Lets kick the tyres and light the fires, Portugal move is on now.

mygrassisblue

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So, took voluntary redundancy from oil industry in July last year and started thinking about move to Portugal.
Had a property searching holiday before that and decided it was a good move.
Portugal reminded us both of how Scotland was in the 60's / 70's, just so open and relaxed.
Anyway, 1 day before redundancy, ****** bombshell hit but sod the lot of them, we are going anyway.
So we have sold everything, house , car, most of the furniture etc which was worthless by the way and given loads to charity.
Bought a 98 Hymer Merc which is our 3rd and best motorhome yet ( and last hopefully) and set of yesterday from Aberdeen.
Dawdled down to Gretna and stayed at Metal Bridge Inn.
Motorhome & dog friendly.
Such a nice welcome and home cooking - wild rabbit casserole mmmm.
Today, Sunday, we carried on to the Wheatsheaf Inn near Wolverhampton.
Motorhome & dog friendly but kitchen closed at 6 so van supper tonight.
Carry on to Portsmouth tomorrow for ferry on Tuesday morning.
Dogs in kennels on ferry which is a bummer but we will make the best of it. BF website says all dog friendly cabins booked for 2017 already.
Anybody else on the ferry on Tuesday?
I have lost my WC sticker somewhere but might find it by then.
Will update thread as we go.
Hoping to find a place with enough space for camping and maybe a regular WC meet but nowhere near bucket and spade brigade.
Adeus for now.
Don & Linda
 
Hi there, well, impressive plans indeed ! Lots of members on here have been...or are presently in Portugal.
We all have our particular preferences as to where, if to move permanently, we would go. So, us two would be interested as to where you fancy ending up...or is the purpose of the Hymer to further your planning of where you choose to be. Or is the MH for living in indefinitely ? Not sure....
Metal Bridge is very Moho friendly, might well have been to Wolverhampton pub too. Anyway, good luck with your adventures....Maja
 
Wise move.
We did the same in 1999. Just took off in our first van.
Had a good shufti,while full-timing for 5 years.
By then we'd looked at all sorts of options and settled on a cottage in the hills between Tavira and Sao Bras. Near enough for the beach.. 9 miles and a 10 minutes walk from a pleasant village,with all necessary services. Cooler and Quieter in the summer..

If you do fancy living away from the resorts, it's a lot cheaper and less crime.
If we can help in anyway, just ask.
Good luck.
 
Blogging!

A great adventure. Will you be blogging?
Currently near Porto and loving our third month in Portugal - can see why you've picked a base here.
 
Good luck Guys.......sounds like the start of a great adventure. Keep posting.

:have fun:
 
On the ferry now with painfully slow internet.
Don't think I will be blogging, if I even mentioned this to the wife she would say " if you have time for that you can do all the cooking, cleaning, dog walking blah blah blah so will just post progress here.
Thanks for all kind comments.
Address for insurance etc sorted for a while.
We will be re-registering van in Portugal etc when we have to.

Can't believe how many vans were in car park for ferry.
Lots of (nice) old people on the boat.

Stopped for a few hours to rest and restock at Whitely Tesco - free parking after 6 pm and 10 miles from ferry.

*Found my Wild Camping sticker now :D
 
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When we were down there in January we had a look about and found the chicken run near Alvor. If you want a base check it out.its about 6-7 miles from Alvor. Run by an english couple. I think they charge 565 euros for a year!!!! with water and waste facilites. have to pay a bit more for wifi. if you need a run to the supermarket you can hitch a ride with them if their going.if you want anything picked up in the village they will get it for you. and if you pay for the year they will give you a small plot ...free for you to grow some veggies. Here is the link. the prices are the same for this year as they are on there as we checked a month ago with the owners. Have a great trip

The Chickenrun Campsite
 
Leaving castello branco for later. Now heading for Porto for wife's dentist. Currently in aire at barril de alva.
Need to do some washing and web stuff.
Drive through serra de estrella was fun, will not be doing that again.
Ordered 2 soup's in the cafe here and a bathful of soup arrived for 2euros
 
Must admit I admire you for just going ahead, especially after ******. I wish you all the very best of luck with it all.

We have thought quite seriously about retiring to France but all that is on hold now thanks to ****** until we see how it pans out.

I quite like the idea of selling up and spending a year or two touring about and finding that perfect hideaway place somewhere in France. All just a bit of a dream now.

Keep us posted.
 
barryd said:
Must admit I admire you for just going ahead, especially after ******. I wish you all the very best of luck with it all.

We have thought quite seriously about retiring to France but all that is on hold now thanks to ****** until we see how it pans out.

I quite like the idea of selling up and spending a year or two touring about and finding that perfect hideaway place somewhere in France. All just a bit of a dream now.

Keep us posted.
Click to expand...

I sympathize with your views, and we had the exact same fears after the referrendum result, but we decided, as 'Mygrassisblue' that if we were going to do this we would do it now - or maybe never. We did it, and yes the dissaster that ****** will become is still a bit of a worry, and the plunge in the £ has not been good for exchanging money (although we did have the €'s to buy the house already fortunately). But here we are 5 months in France, and there is not the slightest chance of us returning to the UK, probably ever. Any advice we can give just ask.
 
Quick update on the adventure.
Food poisoned myself on Saturday - I really need to ramp up my hand washing hygiene.
Still feeling awful on Monday but tried to put something in one of the outside lockers in the rain, took a dizzy turn at the door and fell on the bottom step right on my ribs. Never felt pain like it and suspected broken if not cracked ribs.
So ambulance to Coimbra University hospital for check over & x-rays.
Surprisingly the ambulance arrived at the Aire in less than 3 minutes and we were out in the sticks.
In and out of casualty in 3 hours with all clear apart from bad bruising and a bag of painkillers.
Cost to me was 17 Euros for prescription, EIHC took care of the rest.
Puts NHS to shame, place was absolutely packed but staff levels cope quickly with everything.
Taxi back to Aire was the most painful part - 70 Euros- oh well.
A Dutch camper volunteered to look after our van & 2 dogs while away and a Frenchman offered to drive us around if we needed anything.
Camper community is the best.
As for ******, it will never happen and we won't be back if it does anyway.
As a famous Scottish bloke once said "It is better to live one day as a free man than a whole life as a slave" or something like that.
Anyway, we are still having a laugh although I suspect she might have been looking for a flight home after my wee mishap !!
Really chuffed with the Hymer though, what a cracking van for touring.
 
Read the blurb on the chicken ranch couple of years ago all sounded great but when we got there Jan just said NO turned around in the drive and went on looked like a gippo camp , idea is great just not this one thanks,
 
Get a irish p/port if you can and n/ireland may find a way to stay in eu if all goes well,so may be able for you then to get a passport here,good luck with your new life over there ,englands doomed.
 
Well, we signed for a Bungalow near Penamacor on Friday and should get the keys in 3 weeks once all the legals are done.
So excited that it is really happening now.
I will have about 2 acres of ground to play in with the dogs.
Unfortunately, we may not manage to get the Hymer down the track to the house so a Portuguese registered PCV may be on the cards soon.
Might have to saw a few tree branches off before I try anyway but as only 6 mtr van, it is worth a go.
Anybody fancy a grape picking meet?
 
How wonderful for you. I travelled in Portugal this year and fell in love with the place. I'm hoping to come back in January so hopefully you'll have settled in and ready to put the kettle on! Enjoy. 😊
 
By the way, don't know if you do Facebook but there's a group called, Life in Portugal for ex pats. Might be useful.
 
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