flynnboy

What did you hate about it mfesharne ?

Ingles

Since the 80's :- just had enough off Mrs T
Only regret :- never did it earlier.

mfesharne

It was more that I missed Africa so very much rather than disliked anything here - Mind you, coming right at the beginning of winter didn't help! LOL

EMR

THe Portuguese winter can catch some out.
They come on holiday in the summer , decide to move over, find the streets deserted in the resort towns they loved so much.
No chance of work and it can rain, really rain and it can be cold.
We have come across some really miserable people in our travels.

We have not moved over yet but spend around 20 weeks year, ( not in high summer ) and we cannot wait to be able to move over full time.
The only thing we really dislike are moaning Brits which unfortunately the Algarve has far too many.

mfesharne

Gotta say as much as I adore the loooong hot summers of central Portugal, I don't enjoy the winters quite so much......

But that said, all the locals insist that the 3 winters we've been here have been far colder and wetter than normal - So quite what 'normal' is, I have no idea! LOL

not2old

Leaving Africa to settle in PT, did you look around much at anywhere else to settle other than Portugal?

What made you choose PT... three points should do it

flynnboy

We lived in the SW of France for 3 years and I did not like the winters, but not because they were cold particularly. I am from Northumberland and I really like cold winters when the sky is blue and the air is crisp (strange I know). What I hated about the SW France winters is that they were dismal.... foggy and damp and yes could be cold at times but not a nice cold like the Northumbrian winters. However, it was always bearable because no matter what, you knew damned well you would have a 'summer' and that I would be in shorts until November Also, when it rained, it absolutely hammered it down. So, I have no rose tinted specs on when it comes to winters or rain in Portugal.

mfesharne

We were more or less kicked out of SA so had no choice but to leave.... we first looked at other African countries but although most wanted our skills and investment etc very much and promised us permanent residency but closer examination proved their permanent residency had to be renewed every few years so in effect, it was a renewable visa and we'd had umpteen years of playing that game in SA so we decided we'd look at those countries that we had a RIGHT to reside in and wouldn't have to jump through the hoops to stay........ and that meant somewhere in the EU.

To cut a long story short, we looked at all of the figures from weather to culture to cost of living and property etc and PT came out on top for everything except perhaps language....... so we gave it a try and love it here.

Ukkram

I am from Cape Town South Africa and still say that it is the most scenic and multicultural city in the world. Actually Cape Town was voted as the No. one city for tourism this year or something to that effect. I loved it there but the high crime drove me to go back to Europe.

I spent over a year Googling countries cost wise and weather wise. The Eastern European countries are the cheapest but the winters put me off. I needed something weather wise similar to Cape Town.

Northern Portugal came out tops. Cheap rent even cheaper than the Algarve and Cape Town so off we went.

Arrival. Rent is cheap and settled in. Weather is great here as I prefer the colder climate to you guys in the South. Rain is no prob as I am used to winter rain in Cape Town. Do you know it even snows in Cape Town?

Got a shock on arrival. Prices are 4 times higher for furnishings, kitchen appliances and bedding. Even the quality is inferior. Pots, pans and cutlary are tiny and inferior to what I am used to.

Perhaps my stay has not reached Steve's 4 months yet.

mfesharne

Mate, it's probably too late for you but amazon.co.uk have some fantastic deals for things like good quality kitchenware etc.

ouriquejan

And, although you may hate it, shop around a bit. There are some very good quality pans, bedding around. It takes while to find them though. And then, when you do find good shop, they close down

Ukkram

Yeah. I tried to order bedding from Amazon UK but they rejected my BPI Electron card although it has sufficient funds. Must go see my bank to find out why.

mfesharne

I think you need an international card such as VISA etc.......

flynnboy

I think Amazon have restrictions on countries they send to. We live in Ireland and whenever I want something from Amazon I have to have it sent to my daughter in the Uk so she can send it to me here in Ireland ?

mfesharne

We've never had any problems having most items delivered to PT...... the only drawback now is they stopped doing free delivery.