Cleri

You will only pay tax once.
If its a government pension,it will be taxed in Uk (ours is)
If its not,you can opt to pay tax on it here.
You must go to finances,ask for a tax return,or you can do it online.
They will want proof of income,the only sticky is that their tax year is January to January,and its difficult to get Uk info on money that isnt April to April.
Anyway,Im guessing that yours is a forces pension,so it will be taxed in Uk only.

derbyflan

Phew! That's a relief! Unfortunately not a tax relief but hey-hoy! And yes it's a forces pension for which good old Gordy Brown or whomever replaces him in 2 years time will want to get their hands on.

Thanks for that Cleri. On a different note, how did you learn to pick up the basics of the language? Did you take a course before you left the UK or are you self-taught?

Cleri

I knew NOTHING when I came.
I am by no means fluent!!! and dont think I ever will be,its a very very difficult language.
I mix with Portuguese,as I said,and manage to have conversations with the non english speaking ones,somehow!!! ( a lot of gesticulating helps )
You will find it easier when you are actually here.
We know most words,its putting a sentence together that is the hard bit.We understand far more than we can speak.Its NOT easy.
Ged (forum member) is living with his Portuguese girlfriend here,and even he cant get to grips with it.
And of course,the older you are,the more difficult it gets
There is no easy answer,I know people who have had lessons for 3 years and still cant speak it.
I will leave you with that comforting thought

derbyflan

Bah! Just when you were getting my hopes up

Ah well, nothing ventured and all that...

In my experience, whenever I'm abroad and at least try and have a go all I've ever got were smiles and assistance. I'm sure it'll be the same there.

Miserable weather here today. Another Sunday spent dreading going to work tomorrow. Some people have said "but won't you get bored not working when you move abroad?". Simple answer is NO!

How do you spend your days over there? I imagine we'll get up around 8.30, have breakfast and walk the doggies on the beach and then just basically do little shops for food at the markets and nose around the towns and villages nearby. No more M25 traffic jams. No more scraping ice off the car. No more being given rush jobs at work with unrealistic deadlines to meet.

I can't bloody wait

I reckon I'll be getting around 1,100 euros a month (net) pension-wise and should have a tidy nest-egg tucked away with mortgage free-living. D'ya reckon that'll be enough for two adults and two Boxers (and possibly an inherited cat)?

Cleri

Yep you will survive on that
Especially if you go further north,but even if not,you will be ok.

People often ask me if i get bored......NO NEVER
I worked for 30 years and think I deserve not to now,and am lucky enough to survive (just) on the money we have.
Everything here is not materialistic,which i love,when I think about the money I used to spend on clothes,shoes etc etc........ never give them a thought now,Im still wearing stuff I brought with me!!!! that would be unheard of in Uk!!!
I do lots of cooking,and really enjoy it now I have time,we live much healthier.
We take the boxers out for walks,I go shopping for food,sometimes venture to the big boys for basics,I meet friends for coffee/beer depending on the time of day,people drop by.....EVERYONE has time........... thats the huge difference,we are invited at short notice to go and eat with the local fisherman for instance,Ok we drop everything and go,there is always tomorrow.I read quite a lot,and also clean the house,washing ironing,blimey I dont know how I had time to go to work before

derbyflan

I actually messed up the exchange there. I should have around 1400 euros a month which of course, is even better!

I want your life cleri

I can't magine how every day feeling like a Saturday must be like!!

Cleri

Its bloody fab!

Cleri

Ooo and i grow my own veg too!!!!!
My old friends in Uk think I have had a head transplant

derbyflan

Mrs Flan fancies having a bash at growing her own veggies too.

TouristTrap

The very best way to eat....out of your own garden!

I miss this bit like crazy :

People here are very antisocial IMO. You have to plan a month in advance to meet someone and often it is to meet at a restaurant for dinner, for a quick meal and off you go, not seeing them again for a few more weeks/months.

I miss the spontaneity.

Cleri

Know what you mean TT
Thats what I love about life over here,it takes some getting used to,for us.........but its the best way

AndyJohnson

How was your curry? We had a sit in Saturday night. Hot vindaloo with lots of chillis for starters. Wow, was suffering yesterday. LOL.

We fell in love with the Algarve, little place called Vale do Lobo. Beautiful but expensive! It's where the England soccer team trained before the World Cup last year, (didn't do them much good!).

How bout you???

derbyflan

Curry was excellent thanks. Had exactly what I said I was going to have and it sure had the desired effect - though we opted for a takeaway in the end. Thought you were unlucky on Sunday, though not as unlucky as John Terry! Walcot was outstanding in the first half.

We're far from decided where we're going to settle yet. And as it'll sadly not be for 2 years yet we'll have plenty of time to explore before making that decision. As far as I know it'll either be in the Algarve of Central

Here's one for Cleri and those that have already made the move..

We're wondering what and how much to bring with us in the way of 'hardware'. Fridges, cooker, TVs etc. Did you find it was worth selling all your wordly goods before you left and buy new/second-hand in PT or did you containerise (made-up word) the lot?

Cleri

I brought all my furniture,mainly cos it was very good quality,and I had paid alot of money for it over the years (ercol etc) so couldnt part with it.
I always think I brought everything I should have left,and left everything I should have brought
Large leccy appliances are reasonable here,the small stuff is expensive,I paid 45 euros for a kettle the other day.
If Mrs flan uses a slow cooker and veg steamer,bring those as you cant find them here.
I suppose you will have to compare the cost of shipping to replacing here,in my humble opinion,decent furniture isnt easy to find,but some would disagree with me,suppose it depends what you want/like.
We bought all our large electrical here,Ive got the silver finish stuff which is more expensive,if you go for white there are some good deals.
You can check out prices on the website for Radio Popular,they are a good leccy retailer here,or Worten.
I wish I had brought my patio heater and pressure washer sad I know
I think we paid about £3500 to move al our worldly goods,including a short period of storage,but thats getting on 3 years ago (I brought ALOT)
We brought vdeos and Dvds but bought Portuguese tvs,there is doubt about Uk ones working properly.I also brought my Stereos and computer/printer ooo and my english lamps and lights!!!!

Cleri

http://www.radiopopular.pt/
http://www.worten.pt/home.html