That Chinese delivery better turn up soon.... i'm fading away here. New question.... they do deliver 10 types of food to the door in the West Country?
I turned 55 in Jan, so I'm going through the same machinations. Have liquidity, house paid, no kids and pension pot. I really would like to retire to Spain or Portugal, f*cked off with the UK. Don't fancy Devon or Cornwall while I can still control my bladder and do track days...
Just to chip in about location. We moved to the Holmfirth area from the north east and we love it. We love the scenery, the architecture and the people (well most of them). Cost wise it’s very reasonable too. You can get a lot of house for your money. And though we are out in the sticks we are only 40/45 mins from the centre of Manchester or Leeds or Sheffield, and so can indulge in city life as and when we want to. #1 son and family recently moved to Helensburgh in Scotland as they like Scotland. And yes it’s beautiful around there and you get even more house for your money (he paid £350k for his house which here would be iro £1m undoubtedly) but that aside IMO it’s more than pretty challenging. Not only is it always wet an cold but they are miles away from good quality social infrastructure recently highlighted when swmbo was visiting a couple of weeks ago, fell ill and had to be ferried to three hospitals before they could check her out properly. I know that the current weather conditions are testing them. If they get through this winter then I think they will stick with it. But though it’s nice to visit for a few days it’s not my cup of tea.
Yep, we defended them against the Spanish and they remember that (that was the story I was told when I was there) and they were very Brit friendly. We've a couple of Portuguese fellas at work and they are the nicest lads you could hope to meet. Much more so than the Spanish and definitely more so than the French, some of whom border on the hostile. The Portuguese loved my friends little daughters hair. Both of them were blonde, and all of the locals touched their heads all the time when sitting in restaurants. Quite disconcerting at 1st, but it's considered good luck and nothing sinister. The pace of life suited my fine every time I went there. Almost year round weather condusive to biking, reasonably priced and a 2.5 hour flight back to the UK.
Yes, top people in my experience of travelling there on business - about the only country we have not won a war against in Western Europe
Sounds like two houses may be a desirable option? Do they speak English a lot? My wife is gifted and can speak French and get by in loads of other languages..... me?...I can order beer.
Thanks Tel, the infrastructure and Hospitals is a worry, especially for me... lots of issues with lungs and bones. Wife is from the North (Whitby), so is against that direction. She's a forgiving soul for everything, except the COLD! Hence our heating bill is like a mortgage.
My friend had a place on the eastern Algarve (Cabanas de Tavira) and it's not as commercial as the western Algarve, but we got by with English. If I went there full time, I'd obviously learn the language, but we got along fine and the locals are patient.
