Don't Move To Portugal (Residents Tell Us The Truth)

Get 10% off Get Your Guide 🇵🇹 Porto Tour with Local - gyg.me/hei4TOT2

If you are living in Portugal then Portuguese is not “a foreign language”.

One thing I never understood was the fear/reluctance and lack of drive that the English speaking natives have about learning other languages. In Portugal learning a second language is the ambition of everyone, specially if it is English. My advice is never reject an opportunity to learn another language. Do your kids a favor and put them in a local school, when the time comes. I am sure they will thank you later.

"Hey sailor, going my way?" I loved that. Okay, right from the beginning of this video, the first thing that came to mind was how privileged people have such extremely high expectations. The hubby was worried he'd be bored because he has a need for new things all the time. Here is my advice as a professional Portuguese country girl: don't get a place in rural anywhere. Portugal is slow in general, which is one of the most frustrating things for expats, but in rural areas, it's another level of slow. Just think about how exciting it would be to see the same woods every day and to hear your neighbors' roosters every morning at 5am. Think about cutting that grass, trimming the bushes, and cleaning the big yard, often. Then think about having to leave your place unattended if you want to go to Bali for a month. Think about how slow Portugal is, and how anything official takes forever. The Portuguese have their own pace and they don't like to be rushed. It's a small country with few people as compared to the UK or the USA. Think about that too. Things are different in Portugal, and that's the beauty of it To me, it's heaven, but I love the slow life, and I speak Portuguese. :) Plus, I love yard work, I love growing things, I love the comfort of sameness and routine, and I speak 5 languages. If you are in a foreign country to live, it's your obligation to learn its language and to integrate. I know, because I have lived in other European countries, and in the USA for years! I lived in LA several years, in Fresno several years, and I am now in Santa Barbara. But my heart always has been at home in Portugal, and it's where I want to go back to asap. Good luck.

I feel like what you're talking about is the truth of living on a rural farm and not the truth of living in Portugal, the issues you're discussing could be any rural farm in any part of the world.

totally agree with the immigrant vs expat comments by the American couple. I'm an American living as an immigrant in France for 15 years and this was totally my approach. Immersion in my village, improving my language skills and participating in French life have been key to my wonderful experience. Expats stick tend to stick together and isolate, benefiting from the location (lower pricing, etc.) but replicating their home country life with other expats (language, relationships, business, etc.). Learning a new language is good for your brain!

My tip as an older Aussie Father & grandfather, would be rent for 6 months and test yourselves during the heat of summer. It’s always far different & exciting visiting and holidaying in a new place compared to beginning a whole new life with no support network.

My family travelled all over the world as we were growing up in the 70's and 80's. Dad worked as an engineer and we went to school in Borneo, Oman, Saudi Arabia, New Zealand, Brunei, France, Italy, Egypt, Australia, London. There are english speaking schools everywhere. We came home with so much knowledge and lived experience. I had the best childhood in nature and roaming the world.

My main advice, as a parent who's gone through all the stages (just dropped off youngest at uni) is travel NOW while you can with Noah. Once he hits school age, of course, you CAN keep travelling and home school on the way for a while, but eventually you'll realise he's missing out on building long-term childhood friendships and a home base is fairer for him, if maybe limiting your aspirations for being on the move and travelling all the time. Also, having family and friends around you cannot be underestimated when you have little ones. Good luck with your decision making.

I do live in Portugal and I do enjoy living here. but I would be very cautious of buying a property with a lot of land or that needs a lot of work. They will both be a lot of work and always cost more than you think. For you, right now, as you still want to travel I would probably look for a small village house in a good state of repair or an apartment as usually there is a condominium who will maintain the grounds and any pools etc. There are even developments which will manage holiday lets for you while you are away. 30 minutes down a dirt track is not fun if you forget something from the shop or are waiting for an ambulance. Being on mains water, electric and sewerage is also a lot easier.

My wife and I moved from the UK to Mallorca 20 years ago, I know you have also been here, that's how I found your channel. Our kid was born here and went to the local nursery and schools so learned Spanish, and Catalan from birth. It turns out more by luck than judgement that for us it is the perfect mix. We live in a little Spanish village in the mountains, but if you want to have a busier life it's only a short drive to tourist places, the capital city Palma is gorgeous and with a resident population of over 1 million it's still thriving in the winter. The sea is turquoise and warm for 8 months, and in the winter the hiking caving, cycling in the mountain range here means winter is totally different, but just as good. The tourism here is avoidable if you stay in the countryside, but it provides an economy that means that it is easy to find work, and business opportunities. You can be in a marina with billionaires superyachts, and 10 minutes in the car and you are in sleepy villages in the mountains. The airport is so well connected that you can get to most European and Spanish cities when the mood takes you, especially in the summer and there is a very diverse population that makes life interesting. We chose well, albeit probably not on purpose. We love it...... but...... you won't find a 30 grand house to fix up. There are cheaper, parts of the island in the rural centre but not many bargains to be had. You are doing the right thing researching and thinking, but don't overthink it as you might end up talking yourself out of it. Give us a shout if you ever return here. I'll be happy to show you around.

I totally agree with the American couple about the amount of land. I wanted 3 or 4000 sq mtrs but the house we found and decided to buy only had 1000. Before I retired and could spend longer here, we would arrive and spend a couple of days clearing weeds and generally tidying up the place. We soon appreciated that 1000sq mtrs was plenty. We had fruit trees and olive trees and enough room to not feel hemmed in. Next to our property is miles of tracks through forests that we can enjoy without having to buy it or look after it.

I am portuguese, lived in 6 different countries and I came back to Portugal for good. Nothing compares to the safety, the sun, the health system. Learn the language and respect the culture.

I’d say Bill and Marcus gave you some great advice about tackling big acreage. I grew up on a “small” horse ranch with 25 acres, and my family owned other ranches and farms, ranging from 400 acres to 5,000 acres. Having land is wonderful, but it’s A LOT of work and you are definitely tied to it. We were never away from the horse ranch more than a week at any one time…maybe a couple of times a year…and that’s with friends and neighbors that could help look after things. The bigger places required people (extended family) 24/7, 365 days a year. The romance of living on a larger self-sustainable property is alluring…but be prepared for it to be an all consuming priority. That is, unless you’re extraordinarily wealthy and can hire full time live-in teams (and good ones are hard to find).

We're American expats living in Tokyo and raising our son here. Don't underestimate how good being raised in a bilingual/bicultural environment is for a kid's development.

the fact that there are abandoned property everywhere should tell you something. its a ton of work and, like you are doing, you really have to examine all the details and know yourself before committing to this way of life.

I think speaking the Portugese language is priority. You will always stay ‘strangers’ if you don’t speak the language of the country.

As a Brit who has lived here in Portugal since 1978 I would suggest you take a good hard look further South (not the Algarve) in the Alentejo region. It's Portugal's biggest region but at the same time the least populated and it has loads of lakes and a fantastic coast line. It has loads of lovely sprawling plains along with some great hillier areas. The 4 major towns are (North to South) Portalegre, Elvas, Evora and Beja, it is also the home of Europe's largest "lake" (reservoir) called Alqueva.

Perhaps it is worth considering buying in a village a property with a walled garden that you can lock and leave. Then you can travel but have an easy care place to relax between adventures. Country living is a big commitment and a lot of work. You can always buy a more rural place later if you find that’s what you want. Also nice for Noah to have some play friends in a village.

As a Brit living abroad (in Germany) with two kids.. one now 11yrs starting senior school and one 18yrs starting Uni. I made sure they went to German kindergartens and schools so they were fully emersed and had no language barrier. (I learnt to speak Germany before kids, within 1.5yrs and was 100% fluent after 3 yrs). Just from the covid pandemic it was really easy to see how isolation from other kids/their friends and not being able to go home and visit family in the UK for 3 years really negatively affected our mental health. Usually we get home to the UK in summer holidays and every other xmas, which also isn't much. Also running kids around to play dates, doctors appointments, sports clubs, music lessons, on top of school is a lot of work. The number of times my kids (but they are boys) ended at hospital for health issues, I am so glad I have a childrens hospital and pediatric GPs 15-20min drive from where we live. It is hard bringing up kids with no support net eg grandparents, family nearby. Also dealing with all this and the paperwork involved in raising kids would have been 10x worse if I wasn't already fluent in the German language. As your friend said.. don't see it as a "forever home"... there is not really such as thing! ..I have moved 17x including lived in 8 places in 3 cities since moving to Germany age 24. Life is constantly changing, then throw in a couple more lives to consider ie. your kids, and it becomes even crazier. Life is constantly changing and we need to adapt to accommodate everyones needs. Ps. The older you get, the older you miss home, family and friends. I am SO homesick to move back to the UK (I am now 50yrs old). But with kids still in school, I can't (legal prisoner of German family and divorce law) and I wouldn't at present anyway because it would be to much of an upheaval for my son now in seniors. My oldest has also decided to live at home while studying, at least for now, to reduce possible debts. I would advise you to enjoy travelling now as much as you can until Noah has to go to school. Then settle. Remember different countries, different rules. You are not allowed to homeschool in Germany. Children must attend a proper school. So be sure to check these types of things out before moving somewhere.