In the Alcobaça and Nazaré region, a new generation of young people faces the dilemma between leaving to see the world and staying in the lands where they grew up. The article from Região de Cister presents three stories that demonstrate how leaving no longer means forgetting and staying has ceased to be synonymous with lack of ambition, united in the search for purpose and affection for their roots.
Maria Helena Monteiro, 27 years old, from Nazaré, grew up torn between the desire to leave and her connection to the land. During her adolescence, the land marked her with difficult paths, leading her to wonder if that was truly her place. She chose Fashion Design for higher education but complemented her training with postgraduate degrees in photography and communication, as well as studies in personal finance and management. Today she works as a Fashion Design teacher, an independent social media manager, an event photographer, and is taking her first steps in an entrepreneurship project focused on women's empowerment, believing that one does not need to leave a city to be somebody.
Francisco Fernandes, born and raised in Alcobaça, completed his 12th year and even attended the Faculty of Letters, but realized that the path would be made through practical experience. He worked in restaurants, in private security, and conducted guided tours at the Estádio da Luz. In 2018, he emigrated to Dubai to join the cabin crew of Emirates, driven by the desire for personal growth, travel, and better financial conditions. After visiting dozens of countries, he keeps his compass pointed at the starting point, planning to return to Portugal to start a family and invest in an aviation career on Portuguese soil.
Pedro Melo, 29 years old, from Cadoiço, works in the kitchen of a restaurant in Norway, a country where he returned for the second time attracted by the salary proposal that allows him to finance his true passion: drawings and tattoos. Critical of Portuguese working reality, where he says people with and without education receive the same, he highlights the organization of the Norwegian public system. His dream is simple: to have his own house, owe nothing to anyone, and cultivate his own vegetable garden in Portugal. Although he recognizes that financially it would be smarter to stay in Norway, he states that Portugal is his home and that he will return, even knowing that he will not be able to earn as much money as there.
