iluvsunshine

Hi, I am a postal virgin so please bear with me!

My family & I are planning to move to the algarve within the next 2 years. We have a 2 1/2 year old son who will be going to a portuguese school. We've been holidaying in the algarve for many years & have friends who have moved to aljezur. my dad is also retiring to the algarve next december. We are in the fortunate position to own 2 properties in the UK, one of which will be kept on at home & used as a pension.

You guys are such a wealth of knowledge & my research starts here so any advice would be greatly appreciated.

We are in our early 30s so will need to make a living at something, which I know isnt going to be easy. My initial thoughts are to buy a villa with an annexe we can rent out as a holiday let which will provide some source of income. Also, aside from learning portuguese I am going to get a TEFL certificate & my husband who at present works building roads/motorways is going to take a course in plastering/tiling. Have any of you any experience in looking for work in the algarve? which areas are best to find work? And are there any other plans we could be making/qualifications we could be getting now while in the UK that might help us?

Huge thanks if you've got this far in reading my post, all help & advice greatly appreciated.

Cheers!

xxx

crispy

Hi iluvsunshine

Our resident oracle is away house hunting at the moment but she should be back sprouting fountains of knowledge any day now.

In her absence I would like to welcome you to PT forum, I only just qualify to post here as I am in the process of selling up in Spain and moving to PT some time soon I hope.

Also I am in the unfortunate position that I can not really answer your questions as I am retired so no need to know about working in PT also the only thing I know about the Algarve is the few peeps I know that live there are thinking of moving further in land.

So I can't help you but as I said before welcome and clerigogirl will be home soon.

Mattiespeople

Hi there
We live in Vale Da Telha close to Aljezur. Property good value but official jobs v rare. Lots of early retired people do Garden, Pool, Property maintenance in spare time. I'd say come out and look for jobs before you buy - get the 1-2-3 paper. You may be better suited to a more commercial area with more job ops. Good Luck

Cleri

Cleri

Welcome to the forum from me too
As your friends will no doubt tell you,work around here is non existent.Agree with matties,lots of peeps here clean villas,look after pools and gardens,thats about it really.
Wages are awful,I helped my friend out in her coffee shop a couple of weeks ago,she pays her girl who helps at weekends 3.50 euros per hour.
Most ex pats seem to agree that you have to work for yourself to make a decent living.
Villa with apartment would be a good idea,but it will depend where you live as to how many months/weeks you will get per year.
Also have a friend who is a plumber,he has been here a year with not much work,he has now managed to start in Lagos and is quite busy,but he had no income for a year.The local builders around here wouldnt employ him because he wasnt Portuguese,he doesnt speak the language very well,and they just cant be bothered with people they cant communicate with.
The best chance you have of doing anything over here is to become fluent in the lingo. and it aint easy!!!!!!:curse:
Love Cleri x

iluvsunshine

Thank you very much, i think the best kind of research is by drawing on others experiences. I have been trawling the net for what seems like years!

I think we have possibly narrowed our area down to lagos/portimao or ohlao/tavira. Are these areas popular with expats also? I am trawling through the papers online (the news/123& the resident is sent over for us!) to learn as much as I can.

Hopefully if we give ourselves a good year or two to learn the lingo & do our homework we can make a decent living. I know we'll never be rich but just want to provide a safe, stable upbringing for our family. Its a very scary thought - as I am pretty organised person (well, most of the time!) its scary to think of upping sticks & moving where we have no steady income. I am one of those with eternally itchy feet & we have moved around before - I lived in greece for a few years when I was 19-21 & we moved from Scotland to Yorkshire 5 years ago......all easier when you've no responsibilities or family to consider! I cant wait though!

If anyone living in the algarve has noticed a distinct lack of a certain service or other where there may be a niche I'd be delighted to hear of it.

Thank you very much for your comments so far & its lovely to meet you, I hope to be sticking around.

xxx

TaviraTrog

Speaking personally I would not hesitate to recommend your last option. If you check the other threads you will see there are quite a few expats in Tavira and they all seem to think it's great. But then they would, wouldn't they?

Cleri

I have mentioned this before somewhere,but here where I live,which is probably 40 mins drive to civilisation,there is a distinct lack of english hairdressers.
Personally I drive to Lagos and go to a good Portuguese one,but loads of ex pat ladies here either wont or cant drive,and they are crying out for someone local.
An english friend of mine has now filled the niche,and is doing very well.
Just a thought

iluvsunshine

Thanks cleri,

I had picked up on that from reading the threads....wish I was a hairdresser! Unfortunately I dont think I'd be a very good one I cut my husband & kid's hair but I dont think anyone else would let me near them with a pair of scissors!

What about childminders? Dog kennels? Car wash? Are there many or is there a demand for that service especially around lagos or tavira areas?

Any more ideas, keep them coming.

xxxx

Tavira-Dream

cleri re: the hairdressing comment, as you know I'm a hairdresser and am definitely thinking of going mobile over there (not algarve, more central) would there be any law stopping me or would I have to translate my quals which i didnt get in the UK ?

Cleri

If you are mobile I would presume that you dont need to do anything.
You are an EU citizen and therefore free to work in any member country.

Cleri

Car wash no,you wanna see the state of the cars here,they are not the pride and joys here like in Uk.
Dog kennels yes,good idea,we use an english lady near Lagos,she does it at home and only has room for maybe 5 at a time.The brits need other brits to look after their dogs,no disrespect to the Portuguese but many of them dont treat dogs like we would.That is really worth looking into,buy a place with a bit of land and hey prestoword of mouth will soon get around,its one of the first things I have got to research in my new area.I have been told there is only a dogsitting service near me,no kennels but Im sure I will find something

Tavira-Dream

well I can always give it a try, I dont see any problem either as long as I do my tax returns correctly

Saz1

Hi Iluvsunshine

We have just returned from our escondidinho (sp!) in Tavira and I recall reading something in the paper about there not being enough places for primary/pre school children in many of the schools. I dont know whether this was just in the Algarve or all over Portugal (and my Portuguese isnt good enough to have got the jist of the full story!). It might be a good idea to check it out though as it could sway your decision as where you end up. And of course, my lingo is so naff I could of got the complete end of the stick! I am sure that someone will know more though and can confirm or add to this.

Portugal is great, we love it and I am sure you and your family will too!

Saz1

Dishin'upDigital

Yes, I too have heard of families having difficulties finding nursery places here in Tavira. Not having children myself, I've never paid much attention though. There is however a new international (OK, British!) school here in Tavira- small at the moment, but will undoubtedly grow- E.A.S.T.- East Algarve School of Tavira. I think they currently cater for 5 ~ 14 year olds. Worth a look at their website???