jimwhite5963

I have limited time off from work this year - and planning a focused trip in 2024. I am life planning - over next 5 years to move and live outside of united states. With this november 2023 trip - i have a simple goal to see as much as possible- not vacation- in order to get a broad feel and choose a return extended stay. Help - so is flying into rome - one way car rental - drive to florence - 2-3 days drive through tuscany. Train to provence - avignon - one way car rental- through southwest france to san sebastian - 3-4 days.
??? then FLY? or train - to PORTO- One way car rental - down to algarve - 3-4 days . fly back to usa -LISBON .

im interested in the 20-30-40 minute areas from cities and coast more affordable areas .....
i know this is alot but really need to pull it off - and get this dream moving.. thanks!! really could use help. jim

bilboburgler

Do you have any grandparent rights to settle in any of these countries or any language skills that might make it easier? If so, which ones. Obviously citizenship of an EU nation would help instead.

You might find it cheaper to look down the Spanish east coast and fly from Barcelona to Portugal rather than San S

Travel_Nerd

You are not going to get a "feel" of an area by covering 4 countries in 2 weeks. All the traveling you are proposing is a tourist itinerary (and too much of one at that) than one for you to make extended plans with. Pick ONE area. Seriously. Even 2 weeks in one area is not going to necessarily give you to "vibe" you are seeking, it is just too short.

janisj

Ditto ^^^

Welcome to Fodors, Unfortunately, your plan has you getting a far better idea of trains, planes, high speed highways, car rental agencies -- you'd have almost no time to catch any 'vibes' anywhere. Maybe do just a bit of Italy and a bit of France . . . OR . . . a few places in Spain & Portugal.

Michael

One of the Tuesdays of those two weeks must be spent in Belgium.

Sassafrass

You won’t get “vibes” of places in Europe from inside a car on a highway or from out of train windows. You might suggest what kind of vibes you seek and get a bit of feedback on places that might offer them. Narrow the search before trying to cover so much ground. Then concentrate on “trying out” three or four places, staying in each a few days and exploring.

tomboy

michaelpianko

The other repliers are all right.

Just pick one country. Put together an approximate day-by-day listing at least one or more major museum or monument or activity per day. If you want I can post or send my written itineraries for Spain and Italy. If you stay in a place, like an apartment, where you have access to a kitchen, and if you buy some of your own groceries instead of eating only in restaurants, you might mildly get a feeling of living in the country. I spent 13 nights in Italy, 13 nights in Spain, 7 nights in the Netherlands, 5 nights in Belgium, 13 nights in Greece. Your proposed train, plane, and car trips will not give you a sense of what it would be like to live in Italy, France, Spain, or Portugal.

nonconformist2

It might be sensible to start by narrowing down which countries you would find easiest to get a work visa in.

shelemm

I re-watched that movie not long ago, and it's still a gem.

Traveler_Nick

Is there a reason you picked those? I don't see an obvious rhyme. If you're on a budget heading to Florence make little sense. Plenty of cheaper properties around Rome.

If the OP needs a work visa they can likely stop planning now. Short of getting transferred by a company or being a footballer I doubt a work visa is happening.