Annetje

Have been living in France for 20+ years now, I feel it is time to change country.
Years ago my late husband and I looked seriously at Ayamonte (Spain) but, due to dramatic turnaround in life, it never materialized.
Now, for me, I think I prefer to investigate Portugal S.W. or S.E. so I started to look for info ... !!! And what a search it is, going from 1 thread to another one. So ...

I have noticed on the French forum there is a ''moving to France'' thread, where somebody put a lot of effort in to put it together. It is very informative.

Anyway, I wonder why on the Portugal thread there is not something similar ? Just a sort of checklist of things to do when first arriving (or even before that). At the moment you just get all these new arrivals asking the same questions.

Anybody up for this ... maybe even 1 of the new arrivals with everything fresh in memory ? My guess is that it would help out a lot of time.

Ideas ???

EMR

I would first check to see if you would qualify for and what tax advantages the Non Habitual Residence scheme would offer you.
We played golf with a couple from Colmar who are planning their retirement to Portugal in two years for tax reasons and the changing political climate , Le Pen etc...
The French are very active property buyers in the Algarve and have been for some time.

Annetje

Thanks for that

All sorts of things to consider but most important for me is the climate and the fact that (I think) the Portuguese are more open to foreigners.

Anyway, all still a long way away, hope to spent next winter in long rent in area of Lagos, preferably a little village not too far from the coast. So at least it is 1,5 to 2 years away (the planned move that is ),

I was just wondering if somebody would have the courage to start this useful info thread on the Portuguese side of the forum.

Annetje

AND I have to learn at least a bit of Portuguese ... is it a difficult language ?

MrBife

Yes - And all they need to do is a forum search, there are a LOT of resources here and almost every question already answered.

http://britishexpats.com/forum/portu...cklist-876945/

Relax and enjoy

Annetje

macliam

If you speak French, you have a distinct advantage in terms of pronunciation (nasals) and grammar, Castilian grammar can also help.

Try reading some Portuguese nespapers online (e.g. Diário de Notícias) to get an idea of the written language - but the most difficult thing in the spoken language is the pronunciation and the shortening of words. listen to Practice Portuguese to give yourself an idea.

Boa sorte!

Dal Dy Dir

After spending an evening in Colmar a couple of years back the money you save on the price of beer will be enough to make the move worthwhile

With regards to the language it should be noted that a lot of French families fled France during the war and settled in the Algarve (neutral country) and you will still here a lot of French spoken amongst the farmers etc.

As our Portuguese is not that great we converse with a local who drinks in the local bar in French which he is happy to do.

Annetje

Hmm, Interesting to hear French will help with Portuguese ... I am fluent in French but am looking around here to,at least, start with understanding a bit of Portuguese.
I do understand that there are fairly different dialects (if that is the right term) or different pronunciations in Portugal. Does this apply within the Algarve, as in East and West ? Looking forward to have a nice glass of portuguese wine with French expats.

Thank you 2 for your incouraging words !

Merci beaucoup a vous 2 !

EMR

I think that the only regional accents you will hear will be from those who make up the British resident community..

dmu

Hi from the France forum! I'm learning Portuguese, but unfortunately started with Babbel, only to discover that it was Brazilian Portuguese. I've since given those courses up, as there are enough differences to wish I'd started with European Portuguese as per Macliam's second link, esp. learning the "tu" and "vous" forms.
You could read the Portuguese version of Euronews (checking against the French or English version).
It's true that Latin roots help a lot for vocab, but I can't get my head round some of the grammar - probably due to age...
Boa sorte from me, too!

Annetje

4(!!!) rainy days next week (= insult to the good people of the Var, this is temps belge)... will have a go at these links and see what they are about.

Obrigado all of you !!! (no I didn't have to look it up, remembered from our quick visits whilst holidaying in Spain)

macliam

Yes - The Practice Portuguese site is brilliant! Someone will have to explain to me why the EU supports a programme teaching Brazilian! - and before anyone chips in to say there's no real difference, then I have to tel you otherwise. My wife (a Lisboeta) abhors Brazilian expressions and the "nova ortografia" which she sees as a sop to the Brazilians. It's not just the accent (mainly from Rio) but the differences in language - it's like a Brit accepting that Texans speak and write the best English! Most Portuguese (who are a very non-confrontational race) accept people speaking Brasileiro through gritted teeth - maybe one notch (if that) above being shouted at in Castillian.......

Anyway - nasal sounds and grammar - the number of words ending in -ão or worse -ães probablty do more to put off the native English speaker than anything else. Then the masculine/feminine divide, the many forms of "you" and two different verbs "to be"..... ouch! Finally, as I've said before, the Portuguese, like the British, just love to shorten words.... so "Estou" (I am) becomes "'Shtow" in normal conversation and even "'Tow" when answering the phone...

BUT - don't worry, get stuck in - if the Portuguese laugh at your attempts, it's a good laugh and they appreciate you trying.

macliam

ummm, Annetje, as I presume you're feminine it's "Obrigada", Obrigado is for us guys..... (It means "I'm obliged", so takes the gender of the speaker) Lesson one?

Annetje

That explains the (sort of) amused looks whenever I said it

Thanks for my first lesson, much appreciated !