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Spain or Portugal

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SussingItOut
  7/13/2004 22:46 EST

Hello all,
My wife and I are considering buying a villa, apartment or something similar as a base for Europe. I am a Uk citizen with aussie citizenship and she is an aussie.
We want to use the base for say 4-5 mths a year to explore the country and also enjoy the climate and the expat communities.
Without expecting all our queires to be answered in this single letter we are wondering what the pros and cons are of portugal v spain.
Definitely want warmer climates though not sweltering and enough english speaking expats to feel part of the place. But dont want any of the obvious tourist/ nightclub areas.
We are both 50 and retired with our own income so no employment issues prevail for us. It is time for us to kick back and enjoy life finally.

piglet
  7/20/2004 16:37 EST

Hi there

We are of the same age group and have chosen Portugal.
The western Algarve to be exact. A very little known place to the Brits called Aljezur. There are beautiful deserted beaches and a multicultural society away from the rat race and the tourists.

In fact the beach at arrifana, if I have spelt it correctly is brilliant for surfing and people come from all over the world.

Perhaps we have chosen this area because it is not full of golf courses and completely away from the tourist areas. We love the wild beautiful beaches, enjoy long walks and tranquility and we love space. This area unlike alot of the algarve is not a concrete jungle. It is part of a protected natural park
We also enjoy meeting people from different backgrounds ie germans, french, portuguese etc etc

the people are also very friendly and helpful.

We only visited Spain once, and did not take to the people. Perhaps we were just unlucky.

Also there have been several issues on what I believe is termed "land grab" You can buy a plot, build on it and yrs later builders through a loophole in the law can build a road through your land then make you pay for it!. Not sure quite how it works, but we watched a TV programme about it and the effect it had on the familieies, both financially and emotionally.

HAve a look at Val da telha and surrounding beaches.

Good luck
C

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jean235
  10/16/2004 21:40 EST

Hello, Considering the are you now live in... About how far would 75,000 to 100,000 US dollars go toward buying a modest place there?

piglet
  11/5/2004 17:35 EST

Hi

Sorry about delay in reply. not logged in for a while.

150-190,000 euros. buy a 2-3 bed villa

type in vale da telha in google and it will list agents and developers.
Let me know if you have any problems and I will put you in touch with our Portuguese agent.

Regards

hdemelo
  9/29/2005 15:29 EST

Hi,
My grandmother has to sell a large condominium tat she owns on the grounds of Expo 98. This is a beautiful location that will allow you to access the entire country. If you are interested I can send you more information i.e. a copy of the floor plan pictures and so forth.

tanu04
  1/12/2006 21:08 EST

quite amazing, we seem to be in almost identical boats.Live on sunshine coast want to retire to portugal.

My e mail is [email protected]

could you send me any information you glean and I will do the same.

mike

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Portugal Residency Advisors is a full-service consulting firm dedicated to providing personalized services to individuals and families seeking to relocate to Portugal. With a team of experienced professionals and strategic partnerships, we are well-positioned to assist clients with all aspects of the relocation process.

Click connect to have our partner contact you via e-mail and/or phone.

Portugal Residency AdvisorsPortugal Residency Advisors

Portugal Residency Advisors is a full-service consulting firm dedicated to providing personalized services to individuals and families seeking to relocate to Portugal. With a team of experienced professionals and strategic partnerships, we are well-positioned to assist clients with all aspects of the relocation process.
Connect

Click connect to have our partner contact you via e-mail and/or phone.

tanu04
  1/12/2006 21:12 EST

Good morning form OZ

We have almost identical backgrounds and needs as the couple you replied to.

We know the alagrve and hated it but where you are sounds more our cup of tea.

Can you let us know so much more.

Difficulty of getting absorbed, learning the language, property leads etc

we are retired and well funded

thanks

Mike

tanu04
  1/13/2006 16:11 EST

Can anyone tell me the C of L in Portugal say compared to UK>

Any special problems moving there apart fom language
Buy a car there? as moving from OZ

would love to hear from anyone who can tell me anything. no kids retired,not poor.

House prices for a property that is secluded , good garden and 4 bedrooms.Dont want an area such as I once saw in the east of algarve full of fish and chips etc.

Travel a lot so access to an airport a help,

house sitters? dog sitters? live in help?

just feed me all you have pl,plan to do a reccce in late March, weather then?

M

tanu04
  5/30/2006 22:32 EST

Dear Piglet,

Just read your notes of a year ago. i wonder if you are still around the area you talk about sounds exactly the area we are looking for and wil be over this year having sold out property in Australai.Our other thought is France so be interesting to know why you picked Porugal as I see the taxes are far higher than France, even basic income tax sans allowanes is 30%? thats tough/

Mike

tanu04
  5/30/2006 22:34 EST

Gud'ay from OZ,

Saw you posting of last year.

do tell us how did it all work out?

we have sold up here and plan exploring in September both France and portugal

bye
Mike

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