trane22

I prefer France...best thing I ever did get onto the FBR and then my Irish PP..i was lucky did it a good while ago and took 9 months...Ive been to Porto, though it was a bit Meloncoly ..luved Nantes

Pilou

We lived in the Algarve the last 5 years. Before the Algarve we lived in France as Dutch expats. In January 2022 we came back to France.
The main reasons: The far better health care in France and the language.
The supermarket price in PT is like in France.
Petrol/ gas is the same
Income taxes in PT are much higher than in France.
Real estate prices in the Algarve are ..........over the top compared with the SW of France.

We have chosen the SW of France, between the Pyrenees and the Ocean. When you hike, everything is green in this area. When we hike in the Algarve the nature has no colour for 7/8 months out of 12. We like an area where it rains from time to time and where it is very mild. We want to have a veggie garden, own fruits and no risk of wood fires.

Thanks to the 5 years in the Algarve we learned what is important for us.

Red Eric

bicabica

I'm a bit late to this thread as I only just popped over to the French forum for something else and saw your post. You've had a lot of good advice and opinions but I thought I'd add my two penny'th as I can identify with at least some of your issues.

I don't know anything about work visas but I know about living in the eastern Algarve. For many years in the UK I harboured ideas about moving to France. I had studied French on and off for many years and even got qualifications through the Institute of Linguist so France was a natural choice for me. I even bought a house in central France and as a family we spent many long holidays there. But my partner was not keen to live permanently in France. For various reasons we found ourselves spending time in Portugal. Initially to get a bit of winter sunshine but as time went on we found ourselves spending more time in Portugal than the UK.

There is much more to Portugal than good weather - which incidentally can be extremely hot during the summer months. We began to appreciate the Portuguese people and their way of life and it has to be said that, insofar as one can identify national traits, we found the Portuguese welcoming of "estrangeiros" more so than the French and certainly more so than the British. Day to day living is quite cheap here: for a meal in a good restaurant we reckon to pay half than we would in the UK (and probably in France) and in local Portuguese restaurants away from tourist areas you can by a full lunch (with wine, coffee, dessert) for about 12 euros a head. Of course like everywhere things are getting more expensive. Petrol is more expensive in Portugal than many EU countries and cars (even secondhand cars) are eye-wateringly expensive (it's the illegal imposition of tax that does it).

And as for language, southern Portugal is in many ways almost bilingual. There is even a school in western Algarve which teaches Portuguese children half through the medium of English and half in Portugues. Regrettably my Portuguese skills are nowhere near as good as my ability to speak French but it is rarely a problem. Most shopkeepers, especially younger ones, speak English. Some older Portuguese people speak French as there was a lot of migration from Portugal to France during the seventies and I have found that quite useful in the past. And despite the almost eastern European sound of the Portuguese language it has many similarities to French in terms of syntax and grammar. The situations where lack of Portuguese can sometimes be a problem are dealing with bureaucracy and, oddly, dealing with doctors and dentists. But the Portuguese often go out of their way to make life as easy as possible for immigrants.

Portugal is often cited as the third safest country in the world after Iceland and New Zealand and in recent years it has become a popular place for many nationalities attracted by not only the weather but tax incentives which can save people a lot of money. But that is changing as Portugal is beginning to realise that it no longer needs to attract incomers through tax incentives and, it has to be said, that some other countries aren't happy with these incentives. Sweden, for example, recently withdrew from its double taxation agreement with Portugal to help reduce the flow of funds from Sweden to Portugal.

The Algarve is very international which may or may not be attractive to immigrants looking to "live the dream" but I love it. I belong to a small charitable organisation which has 12 different nationalities between its 25 members. And of course Algarve is very attractive to tourists, both international and Portuguese. Most tourists go to western Algarve, Albufeira, Lagos, Vilamoura etc. as that is where all the tour operators take them, but you only have to go a few kilometres inland and it is quite different. Eastern Algarve is generally very pretty but less touristic. There are only four large towns east of Faro: the up and coming Olhão, the beautiful Tavira on the river Gilão, the lovely sounding but rather ugly Monte Gordo, and the quaint Vila Real de Santo António on the river Guadiana which separates Portugal from Spain.

All my life I wanted to live in France but I have to say that I am pleased we settled on Portugal. In many ways it is easier living than France. After 5 years I'm still loving it.

And Portuguese wine is fantastic!