabilitation of old houses and buildings. The process to get a permit is long and expensive. The property owners may lack access to capital. Perhaps there are no family members in the area to supervise the rebuild.

In Portugal, the inheritors of old property face particular challenges. Inheritance laws require all property assets to be distributed to all family members equally. They all have to agree on how to proceed. They might lack capital for a rehabilitation project. Or, family members might live on different continents, unable to travel to sign documents at the same time. So many properties fall into ruin.

Worn entrances, mossy steps, and an impenetrable patio taken over by trees, shrubs, and vines.


When Tim and I see collapsed roofs, broken windows and doors, and thickets growing inside crumbling walls of former homes, we see hidden stories of past generations, now intersecting with modernized Portugal. And we feel comfort surrounded by a deep past.


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More to come: Garden of Love, Beaches, Caves, Coffee, Wines, Apples, Roman Mosaics, Windmills



9 Comments


Beth Ann Lehr
Beth Ann Lehr
Sep 25, 2023

I love the old homes! So much history and promise and very charming!

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Guest
Sep 18, 2023

💕wonderful💜

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penelopeeicher
Sep 24, 2023
Replying to

Thanks for your nice comment.

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Guest
Sep 14, 2023

Good to hear about your life. All the best to you two!

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penelopeeicher
Sep 24, 2023
Replying to

Thanks for your kind words. Because you wrote as a guest, I cannot see who you are. Feel free to email at penelopeeicher@gmail.com if you want.

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Guest
Sep 12, 2023

I so love your stories and feel the vibe that led you there.

Stacey Maziarz

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penelopeeicher
Sep 24, 2023
Replying to

Thanks for writing, Stacey. Hope you can visit someday. I had always thought we would get together in So UT but maybe here in Europe!

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Guest
Sep 12, 2023

Great to hear from you, your stories reach me in a deep place. I see how difficult it is for some families to rehabilitate the old homes. I saw the same type of thing play out in Santa Fe. Be well, we are fine.


Peter & Linda

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penelopeeicher
Sep 24, 2023
Replying to

Love you!

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