TouristTrap

Yup, the Algarve is extremely expensive compared to the rest of the country. I still think a 3 month 'trek' would be your best bet.

gedscottish

I live in the north which is very cheap compared to the Algarve, I eat my lunch and dinner out nearly every day, here is an example of my lunch...
................Plate of the day(which is a large serving) 2.50 euros
.................Qtr. litre of wine 1.20 euros
..................expresso coffee with a splash of whiskey .50 cents

Dinner can be bought for as cheap,although at weekends I goto an "expensive" one which is about 10 euros per head(with buckets of local wine)
This is why we do not cook at home very often!

On the buying an old ruin thing...I have heard planning permission can be more complex with these than building a new house,although I'm not 100% but this would explain why there is many nice ruins here and why so many people build new houses when there is many much nicer ruins. We are building a new house at the moment but i wish I had looked into rebuilding an old house as there is so many here with character!
Good luck and I hope you enjoy life here as much is I do here in the north!! Ged

KarenE

Hi,
my family are planning on moving to the Algarve next year. I was wandering if you knew anything about schools or had any replies from people who may know.

Many thanks


karen

Cleri

Hi Ged exactly, a dish of the day where I live is between 7 and 9 €,that is the difference.
Whereabouts do you live?
CG

KarenE

Thanks for replying. We are planning to move to the Algarve, not sure exactly where yet, my partner is moving out first, we will follow later when we have a house etc.

Just wandered if you knew anything about schools or know anyone who has moved to Portugal and put their children in loal schools.

Thanks

Karen

Cleri

Hi Karen
Sorry I know nothing about the schools,but can I suggest you go to this forum,there are loads of threads on there that Im sure you will find useful
www.expatfocus.com
Good Luck
CG

Nomad_H

Thanks Cleri I'll persue all avenues and I'm grateful for your help.
One of these days I'll fix your laptop for free.
Cheers,
Nomad

Nomad_H

Thankyou Ged I think your info is very useful to me because my main concern is living within a budget to start with and then I can very likely contract myself out as a consultant or repair computers on callout or whatever to supplement my income. The ruin can be renovated anytime I've roughed it before. The mood I'm in now I'd rather live in a ruin where you are than a penthouse here.

Anyway many thanks for your comments.

Cheers

Nomad

karunia

Nomad,
maybe I can give you an extra bit of info - not regarding living in Portugal, although I do have relatives who live there, I am now living in France myself. You asked how far can your British pension get you. Well I've just heard some figures on the news, the average French pension these days is 800 euros per month...which is not much at all! Admittedly, pensioneers are getting very agitated over this and claim they can't live on that.
I can see from your postings that you are someone who knows how to live well AND frugally at the same time. I have found food in Portugal to be healthy and cheap, and it is well to remember that there must be HUGE variations on this discussion forum, about what people's idea of living cheap might be. Here in France I reckon I am spending 50 euros per person per week on food and drink... but I can say , modesty aside, that I'm the queen of living cheaply and well. It just takes more time and labour to organise it.
And that's because I don't have to cater for a family and for demanding children. Good luck with your project, I hope you are aiming for a part of Portugal which is fire-free.

Nomad_H

Hello Karunia, Nice to read your views.
I never skimp on food but on the other hand I dont waste it and I pride myself on being a good cook. I may be a bit heavy- handed on garlic and hot spices sometimes, but I enjoy the whole scene, and a glass of wine with the cooking definitely improves my creativity.You can ask my Siamese cats they are my biggest critics but they definitely approve of my culinary efforts. Cooking for onesself for me is both enjoyable and economical but its nice to have the option to eat out for a bargain price as Ged does each day.
I might end up with just a roof and a stove in a field, maybe that is my concept of happiness. It certainly isnt the pursuit of money or materialistic things.
Anyway I digress. Thanks once again. You are all super people on this forum.

Best regards

Nomad

TouristTrap

I think you'll have a blast over there

Now I'm hungry for some good Port. food. The produce/meats here are pathetic and tasteless (one thing all Brit expats complain about too!), so no matter if you cook it exactly like you would there, it doesn't taste the same.

I see you like your 'bica com um cheirinho'....heehee....

Cleri

One of the first things we noticed in Portugal,was how much tastier everything is,meat and veg,fab,much better than in Uk where everything is graded etc etc.

Thanks Nomad,Its not a laptop,but I appreciate the offer,I will seek you out when the time comes

Nomad_H

My mate is a Chef in Cape Town. His name is Joacquim and when I sat down for lunch which he had made, he would invariably join me. I would order something like Bachalhau or Trinchado, with this you would get fresh portuguese bread and the inevitable carafe of red wine. He would carry his plate over and it would support 2 deep fried Portuguese sardines or 2 or 3 Langostines (Prawns) which he would eat with rolls and wash down with red wine. Never wwould there be any hurry.
Now heres the thing! I learned how to enjoy a meal from him. The English throw a meal down their throat and run. With the Portuguese. and I ate with a few of them - its a love affair; it's savoured; it's slow; you are living life as it should be lived. Perhaps there's portji blood in me - but I love it.
So as I sit here in England Tourist Trap I can empathise with you because the English dont know what food is either - fish & chips; pie & chips; cholestorol & chips and finally heart attack & chips. Every Portuguese restaurant, I ever went to, served salad & olive oil & vinegar without one ordering it. Point made!!
Eat your heart out Tourist Trap - go to Macdonalds.
Only kidding.

Best regards old mate,

Nomad

gedscottish

I have to agree with clergio, I was surprised to read what tourist trap wrote about the food, i know they say the food is better here in the north but I find it hard to grasp that it would be terrible elsewhere in Portugal. When I get visitors they all love the meat(although i only eat white meat so I dont know), could it be different here since its greener lad I do not know?!!
Clerigo I live in Amarante its between Vila real and Porto, have you been in this area? Ged

Cleri

Hi ged
Not yet but that is one of the areas we are going to explore,trying desperatley to sell our house here in Algarve,its way too expensive for us,and has been a big learning curve,dont want to look too seriously until we have interest in our house,otherwise I will probably find the house of my dreams and be devastated that I cant buy it!!!
Keep fingers crossed!!
CG