AllanB

Been living in the Isaan region of Thailand now for 6 years, spending the spring/summer in the UK, but it's just too darn cold.

Last year we arrived at our boat on the Norfolk broads in April and it was so cold and miserable, we packed the car, camping gear and headed for the eastern Algarve. The weather there was superb and we really enjoyed the place and the people too.

Having bought a small campervan last year, we are going to Portugal in April/May, on a house hunting expedition and, well we are looking for suggestions/ideas.

We don't have a ton of money and don't want to live in a tourist area anyway, living the winters elsewhere means that we are interested only in spring/summer weather and a bit of land would be nice. Friendly people and not in the middle of nowhere would fit the bill, though an olive grove and some garden is on our wish list.

It would be nice to hear from those who live there and how you guys like the place you have chosen.

Cheers

mfesharne

That criteria sounds like you need to look at the central & northern zones where prices are lower, people, especially tourists, are fewer & peak summer temperatures are in the low 40s.

My own area is Figueiro Dos Vinhos and if you want to see what the area is like just click on the link immediately below this post & then click the tab marked 'About Central Portugal' & watch the videos there.

Portugal is only a small country but changes immensely from area to area but the one thing that doesn't change much is the people who are pretty much always very friendly, welcoming & helpful.

Oh & welcome to the forum.

GeniB

I live in the Western Algarve so can't help you much re preferred location. Tavira in the east has become very popular of late for people such as yourself.The town has ancient Roman roots and is set on a river,an idyllic location.Cheaper properties and less touristy than most of the Algarve.I would start there.

AllanB

Ok., cheers... some mods to my requirements are needed here.
1. The low 40's is way too hot for me and the reason we leave Thailand, where it is rare we get into the 40's at all, though it can be humid high 30's most of the time and the rainy season.
2. When I said we have a small budget, we have under £70k and would prefer 1/10th of that sum, with a ruin in mind, perhaps even just land.

So that may mean central/north with altitude, or closer to coast, or both.

Actually Tavira is close to where we stayed last year and we really liked the hills/mountains just north of there. Not sure about prices though.

The other attraction of being close to the Algarve is that the guy who co-owns our boat, may wish to co-own a property too/instead and can fly into Faro direct from Newcastle.

Anyway please keep the info coming and thanks....

mfesharne

Low 40s are summer peaks and are relatively unusual..... low to mid 30s are more normal.

You need to be slightly careful of ruins and land because land classification is the deciding factor on whether you can legally live there or not and even if you do get away with living where you shouldn't, you'll probably have trouble selling should you ever want to.

ouriquejan

I think you'll find house prices in and around Tavira quite high. The area around Tavira, Sao Bras are very popular and not many ruins around, by now - and those that are, are expensive. Maybe look a little further east or inland more.

The lower Alentejo is good, or maybe around mertola.

Red Eric

Right next door to me there's a small 3 bed house in habitable condition with 1350m² of land, on mains water and electricity and with its own water supply to boot (but no olive grove), on the market for 70,000€

I'm about an hour and 20 mins up the motorway from Porto airport and within easy reach (3k tops) of 2 good local towns and 35k or so away from 2 good-sized cities.

There's plenty of land and land with ruins on it around here, the climate's ok - bit hot (and "steamy") sometimes in summer as we're away from the coast but the Met Office data for summertime says it's generally below mid 30s and more often than not high 20s to low 30s tops (which is typical for most of Portugal according to the forecasts I see), although there are spikes during heatwaves and once (in 10 years so far) we had a 40°C.

That's just by way of an example.

However, a couple of things you may not have considered. What length stays are you anticipating? To stay within the law you are limited as an EU citizen to 90 days at a time before you need to register your presence. Whether you'd have any trouble in practice if you overstayed is another matter but it's what the law says. The other thing is that land is a bit of a liability as it needs looking after and can quickly become overgrown if left. My neighbour, who looks after the place next door, spends a good long day at a time several times a year strimming the place (and some of it doesn't need strimming because his wife grows vegetables on it). He's a very hardy character who doesn't mind being out in high temps with the full protective gear on - I couldn't manage it.

mfesharne

Further to the summer peak temperatures, we hit 40C one day last year and 2 days the year before....... other than that we were mostly in the low to mid 30s and for pretty much all of it, we had fairly low humidity throughout.

Centralbound

Loads of centennial records have gone in the last few years. Last summer here in the centro was lovely, manageable temps but the trend is more heat and more heat waves. If you are sensitive to that then head further north, and don't forget the cantabrian cost in Spain which is awesome in the summer.

AllanB

There is no way I am going to buy a property in Spain, Portugal, or even France, though I have owned 2 properties in France, which was easy to buy and sell and I am told Portugal is similar to France. With trustworthy lawyers (Notaires) and local government.

What's the northern coast of Portugal like weather wise?

MrBife

Quite similar to the East coast

Red Eric

Perhaps I've read something wrong - I thought you are looking to buy a property in Portugal

AllanB

I am, but Centralbound mentioned the Cantabrian coast in Spain and I don't want Spain at all.

I mentioned France as I have lived there before, found the buying/selling process quite easy and was told Portugal was the similar.

Also I was referring to the northern part of the Atlantic coast of Portugal, above Porto, when I mentioned the north coast, so again not Spain. Around where you live Eric.

How do you guys find the coast of living< I know the locals earn very little?

Red Eric

OK, I see now.

The northern coast during the summer is a lot more manageable than inland climate-wise not only for the temperatures (although the daily highs are frequently a bit lower than inland) but mainly for the markedly different atmosphere. The air can be very, very sultry a few km off the coast and is much fresher and "lighter" - more "breathable" (if you know what I mean) - on it. We're half an hour away on a good road so it's an easy escape for us if we need or want it. The temperatures tend to see-saw more inland and differences between daily high and low are often as much as 20°C where I live - not as much as that on the coast. Evenings cool a lot earlier by the sea in the height of summer, though. It can be quite windy even in summer coast or inland - more often than not the days start quite still and the wind picks up a bit by the afternoons but we do usually get quite a few lovely still days, too.

The buying and selling processes themselves aren't too complicated but away from the big cities and the tourist areas property can hang around on the market for a long time so if you think you might ever need your money back quickly it's not the wisest of investments at the moment. Prices tend to hold despite this, though.

Cost of living - yes, local wages are low but that doesn't make everything correspondingly cheap. That said, it's probably easier to get by on less than in, say, the UK.

liveaboard

If you can live within 5-10 km of the coast, the weather is almost always mild. Of course you pay more,
Properties are very affordable as soon as you leave "Algarve". I just met a guy a 1/2 hour north of Lisbon who bagged a new build villa near the sea for 120,000.
Ruins are huge headaches, always far overpriced. It will cost much, much more to buy one and rebuild than to buy a ready house. And the bureaucracy will suck the joy of life out of you.
As Eric said, any land needs maintenance, it will be totally overgrown within months unless someone is cutting it back. I have a shed full of machinery and it still eats at my free time.
A garden is nice, but only if you can devote the time to it that it needs.
If you aren't going to be in [nearly] full time residence, I'd really think apartment.
Many people get away with caravan on a plot, but some don't. And if you leave for 6 months at a stretch, anything could happen there.