
Laura Marnati
Member
Italian citizen
Forum posts
3
About me
Italian
Lives in Milano, Lombardia
Speaks English, French, Portuguese
Registration: 04 January 2020
Information translated from this page
About
I was born in the province of Pavia, but since I was 20 I have always lived in Milan. I worked in my husband's company and retired as soon as I could. I have almost always accompanied my husband on his long business - and holiday - trips around the world. Tired of working hard and travelling, years ago we started looking for a safe and peaceful country in which we could retreat for most of the year, without however leaving our residence in Milan.
Portugal was the country a few hours' flight from Milan that caught our attention. Safety, pleasant climate, good food, decent services and excellent welcome for foreigners.
We began to explore and live in various regions of Portugal: Algarve (Lagos, Alvor, Carvoeiro and Sagres) and Lisbon.
For various reasons we eventually settled in Setubal. We have not taken up residence in Portugal even though we spend 7-8 months a year there. Unfortunately, all that glitters is not gold and we also had some bitter surprises in Setubal. Periodically the air throughout the region is tainted by a nauseating stench that lasts 2 or 3 days. We attributed the smell to the bay water, but that wasn't the case. After the third or fourth time the problem occurred, my husband began to suffer from strange problems with his eyes always being red, increasingly serious breathing problems, lack of appetite, headaches, nausea, etc.
We turned to a doctor in Lisbon who told us that the origin of the ailments was to be found in the emissions of hydrogen sulphide, a by-product of the processing of one of the largest paper mills in the world which is located in the industrial area of ​​Setubal.
He advised us not to stay in Setubal because there is no solution to the problem and the symptoms can only get worse. We thus discovered that respiratory diseases are widespread in Setubal, especially in children who will then suffer from them for their entire lives. The advice I can give to those who want to move to Setubal is to think about it very carefully because it seems like reliving the drama of Taranto with Ilva which poisoned a beautiful city.
We are considering moving to Faro in the Algarve, but it seems difficult to find good accommodation.
Interests: travel, financial investments, reading, gastronomy
Occupation
I am Retired.
My expat journey


Città metropolitana di Milano, Lombardy, Italy