Moving to Portugal just before the crisis

Hello Diksha,

I moved in full Covid19 crisis, in May 2020, when about the whole of Europe was in lockdown.
Lucky for me, I made the preparations in December 2019, and in January and February 2020, before the Covid crisis hit Western Europe...
I was blocked though in March and April in my home state Belgium.
In May I took the risk of loading a hired van with my furniture, and drove on my own trough France and Spain to Portugal, but this was only possible because I was already registred as a resident in Portugal, and had my fiscal number (NIF), a rented address, and a Portuguese bank account number.

The different lockdows in Portugal were difficult: I could not travel inside Portugal or go to Spain as I wished, could not go back to Belgium to see my family as I wished, could not make many contacts in Portugal...

I saw enough of Portugal -Lisbon, Porto, the Alentejo coast, Algarve-, to fall in love with this country and its people, the wonderful climat, food, wines and culture.

I did never regret making the move.

kind regards,

Eric

Hello

Life is all about facing new challenges and obstacles, it really difficult for everyone to setup everything new in a entirely new place especially away from your home moreover with pandemic life has been a disaster to everyone... we all should stay positive and hope things will change in a better way things will change for soon stay strong folk... sending you good energy
cheerzzzz!

Dear All.

Ericcoplo, what a brave move.

I also moved to Portugal in the pandemic but by  plane and alone with two kids (under two years)     

The pandemic has created a lot of obstacles. I applied for licence exchange two months ago on the IMT portal and have received absolutely nothing whatsoever since the confirmation email on the same day as applying. Does it really take this long to get an appointment for biometrics?

Ericcoplo, I’m wondering what regions and places have been the best in your travels?

I’ve experienced a few places in the algarve only.

Thanks

Oh I just wanted to add that I’ve tried calling IMT faro and emailing them several times but no luck. They won’t answer the phone and when they do they expect you to be fluent in Portuguese. And they don’t respond to emails either.

We sold our house in Ireland and bought a motorhome to do a tour of Europe. After 14 countries and 9  months of travel we headed to Portugal to try to find our ideal home. Two months later in October we purchased 5 hectares of mountain valley with an old cottage that had been restored possibly 20 years ago.
A large proportion of the land is eucalyptus and cork oaks, and it had been ravaged by the fires of 4 years ago. It had been empty since the fire so it was damp but not damaged by the fire. It is in the Monchique mountains of the Algarve. And we love it.
Like most people understanding the bureaucracy of a new country and struggling with an unfamiliar language has problems. Luckily the Portuguese understand this and have invented the whole industry around serving people who have these difficulties. Our big problem was 4 months into our new lives covid thwarted our progress and here we are 12 months later and still a number of administrative issues are not resolved.
I understand that covid has been a big problem for everyone and many people have suffered in many different ways but at first the rules were not relaxed and we had an anxious time trying to fulfil the form filling before the time limits and inevitable fines. Turning up to appointments only to find a note on the door saying closed due to covid. Navigating an alien system that is only partially digital can be tricky at the best of times but with covid double the problem.
Now for the good news. We love it here, we love the people, the environment and of course the weather. Everyone has better weather than Ireland! We love gardening on our land, we love the eagles soaring above us. We love our Portuguese neighbours and the multinational bars and restaurants. And we love the way Portugal is moving towards a greener future. What little I know of the politicians seems favourable compared to other countries.
Like many places the Algarve has problems with graffiti which is a shame. Also like many places in the world there is the problem of 1960s architecture looking tired and cheap. But I think the local councils have now recognised that they have to think long term and not a quick fix. I hope that they think of the of the unique gems that they have and enhance and reclaim where they can. With a will and a broad perspective it can be done. And with such great people here in Portugal I am sure that it will.

Thank you all for sharing your experience, they are all very interesting.
Myself have been seriously thinking of moving to Portugal for quite some times.
Now that we are selling our property in Canada, I am looking at every realty company there is on the web to find a small property to buy.  I will rend for 6 - 12 months prior buying.
Every experience is valuable and I appreciate everyone who shared their experience.

If there is anything you think I should know, please go ahead, and let me know.

Thank you.

It is hard to find a reliable real estate company foe small and reasonably priced property.
If you rent first you will be able to visit regions on your own at the same time and figure out where you would like to be...
It could be just a studio in a hotel by the week at first - off season it is quite cheap. Rental of an apartment. is not easy as few are available year round - mostly just from November to May...

Then again you might just fall in love with 1 place and 1 place only... like us. I had booked 1 week studios at 3 different places in Algarve... We toured ... we also visited properties with different real estate agencies ... from Lagos to Tavira...
Then we focussed on the only fisherman village we loved... and looked around ... visiting construction sites... and bought a new house with ocean view to be finished within 4 months , with underground full garage  (rare here) in 2015. Directly from the owner/builder. We love it.
Only thing to keep in mind : it needed quite a few finishings past the official date... the notion of time or deadlines is pretty vague here haha!

The obvious, a good estate agent who will go the extra mile and a fast efficient solicitor. We were lucky enough to have both!

Hello! We moved from Canada to Portugal in November 2020.  We have been renting since then.  My husband is half Portuguese and half Spanish.  His dream was to retire and come back to Portugal so here we are.  We had a specific property in mind, an independent home with an underground garage in an area close to a city/villa and the beach, too.  There are lots of lovely apartments and town houses in this region however not a lot of properties available with our specifications.  We found a fantastic real estate agent which I highly recommend.  She was tireless in her search but we could not find what we were looking for a price within our budget.  (Beware the exchange from Canadian to Euros is not the best).  We travelled the Algarve from one end to the other.  It is gorgeous, the beaches are quite spectacular and the food is truly amazing.  It is beautiful. However, we are now looking in Costa de la Luz in Spain, just 5 minutes away from the east coast of Portugal.  We found the real estate prizes are far more reasonable and is not as "touristy" as the Algarve.  And, we can have the best of both worlds. If you require more information, do not hesitate to get in touch.  Good luck! Elga

Hello Canadian,
So nice to read your post and congratulations on your new home.  Really thrilled for you.
I just sold my property and I have been looking endlessly for a small house to buy in Centre Portugal.  There are some pretty nice houses to buy.  But I have to rent first, move around and choose from what is available exactly like what you did.  Moving to an other country is a challenge, but hey... there is not one that cannot be overcome.  It makes me feel good to read you post.
I have lived in south of Spain 2 years (1977-79) where internet was a mystery. 

I would certainly get your advises for your agent and see what we can find.
I am from Montreal, Quebec, living in the Eastern Townships and ready for a total change in my life.  Perhaps it is the beginning of my retirement. 
How would you like me to get in touch with you, if you don't mind?
I will send you a message with my information so you can get back to me when ever you wish.

I have to leave my house in the fall and I don't think I want to move twice.  But I am so open to suggestions.  Like you, I have a certain budget to follow.

Wishing you a fantastic journey and the best of luck.
Stay healthy.

Warmest regards, from a Canadian to an other.
Dominique

I have lived in seven European countries and I can honestly say that Portugal is the worst country I have ever lived in. I came to Portugal to rebuild a house and the plan was to stay a while and maybe start a business. After consultation with a Portuguese solicitor and a Portuguese accountant and a solicitor from another country I was advised by all "never start a business in Portugal". Several reasons for this but mainly the fact that Portugal is a backward country and still a fairly poor country outside of the big cities, means it is hard to make a good living. This coupled with a corrupt, dishonest tax system means you have to resort to the practice that most Portuguese firms do of putting half your income in your back pocket and half in the till. This is not a very nice things do but you have no other choice when the system is set up in a manner that you are taxed to death on everything. For example you are liable for road tax on a car that may have died and is being used as a chicken coup in your garden but as Portugal, like Italy, have permanent tax on cars you have to pay the road tax on it even if it has no engine and no wheels! Many people come to Portugal for the sunshine but long sunny summers are available in any southern European country. People who come to the north do not realise that you get six months of near no stop rain! Apart from this there is very little to do outside of the big cities and the few events that do take place in villages and towns revolve around fado music and eating lots of meat from various animals, and not usually the parts of the animal that other Europeans are used to eating. You have to learn the basics of the language as once outside the cities,  few people speak anythingbut their own language. Also I have found since beingin Portugal that racism is quite common place.

Hi Trevor,
Your comment has incoherent and wrong information.

Every country has urban and rural areas, each one of these has advantages and disadvantages. First of all, why did you choose a rural area that you don't like and where you don't feel comfortable? Did you go to live there just only because of the house? This is not the right decision.

Setting up a business involves planning, organisation, some sacrifices and an entrepreneurial spirit. The basis of everything is the business idea you have and what is your goal for the product or service you want to produce/offer. Question like: Was this business exclusively oriented  to the local residents, or can it be broader? If it is geared towards local residents, does that business make any sense? Is it a profit-making business?

Before creating a business, you must create a business plan and develop a planning strategy. In Portugal, there was an economic crisis in 2010 and now this one because of covid. And in both cases, it is on economic crises that entrepreneurship is mostly developed. And this feature, or we have it or don't have it, it is inborn.

The tax system is neither corrupt nor dishonest. I accept that you say the tax rate for companies should be lower, but using those adjectives doesn't seem fair or appropriate.

The car'tax example doesn't make any sense to me. You have a car to drive it, and not to have it in the garden with no engine and no wheels. You can give the car away/sell for scrapping/killing and then you stop paying road tax...

In the Irish countryside, small rural areas, do you have lots of things to do? Theatres, shopping malls, music events? Are U2 playing there for half a dozen people?  To access that, you need to move where there happens, don't you? Events in villages are for locals and not for expats... those events are done to their taste and not to the expats' taste. You can't criticise that. I'll be honest. I don't like to eat those things you are mentioning here, and I don't go to those kind of events (it's not fado, but popular music). But I respect those who like that.

As for "racism". It happens when one does not accept the difference of the other or when the other is part of a small minority. Unfortunately this happens everywhere. It often happens in places with few people, because there you can easily feel the difference. If I look like a very typical Latino without speaking English and I go to live in a rural area of Ireland, do you think I won't suffer from racism? What if I'm Catholic and I go to live in a Protestant area? What if I am Protestant and go to live in a Catholic area?

From your description I see that you really live in a small village.
Remember that it is each one of us who has to try be integrated into the local community. And not the other way ...

Kind Regards

Greetings all,

We thought that we are the only "crazy" Canadians to move not before the crisis started but during third wave. We bought a farm just outside Castelo Branco and loooooove it. We tried so hard for almost two years and finally found it on private sale. The best decision we made was staying away from real estate agents. They are so slow and don't want to talk to you if you are not there. We closed the deal on April 30th, 2021 and flew to portugal May 7th, 2021 to get the keys. We found the best lawyer ever in Portugal and she is in Lagos. She made it so easy for us that it seemed too good to be true. We don't speak portuguese at all but we diving in now, as we speak. We are back in Canada after two weeks in Portugal. Putting our business on good hands here and off we go. Love Portugal. Loved the trip, half of the plane empty, sad for the airline good for us.

To all Canadians in Portugal, may we suggest to contact each other, meet and great:)

Thank you

Hi Diksa. I am still in Ireland but read comments with interest.we have not any visa issue. But could have others if we reside longer in terms of lease. Car registration, Insurance and health. No move just yet. But ifo useful.

Hi All,

I also moved from Canada to Portimão during the pandemic last October, after getting my D7 visa.  Algarve is beautiful, the people are very friendly, weather in Portugal beats cold Canadian winters!

I haven’t run into any obstacles with regards to getting everything settled it took only six weeks to finalize everything from NIF to residency card delivered to me. One snag was that because of the pandemic, the SEF was closed, but once it opened up everything went smoothly.

I had to return to Canada in January for family health reasons, and ended up getting stuck here because of the second wave...but have my flight back and will bring my dog I’ve had since 7 weeks old. I cannot wait to return!

🇵🇹❤️

Lorie

Hi FlamurB & Kieranmuster, Welcome

@FlamurB, Castelo Branco has a large community of English speaking expats. You will easily find new friends in nearby farms.

"OK Portugal"
This youtube channel is quite interesting because this English couple presents us their farm, life in the countryside, the change of the seasons throughout the year. It also shows farmhouses for sale in the Castelo Branco district, they talk about prices & pros and cons of each one. And it's also interesting to see comments with questions, which they often answer. It's very good for those who are interested in starting a research about farmhouses & farms.

https://www.youtube.com/c/OKportugalhttps://youtu.be/BUyLRHcieI0


" Cindy Vine"
This young Norwegian woman has a farm in Castelo Branco and also shows small villages in the countryside of Portugal. She often does video conferences with other expats, and is a great inspiration for all of us. She shows us that it is never too late to start a new life in another country and start all over again.

https://www.youtube.com/c/CindyVine


"Our Portuguese Homestead"
Another interesting and eco-friendly channel from a young Dutch couple.

https://www.youtube.com/user/lea2392

Kind Regards