Alex Trias was once making six-figures in his law career, until one day he decided to walk away, retire early, and move with his wife to the number one country Americans want to move to: Portugal. “One of the best decisions I’ve ever made.”
Many of us dream of packing up, leaving our current daily routines behind, and moving someplace completely different to start a new chapter, and reinvigorate their sense of purpose in this life. Alex Trias woke up and decided one day to do exactly that.
Trias went from having a successful and stable legal career to deciding to retire early and start a new life with his wife in a completely different country. He ended up moving to Portugal, which is considered to be the top country that Americans want to move to.
Trias recently wrote about the decision to make the move for CNBC, and describe what his experience has been like. Despite a lot of hesitation and worry over financials, overall, he stated that he’s made the best decision for himself and his future.
“In 2011, I walked away from a six-figure law career and retired at age 41. I thought I was prepared financially. But emotionally? Not so much.
After decades of working, I was used to the sense of purpose that came with a career, and I assumed I’d have to give that up once I stopped working. My biggest fear took the form of one major uncertainty: What would I do with all that unstructured time?
Fast forward 14 years later, and my days are anything but idle,” Trias wrote.
“My wife and I now live in Portugal, the No. 1 country Americans want to move to. I spend my free time enjoying local food with friends and hiking the wildflower-dotted coastal trails. Retiring early is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made … but I remember how overwhelming it felt at the start.”
Trias described how he was on a very “predictable path” for most of his life. He completed law school, worked summers, and then entered into a stable legal career. During the 2008 financial crisis, however, his firm fell victim to the economic devastation, leaving him, like most of America, feeling lost.
The legal sphere was his entire life, and without his job, he felt stuck and directionless. Instead of getting caught up in a spiral of unknowingness and unemployment, he decided to embrace spontaneity through early retirement.
“Most people think early retirement is about not working anymore. But it’s about redefining your identity without a roadmap. That required a mindset shift: I had to become an explorer.”
Becoming an explorer then took the form of going to Portugal. Although Trias and his wife didn’t know the language, anyone who lived there, or what daily life looked like, they knew they wanted to take the leap.
“The uncertainty became our motivation to grow, learn, and build a fulfilling life from scratch. If you’re delaying retirement because you don’t know what comes next, that might be exactly why it’s worth doing. Uncertainty could be your opportunity to travel down paths you’ve never imagined,” he wrote.
Trias also explained how, surprisingly, they were able to keep their net worth growing while embarking on this new life together due to the fact that there expenses were greatly reduced in Portugal.
“Here’s what we save annually compared to our old life in Washington, D.C.: $15,000 on state income taxes, $25,000 on health insurance and deductibles, $14,000 on property taxes, and $20,000 on food, entertainment, and daily costs.
In total, we estimate that we save about $5,000 per month just by living abroad.
“We follow the same financial strategy we did while working: We live below our means, reinvest the difference, and let compounding do the work. The only difference is that now, instead of salaries, our income comes from investments.”
Trias explained that retirement doesn’t necessarily mean that one stops building up their wealth, and together, he and his wife were able to build a more “sustainable and intentional” kind of building.
“Whether you’re working or not, most of us want the same thing: to feel like we matter and are making a contribution.
When we first retired, we had a built-in sense of purpose as parents to a young child. We joined school activities, studied the local language, and built a new life in Lisbon,” he wrote for CNBC.
Once the couple’s daughter went to college, they had a lot of free time on their schedule, so the newest, and most exciting, challenge was to figure out what to do with their days to feel fulfilled.
“Before diving into hobbies or commitments, we made a plan. We identified six core priorities that bring meaning to our lives:
1. Building and strengthening friendships
2. Personal care and physical health
3. Quality time as a couple
4. Travel
5. Volunteer work and giving back
6. Learning new skills
Today, my wife volunteers at our tennis club, takes pottery and Dutch lessons, and plays sports. I’m focused on writing, freelance retirement coaching, and helping a local nonprofit as a consultant. We host dinner parties, explore new recipes, and take short trips around Europe.
With the right mindset, early retirement can be the perfect new starting point. You just have to be willing to embrace it,” Trias concluded.
To learn more about Alex Trias newfound life and the lessons he’s learned along the way, check out his website here.
Eric Mastrota is a Contributing Editor at The National Digest based in New York. A graduate of SUNY New Paltz, he reports on world news, culture, and lifestyle. You can reach him at eric.mastrota@thenationaldigest.com.
