Considering moving to Algarve but?

Hi

Moved to Tavira in December. I haven’t experienced any of your concerns.

Lawyers sorted utility bills,no electricity problems. My apartment is 10 years old (energy rating B) no damp issues. The streets are much cleaner than the uk and the main bins collected 2 or 3 times a week. And my neighbours are very good.

Enjoy Tavira.

Hi there, am replying on here but as you will know am also on the other forum. 😀 Right, your points, electricity- the power you get is always less than in the UK but if you have a low supply, providing an electrician says so, you can have work done to improve the power.

Damp depends entirely on what sort of building you choose. Most buildings don’t have a damp course because not having on makes them stronger in case of earth tremors. I have stayed in old buildings which feel very damp. However not all places are. I stayed at a place which had a seriously large solar system and they had underfloor heating.

In my own house, I am putting in the type of air conditioning units that provide heat in the winter in the bedrooms so I hope this will make them warmer. In the living room we have an open fire which we need every evening in the winter.

Apparently you can get gas-fired central heating but as the gas has to be bottled it is a nuisance as they run out all the time and are costly. 

You talk about black mouldy walls in apartment - that just sounds to me like very poor maintenance. But yes, the Algarve can be damp in the winter. I would think the same problems are true of Spain or Malta but I don’t know, what are your investigations finding for this?

Re rubbish, Portugal is a big area of country and maybe someone has rubbish problems but not in my area, it is very clean. Apparently during early covid lockdowns people were fearful or touching the bins and left their rubbish around rather than in the bins but they know now that is not a source of infection.

Re noise, well that is like everywhere, if you live in the centre or a town or tourist resort it might be noisy at night. For myself, where I live is the quietest place in my life I have ever lived but I am not in a town. Again, it would be choosing carefully. If you choose somewhere close to bars and restaurants in any place you get noise. Sorry my post got rather long, hope it helps! 
One thing to remember, the Portuguese people are very nice and that is what makes it for me.

Hi I am Dutch and have been living in the Algarve for 35 years. The stories of damp and electricity problems are only in old houses and fixer uppers in the countryside.

In the last 15 years houses have become much more modern and build with a lot more quality. Rubbish does get picked up from the containers that are placed everywhere. It does happen that you find paper or plastic wrappers / bottles on the side of the road, because sometimes people just throw their rubbish out of the window, however this is not the norm. The new generation has been taught all about recycling. If there is noise, this is most likely due to where the house is situated; most likely in a busy (rougher) area. There are a lot of peaceful places to choose from. I would not worry about that whatsoever. The Algarve is a beautiful place to live. You really don’t need to worry of any of that. And if you get older and need some homecare in the future, you can always ask me for help. I run a homecare agency especially focusing on the Expats living her. I wish you a happy life under the sun. 

Thank you for your reply, much appreciated 

Hi, 

My wife and I moved to Portugal at the end of 2020 and have had no regrets. It's definitely right for us.

I think the previous responses to your questions/s are pretty comprehensive and accurate and would go along with them.

I would just add the suggestion that, if you are unsure, then why not take a rental property for 6-months? You get to see if your questions/concerns/hopes are valid before taking the full plunge. We did so, and it confirmed our decision was right for us and in fact we ended up buying in a different area to that we originally envisaged (and rented in) because we had time to explore properly.  Good luck. D. 

For the moisture run a dehumidifier.