Idea on where to live?
 

After a very enjoyable trip to the Minho, I had the idea of retiring in Portugal and started occasionally collecting information about living there.
However, when I went on another trip further south last year, I realised that a trip of a week or two was not enough to decide on a possible area to live in.

So I've come up with the idea of spending 3 months in the North, 3 months centrally, and 3 months in the south.

I can see that this may present some problems, for example:
1 difficulty in getting 3 month property rentals
2 bureaucracy issues in changing address frequently

I would welcome any advice on the whether or not this is a reasonable idea, and if it could be made to work.

Re: Idea on where to live?
 

If you are in the country for more than 90 days you must register residency somewhere. If you are here for more than 183 days you must register as a tax resident .
To follow your plan you need to spread it over an eighteen month or two year period - second half of one year, then do a last trip in the following year.

Depending on the time of the year you can sometimes get long term "holiday rentals" on sites such as "Homeaway". Search the properties in the areas you want to visit and check their availability calendars, those with long empty periods may negotiate .

Re: Idea on where to live?
 

You could try doing something like workaway or house-sitting.

Re: Idea on where to live?
 

I don't see any problem with that. If you're funding yourself or are retired, you can get residency (which you need to do after 90 days).

I think it's a good idea to see a lot of the country before deciding, and also to see places out of season too. We did the same, we actually rented for a year and then did various trips around to see where we wanted to be long term. For us, we had the peace of mind when finally buying that we liked living in Portugal, had seen all four seasons, and also that the place we were buying was in the right place for us. 4 years on, we don't regret it.

People often visit somewhere for 2 weeks in the summer, and decide that's where they want to be. But some coastal areas can be completely dead out of season, or packed in season. Similarly, the weather in some places in winter can be very cold and damp, which is hard to imagine in summer when it's been dry for six months and is 25+ every day.

Re: Idea on where to live?
 

Thanks for the replies.

My idea is similar to what captainflack has done.

I would apply for residency in the first 3 months, and thought that a medium sized town would be suitable so as to provide ready access to necessary facilities (healthcare etc).

I'd not heard of Workaway, but did a quick search, and most hosts seemed to be in rural areas. So I would have to find one within a short distance of a town.

I've also not heard of Homeaway, so I'll have to do some searching about that.

Re: Idea on where to live?
 

I take it a big camper van is not your cup of tea? Would certainly let you see a big variety of Portugal.
The only problem I see with your plan is, say you spend 3 months in one area in the winter then move there and only to find it's way too busy in the summer. As for changing documents if you do rent places, I would be more tempted to register in one place then not change your residency documents after that or not register at all.

Re: Idea on where to live?
 

I'd like the adventurous aspects, but there might be practical issues; not being able to register for residency, and not feeling part of the local community, for example.


Is that because there are particular problems in changing the necessary documents?

I've now had a look at some holiday rental websites, but they do not look suitable for a single person.
I've seen on this forum town rentals for as low as 400 Euros a month, which is much less than the holiday apartments.
However, would it be difficult getting a town rental for just 3 months?


Did you rent the same place for a year, or tried a couple of different areas?

Re: Idea on where to live?
 

I pay €375 pm for a modern 2 bed apartment that is fully furnished. Beautiful granite and marble finishes. The entrance hall looks like a small hotel and has 2 elevators.
Only problem is the lack of English speakers but I have come to love it here as I have everything that I need around me. If I fall out the window I will land in LIDL

Re: Idea on where to live?
 

That sounds like excellent value.
Is that because it is not in Lisbon, Oporto, or the Algarve?

Re: Idea on where to live?
 

It may be relatively cold in winter, but surely it will not be as bad as a British winter ??

Re: Idea on where to live?
 

Down to 1C, here in Ourique tonight :eek:

Re: Idea on where to live?
 

Correct. We are about a 5 minute drive from the beaches as well so it would be even cheaper further inland.

Re: Idea on where to live?
 

I've just had a look at a map, and it seems Ourique is in the north of the Algarve.
I thought that the Algarve was the warmest place in Europe for the winter?


Would it be similar prices for all places not within an easy trip to Porto or Lisbon?
Or is there a North/South divide?

Re: Idea on where to live?
 

There is the Algarve, Lisbon and Porto , then the rest.
Lisbon is now one of the " hottest " cities in Europe .

Ourique is not in the Algarve it is in Beja province.

Re: Idea on where to live?
 

Ourique is north of the Algarve in a place called the Alentejo. Not the Algarve at all.

Completely different climate - can be very hot in the summer and also can be very cold in the winter. Not had snow, but quite a few frosts this year.

But love it - much better than the East Algarve, although we loved that too.

Re: Idea on where to live?
 

Flew from Porto to the UK yesterday. Northern PT had patchy snow while Spain was almost totally covered with snow from the PT border to the Bay of Biscay. Almost nothing over the UK.

Re: Idea on where to live?
 

From what you both say, snow in the north and 1 degree in the Alentejo, it sounds as though your winter is worse than in the UK.
This has given me a big surprise.
Is this the case for all of Portugal except the Algarve?

Re: Idea on where to live?
 

Worse than the UK ?

Where do you live.

Last Sunday, snow and below freezing, roads blocked in the South West in mid March.
Anywhere on the coast or close to it will be much better than the UK.

Re: Idea on where to live?
 

This would suggest to me, renting a place in central Portugal to give access to more of the country whilst searching.
What would be the usual rental period for an apartment in a medium sized town (six months, one year, or something different to this) ?

Re: Idea on where to live?
 

We're having a long cold and rather windy winter this year. It's normal to go down to more than that further up north. And yes, they get the snow too.

I think you need to do a little more research about the weather, climate and micro climates here before you decide where you want to be.

However, last year, we were sitting outside, this time of yer in shorts and t-shirts during the day.

The nights are colder here than the Algarve, but the days can and are hotter in the summer.

Re: Idea on where to live?
 

I live in the SW of the UK.
There has been snow twice where I live, but on each occasion it disappeared very quickly.
There was only one day that it affected traffic through the town.
In all, I think we've probably had about a dozen nights, in the winter, close to or below freezing point.
Overall, I think it's been a mild winter for my area.
At the present, it's about 10 degrees C, much better than the 1 degree in Alentejo.
I've read a couple of guides that had a few pages about climate.
That gave me the impression that there were cold winters only in the far NorthEast.
So I thoroughly agree that I need to do more researh.
Do you know a good starting point for this?

Re: Idea on where to live?
 

Forums like this with comments from those who live in Portugal rather than charts.
The UK again has temps as low as -10 Forecast for Easter with more snow.
The Algarve a cool for us 15,16degrees , normally up to 20.

Re: Idea on where to live?
 

The 1C remark was for the dead of night, not normal during the day. Although the wind is blowing a hooley today and making it feel cold.

We've used almost 2 ton of wood this year - unusual.

Mostly, it's cold at night, think about 8C, then hotting up to 20C during the day. Today, we only got to 14C, because of the wind. But it dried the clothes!

Where to look? Just ask on here, we've got people from most areas of Portugal.

There cannot be an average summer/spring/winter guide, as it's different every year.

My Portuguese friends say that this part of the Alentejo will have 7 year cycles of wet winters or dry winters. We've got 3 more years to go.

Although in saying that, 9, I think, years ago, it rained in the East Algarve every day from 22 December until 22 March. And not just a little rain - a lot!

Re: Idea on where to live?
 

We were there that winter. .
There was a huge brown slick in the sea as the rivers that exit at Portimao stayed at flood levels for weeks.
Yet only a year or so before drought levels were worse than last year.
Nature seems to have its own way of balancing things out.

Re: Idea on where to live?
 

There doesn’t seem to be much focus on the larger and more well known cities.
From what I have read they are very nice places, Oporto and Lisbon.
Do most here choose the smaller areas due to the lower living costs or is it because they actually prefer those areas?

Re: Idea on where to live?
 

We lived in Fuzeta for 10 years, owning for 12. Near Olhao, Faro and Tavira, so lots of things to see do.

But decided that the quieter and less touristy - and cheaper - Alentejo was better for us now.

We also wanted a single storey home and couldn't afford the prices in the Algarve.

Re: Idea on where to live?
 

Would that be due to the warming effect of the sea in the winter, or more because of an increase in altitude away from the coast?


Would places like Braga and Guimaraes have milder winters than the UK?

Re: Idea on where to live?
 

One of my work colleagues here in Ireland is from Braga originally and enjoys the dry winters we have in Ireland;). Certainly mild there, but a very wet city from October up to May, you could say:lol:. Good thing is that rain keeps the scum away. Summer is summer of course.

Re: Idea on where to live?
 

Porto has a very UK style climate. This time of year still very wet and definitely cold at night . Obviously milder as coastal but that brings the wind, not so pleasant. Lovely city but will be difficult to find any long term rental.
We prefer the Algarve although a noticeable gulf in standard , and cost, of living to places such as Porto and Lisbon.

Re: Idea on where to live?
 

Ya I wouldn’t be interested if the climate was like that.
I thought it would be a much more sun friendly climate year round throughout Portugal so I’m surprised and glad to have found this out.

Is Algarve much warmer location than Porto?
How do you mean noticeable gulf in standard of living?

Re: Idea on where to live?
 

Algarve definitely warmer than Porto and drier . Standard of living you will notice simply by looking at the cars in the street. All Portuguese cars show their year and month of first registration , wander through an Algarve town and you will see many old cars, not so in more affluent cities such as Porto and Lisbon. Also noticeable is the difference in the consumer environment - Porto as a sizeable city has several large shopping centres with upmarket stores, in the Algarve there are two , one near Guia and a new one at Loule. There are other areas you can compare and notice the contrast - basically though the difference comes down to agriculture and fishing in the Algarve compared to industry in the north.

Re: Idea on where to live?
 

Thanks for that some good points there.
Is Lisbon and Porto similar then in many respects both being fairly large cities and alps similar in regards To the weather?

Re: Idea on where to live?
 

No Lisbon warmer and a bit drier . Have a look at this :

Lisbon vs Porto Climate & Distance Between

Re: Idea on where to live?
 

The Algarve is definetly warmer than Porto.
Porto being a city I would think prices are similar.
25degrees here in the Algarve yesterday.

Re: Idea on where to live?
 

I'm surprised by this.
How far south of Porto would you need to go to get a significantly better climate?

Re: Idea on where to live?
 

South of Lisbon, Alentejo coast or all the way to the Algarve

Re: Idea on where to live?
 

Further north of Porto. At least here I can go walk abouts in July without running from tree to tree for shade.

Re: Idea on where to live?
 

Sure there’s more rain in the north but that’s why it’s green, temperature wise there’s a 2 degree anual average difference between Porto and Faro. There’s 90 days of rain in Faro and 147 in Porto. As for comparing to the UK, there’s 2500 hours of sunshine per year in Porto and 1300 in Manchester.