14 episodes
What if you didn't have to choose between comfort, privacy, community and a deeper connection to nature?
In this episode, Catherine and Mark explore the different ways people are building a life on Madeira — from the traditional Madeiran home, often surrounded by family land and crops, to new ways of thinking about how we live together.
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Could Madeira actually become a real-life Bitcoin hub?
Marília and Charlie, the new directors of FREE Madeira, tell us how they came to the island, what FREE Madeira and Bitcoin Atlantis are, which places already accept Bitcoin, and whether you could realistically live on it here day to day.
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What does it actually take to keep a community alive on Madeira for six years?
Dina is back for round two: why she swapped “digital nomad” for “remote worker”, 100+ residency applications, around 40 members who settled in Machico, losing the workspace at the fort, and her dream of a real community hub.
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What's it like to start a business on an island where half the shops don't even have a website?
Running a business in the Netherlands and Switzerland versus Madeira: the Chamber of Commerce in Funchal, tax rules that can work in your favour when your clients are abroad, and the gaps and opportunities we've spotted on the island.
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What happens once the novelty of island life fades and Madeira just becomes… home?
A live episode comparing the expectations we each brought: the different types of expats, why the 2–3 year mark brings a gut-check, “island fever”, and getting things done in a slower local system.
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Ever wondered why people park on roundabouts here?
Everything car-related on Madeira: local rental companies versus airport chains, insurance, high and low season, steep one-lane roads, what the honking and flashing means, parking, and how far to trust Google Maps.
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What did Madeira look like before the highways, the internet and the tourists showed up?
Tomé, a local Madeiran and founder of Jaca Hostel in Porto da Cruz, takes us back to a childhood without phones, his first internet connection and mobile phone, the wave of arrivals after COVID, and raising his son in a changed Madeira.
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Is the way we're raising children actually working?
Your questions on public transport, biking and international schools, then raising children here: a school system built for obedience, the missing “father community”, and families fighting to homeschool.
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Our first-ever guest: Dina, founder of the Remote East Coasters community.
Moving from South Africa with Madeiran roots, a lonely first year, and how that loneliness became a community of over 660 people, with friendships, business partners and even spouses along the way.
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We're back after a long summer break, and this time we're tackling community.
Your questions on rental deposits, shipping and Amazon, then the real topic: how open Madeira felt from week one, and why you don't have to build a community here, just join the one that's already there.
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Buying property on Madeira rarely goes the way the paperwork suggests.
A “new build” that took ten years, land still being farmed two days before closing, Portugal's notary process, why you want a lawyer, and why showing up in person beats any email.
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Finding a place to live on Madeira rarely works the way you'd expect.
Four rentals in seven years, Facebook groups and word of mouth, real monthly rents, the “banana line” that decides whether your house stays warm, and why renting above budget for a while can pay off.
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Part 2 of how we each found our way to Madeira: Catherine's turn.
She'd never visited before moving from Switzerland to mainland Portugal in 2017. Arriving by ferry months before COVID, she found a place that felt like home, halfway between the Swiss and Guyanese cultures she grew up between.
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Part 1 of how we each found our way to Madeira, starting with Mark.
From a Bitcoin conference in Amsterdam to a pandemic, scouting the island in ten days, buying before he'd unpacked, and why an autonomous Atlantic island felt safer than anywhere else in Europe.
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A new episode every other Friday at 6pm Madeira time. Get it in your inbox, or follow along on YouTube or Spotify.