Saxon52

Hi,

I am new here to the Expats. Having just retired I am considering moving to Portugal. It is my plan to fly to Lisbon in September to start the search for my future retirement location. Can anyone give any advice where to start (I do have some ideas but would be grateful for any recommendations)? Initially, I would be looking to rent then who knows. I don't have a lot of money so would be looking at the less expensive locations.

Are there any organisations that help people resettle/retire in Portugal?

Any help is gratefully received as I feel truly overwhelmed at the moment.

BTW, I am aware of the pitfalls of moving to another country. I have done it a number if times,

Red Eric

Hi and welcome to the forum from me

You've made an excellent start in your choice of country but you might have to give us a little more to go on in terms of narrowing things down a bit. For what it's worth, there aren't many places here I couldn't live reasonably happily, although truly remote doesn't appeal and the attractions of Lisbon and Porto as potential areas to live are fast fading for me, even disregarding the fact that they're way beyond my purse.

Are you familiar with anything of Portugal?

riv

I essentially endorse Red Eric's statement of today's date.

You really need to provide MUCH more detail about the kind of location /s you are considering or wish to consider.

For example : are you favouring city or large town environments ? Or small cities / towns / villages ?

Is being close ( like walking distance or 5 or 10 kms or what distance ???) from the sea important to you or would you be happy with an inland location ? If inland would you prefer open countryside views ? Or happy with a small village ? Or favour the fresh air and cooler climate of hilly districts such as Serra d' Estrela ?

Do you prefer to be where there are plenty of expats, British and other ? Or do you prefer a more Portuguese ~y environment ? Do you speak some, any, or NO Portuguese ?

For that matter ~ WHAT has prompted you to plump for Portugal in the first place ?

Do you want easy access to , for want of a better word, culture ? Art galleries / Museums / Cinemas ? Or are you happy just to visit these latter from time to time from your remote fastness ?

Portugal may be a small country by comparison with France, Spain or the UK, but still there is huge variety of living environments within it. And costs will vary hugely as between a Lisbon flat and a countryside project you can buy for not a great deal and then do up ( tho' don't underestimate building costs ~ there is a programme on TV at the moment where someone has bought a near ruin and is doing it up on a £10,000 budget ~ BUT she is getting a lot of freebie help from builder friends etc.. ~but still worth watching ~ i forget which channel . )

I would suggest that if you have not thought through issues such as the ones I have touched on above you would benefit from doing so prior to traveling to Portugal................ then when your thoughts are clarified post here again in more detail. On this Forum there are people located from North to South so you have a chance of getting useful local knowledge.

Will you be bringing a car ? I would have thought you would benefit from getting the ferry to Spain and then driving in a leisurely way from the far north to the far south of Portugal, criss crossing to the many places of interest. [ Don't even THINK of driving within Lisbon though ~you will certainly be in a collision. Park somewhere else and get the train in to visit the Capital........ ]

From September onwards you should have no difficulty finding cheapo rooms in small pensões in out of the way places. Should still be mostly sunny in September and October, but expect that reliability to diminish come November.

EMR

What do you mean by " not a lot of money " , Don,t be fooled by what you see on the internet , yes you can buy very cheaply in a village with no facilities in a remote location with few in any other Brits but is that what you want.
Do you want to be close to the expats, to be in a location where language will not be an issue, access to health care ( read Ukrams posts of the issues they have faced ).
I suggest you draw up a checklist of what you must have, a move to another country not a decision taken lightly and one based just on what you can afford.

peterfc

Hi

Best start with a TOP 10 list of the must haves
Then a list of the TOP 10 what you hate.

I live in a village a couple of Kilometres outside of Gois. This weekend we have just had the largest Motorbike festival in Portugal up till now there are no reports of any trouble. So don't right of living in the country and if you need Brits you will always find then just go to the local bars you will soon hear them.

Peter

Saxon52

Hi Red Eric,

Thanks for the kind words. Yes, I have visited Portugal. Specifically the north. We seem to be of similar minds as I don't want to be isolated yet could handle living in a big city. (I had enough of London decades ago!).

First of all, I am single so I am extremely flexible with just about everything. My interests include in no specific order: hiking, cycling, landscape photography, and food. I don't own a car and haven't since 1996 (I think, but you get the idea). I rent when one is needed. My income is a modest pension.

Thanks!

riv

Well is there anywhere in the North that you particularly like ?

In general terms the North and Centre ( inland ) are cheaper than the Lisbon and further south areas. As you are prob aware.

Have you watched the programme about the person buying an old not quite ruin in a village and doing it up for ten grand ? I think that is somewhere towards the Centre , east of Coimbra.

You would not want to rush into that kind of decision straight away, but worth bearing in mind as a possibility if you find somewhere you really like the idea of putting down roots.

I do not see how you can realistically get around looking at places ( other than the towns which are on the railway system ) without having a car at your disposal. It may be possible in theory to get by without one but I think it would restrict you very much as to the areas you were able to explore.

Personally I think i would be minded to hit on somewhere attractive and cheapo for an initial three to six month rental, at maybe Euros 350 to 450 per month. I think this would be doable in many of the historic towns up North - ? Ponte de Lima for example ? Or maybe even Porto. The idea would be to establish a temporary base early on, with an address for receiving mail, maybe somewhere near a Library for internet access ( if you don't want to shell out for that at the house / flat ).

And then use that base for expeditions hither and yon, a few days at a time. I suppose it might be possible to do without a car for some of those expeditions, especially if you upgrade to an electric bike.
I don't think there is such a thing as a cheap, second hand car in Portugal, certainly not one that would be reliable. So if you end up buying one make sure you have good breakdown insurance to go with.

If after three months you had not found your ideal spot you could migrate down towards the Centre / Serra d' Estrela / Alentejo and start again. Évora might be a nice base for three months ?

Saxon52

Hi Riv,

Thanks for your reply and sorry about my vagueness. I would be looking more at the smaller cities/ towns/ villages as I hate crowds. Sailing is a passion for me (even possibly being a live aboard) but I don't have to be within 5-10 minute walking distance of the ocean. I am thinking inland would probably be cheaper.

I don't speak Portuguese but willing to learn. I speak some Spanish, have schoolboy French, and can swear in Dutch (not sure that last one counts). I am open to anything so a mix of English speakers/Portuguese is fine with me.

Why Portugal? I have been exploring all options for several years. I have considered Central American countries such as Panama, Costa Rica, and Ecuador. These have been ruled out because they have been flooded by mostly wealthy Americans pushing up the prices of accommodation, etc. (Panama, especially is now way too expensive.) Thailand remains an affordable possibility. The main reasons for choosing Portugal is because of its climate, central location in Europe, political/economic stability, and safety. Several years ago I was involved in an accident that shattered my left arm (yes, I'm left-handed!). Although it was fixed with a new elbow and steel pins and a plate or two I have problems when it is cold. Due to poor circulation, my arm becomes an aching mass of flesh that no longer functions properly. Therefore I need to live somewhere with a least a moderate climate.

I enjoy cultural activities but they don't have to be on the doorstep (like where I am living now).

I don't have car nor do I intend to get one. Been without now for over 20 years. I rent one when it is needed. Thanks for the warning about Lisbon! Its reputation is well know.

Thanks!

Saxon52

Thanks! Some great suggestions here. Renting initially was my plan. If I don't like where i chose then it is easy to move on. I discovered a long time ago that owning a car, which spends 95% of its life doing nothing, is just too expensive. In the long run, renting is cheaper.

riv

I can entirely see that, once you have established the specific place you wish to live on a permanent basis ( insofar as anything is permanent) that you could manage without a car, assuming you are in ( safe ) cycling distance from a functioning railway station.

However, I think that that is a different situation from the initial six months to a year when you are needing to get around with a degree of efficiency in order to explore the very different locations which Portugal offers, and especially the more remote places, which are likely to offer beauty, tranquility, and comparative cheapness, whether to purchase an old place to do up ( do you have those skills ? ) or to rent cheaply. For the initial six months to a year I believe you would save a whole load of time, and money, by owning a cheapo car, with excellent breakdown insurance ( don't know if anyone on here can recommend such ) ?

The alternative to owning might be a long term rental deal but I don't know how competitive that might be, compared with outright ownership. Worth asking around I suppose, or researching online.

Are you absolutely giving up all property ownership or rental in the UK ? You will have no base there to return to at all ? I ask because if you do continue to maintain some kind of UK residence status initially then you would be entitled to bring out a UK registered , insured, MOTd, breakdown insuranced, car and keep it in Portugal for up to six months perfectly legally. This might well be cheaper than any form of Portuguese car purchase etc.. Of course, after six months you would have to get it back to the UK, or possibly sell it on to someone else with a UK residence ( as I think that on the date of transfer of legal ownership, provided the car remained legal in the UK, the six months grace period would recommence for the new owner. ).

Ukkram

You have expressed an interest in the northern region and as I live here I give you some pointers. I live in Viana do Castelo which is about 70 km above Porto. It is a picturesque sea side city and has the only state and private hospital north of Porto.

Public transport: Busses running hourly to every corner of the town. Intercity busses and regional busses run on a regular basis even on weekends.
Trains run about hourly as well and include regional and inter regional trains. There are rapid trains that do low flying to Lisbon and Paris as well from Viana.
No need for a car here.

Rental costs: We pay € 375.00 for a semi furnished 2 bed apartment that is not old and has granite and wood finishes even in the common areas. Unfurnished similar flats in this area are as low as € 300.00 pm.
I was looking to relocate to Porto but change my mind when I saw the prices. A flat much like mine would cost € 150.00 more in Porto. I love Porto with their metro but I'm a proud cheapskate and freeloader.

Cons: You will become a social hermit here. Hardly anyone our age can put even one word together in English other than "OK".. Learn Portuguese some would say. How do you when you cannot interact with anyone here to learn the language.
Local tax office. Don't go there. They shout at you.

riv

https://sigarra.up.pt/flup/en/cur_ge..._curso_id=4361

Well one way to learn Portuguese would be enrolling in the Curso Para Estrangeiros offered by the University of Porto, with semester from October thru' February. A total of 60 hours classes, 2 x 2 hours per week.

Total Fee ( 'Propina' ) is just 340 Euros .

I assume this means that the course takes place on just two x days between Mon and Fri, thus leaving a load of other days to explore the northern region.

I have just looked at the website and enrolment ( online only as far as I can tell ) is still available and continuing to 12 Sept.. ( However, if either of you wants to enrol on this course don't delay as a friend of mine who did so last year had the devil's job to get the online system to work ).

https://sigarra.up.pt/flup/en/cur_ge..._curso_id=4361

If I knew no or very little Portuguese, but wished to establish myself in Portugal, I would think it a no brainer to enroll on this course.
It provides a base of sorts; a social base; you would be able to use the University Canteen for cheapo meals.
And still have plenty of time to explore around the northern Region.

riv

BBC - Languages - Portuguese - Talk Portuguese - A video introduction to Portuguese

The above would be an excellent ( and completely FREE ) way to start learning at least some Portuguese.

Knowing Spanish is not as much help as you might imagine ~ lots of vocab is different, but above all, the pronunciation is very different and much more difficult than Spanish. Do not delay in starting to learn, and pay especial attention to pronunciation ( correct spelling while a big plus, is less important / urgent ).

Once you are in Portugal films are nearly all in English with subtitles in Portuguese ~ a painless way to acquire some knowledge of colloquial Portuguese.

Exp76

How do you get by without speaking Portuguese ? How easy or otherwise was it to find an apartment ?

EMR

That tv prog had a rider it was filmed in an area that was devastated by fires.