# Moving to Portugal with kids



## FeeM

Hi All,

Myself, hubby and our 2 sons (currently aged 6 and 8) are considering a move to Portugal in 2019. At the moment we're in the very early research stages and our final decision will be based on our children. I have looked at the international schools in Lisbon as possible options and also looked at internationals in the Algarve and Setubal. 

I'm wondering if anyone has the experience of moving with kids of that age and what areas they moved to and schools they chose. Ideally I would like the boys to have some immersion in Portuguese but thought of bilingual schools to make the transition easier (they are already bilingual in English/Irish). Our budget doesn't reach as far as St. Julians, although I've read great things about it. 

Would love if anyone had any opinion on where are good places to live with children and what obstacles you had to overcome.

Thanks so much!


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## rajtar

Hi we have recently moved from Ireland to Portugal with our 2 daughters, we are not Irish but we have spend 2 years in this "sunny" country  We are homeschooling our children so i can't give you any school advice. We are living in Castro Daire in Viseu region and it is a very safe and family friendly place. We did a bit of travelling in our life and so far Portugal seems like the safest place we have lived in. I would not be too concerned about the language as children have the ability to learn very fast, and most young people in Portugal can speak or understand english. People are very friendly and ready to help, they say that the population of the town doubles during the summer and i imagine it is the same if not more for bigger cities. We have not been to Algarve yet but the locals say it is their party destination, and that most people can speak english there but if you are looking for a good place to raise children i think central Portugal is perfect. If you would like to be closer to the ocean do some research about Porto or Aveiro, with Porto being second biggest city in Portugal and cheaper than Lisbon. 
Which part of Ireland are you from if you don't mind me asking? We have lived 2 years just outside Galway, very close to connemara.


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## siobhanwf

There is a large Irish community in Lisbon. You might try messaging the IRISH ASSOCIATION to see if they have any suggestions any suggestions.

Why not put your children through the local system as they are so young with home schooling for the areas you feel they might need as extra?

Also please us e the SEARCH facility at the top of the page.

go to ADVANCES and click specifically on PORTUGAL in the drop down county forum menu. Ask a question as this subject has been covered many times before. It is worthwhile varying the format you put the question in.


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## FeeM

Thanks @rajtar for your response. We are from Dublin so like the idea of being close to a city (not necessarily in a city) so we had been looking at Lisbon. I'm sure you appreciate the weather in Portugal if you have moved from Galway!

@Siobhan thanks for the direction to the Irish Association. I have searched and found some info regarding schooling in Portugal but a lot of it was over 3 years old. From what I was reading some (international) schools now have waiting lists due to the popularity of Lisbon as an expat destination. We were looking at international schools at first as this may just be a temporary move so thought bilingual education would be easiest. However some of the schools (in Cascais for example) are much more expensive than I would have imagined. Anyway will keep searching for more up to date info ...


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## siobhanwf

Have a look at TORRES VEDRAS very near lisbon and a great Irish community in the area! There is a private school too that you might like to look at EITV | Escola Internacional de Torres Vedras


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## CDG

FeeM said:


> Hi All,
> 
> Myself, hubby and our 2 sons (currently aged 6 and 8) are considering a move to Portugal in 2019. At the moment we're in the very early research stages and our final decision will be based on our children. I have looked at the international schools in Lisbon as possible options and also looked at internationals in the Algarve and Setubal.
> 
> I'm wondering if anyone has the experience of moving with kids of that age and what areas they moved to and schools they chose. Ideally I would like the boys to have some immersion in Portuguese but thought of bilingual schools to make the transition easier (they are already bilingual in English/Irish). Our budget doesn't reach as far as St. Julians, although I've read great things about it.
> 
> Would love if anyone had any opinion on where are good places to live with children and what obstacles you had to overcome.
> 
> Thanks so much!


Hi FeeM,
I stumbled upon your above entry as my husband, 2 children and I are comtemplating a move from Ireland to Lisbon/Cascais/surrounding areas.
Did you go (seeing you wrote 3 years ago)?
Would love to ask you more questions if so!

Many thanks,
Claire


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## Lozza84

Hi! 

Saw your post we are a family of 4, our kids are 6 and 3. We are moving to Portugal in May. Are you planning a move? 

Laura 



QUOTE="CDG, post: 15299602, member: 1777854"]
Hi FeeM,
I stumbled upon your above entry as my husband, 2 children and I are comtemplating a move from Ireland to Lisbon/Cascais/surrounding areas.
Did you go (seeing you wrote 3 years ago)?
Would love to ask you more questions if so!

Many thanks,
Claire
[/QUOTE]


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## Little.Miss.G.E.M

Hi, 

I’m a family of 4 also, our kids are nearly 6 and 3. We have been looking into moving to Portugal in the next year or so. We are just starting out looking at research for the best area and school to move the kids too. Where in Portugal are you moving too?

Gabby



Lozza84 said:


> Hi!
> 
> Saw your post we are a family of 4, our kids are 6 and 3. We are moving to Portugal in May. Are you planning a move?
> 
> Laura


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## BrodzkiFamily

Hi all, we are a family of 6 and considering a move from edinburgh to the Torres Vedras area.
Where did you end up choosing? I can’t seem to find you FeeM to tag you 

How are you guys getting on with your [email protected] @Little.Miss.G.E.M @Lozza84


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## Little.Miss.G.E.M

BrodzkiFamily said:


> Hi all, we are a family of 6 and considering a move from edinburgh to the Torres Vedras area.
> Where did you end up choosing? I can’t seem to find you FeeM to tag you
> 
> How are you guys getting on with your [email protected] @Little.Miss.G.E.M @Lozza84


We are still researching not sure which area is best kids, also not sure which schools are best either. Do you have any ideas? @BrodzkiFamily


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## BrodzkiFamily

Little.Miss.G.E.M said:


> We are still researching not sure which area is best kids, also not sure which schools are best either. Do you have any ideas? @BrodzkiFamily


My parents live in Turcifal and my brother lives in Moita so I know the area well. We are hoping to move and build but I am just not sure what the area is like for kids and then also whether we’ll be the only expats in the area.
We looked at Lisbon, Caiscais, Estoril but we wouldn’t get the land to build and the schools are very expensive compared to Torres Vedras International School. 
we are in Portugal for Easter so have made an appointment to see the school while we’re there. That will be the first step. Happy to chat privately if you wanted to.


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## Little.Miss.G.E.M

BrodzkiFamily said:


> My parents live in Turcifal and my brother lives in Moita so I know the area well. We are hoping to move and build but I am just not sure what the area is like for kids and then also whether we’ll be the only expats in the area.
> We looked at Lisbon, Caiscais, Estoril but we wouldn’t get the land to build and the schools are very expensive compared to Torres Vedras International School.
> we are in Portugal for Easter so have made an appointment to see the school while we’re there. That will be the first step. Happy to chat privately if you wanted to.


Ahh ok so you have some idea of what the areas are like then.
My partner has an video appointment with a Portuguese lawyer on Friday, to find out what we need to do about schools, medical insurance, optician/dentist, renting to start with and other things like that. We are basing what area we live around the kids and which are the best schools for them to go to.
That would be great, any advice would be most appreciated and let us know how you get on with the school visit to Portugal during Easter.


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## TravisM479

My wife and I relocated to Canada with our three-year-old kid earlier this year. It's probably the best time to go because he won't have to spend much time in preschool (if any) before starting kindergarten, and he won't be leaving any friends behind by the time we're settled. Quite in comparison to others who have moved overseas with older children, our child settled in quickly. We started planning months ago and used the reddit community to answer most of our questions. Our entire journey was orchestrated by an international moving company. Fortunately, my wife has a large number of friends and family, so we have a lot of aid here.


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