Many thanks for your great post! Not that it might apply to me, not many people in Poland can afford living in Portugal, but it's a great account of what it really means now to be a citizen of a European country. I think one should make a comparison of what life was like in a communist system and in present day Europe. You would be surprised to find so many similarities.
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Quite possibly, we're probably sliding towards that, especially with the recent increase in state surveillance due to the pandemic.
Surveillence is one thing, but communist state was not in practice as omnipotent as in Orwell's 1984. We are certainly much better surveilled now. The communist state did not have means to spy on everyone that's why creating of the atmosphere of fear was crucial. But everyone was at all times at the mercy of beaurocrats of all levels that one had to deal with in variuous life situations. And even though there was some sort of "law" or internal regulations their freedom to do what they wanted to was enormous.