How much you have to spend will be the main driver on this question, because naturally, the more you have the more choice there is. I’m certainly not saying that you want to live where the property is the most expensive – hell no – quite probably the area with the highest property values is really the least interesting. I just know I could’ve chosen better if I’d had more money.
I’m assembling some considerations that I think you should give serious thought to. No matter what you think your needs and wants are today, you don’t want your life falling to pieces when problems come your way. I’m no pessimist, but with a little forward planning, if problems do arise they don’t ruin your life. Righto?
Also, this is just my opinion. There are many expats living perfectly happy lives (for all I know) in remote areas of Portugal and I say good for them. If you’re one of these people, please say something in the comments. I’m just saying if I was to do it all again I would pay more attention to the following factors. I’ve just been reading the forum at expatsportugal.com and there are very nice people out there in Fundão and Castelo Branco living sustainably with their chooks and cherry trees and I take my hat off to them. You are better men than I am, gunga din.
- The Weather
Don’t go underestimating the value of sunny days. Take a long hard look at the weather stats for your home country and that of four cities in Portugal: Faro, Lisbon, Coimbra and Porto. Don’t just consider the extremes of temperature because they are the exception: look at average rainfall and average temperatures for each month, as well as the number of days with sunshine. Don’t live anywhere where the weather is worse than what you’re used to. If you don’t like the heat, then the northern half of the country could be for you. If you are passionate about summer however, I would strongly advise you to stick to the southern half.
- An hour from a city
Especially if you are from a city, you’ll find living too far from a major city a major pain. By city I mean Lisbon or Porto. More than one hour is too far. Portugal is, to be blunt, the least modern country of western Europe, which means country Portugal is not well equipped to deal with the 21st century. It took me a year to get a telephone connected. Our internet connection is slower than dial-up. You may be, like me, a refugee from the rat race, but trust me that from time to time you will need to get a computer fixed, to get something unportuguese to eat, or to browse a quality bookstore. You should get yourself a foreign culture fix sometimes – a little jazz, opera or an international act. Ikea? An embassy? A better choice of building materials and homewares? Access to more tradespeople and services. There are a million reasons why you need a city nearby.
If you’re thinking you can do without the modern life altogether, then being within an hour from Coimbra or Faro might be ok. Your minimum requirement is a Leroy Merlin (hardware, building materials, home wares), a FNAC (computers, tech accessories, music and books) and a big Continente (supermarket and homewares). Without these things at hand, life can get very inconvenient. Frankly I never should have lived too far from El Corte Ingles (more foodie supermarket/dept store). It took me 5 years and a few trips back home to realise just having more options was really important.
- Airport
This goes with the city requirement. Even if you think you’re done with traveling (?!?), your visitors aren’t. Love them or loath them, visitors are inevitable if you’re living in Portugal. OK, alright, perhaps you don’t want to be stuck doing airport runs all the time… then at least consider somewhere with a direct train line to Lisbon or Porto airports because you’re going to need it.
- Hospitals and health care
I was a strapping young fit and healthy 35 yr old when I arrived here and I didn’t think twice about hospitals. Little did I know how crap the local health centre was, or what bizarre afflictions would befall me. You are human, you break. No matter where in the world you are, you always need a decent doctor, so do your research about the availability and quality of health care in your area. On second thoughts, live within an hour of Lisbon or Porto. According to expatsportugal.com Algarvian expats are happy with the health care down there. Perhaps the demands of foreigners, and the location, attracts better doctors. Osteopaths along with other specialists, by the way, are rare in the country.
- The Sea
Unless you specifically hate the beach, you should at least aim to be within an hour of the sea. As with the weather, being near the sea is a cost-free pleasure if not a basic human right. The sea also comes with seafood, and the beach is an opportunity for exercise, and you need all the encouragement you can get to exercise in Portugal. However, really charming villages by the sea are in short supply on planet Earth. A lot of Portugal’s Atlantic coastline tends to be quite industrial and sparsely populated, dry, flat and surprisingly foggy.
- Extra Charm
You would do well to choose a locale that charms you, extra-specially. Not only will it continue to charm you every day but somewhere with at least a bit of a name will help when you move on. This is where it gets hard: getting the location right and a spot of great charm and beauty is a tall ask, which is why most of us buy where we do even though it’s totally impractical: because it’s got the magic. Outside of properly famous or touristy spots like Óbidos or Sintra, there are plenty of villages that are just a little cut above. Look for castles, for instance, or rivers and dams. The presence of a university should mean more youthful creativity and decent bars and music. Look at their festivals (not just the annual São João), culinary specialties and tourist attractions. If you have fallen for a place that’s super charming but more than an hour from a city I really recommend renting there for three to six months to get a proper sense of the place. It’s a wise move anywhere you choose.
- Friends
If you’ve already got friends in Portugal it pays to live near them if you can. Not next door necessarily but not so that the distance is an obstacle to your friendship. Also, they’ve already trialed the area and can advise you. I regret that my friends are so scattered about the country and more than an hour away and I don’t see them as much as I want to.
So, when you take these factors into consideration, where should you be looking?
The green patches on the map indicate an hour’s driving radius from Porto and Lisbon. Yellow indicates the other areas I mention below.
From north to south, wetter to drier:
Viana do Castelo, Braga, Guimarães & Porto. To the east past Amarante to Vila Real, around Espinho on the coast and then south to Aveiro.
Then from Aveiro to Coimbra to Leiria is a maybe (yellow) area. Coimbra is the third largest city and is a wonderful place, full of students and a small music and food scene. But it’s far from being an international city. I’m quite fond of Leiria too which is very pretty and has good shopping , but this is central Portugal and quite far from any airports. Still, around Coimbra and Leiria is preferable to further east in the Beiras, despite some spectacular mountain areas.
Around Nazaré and Alcobaça is also a maybe area, somewhere I’d really bend the rules for. Like Viana do Castelo, Nazaré is an especially nice place, a rare example of cute Portuguese village meets the sea. But it’s 1.5 hours from Lisbon. It does have Leiria and Caldas da Rainha within 30 minutes however, which are both fairly civilized: both have Bricomarché (a backup to Leroy Merlin) and Leiria has a Fnac. This whole area is dense with beauty and interest.
Things start getting very interesting at Caldas da Rainha, and this is where I would start a search. Caldas is a bit flat for my liking but it has the beach so close so I’d live with that. Draw a line across to Santarém, which is hillier and I’d look at everything within this triangle to the north of Lisbon, especially beachside. Go village stalking, although beware of getting too far from a freeway because this will add a lot of time to your run to Lisbon.
Anywhere from Lisbon to the west coast would probably bring a lot of happiness, but this is most likely the most expensive territory in the country (some places in the Algarve would cost the same). Évora and Sines and beyond the one hour boundary, but are certainly worth considering for beauty and interest (Évora) and seaside (Sines). Ditto the Alentejana coastline, which should in theory be all gorgeous but you have to be choosey with your villages and how far they are from the freeway.
Then there’s the Algarve, which is 2.5 hours to Lisbon, and although Faro has an airport and even an Apple store, it is not quite a substitute for a major city, but it might suffice. The Algarve has a different character to the rest of the country, with a lot of British expats and a lot more English spoken: To me it feels less foreign and unique and it’s therefore less desirable. Some parts of the Algarve are beautiful and some of it is a hideous hellhole, but at least the weather is better here than anywhere else. The most touristy part is from Albufeira east to Spain, with the far west being less populated. Portimão is a well equipped big town, an hour from Faro (with much the same resources) and Silves is a nice town within this area. A thorough search north of Faro up to Almodovar might produce quirky villages, Alcoutim is worth seeing for instance, but there’s not a lot else inland in that area. Mértola and Monchique would be worth checking out but they are both over an hour from Faro. The Algarve should be looked at in the summer, when you’ll get a proper idea of the size of the population at its most intense.
There are Fnacs in Faro and Albufeira and Leroy Merlin also in Albufeira. From many reports the health services here are better than in the rest of rural Portugal.
Regrettably, my considerations leave off many lovely charming places in the far north and east and south east of the country which are great to visit but, as a long term home, I think would become inconvenient to live in. I really love the Minho but it is cold and wet and very far from civilization, as is Trás os Montes. The mountainous areas of the Beiras, Serras dos Açor, Estrela and Lousã, host some of the most curious and picturesque villages in Portugal. To the east, Monsanto and Belmonte are charming and of another time, but seriously a very long way from the modern world. I still haven’t been to the marble towns of Vila Viçosa, Estremoz and Borba. These, and many other towns, are all great places for exploring and discovering once you’ve found a practical, well-connected, flexible and comfortable base camp to call home.
Couldn’t agree more on the dangers of being too far away from the things you enjoy. I have put off moving to my renovated house near Tondela because I would miss El Corte, a sea breeze and the regular girls’ lunch out. On a more serious note, as you get older, distance from a good public hospital weighs heavily. So the cherry tree and view of the vineyards, have been put on the backburner.
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@Lisa, yes, the girl’s lunch!
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Im hoping to be as far away from everything you have mentioned and do the self sufficient bit. I Enjoy reading your blogs but disagree with your train of thought a lot. Having been in a tiny village in the area of Castelo Branco and having had an accident the walk in centre was more caring, cheaper and a damn site quicker than any where I have been in the uk. I have found the health system much better. Im not interested in the sea and living next to loads of English expats sort of ruins the point of learning a new language and living in a different country? Not having a go just saying some people have a very different point of view. 🙂
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@Lolo, thanks for the comment. Couldn’t agree more about the ‘loads of expats’ and the language. What’s the point? 🙂
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Hello Emma,I hope you are well 🙂 As an Aussie I love your posts and look forward to hearing more!!! I don’t think you have written about Figueuira da Foz, it is beautiful here and is where I bought my first Portuguese property. The people here are beautiful, the food, the history absolutely everything. In Figueira da Foz we have the beach, the river, an island and mountains. It has everything!! I have also have a hostel in Lourinha now on the beach at Areia Branca. I love Portugal and everything you write about. I do hope when I am next in Portugal (August 2015) that I get to meet you 🙂 Please keep writing about Portugal as I love your posts 🙂 and continue to refer you to other Aussies who are looking at moving to Portugal.
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Hi Junita! Yes Figueira da Foz should definitely be on a search list… how could I leave it off??? I always loved the sound of your project; a hostel on the beach. Good for you! What’s the name of it and do you have a website? Great to hear from you again, xx
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Nice blog Emma.
Those 3 marble towns you mentioned are cracking towns, and not too far away from elsewhere. You could easily retire to one of those places.
But for me, either in or very close to Evora is probably the best place to live, yes a remote feel in some ways, as you are in the ‘country’ of the Alentejo after all. But Evora has most things that you need, a good sized hospital, schools, heaps of restaurants, bars, a massive university culture and lifestyle for the youngsters, an old but modern-enough town at the same time, great weather for the vast majority of the year, and a very friendly and warm local population.
And if there’s something you really need and can’t find in Evora, or you want to go and watch the great Benfica play, then Lisbon is only a 75 minute drive on the freeway.
Even though I’m now a migrant myself and have been for 23 years, and don’t live anywhere near Evora anymore, for me it’s the perfect place to live, bring up a family, and enjoy life!
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Thanks andre. Good to hear about Evora, and now that’s two points for the marble towns…
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Hi Emma. I am an Aussie and have not met any other Aussies so it is nice to know they are here and would love to meet. I am probably a little older than most as we retired last year. We live near Viseu and that is because that is where my husband has always had a house as he was born there. So sometimes you can’t pick and choose. But, Viseu has a hospital, there is good health care if needed near by and also it is near Qoimbra which apparently has one of the best hospitals in Portugal. I enjoy your posts as it is interesting to heR how Aussies find Portugal. I love our life here but occasionally would like to meet another Aussie.
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@Sharon Carter, there aren’t many of us! A while back I was in contact with a few aussies at once and thought ‘oh we need a bbq’… dont know where they’ve all gone now ;,(
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Hi Emma. Great informative read as usual. Thank you. My input is Aldeia Da Serra, Celorico da Beira. My budget bought me here along with the love of the countryside and “crime free”. Being Portuguese/South African, Cape Town will never be replaced anywhere in Portugal. Celorico da beira as a clinic, firestation, primary and secondary school, bus terminus, train station, building suppliers and not far from Guarda for big stores. You and hubby must pop in sometime. Ciao
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hi Rodrigo! I’m off to look it up now… I remember good cakes in Guarda, as I would… xx
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I seem to have a bit of a different requirement. I bought a place as a holiday home that gives us a contrast to life in London and you don’t get a bigger contrast in a first world country than central Portugal. I would agree with much of what’s been said but I got a place in the centre of a town with a small garden that I don’t think many consider. You get the benefit of short walking distance to 6 or so bar’s and café with shops etc. without the downside of the city life I need to get away from sometimes / often. If you do want land to play with and come from a city you could do alot worse than getting something on the edge of town. For me Portugal is a great spectator sport that I would badly miss if I couldn’t regularly visit. I’ve had a house here that I’ve been renovating for 8 years and don’t regret any of the ups and downs. As Emma says, do your homework and leave the rose tinted spec’s in your pocket.
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Yes that sounds like a great balance… having an “escape” but also a bunch of cafes accessible. Very civilised.
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Hi Emma,I would recommend you to vistit the inland of the Alentejo, more to the spanish border. Monsaraz is a great place to visit, with stunning view over the Alqueva lake.
But we fell in love with Estremoz, one of the marble towns. It’s a lovely place, and doesn’t feel to isolated, has great restaurants, and a tradional weekly market. We bought a land of 27 ha with 2 ruins on it. We hope to open a modern b&b in 2 years. An excinting adventure!
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@Andy Didden, great to hear about inland Alentejo, especially a thumbs up for Estremoz. Thanks and good luck with your bnb venture.
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https://www.facebook.com/Tempovoaportugal
We’ve just been through this decision process at the end of last year so it all sounds very familiar!
In the end, we decided to head south, and I think we’ve found a good compromise in the outskirts of Tavira. It has Faro relatively nearby (airport, Fnac, big shops), and Sevilla just 1.5 hours away (for Ikea and El Corte Ingles), yet it’s sunny and relatively quiet… for now anyway! 🙂
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http://http
Hi Emma!…
Love your latest round of posts.
I agree with a lot of what has been said here.
I lived near Aljezur in the Western Algarve which is a beautiful part of Portugal. It is remote but you do have Lagos nearby which I think is the best town in the Algarve. There are lots of tourists in the summer but there is enough of a vibe in quieter months so you don’t feel isolated.
I also love Evora and Setubal and agree with previous comments. I think both these places offer an incredible life style with access to Lisbon if you need a big city fix.
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Thanks jennie!
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http://www.iberica.com.au
Emma – I think you’re a bit harsh. The A13 makes driving north/south in the interior somewhat easier now. I’m biased – I’ve bought in Tomar. Fractionally closer to Lisbon but the car hire, traffic, local hotels, and airport are just so much nicer at Porto that I’d much rather fly through there.
All I really need now is a lock-up garage somewhere accessible from the airport by walk or tube, and I’d be truly fixed.
One word of warning though – I have found the train to be Very Slow. Don’t rule out the long-distance coaches.
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Thanks James, and yes I agree, I am a bit harsh. There must be many many exceptions where the trip to the city is not a big deal. You’re so right about the garage near an airport 🙂 I had a good thing going at an inert building site on the edge of lisbon airport for a while, but you’d have to have a building site-looking car for that 😀
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This was really interesting.
We are moving over in August and are renting in Peniche, as we were intending to live in Caldas da Rainha.However, I had a wobble and decided that I needed to be nearer to a city. Coimbra seems (on paper) to fit the bill. We don’t have a huge budget and would welcome any advice.
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@Jane Callaghan, yes coimbra is gorgeous and interesting and the university hospital is good. Plenty of cute villages around it too… happy searching x
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Hi Emma,
Nice post – lots for the undecided to consider there.
May I just disagree very mildly with your assessment of the Minho?
You describe it as being cold, wet and very far from civilisation. Having lived here for 10 years I can assure everyone that it is anything but cold in the summer (Braga’s regularly Top of the Pops on the weather charts), summer heat during the day in Portugal having more to do with distance from any coast than with north/south-ness. We do ok for civilisation too, with the bigger cities (Braga, Guimarães, Viana do Castelo) able to supply most needs that can’t be met locally and Porto a not-too-distant hop. Our small-ish town also has a thriving arts scene and some surprisingly big visiting names.
The Minho does, of course, do wild and remote too – especially in Portugal’s only National Park, the Peneda-Gerês. And some spectacular beaches.
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Thanks Jim, happy to accept praise for the Minho. It’s also fantastically beautiful and all that pale granite just makes me drool. I spent a couple of months around Viana during a record-setting wet season, so I guess my experience is er, a bit, slanted. Braga is in my top 3 best towns of Portugal, that’s for sure.
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Thanks for a very informative article. I live in Coriscadas which is a village of 8 residents near Castro Laboreiro. Living in the Penada-Geres national park is simply wonderful if you like walking in a stunning and diverse environment. Luckily I have managed to find a modernised house with central heating and good insulation. A lot of the available houses are poorly insulated and not suitable for the winter unless you want to wrap up in 6 layers of clothes and almost hibernate like the locals. From my terrace I have uninterrupted views and regularly see Eagles and other birds and wildlife. They avoid hunan contact but if you are determined you can see wolves. I have never before lived in such a friendly place. It is also the cheapest place I have ever lived in. Castro Laboreiro is 1 mile away and has 3 hotels, restaurants, cafes/bars etc and although touristy is not tacky and is in fact charming. Yesterday I had the set lunch in one of the hotels, 3 courses, coffee and large carafe of wine for €5. Living here would not suit everyone. The nearest bank/cash machine doctor etc is 26 km away. Also, 26 kms away is a small English school where I am learning Portuguese. This is a must as I know of no other English expats living nearer than 40kms away. Luckily me and Gus (my dog) have made a lot of Portuguese friends. Very few locals speak English but most also speak Spanish and French.
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Vey informative but I feel more confused than ever. I am 70 and want to be near some cultural activities but in a safe and affordable place. I want to rent. Still not sure where I belong! Also, if anyone knows of an honest agent who can help me get through the visa and medical insurance processes, please let me know. I’m an American but a bit twirly as I contemplate this move. Thanks
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Hi.i recently bought a little farm near castelo branco but need a barn renovated.
I am trying to find phone nos for concrete companies and builders auppliers but its a nightmare.does anyone know where i could find numbers
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Quoting from your post: …This is where it gets hard: getting the location right and a spot of great charm and beauty is a tall ask, which is why most of us buy where we do even though it’s totally impractical: because it’s got the magic…
That is exactly what we did, buy impulsively. Two places in fact, a city pad (Viseu) and a country ruin with some land (south of Coimbra), because we could not choose between the two. Both were certainly no bargains. Eventually a small house was built on the land with all the bureaucratic rigmarole as you describe. We just had to take the rough with smooth. We feel we cannot get angry with the Portuguese people, because they are so nice. Bartering is the next thing I’m after, as so far any land work carries hefty fees. But, life is wonderful here. Oh, and dentists are good, and when I had a bad fall due to one of those pavement cobbles missing(!) I had excellent treatment A&E.
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I appreciate your blog for it’s intelligence. I’m usually left with more questions than answers. But, not with you. Thanks. Though I do have a question. Is it possible to find a 12 month (or more) rental near the beach. My experience is that many “beach” flats only rent from Sept. to June, and then rent to summer tourists. I’m looking to settle for awhile. I’m not sure your even around since the last reply I can find is for Jan. 2016 Hope you are
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Hi there . I’m thinking of moving over to Portugal with my partner , two boys (11 and 13 ) and my animals . We would like somewhere near the sea and somewhere with plenty of life in it . Also we would need land for our ponies , , no more than 5 acres . Can you suggest were to start looking ? Thanks Debbie
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@Debbie, I’d start with the property on Pure Portugal. Sophie is also a pony-person and I’m sure will be a great help.
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Hi Emma,
I’m so glad you found Mertola! We rode our motorbikes down to faro from the UK for the obligatory trips to the custom show and music fest and having googled the junction on street view on (miraculous!) arrival at the same point decided to turn left down the alluring track of a road to the village. We rounded the bend and stopped suddenly in unison at the lake / resevoir for a cooling off. I just took off my boots and helmet and and jumped right in!
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Emma has hit lots of nails on the head for me and made me appreciate some aspects of the enormity we’d love to undertake. We’ve been to Faro, Fafe, Chaves, Granada, Mertola amongst others and love the lot. Certainly the people are marvelous. Portugal and the UK hold the longest Friendship Treaty. Why not, as I will, go back through her list of what to consider and make a few notes. We have looked on the pureportugal.co.uk site as there are as many varieties of examples of properties for sale as there are pockets.
Why not take an extended holiday in an (American left ‘hooker’ drive) RV and tour around the place for a feel of it too?
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Hi,
Having read the blog and enjoyed reading it , i am a bit unsure of a move to Portugals Silver Coast now , you see my Husband had Kidney and renal vein cancer and was treated amazingly here in France they even put a bed in the room for me to stay with him . The treatment was second to none and very quick , scans ect no problem . We were thinking about a change and fancied the Silver Coast but am not not sure at all .
Regards
Christina
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health care is really important, and I think you’ll get better services in Porto or Lisbon. I cant comment about any specific area, but I’d do your research. Good luck Christina
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Hi Emma, can one commute daily from Sintra to Lisbon or is that too much traffic?
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@Jim, I’ve never done it, but I’d think it’d be fine. I never really thought the traffic was that bad anywhere…
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Emma,
My wife and I are just beginning to look at Portugal as a retirement destination. This post is very helpful as we try to identify areas to see when we visit in May.
If you think of other posts of yours that might be helpful, please forward a link.
Thank you so much for generously sharing what you know.
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thanks, I sent you an email of the other “day trip” type stories you might be interested in
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Hi Emma
how are you
I have a question:
I want to buy a very small country house around a small farmhouse in beautiful, quiet and peaceful Portuguese countryside
At the same time, with me my wife, my love, I am a retired man and a foreigner, but I do not own a large sum, maybe only 10 thousand euros.
Where can I find such a house in Portugal?
Do I find this value?
Please help me
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10,000 euros will not buy a lot, but it’s still possible. I’d first look in Castelo Branco which is the bargain town of Portugal. Then just looking at small villages in obscure places. You’ll need local contacts at this price, but try just as I did with Remax and Era. Go travelling, when you find a small place you like start asking around. Someone bought a house in my village the other day for €5000. I wouldn’t live in it, but it does show that it’s possible. Good luck.
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I bought an apartment in Setubal https://tranio.com/portugal/ which is 30 minutes drive only from Lisbon itself, here are beaches, nice park and mountains, a lot of shops and cafes, also a rail station… So it is a good and cheap place to live if you can’t afford Lisbon itself.
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sounds great!
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Hi Emma great post! My husband & I are thinking of buying in Portugal too. We want to be close to the sea & great walks as we live in the countryside side at home town/city life would suit (but not too touristy or ex patty) and no further than 2 hours from an airport do you have any recommendations?
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@Michele, nazare… or just check out the map and recommendations in the post. Good luck!
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Emma, fantastic blog and well reasoned arguments.
Weather was your first recommended criterion to consider. Are you aware of any microclimate areas within an hour of either Porto or Lisbon that are worth taking into account? My wife and I prefer summer temps closer to 25 than 30 which of course is a challenge in many parts of Portugal. That said, we’d like those temps for much longer periods each year than we usually have. Being able grow lemons and oranges in a heatsink area of a garden would be a bonus. Too much to ask for?
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@David, growing lemons and oranges wont be a problem, but no I’m not read up on microclimes… I’d just do a thorough survey over the summer and then keep in mind extreme weather events are the future 😉
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Many thanks Emma, great article.
We’ve just moved to Valença and are really enjoying the location.
Keen to find some Portuguese lessons and also to meet like minded folk. I can’t seem to find any expat blogs for the North, any ideas?
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@Suzi, Hi, I dont know any off the top of my head. I’d check the expats blog sites that compile lists of blogs by country.
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I gather you have not had had any experiences in the Madiera or the Azores. we are considering them as an option. Thanks for your input concerning the peninsula!
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No Tom, I haven’t. I wish I had though, they always intrigued me. I know it’s expensive in both places, being distant islands and all.
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A very informative blog Emma. My husband and I live in Wilmington, North Carolina, USA, and are considering Portugal for retirement. We are both around 70 years old. Our biggest issue is the cost of health insurance since we will lose our Medicare and will be on a restricted income. Can we even start a life in Portugal, we ask ourselves. Do you or anyone know where we can get ALL the answers so we can make a decision. We will be visiting Portugal in September to scout around and of course after reading your blog understand that we would need to be near a large city especially if we don’t have a car for a while. So many questions and a little bit overwhelmed. Diane and Tom
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@Diane Clarkson, I’d start on the forum at expatsportugal.com/forum. Every question ever asked…
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HI Emma,
Love your blog! My husband and I are both Portuguese descent and are thinking of retiring in Portugal but are not sure where to settle. We are thinking of renting first so that we can establish whether we like it or not.
We are leaning towards the Algarve. I will continue to follow your blog.
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@Lili Goncalves, good idea to rent first. Good luck!
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Emma – I applaud your efforts and enthusiasm. We live between Maine and San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, but are seriously considering 6 months, off season, in Portugal instead. We stayed a month in Feb 2018 in Lagos, but would rather be closer to Lisbon and central Portugal to produce stories (my husband is a photojournalist). This article was quite helpful (we are in our late 60’s) and while we love the stimulus of city life, we prefer a small town. I’ll look for those castles, but that said, is there enough street life in a Peniche or Ericeira in the winter?
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http://bobkrist.com
Hi, Are you still in Tomar? I am close to buying a small house in the outskirts, Madalena and Beselga and would love to talk to you about your experience so far. I’ll be checking here to see if you got this message since its been a while since you posted.
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hi Suzana, I’m living in Australia now, but good luck with your purchase!
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Hi Lisa what was it like in the area near Tondela? Did you fall in love with the area or the house so you could live there. Or was it an investment project? What would you recommend about the area? Thanks
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Thanks for sharing your story, Emma. Good luck
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