Your Budget In Portugal

Now this has to be the hardest part of planning your living in the sun dream. Unless of course your are a multi millionaire or a lottery winner escaping from the British press!

You have to consider what you will need when you arrive in Portugal and you need a contingency plan to cover you just in case you end up having to wait six months before you find employment as this can happen!

You also need to consider the costs surrounding finding suitable accommodation. For example the accommodation we found was a furnished two bedroom apartment in Silves for me, my husband and our seven year old son. It worked out at approximately 475 Euros a month including water, rent, electric and gas. There is no TV licence or council tax to pay so on the whole it is a lot cheaper than England.

However if you opt to live in a more expensive part of Portugal the rental costs are going to be a lot higher. For example the Alvor region is rather hard on your purse strings and the same outgoings could easily come in at around 800 Euros.

The majority of us move to somewhere like Portugal for a better standard of life and a cheaper cost of living. Therefore if you go for somewhere that isn't cheap, but isn't right at the top end you can have an amazing life.

The east of the Algarve is very popular with expats because it is very cheap and has an English feel to it. Personally it is not for me because I came to Portugal to experience the local culture and if I moved somewhere like this I would feel like I was really missing out.

The west of the Algarve is of a similar price to the central zones but the biggest downside to it is that the winter is very cold indeed. The wind is high during the winter months and you will really feel down during these times.

I am writing this web page in early January and even though we are in the winter months in the central Algarve it is not really that cold. It reminds me of what England is like in May and I find this rather satisfying.

When you plan your budget you need to think about the different things that you need to pay out for including:

Three months living costs - This is to cover you until you find a job, start a business or settle into your new accommodation. Base it on your UK living costs and then you will have your backup fund as the cost of living in Portugal is a lot lower than what you would be used to. It is important that you have this in place as you want the money to pay the bond and don't want to end up stuck somewhere awful whilst you have to save up for your rent/bond in a foreign country. Also if you are planning on getting seasonal employment make sure you can cover yourself through the winter months otherwise you could end up in serious trouble.

Getting to Portugal to start your new life in the sun - They are many options when you consider living in the sun. If you have already been to the destination there is no need to travel out there to see if it is for you or not as you will already know. I went by ferry and drove down to the Algarve from northern Spain which I found a great method. By doing it like this I could sell a lot of our things before we left and take all my precious personal possessions with me. Though you can just as easily catch a plane and have a lorry drive down with all your things.

Personally though this can be a lot more expensive and you would have to visit the place first and find accommodation which make the process take a lot longer than you originally planned.

So when you plan getting to Portugal if you are driving there think about the mileage involved, ferry costs and accommodation on your way to your destination. Also how many days you are going to spend on getting there. As the accommodation near the motorway can be rather pricey.

If you are using a lorry - think about how much the lorry is going to cost you and on top of this all your own travel costs. Because you are relying on the lorry getting there for a set time you will also be carrying excess baggage on the plane and this can seriously add up.

Extra payments to plan for - You also need to think of other things that your budget will need to pay for. For example you will need medical insurance or the money to cover any medical bills. This is cheaper than England but you still need the money to be available.

Also while you are planning on becoming a local resident in Portugal you need to cover transferring over a lot of your English things which can gradually add up. I would suggest putting aside about 500 Euros to cover all this.

I would also suggest that you view our price comparison page as some items are very expensive in Portugal and it is worthwhile taking with you some of these items when you leave England.

To your new life!

The Living In The Sun Team

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