Moving to Portugal

Hello Rosie.

Welcome to Expat.com!

Maybe you can tell us more about your professional profile.

Thank you,
Aurélie

Hi Rosie,

There are loads of people who speak English in the Algarve, and indeed there is a thriving expat community of all ages.

The Algarve you discover while on holiday is I think different, because your needs as a holiday destination is different to that of a home, and different again if you need to work. IMHO

The Algarve is essentially divided into three areas (Eastern, Central and Western Algarve.  Each is different in terms of climate, population, prices etc

If you need to work there are opportunities in the tourist areas, but this is seasonal. Unemployment is really high amongst the young Portuguese and more people are made redundant every day due to the harsh Austerity measures.

Some English people come here and start their own business; this may be an option for you to consider.

It's not easy to move here if you need to work to survive, it is possible, but hey, you never know until you try!

Hope this helps a little

Carole

Hi Rosie,

I agree completely with what Piglet has said about work and the difficulties in finding employment here. Even if you were fluent in Portuguese, you would find it difficult to earn what you might consider to be a living wage.

Average salaries here are much, much lower than the UK but living costs are rocketing.

Depending on your skills and experience, I would seriously look into the 'location independent' businesses, i.e. online. It could still take a long time before you build up any kind of income through this so you'd need a substantial amount to keep you going.

If you've researched costs and worked out that moving to Portugal is truly a financially viable option for you, there are plenty of ways of getting involved with the expat community and local people.

Good luck!

Julie

Thank you both for your helpful comments.
With regards to working, as I have family living in Portgual (my husband is Portuguese), I am looking for work experience and if necessary some voluntary work. I have a degree in Zoology and would like to get some experience in conservation work.

Rosie

juliedawnfox wrote:

Hi Rosie,

I agree completely with what Piglet has said about work and the difficulties in finding employment here. Even if you were fluent in Portuguese, you would find it difficult to earn what you might consider to be a living wage.

Average salaries here are much, much lower than the UK but living costs are rocketing.

Depending on your skills and experience, I would seriously look into the 'location independent' businesses, i.e. online. It could still take a long time before you build up any kind of income through this so you'd need a substantial amount to keep you going.

If you've researched costs and worked out that moving to Portugal is truly a financially viable option for you, there are plenty of ways of getting involved with the expat community and local people.

Good luck!

Julie

I donŽt hink it is difficult to make a living here...just think as a foreigner and find ypur own core business. People are very conservative about work meaning you should inovate. If you inovate you will succeed.

Good luck