# €12k per year is it liveable in monte gordo / vila real?



## markjdm

I have been out to monte gordo / vila real twice this year for holidays and as ive been made redundant i'm toying with the idea of moving there for a few years. Exchanging from £ to € would net me another 23% at the moment.

i was thinking £10,000 wold become €12,300 would this be enough to live on for 1 year?
it would need to cover 
accomodation
food/drink 
other expenses.
would not have a car to run but i would like a reasonable living standard.

my experiences have been good with prices if you stay away from the tourist traps and shop where the locals do. 

Any advice appreciated thanks in advance


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## canoeman

Bit touch & go, providing you could find "local" accommodation to rent it might be possible but few "local accommodation" would include furniture in rental
Exchange rates volatile better to work on a really low figure but currently you would get a better rate than that if you handled transfer correctly rather than think "tourist" rate

Don't forget issues like Registering Residence, Health Care you would not be covered by a UK EHIC card, property & contents insurance although not dear here compared to UK still an expense


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## travelling-man

As C/M says, it's a bit touch and go but probably not impossible if you lived modestly.

Two of your biggest expenses would probably be accommodation and transport. 

With the former, you'd be well advised to look for somewhere well insulated and easy to keep warm/cool rather than just the cheapest rent and you could probably expect to pay something in the region of €350 per month plus services for long term rental and with the latter, try to use buses and trains rather than taxis.


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## In 2 bikes

Cost of Living

very useful site, (above), to compare any city against any other in the world for living costs / crime / traffic matters. It's updated regularly and although it's not scientificly pure, it is more of a 'dip-your-toe-in-to-test' exercise.

then you have to add on your own lifestyle issues like pet insurance, vehicle fuel costs due to the mileage you may be doing ( honeymoon period of sight seeing etc ), booz / *** consumption and so on.


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## siobhanwf

Don`t forget the added cost of electricity and water!


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## anapedrosa

Another consideration is whether that amount will be adjusted for inflation over time.


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## BodgieMcBodge

The only way to know is to try it and if you are redundant then find a few places to stay (possibly using airbnb type website) and go there for a month. Only you can decide if your money will cover your lifestyle and only by being there will you find which area you want to live. Strangely not everything in Portugal is available via the interwebs.


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## markjdm

Thanks for the replies. 
So what would a more livable figure be per year? 
I was basing the ÃÂ¢ÃâÃÂ¬12,000 on the average Portugese annual salary. 
Obviously with the employment situation in the country I have to base it on being entirely self supporting and any odd bits of employment would be a bonus. 

Monte Gordo / Vila Real Santo Antonio 
Are within walking distance of each other (I did it every morning I was there for 2 weeks) and good cycle routes too. With AyaMonte in Spain just a short hop over 
the Guadiana river for ÃÂ¢ÃâÃÂ¬1.75 on the ferry.
I wouldn't need to run a car at all.

I noticed a marked difference in prices between Tavira and Monte gordo 
Tavira was more expensive all round. 
I prefer the far eastern end of the algarve and it's close proximity to Spain.


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## canoeman

Know the area well, when we first visited you had to wear evening dress for dinner and your Passport was stamped each time you visited Ayamonte, then they built that horrible skyscraper you could always use zip wire to return but dearer than ferry 

Your biggest expense and problem is accommodation, there is a vast difference between "tourist" rental and local and as I said most "local" rental/lease won't come furnished and the only real way to find somewhere is on the ground asking and visiting the real local agencies

Work personally I wouldn't consider factoring in at the very best it would be seasonal at the worst not available


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## Hyden

In 2 bikes said:


> Cost of Living
> 
> very useful site, (above), to compare any city against any other in the world for living costs / crime / traffic matters. It's updated regularly and although it's not scientificly pure, it is more of a 'dip-your-toe-in-to-test' exercise.
> 
> then you have to add on your own lifestyle issues like pet insurance, vehicle fuel costs due to the mileage you may be doing ( honeymoon period of sight seeing etc ), booz / *** consumption and so on.


I agree. In a nutshell, use our common sense when using the any cost of living information because Numbeo use crowdsourced data from people all over the world. For instance, two people will not agree they pay the same price when eating in a 'decent' restaurant in the same town. They just can't give you a guesstimate.


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## whatabout

markjdm said:


> Thanks for the replies.
> So what would a more livable figure be per year?
> I was basing the ÃÂ¢ÃâÃÂ¬12,000 on the average Portugese annual salary.
> Obviously with the employment situation in the country I have to base it on being entirely self supporting and any odd bits of employment would be a bonus.
> 
> Monte Gordo / Vila Real Santo Antonio
> Are within walking distance of each other (I did it every morning I was there for 2 weeks) and good cycle routes too. With AyaMonte in Spain just a short hop over
> the Guadiana river for ÃÂ¢ÃâÃÂ¬1.75 on the ferry.
> I wouldn't need to run a car at all.
> 
> I noticed a marked difference in prices between Tavira and Monte gordo
> Tavira was more expensive all round.
> I prefer the far eastern end of the algarve and it's close proximity to Spain.


Have you decided anything about moving to Portugal yet?
I had some ideas regarding cheap accomodation for you.


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## siobhanwf

Any information about accommodation please share via PM. Otherwise it will be considered advertising and will be deleted


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## whatabout

Wow. I'm long enough in the tooth to know that advertising isn't allowed on forums.


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## markjdm

whatabout said:


> Have you decided anything about moving to Portugal yet?
> I had some ideas regarding cheap accomodation for you.


Hi thanks for your reply, after returning from portugal at the end of october i decided i would sit the winter & xmas out in the uk.
I have been keeping an eye on temperatures in the eastern algarve and they
Are not very good at the moment and look like staying that way untill late march 2015 so i will probably delay moving until then (and get the annual ski trip to austria out of the way in feb) 
What were your suggestions on cheap accomodation?


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