My partner and i are seriously considering uprooting and settling in Portugal with Carvoeiro our prefered location. Any advice/info would be most helpful including information on the cost of living, availability of work, health care etc
Thanks Martyn and Sharon.

Can't give you any advice - plenty of others will - but good luck and I hope you get there - it's a great place.

If you can rent for 6 months at least, do not burn your UK boats.
During that time you will find the answers to the questions you ask.

Many of us who have moved in full or part time can only do this because we are able to continue our UK income streams.

If we had to rely on finding work in the area it would be a very different story.

If you search through the many posts on this forum you'll find most of your questions have already been answered.

I would not want to do it if I had to earn a living in Portugal at the moment. If you can be "self funding" than that is one thing - but there are not many jobs and those that are available are not that well paying.

We made the permanent move here in June - after 23 years as a property tourist and some before as an ordinary tourist.

I continue to work 'in' the UK and Europe - traveling, 3-5 days a month. That will continue into the future. My wife has retired after 30+ years in the NHS and will, once all the family and friends have gone back look for something part-time here to keep her mind active.

Like others have said - jobs here are few and far between and those that are do not pay a sensible wage.

Carvoeiro is a great place to live which was brought home to me last week when I traveled back to London and even though it is only 9 weeks since we left - I was amazed at the speed everything moves at (something I had not previously considered) - which adds to the attraction of being here.

The advice 'rent before you buy' is very wise - especially if you need to earn to repay a mortgage and live a sensible lifestyle. Do it with your eyes wide open and do not be tempted by the lure of the sun and warm climate

Hi Martyn and Sharon,

Mark and I made the move to leave the "rat race" in January 2007 to "live the dream!". We are still here and don't regret our decision at all. Don't get me wrong, it has not all been plain sailing and Portugal has it's frustrating aspects as well, but at the end of the day this is now where we call home and where for the forseeable future we see ourselves living.

The advice given not to burn your UK boats is good advice, but unfortuanately we were not in the position to be able to do that, so we have burnt our UK boats. However, we did spend at least 18 months prior to moving here doing our homework and coming out to visit and finding out more information. This is so important to do - we have seen/heard of so many people who have come to "live the dream" without doing their homework and ended up having to go back to the UK. We bought our restaurant here in Carvoeiro and that is how we earn our money (well some months we do!). If you are looking to be employed by other people, then the advice already given is true. Jobs are few and far between and pay very little. In addition, you would also in the majority of jobs need to be able to speak Portuguese.

We rented before we bought our house here as well - again good advice, that way you get to know the local areas well before you decide on exactly where you want to live.

We are residents here and the health care is second to none. Neither of us have private medical insurance and use the equivalent of the NHS and have never had a problem with it.

To sum up, we moved to Portugal for a better quality of life and we certainly have that. However, we do not have nearly as much money as we had back in the UK, but we have our own business that pays the bills and allows us to lead a better quality of life than we had back in the UK "rat race". If you do make the move, then allow yourselves at least 18 months to 2 years to feel settled here - it takes time and we still miss aspects of the UK but we certainly prefer to live here!

Hope the above is of some help and good luck
Mark and Jan

Hiya Mark and Jan,
Very sound advice which should be taken on board.
Sorry we have not been in for a visit of late, but as mentioned on this site we have not been over to CVO for some time. However as soon as we do we shall be straight in for a drink and a chinwag.
Love to you both

Mark and Jan

I just have to say that your post is one of the most sensible and interesting I have seen on these forums.

Better than all the back biting and name calling that goes on elsewhere!

It's what these forums should be all about - I'm sure Martyn and Sharon found it really useful.

I agree, very useful

Definitely rent for up to six months and see how you find it. A two weeks beautiful holiday is not the same as six months or more. By then you will get to know the country, the culture and the seasons.

While you are staying it is not a bad idea to look beyond Carvoeiro(CVO) in search for property. You may find a different location that you will fall in love with that is a tad cheaper.

The Algarve is such a big area and CVO is just one of its many jewels but is its most alluring!

As for information such as health care, weather, internet, vulla rental. tax, etc etc just tap that in the search bar and a mine of useful information will appear.

James Faro wrote:While you are staying it is not a bad idea to look beyond Carvoeiro(CVO) in search for property. You may find a different location that you will fall in love with that is a tad cheaper.

Just to follow on from what James has said above, in Carvoeiro as in all tourist locations along the Algarve the property prices will be higher just because of the location. We eventually bought in Ferragudo, only 10 minutes down the coast from Carvoeiro but we certainly got a lot more property for our money than we would have done in Carvoeiro. Similarly, if you buy North of the En125 you will also get a lot more property but you will probably still only be 10 minutes away from Carvoeiro and it's attractions.

Baggysallyjane - looking forward to seeing you guys when you are next over

TomUK, Tricky - thanks for your comments - just trying to help

Well we decided not to move out, but we made that decision based on our kids and their education..if it was just my wife and I then I really do think we would have moved out. We are lucky in so much that we could "probaly" rent an apartment and live a modest life without the need to work, however work defines us (and stops you getting ratarsed every day) so this really big decision depends on sooo much more than a standard set of options, its really really an individual thing. Dont let people piss on your chips, if you really really have to go...then go..but eyes wide open sunshine! Plan b, c and d is no copout after all its your job to make sure you dont feck it up for your family..nowt on a whim...think. think and think again

We missed the boat. we shouldve moved out when the children like lots of friends of ours.
their kids adjusted almost straight away because they were young. Ours are now 16 so we are stuck here for a couple more years, but we WILL make the move and have already made plans.

Same boat as us I think Tricks....we are planned in to at least 8 months a year from my 50th..12 years away but we as a family have seen a lot of the "tick box" places and the girls are getting more and more £££££ sooo we / I visit the village more and more off peak (and we love it then) O Barco in Feb..great..carnival..explore the Algarve..love it..feel blessed sometimes and then get the credit card bill