Introduction
In part one of this conversation, Elena of RelyOn Relocation® and Alex from Nourish & Nosh talked about how healthy food delivery works in practice — the diets, the pricing, the daily logistics. But behind that practical service is a bigger question: what does it actually take to settle into a new country, and how do you protect time for the people and things that matter most while you’re doing it?
In this second part, the conversation widens. Elena connects the dots between food delivery and the full scope of relocation support — residency, tax structuring, housing, and cultural integration — and Alex shares his own relocation story, from Vienna to Portugal, and what he’s learned about building a life here.
If part one was about the “how,” this part is about the “why” — and about the small, deliberate choices that make a demanding transition feel manageable.
The Conversation
Elena: As a relocation company, everything we do is built around one goal — making life easier for people who’ve just moved to a new country. We’re a local team with a local office here in Portugal, and we specialize only in Portugal. Our services cover residency and citizenship solutions, visa and residence permit support, tax advising — including helping clients reduce their global income tax, in some cases close to zero, through Portugal’s special tax regime — and help with housing searches and mortgages, which currently run around four to five percent for foreigners. And then, of course, full settling-in support and guidance for cultural integration.
That’s actually why we invited you today. Having reliable food delivery for the first few months can help people keep the same energy and habits they had before the move, at a time when everything else feels unfamiliar.
I’d love to hear your take — from your own relocation experience, what actually helps people free up time for the people they love?
Alex: If I had to add something beyond food delivery, it comes back to planning. What am I cooking next week? What do I want to eat without going out? Planning, shopping, cooking, cleaning — that’s hours every single day. And it’s not just my opinion; our clients tell us the same thing. They’re genuinely happier once they have more time for themselves, their families, and their work.
Elena: That matches exactly what I’d tell our clients, too. My advice usually comes down to three things: plan everything early so you’re not scrambling at the last minute, let relocation services handle the parts that don’t need to be your problem — so you can focus on actually settling into your new home — and use meal delivery to take one more thing off your plate.
And honestly, I can recommend RelyOn Relocation with full confidence here, because going through all of this alone can be genuinely exhausting. Even as Europeans, with an easier legal path, it was still a lot. One small example — just importing our car took over fourteen real hours, across four or five separate visits, before it was done.
Alex: That’s exactly the point I always make: you’re better off earning money doing what you’re actually good at, and paying someone else to handle what you’re not. It reduces so much stress.
Elena: Completely agree. Let’s open it up — do either of you have questions about food delivery or relocation support? We’d love to answer them live.
[A few minutes pass without questions from viewers.]
Elena: While we wait, I do have one for you, Alex — do you offer anything for people who want to try the service before committing?
Alex: Yes. You can always browse the online shop to get a feel for what’s available, and we now offer trial days for each program, which helps people decide. Every subscription also comes with a discount of ten to fifteen percent.
Elena: That’s a great way to ease into it, because once you experience it, it’s hard to go back to the old routine — thinking about what to buy, then cooking, then cleaning up.
There’s one more thing worth mentioning: the quality. You use the same ingredients Michelin-star restaurants use — organic products from local farmers, good olive oil, fish straight from the sea, and meat from farms in Alentejo and further north, where the animals actually roam free. You can taste the difference. And compared to a simple lunch in an average Portuguese café, which can easily run you thirteen euros, your pricing at 22 or 36 euros a day for full coverage is genuinely affordable.
Alex: Exactly — 22 euros for three courses, 36 for four items: two main courses, breakfast, and two protein balls that easily cover the afternoon.
And I’ll say this myself: if you’re moving to Portugal, or already here, working with a relocation company like RelyOn genuinely makes your life simpler. We went through the process ourselves without any support, and looking back, we’d have done it very differently.
Elena: I’ve actually never asked you this on camera — where did you relocate from, and how long have you been here?
Alex: I’m German, Katalin is Hungarian — we met in Germany and moved to Portugal from Vienna, seven years ago now. Everything felt smooth in the planning stages, but once we arrived, there was a lot to handle: the NIF number, social security, importing the car, finding a school since we have a big family.
Elena: Seven years really does make a difference. Back then, things were simpler — there weren’t the same restrictions on immigration to Portugal that exist now. It wasn’t just that you had European passports, which certainly helped; the whole process itself was easier across the board.
Alex: I hear that a lot, actually — from clients, and from people we know personally.
Elena: One last question — why Portugal specifically, for you and Katalin?
Alex: It was really a lifestyle decision. I surf, so we wanted to be close to the sea and back in Europe after living in Asia for a while. Portugal barely has a winter, comparatively — that mattered a lot to both of us.
Elena: I chose Portugal for very similar reasons — over 300 days of sunshine a year, and being close to the ocean. I came from a place where we sometimes went six months without real sunlight. I even used a light-therapy alarm clock for a while, one that simulates sunrise before it rings, just to get through the winters. At some point I realized I was planning entire trips just to “catch the sun,” and I decided to change that permanently instead.
Beyond the sunshine, I think safety matters too — you can walk around at night here and genuinely feel secure, which wasn’t the case everywhere I lived before. And the food is different in a way that’s hard to explain until you experience it — even organic produce elsewhere doesn’t taste the same as fruit and vegetables here. I really believe what you eat and drink shapes how much energy you have, especially as you get a bit older and have to be more intentional about it.
Alex: That connects to something I mentioned earlier about sourdough, actually — it’s popular again because the fermentation process breaks down gluten in a way our bodies can’t do on their own, which is part of why people feel better eating it.
To give you a real example: yesterday I was up at 3:30 in the morning, played padel from 5:30 to 7, and was still full of energy by the time I went to bed around 11 — no nap needed. A lot of that comes down to eating well and cutting back on sugar, aside from what’s naturally in fruit.
Elena: That’s exactly it. When I eat less well for a stretch — too much bread, not enough protein — I feel it immediately. I need more sleep, and I don’t wake up with the same energy. It’s something that gets more noticeable with age, and I think that’s why so many public figures now openly talk about the habits behind their success — diet, sleep, movement. It all connects.
Closing
Relocation is rarely just about paperwork. It’s about protecting the energy, time, and routines that let you actually build a life in a new place — and that often means being willing to delegate the parts you don’t need to handle yourself, whether that’s food, legal processes, or housing.
Elena and Alex’s conversation is a reminder that the small, practical decisions — a meal subscription, professional support for residency and taxes, or simply choosing where to live based on how you actually want to feel day to day — add up to something bigger: a life that feels sustainable, not just survivable.
RelyOn Relocation® (AMI 24842) offers full relocation support in Portugal, from residency, citizenship, and tax structuring to housing and cultural integration. If you’re planning a move to Portugal, professional preparation can make the process significantly calmer and more structured. Book a consultation to discuss your situation and explore the most suitable pathway.
You can find Nourish & Nosh at @nourishandnosh.pt and follow more relocation stories at @relyonrelocation and @elenabkvts.
