All of this is true and correct, and all would-be runaways should read it. I did this when I was younger, leaving UK for Switzerland, then moving to US. If I did this later in life I would be seriously destabilized by the fluidity of my resident status, whereas in my twenties I didn't need long term stability. I speak French, so my circle of friends was intentionally broader than the brits and Americans at work and in my cute Swiss city of Neuchâtel. Honestly, having a social life limited to a few English speaking friends would suffocate me.

Moving to another country is for the bold and the carefree, or the desperate fleeing violence, not for people wishing to relax and grow tomatoes in Portugal.