Portugal relocation with family

[Cherubb]

Hello, I am looking for advice on living in Portugal as an ex pat. Does anyone live there and if so can you offer advice on good places to be based with DC's (aged 9 & 6) for international schools and a nice lifestyle? I have looked at Sintra, Cascais, Lisbon so far but happy to go away from the well known areas if the schooling is available or drive to schools if needed.

We are probably not looking for super busy / city but keen on outdoor time, beaches, general eating out and a relaxed pace of life.

We are looking to do an approx 12 month trip from the UK this Autumn and considering what locations would suit us to set up base.

We both work remotely / run a small business but would be looking for our children to be in an International school for the Autumn 2021 intake.

Is Portugal a good option for families / digital nomads?

Following

This might be a useful place to start:

www.gov.uk/guidance/living-in-portugal

I've lived in central Portugal (near Tomar) for 14 years now. Internet coverage/speed is excellent pretty much throughout the country and it's a wonderful place to live. No kids though so can't comment on schools!

Cascais is very popular with foreign nationals so house prices are horribly expensive compared to the rest of the country.

Brexit? Are you eligible to live in Portugal...

You might want to check out BritishExpats.com.

There's a great Facebook group that has a lot of information on moving to portugal www.facebook.com/groups/digitalemigres/?ref=share

Thanks @Elwynne I will join that group.

@FlowerArranger it appears that it is possible to get a 12 month visa for Portugal so hopefully it's possible if we are eligible, i think we are from what I have read.

Hello,
We moved to the Algarve a year ago, three years after buying a house here.
There are lots of digital nomads, my DH works full time and I work very part time for our U.K. company.
There are excellent private schools here in the Algarve and in Lisbon and Cascais. I don’t know enough about the public schools to comment.
American friends who have moved from California to Lisbon struggled a bit with the winter which can be quite cold and damp there. I love winter here in the Algarve but also love visiting Lisbon and Seville which are an easy drive or train or flight away.

Houses are very expensive in Cascais as all the big multinationals have headquarters near there. They can also be eye-watering in the Algarve if you want to be in Quinta do Lago/ Vale do Lobo or Vilamoura, but the Algarve is large and surprisingly diverse and you can find lovely and affordable houses too.
I have been surprised by the range of expats here. There are people from a full range of backgrounds; a lot of creative people as well as professionals, trades and retirees. It is popular with many nationalities, which is a bonus, so we have made Finnish, French, German, Canadian and Portuguese friends, not just English friends. The local Portuguese population is overwhelmingly welcoming to immigrants. Eating out is incredibly cheap, even here in the Algarve, and the food is wonderful. Cars and utilities are relatively expensive.

Amazingly, I’ve yet to meet anyone who feels trapped here or wants to return to their country of origin. Everyone seems utterly delighted to be here.

They may exist, but I haven’t encountered the Little Britain enclaves you reputedly find on the Spanish Costas. People here seem to embrace being in Portugal and aren’t just here for the cheap booze, although friends tell me there are long established British immigrants who do succumb and come out of the hills and descend on remote bars on Fridays like a Zombie apocalypse but I haven’t witnessed it first hand.

• as you have children, I should add that sporting facilities and opportunities here in the Algarve are amazing. We are in Loulé and we are agog at the municipal sporting facilities of this relatively modest county town. It must be all the local taxes they rake in from Quinta do Lago.

There are lots of sports clubs for children including sailing, tennis, football etc.

Is there a reason you're looking at 12 months? It seems a lot of effort for that short a time- for example- would you be able to get your DC back into their original schools?

That said, I think you're right to stick with Europe- Asia is too unpredictable with Covid and I think could be battling on with periodic lockdowns and border controls long after Europe has resigned itself to it.

I've lived in the Algarve for the last two years and would agree with everything @WithLoveFromMyselfToYourself says.

My partner and I are both digital nomads, we live in the beautiful countryside and have a much better standard of living here than we did in the UK.

We don't have kids, so I can't comment on that, but there are several international schools in this area.

I lived in the Algarve for 16 years and only came back to the UK because of lack of SN provision for DD.

DD was born there and we had a lovely lifestyle. There are loads of things for kids. PP mentioned Loule. We lived near there and I used to take DD swimming and to gymnastics there. All very reasonably priced.

There are obviously international schools but I still have British friends living in the Algarve whose kids have gone to the local schools. Some have struggled a bit with the language but now that they are older they have the advantage of being bilingual.

I had friends of many different nationalities, Portuguese, British, German, Australian, South African. It really is a melting pot.

I would go for it if you can. You may find you don't want to leave.