carvoeiro

Its lovely here.
The weekend was typical, autumn/winter, rained on Friday, sunbathing weather sat/Sunday - family visiting at the moment and we all sat on the beach and the sea is still lovely and warm.
Everyone commented how lovely and relaxed the people were.
We've found the healthcare excellent - the Portuguese doctors and staff still think they're there to help you and have all the time and compassion in the world- 30 minutes to discuss your illness and a smile and shake of hands is normal - and my doctor knows my name - hospitals wonderfully clean and well organised - sure ther are bad exceptions , but i have cancer and would never return to the UK.
We've also used dentists here, half the price of the UK and the most modern equipment i've ever seen
Faro,Guia and Portimao have big UK sized shopping centres, most towns have a good variety of shops, and its easy to buy things from the internet, amazon etc when you live here.
For me its all win win - all the benefits of Portugal + easy access to the rest of the world via the internet + the nicest people on the planet and fantastic weather.
p.s my family , who often visit Spain said its so much nicer here

Smartcar

Hi cavoeiro,sounds just up my street. Where do you live? How long have you been in portugal? Mmm weather sounds brill,it's getting colder here the gales luckily missed us :-) Really need to sort out where to visit in January. Need to know the pitfalls. So I know what I am in for. Thanks

ouriquejan

And I prefer to East Algarve, quieter, less tourists, but still lovely in the summer and winter. Went for a lovely walk along the cycle path, along the Ria Formosa yesterday. Gorgeous

Depends on what you want, what you're looking for.

I have no problems with the health service, in fact, I'm better off having ops done here than in England.

You really need to have a good look around, as we all like our different areas.

TaviraTrog

We too prefer the East Algarve. It's not too over-developed. If you choose a town like Tavira it's a working town and doesn't become a ghost town in winter.

Neither do we have any problems with the health service. My wife recently badly fractured her upper arm and we found the service exceptional. A&E were really thorough but she had to go back in a week later to have an operation and again the treatment couldn't be faulted.

carvoeiro

Oddly - i live in Carvoeiro
I like all of it - but to live - the West is a bit windy and wild and the East is a bit flat and Spanish feeling.
So my preference is I like living in the centre of the Algarve you have easy access to everything - its where most of the population live so it has a lot more going on - big towns live Tavira in the East or Lagos in the west are lovely towns in their own right , but to me feel a bit more isolated from the rest of the Algarve
Finding a place where you feel comfortable is most important - the Algarve is small enough to visit all of it in a day.
Lisbon and other nice places to visit in Portugal are only 2-3 hours away from the centre, even Spain and Gibralter are only 5-6 hours - less than 3 to the border

Smartcar

Hi Carvoeiro mmm,bit dumb there sos about that. Hey ho thanks for your reply. Could you tell me if there are any pitfalls to watch for in the buying process. :-) If I am lucky enough to find what I am looking for just want it to go smoothly, as pensioners we will be retiring over there and just want a hassle free move as possible. I have heard you need to find a good solicitor to make sure it all works. Yet again that could be a mine field. :-( hope your days going well regards.

Fredbargate

A few years ago when I was considering Portugal the author of the following book was considered an excellent advisor

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1...SIN=1907498567

Smartcar

Thanks Fredbargate for the book recommendation,have just ordered it :-) Maybe I will get some insight.

carvoeiro

Pitfalls - not really
Its not like Spain, no land grab, no demolisions, no making you pay for new roads, English wills are valid here, no death duties to immediate family.
If you're looking in the countryside make sure you visit at night to check for barking dogs / chickens etc - but isn't that part of what the countryside is all about - but i appreciate many people don't like it.
All of the paperwork is computerised now, So long as the person selling the house owns it, the taxes and bills are paid up to date and it has a habitation licence theres nothing to worry about - a solicitor will tell you that in 5 minutes flat.

If you go to an estate agent its the law that they have to have a copy of all paperwork and make sure its in order before they offer it for sale.
If you buy privately the seller has to give you a copy of the paperwork.
To buy you have to go to a Notary - goverment employee and pay all taxes etc, they will also check the paperwork and that things ahve been done correctly - Afterwards you just have to go to the local town hall / other offices to pick bits of paper up to make sure its all now registered in your name - but again this is all now computerised - unlike the recent past where it still depended on people going from A to B and shuffling paper around.
Its very safe here these days and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

The only problems you ever hear about relate to false promises of ruins/land without building permission sold as if it has got it.

The other things we really like about Portugal
1. The people are lovely
2. Its very family friendly , except Albufeira doesn't appeal to the tattoo and lager brigade, so even if you go out in the middle of summer you feel very safe.
3. The weather is fantastic, but rarely as hot as the Med, so its more comfortable year round.
4. The quality of food and drink is superb - my family are still talking about the taste of fish and chicken, Portuguese wine is inexpensive and lovely, beers cheap.
5. The cost of living is very low - only exception is electricity bills for us.
6. English is virtually a first language here - certainly in the coastal Algarve almost everyone speaks some English, films at the cinema / on tv are mostly shown in their original language - doesn't prevent you from learning Portuguese, but it is nice to be able to communicate with people , especially if you have a problem.

We're retired - i really couldn't think of anywhere nicer to retire to than Portugal
Best of luck

Smartcar

:-) Thank you sooo much Carvoeiro. Life sounds pretty good. Really appreciate all you help on this one. Such a big decision nearly made a big boo boo with spain thank goodness I read up on all the pitfalls. And joined this forum and got good advice. I really think that portugal could work for us. Best regards.

EMR

We spend 20 weeks of the year in Carvoeiro which we hope will eventually be our full time home.
When buying partcularly for something that is going to be your home if you can fnd somewhere that is not on a tourist development as it wll be busy , maybe too busy for a few months of the year and the opposite in the low season.
We chose a small local urbanisation with permanent mixed population 75% portuguese the rest a mix of nationalities.

Sue and steve D

Vila nova de Cacela is worth a look. It is a small village that has schools, banks, chemist, regular market and on a monthly basis in the summer, massive outdoor market. It has two excellent restaurants and is in walking distance to a fantastic beach of MantaRota

Smartcar

Thank you Sue and Steve D really appreciate any help I can get. Coming over in January for a good look round. Trying to get gend up on the buying process. Have bought some book that were recomended on the forum.busy reading at mo. :-) Best regards

GeniB

Hi Rak Well as we bought close to Lagos 3 yrs ago my reply will be somewhat biased!!
Having spent a lot of time over 40 yrs visiting both countries I can honestly say one country is for holidays and the other for living....no bets on which
We were long time ex-pats and used to hearing and speaking several languages(like you) no longer dependent on having only British friends/shops/food..which unfortunately imo has ruined Spain...Portugal has a totally different set of values and has not succumbed to the costa mentality,nor the mass building programmes..In other words it remains largely Portuguese...which we like and admire..It has also offered us a permanent home in an area which isn't suddenly 90% deserted come October..very important if you are to be here all year round...Many people speak excellent English but we do our best to speak Portuguese as often as possible .we live here so its important to do so...as one would expect in England..for day to day stuff though its not a problem...Best of all for us ..is the climate...quite different from Spain in that we have a more Californian temperature..hot ,dry with a cool breeze and usually (dont count this year) zero humidity..which for me precludes living in Spain as I hate it with a vengeance hope this helps

Rak1947

Thank tou for this marvlous answer.
We already both in Tavira a 320m² house and will be moving there from april next year as we will visit my family in the States first.

Our movers will bring all our stuffs last day of November and we will stay till the 15st.

If you want to have a drink together we can make an appointment in start odf December.

my email: [email protected] will change as soon as we will have sign our buying contract the 28st of this month.

regards