Avoid Costly Relocation Mistakes

Two of the biggest regrets people, especially permanent residents, have in relation to buying property in Portugal is that they chose the wrong location and that they didn’t thoroughly research the potential for work.

Choosing the right location for your needs is essential and must be very carefully considered.

Those wishing to buy a property as a holiday home, or to rent out will often have completely different needs to those looking to permanently relocate.

Those of retirement age may also have different requirements in comparison to younger couples with children.

Finding work in Portugal, if you do not speak fluent Portuguese, is not at all easy and even then, you will find that the average job only pays around €500 a month!

If you are thinking that you will only be working amongst the expatriate community and that you will find plenty of work, with little need to learn Portuguese, please think again! Foreigners have been coming to live in Portugal, particularly Algarve, for many years and a lot of potential business opportunities are saturated.

You must also consider the fact that many Portuguese (and the increasing Eastern European population in Portugal) speak excellent English and can offer the same services a lot cheaper.

You will rarely just land on some employment, so think carefully. You don’t want to put your family through the misery and upheaval of relocating only to have to return through lack of research and doing something on a whim.

Renting for an extended period of time is an excellent idea. This will give you the opportunity to look around the area you are thinking of relocating to as a native in order to make sure it is what you really want and to research the potential work availability.

It will also give you the opportunity to check out other areas around Portugal so when you do actually buy there – you get what they really want.

Experiencing all the seasons is a must too. Sunny Portugal can also be cold, wet and windy at times and most houses do not have central heating and often get very damp.

Having enough money behind you to live for a minimum of one year without having to work, is another wise move and certainly important if you are trying out a business venture to see if it might work. You will really need some form of security behind you.

Other things that you may wish to consider are:

•    Is a coastal area, whilst nice in the winter, going to be too busy and noisy in the summer?
•    Is a place that is lively and entertaining in the summer going to be too dead and dull in the winter?
•    What are the local amenities and services on offer? What is the local transport like?
•    Do you need a lot of social contact, or are you happy to live quite remote and isolated?
•    Do you want or need the support of fellow nationals around you, or do you want to be a million miles away from the nearest expat?

Make a list of the things you really need and want and those you definitely don’t. Being far away from the nearest shops and banks can seem bearable during a two-week holiday, but on a daily basis it may become extremely irritating.

A good idea might be to draw up several sheets of paper with headings like, coast, village, town and countryside and to note down the positives and negatives for each one. You should consider doing the same for the different areas and regions of Portugal and the possible business ideas or work opportunities.

This may all seem like common sense, but it is surprising how many people fall in love with the idea of moving abroad and go for it without researching some of the most important things. By all means follow your dreams, but just don’t let those dreams turn out to be a nightmare due to inadequate planning and research.