Portugal Property

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Portugal Property: Should You Retire to Portugal?

Date: 4/11/2008

The cost of living in Portugal is also a positive factor in the nation’s favour and because annually increasing numbers of retirees consider retiring abroad, Portugal is becoming a nation that potential retirees require additional specific information about.  To help answer the question ‘should you retire to Portugal?’ this article covers the main issues and facts that a potential retiree needs to be well aware of when determining whether they would like to settle in Portugal in retirement.

If you compare Portugal to Spain, France or even Italy which are the other mainland European locations hugely popular with British and international retirees you will immediately begin to see large differences between these popular nations and Portugal for everything from language to bureaucracy, from the cost of living to the ease of integration and I’m afraid to say that often a lot stacks up against Portugal.

For example, Portuguese has to be one of the hardest European languages to get to grips with and many who have retired to Portugal already find that they never grasp more than the basics making total integration impossible. 

If you’re the type of person who is not particularly fazed at the thought of not being able to integrate 100% into the Portuguese way of life then this is fine…but if on the other hand you have chosen Portugal over Spain because you actually want to live in the nation rather than in just any old retirement community in the sun, this may put you off your initial choice!

To find out whether the language barrier is going to negatively affect you or not, you can consider getting a Portuguese language course from the library or from Amazon.co.uk or even enrolling in one locally if you have such services nearby….this will give you a good introduction to the language and help you determine whether you can see yourself tackling it successfully or not.

The other negative often cited by those expatriates who have retired to Portugal already is that the health care system is poorer, lesser funded and more basic than that available in Spain or Italy for example, and that getting decent health care requires additional insurance which pushes up the cost of living.  Added to this fact is the issue relating to nursing care and home assistance for those who require a lengthy stay in hospital or who have an ongoing requirement for assistance.  A lot of the traditional roles nurses take on in the UK for example are taken on by family in Portugal – so your partner or family members may be required to feed you, change and wash bed linen etc., and home help may be impossible to come by or impossible to afford.

Naturally health care and related services are of importance to would be retirees therefore don’t over look these potential issues – think about them directly when determining your personal answer to the initial question posed by this article, namely should you retire to Portugal. 

Having touched on the main negative factors against Portugal as an ideal retirement destination it’s time to look at the positive factors that have driven up to 5,000 Britons alone to happily retire to Portugal already. 

In Portugal’s favour for would be retirees are many aspects such as the fact other than on the Algarve great swathes of the nation are untouched and unaffected by mass tourism.  In Portugal it’s still possible to find un-crowded beaches and towns even in the middle of summer meaning that it’s easier to make a real home for oneself in Portugal than in a bustling Spanish tourism resort for example.

Property prices away from the Algarve are also highly attractive and it’s possible to get a mortgage to buy property in Portugal from Barclays Bank for example which they secure on your Portuguese property rather than your British home and which you can pay off with a variety of income sources meaning owning your own home is not only affordable, it’s made even easier when you realise a familiar banking name has such a strong local Portuguese presence..

Additional positives that may have you answering ‘yes’ to the question should you retire to Portugal are the pace of life and standard of living – although the pace of life can take some getting used to!  If you move away from tourism towns in Portugal and integrate into Portuguese communities don’t be surprised to learn that paying utility bills and getting things done can take you the best part of a day because everyone likes to chat, no one is in a particular rush and if you become impatient you will be regarded as slightly strange!

The standard of living in Portugal is very high with great emphasis placed on good food and drink, good friends and family relations.  You can get back to basics in Portugal and possibly rediscover a way of life that you remember from many years ago back home and which you miss…but as stated, don’t ignore the language issues and don’t forget the health care planning.  If you face potential hurdles head on and plan well for rainy days, chances are you can have a fantastic retirement in Portugal and maybe even get to the point where you can advise other would be expatriate retirees on how to survive the move and get the very most out of a new life in the sun. Source: Shelteroffshore

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