Skilledhanslady

Hi everyone,

i am a long term Australian based Irish born lady in my early 50’s. I am looking to eventually find a modest villa or terrace house to buy then move to within 15 mins or so drive of Algarve.

i will likely rent for a while to get a feel for the right location & watch the market

I am very social by nature so prefer not to be too far from the UK expat scene.

I have been considering this move for at least a few years.

i have a fun easygoing personality.

Indeed many people may say I am crazy for selling up to leave Au’s. I find however that as a culture Aussies & new Aussies don’t quite have the same respect for mature women here as folk’s in Europe.

Any advice would be very welcome , kind regards.

m2m2012

If you have an Irish EU passport then moving to Portugal will be easy. If you own real estate in Australia it's a good time to sell as prices are at an all time high. It's a big decision but it's not crazy at all leaving Australia to live elsewhere; especially if you move to a place like Portugal.

Skilledhanslady

Hi M2M,

Thank you for that,

Indeed that is a nice re assuring opinion to read as a first response.

Yes I am an Irish Eu resident & am at present awaiting my fully approved Irish passport.

Likewise yes i have sold my home in Tasmania Au’s. I favour of a warmer climate amongst more so friendly outgoing people.

looking at property prices though I am a bit uncertain location wise. i get the impression Algarve has risen sharply in recent times.

For a low maintainance villa type 2-3 bed home with a decent size attached garage. That can be can be well over 300k euro’s in Algarve.

i will be more comfortable with around the low 200 euro’s range. Hence why i am considered other close by area’s.

Aftter nearly forty years of working with my hands as a tradeswoman. I am not too keen on continuing to do so.

i plan like many other to watch would to watch re the covid situation. I then hopefully can move to Portugal within 6 month’s.

Any advice re better value price wise real estate prices close to Algarve would be greatly appreciated, again kind regards.

wellinever

https://www.idealista.pt/en/desenhar...834/-7.10693/7

riv

You perhaps should clarify whether you will be living on a pension or needing to work for an income or to supplement the pension ?

This aspect would affect choice of location.

You are quite right that house and flat prices have increased steeply over the last couple of years and that trend show no signs of changing ( to my amateurish eye anyway ). You should get somewhere inland for two hundred though.
BUT you really really do need to rent first, and I would suggest in several locations, maybe two months in each, to get a feel for what places are really like.
So, my point is, if this is something you have determined to do ( retire to Portugal ) then, because of the house price trend upwards, the sooner you make the move the sooner you will be able to go through the six months to a year rental stage and then purchase.
Anyway, staying for medium periods in various locations will also enable you to spot locally advertised places for sale. You never know - you might just come across some sort of bargain, especially if you are ok with an inland location , and also esp. if you are happy to do up a place needing work.

Have you already visited the Algarve ? There is a huge difference between the big, coastal, cities, and inland villages in the hills.

You don't say what sort of general interests you have. There are people who organize bike rides and so on. Also a History Association. My own take on your wanting to socialize would be ........well.........if you are retired to the point of not needing to work, then nowhere is that far from one of the stations on the Linha do Algarve, so you can always get around, albeit you don't have to be in a rush, lol.

Finally, if not already done, find the aplaceinthesun.com programmes online. There are maybe half a dozen where people get shown around different parts of Portugal and the Algarve. Out of date now, prices wise, but useful background 'reading' .

barlaventoexpert

The Algarve is a region not a town!

I suggest you familiarise yourself with the geography of the region as there are big geographic & climatic differences between the barlavento & sotavento sub-regions.

Moses2013

Although we ended up buying in Spain I have been following prices in Portugal over the years and especially the Algarve has seen prices increase further with no signs of dropping. It's only a small area but when you talk to people it seems half the nation spend their holidays there, including my family (Irish side). And everybody seems to know someone who owns property there. I don't see much changing very soon and even with Covid more people will start investing again.

NataHH

When you come to the Algarve why not volunteer to help a charity? They are always short of people. You'll meet all nationalities and it's great for socialising. It doesn't have to be full-time. You will also receive lots of advice.