hello all.We are taking the plunge!! we arrive on the 8th of sept, can not wait to get away from the UK,gets worse day by day.our 2 children start at the international school on the 10th of sept,so any advice or recommendations will be gratefully received.Please tell me we are not making a mistake!! See you all soon.

Depends on what income you have I guess. How old are the kids?

hi,we are ok finance wise,the kids are 11 and 10,just at the age where they get more telling offs than pats on the back!!

Having children at ths school should get you into the " network " straight away.

You may find that their friends could be spread across the Algarve and that they may not have any on the doorstep.

W have to spend 7 months/ year in the UK but as soon as we can will be in the Algarve for most of the year as the quality of life far exceeds that of the UK.

thanks emm,do you stay in carvoeiro when you are here,if so how do you find the area?

We have a villa not in one of the holiday areas.
We love the quiet village out of season, the quality and variety of the fresh food and vegetables.
The long walks in country and coastline ( the spring flowers are unlike anything we see in the UK ).
Good value golf ( again out of the high seasons ).
Fantastic beaches, 20 degrees on christmas day.
Not eating inside from late May until end september.
Neighbours who talk to you ( even if you do not speak Portuguese ).
Restaraunters who value their regular customers who visit at all times of the year.
Regularly finding somewhere new to eat for half the price of the Tourist places.

And on and on.

that sounds just like the kind of lifestyle we are looking for! thanks for your reply emm

We're in Carvoeiro and have a 10 and 11 year old as well! We are sending the kids to Vale Verde though. Still, when you get in, send a pm if you are interested in meeting some other kids... We are in Carvoeiro Clube.

thank you globetrotter,that would be very helpful, we will keep in touch

Hi

Sent you a PM but you can e-mail me on philip@carvoeiro.me if you dont get it (messages seem to stick in the outbox).

We did exactly what you are proposing - took the plunge, rented a house, found a property to renovate, made every mistake that could be made, learned a huge amount and are very happy to pass on our experiences good and bad to you.

We love life here and I am sure you will too. We have met some fantastic professionals (solicitor, architect, builder etc) but have also met some real rip off merchants who seemed OK at first but then showed their true colours.

E-mail if you would like to meet up - we are happy to share our experiences good and bad and help you avoid some of the pitfalls!!!

On a very positive note we love the life here on the outskirts of CVO in the Algarve - had dinner last night virtually on the beach at one of the best restaurants around and then sat on the terrace watching X Factor (Sky Plus) and admiring the view over Gale till gone midnight when it wwas still 22 degrees

Pickwick