The finer things

César Gonçalves is a Customer Service Assistant at Ramsden International - having relocated to Grimsby to be with his girlfriend, Ana Santo, who is a radiographer at Grimsby’s Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital. The couple are from Portugal originally and are both in their mid-20s.

We’re both from Porto in the north of Portugal but Ana moved here in January 2015 when she was recruited as a radiographer for Grimsby’s local hospital at an NHS recruitment fair in Portugal. I followed in May 2015 and was offered a job at Ramsden International, a speciality wholesale exporter of British groceries, within a few days of arriving.

We live on Grosvenor Crescent in the heart of Grimsby and are right in the centre of everything. It’s a nice place to live and a great place to start our new life in the UK.

Although coming to the UK is a huge leap for us, the relocation has been the best thing that has happened to us and our careers. We both have post-graduate degrees, so we decided to move to the UK to be able to use our qualifications and have better job security. Unfortunately, unemployment is at a record high in Porto, and if there are jobs the wages are incredibly low, so our career prospects are much better over here. As well-qualified professionals we’re proud to put our skills to good use in Grimsby – particularly as there is a local and national shortage in medical staff.

We’ve settled in well, which was helped by the hospital setting up a welcoming committee who arranged day trips around the local area for all the medical professionals who’d relocated from Portugal. Lots of partners from the hospital have relocated here from Portugal and Spain so there’s a fairly large expat group of us which helps settling in even easier. We have formed friendships with expats as well as locals, and the transition has been a lot easier than we both expected. Since arriving, we’ve been part of a Cleethorpes bowling night and I’ve joined a fivea-side Portuguese football team that plays many friendlies with the Grimsby team.

We’re also enjoying the high standard of living and being able to afford to eat out and enjoy day trips. We love living in a nice quiet area with a beautiful landscape, yet we’re very close to the big cities in the North. Not many people can say they are so close to the ocean, woods and countryside – all within 10 minutes’ travel.

We are planning on staying in the Lincolnshire area indefinitely and intend to buy our own home once we can apply for residency in three years’ time. We’d definitely recommend other expats to relocate to this area as newcomers are made to feel so welcome, and it’s a lovely place with easy access to airports, motorways and the ferries.

CéSAR AND ANA’S TOp THREE THINgS TO DO

1 Kitesurfing on Cleethorpes’ beach. It’s a dream come true as we could never afford to kitesurf in Portugal!

2 Visiting the Donna Nook National Reserve to see the grey seals.

3 Day trips to historic cities of York, Lincoln and Louth.

TOp THREE LOCAL RESTAuRANTS

1 Steels Corner House Restaurant in Cleethorpes – we love their fish and chips!

2 Valerie’s Italian Restaurant on Cleethorpes’ promenade – eating while overlooking the sea often reminds us of Portugal.

3 Riverhead Coffee – an independent coffee shop in the heart of Grimsby. Their coffee is the best for miles around!