# Advice please???



## dawson (Feb 6, 2014)

Hi
My husband and I are planning on moving to Portugal in the near future and any information regarding moving and living in Portugal would be greatly appreciated...in particular what areas do people think are the best place to live...we want somewhere relatively quiet (not isolated!) but with easy access to amenities etc....and does anyone have advice about UK nurses working in Portugal?
Thank you.


----------



## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

Welcome to the forum. 

You'll find a lot of the info you need by using the search function but generally the Algarve and other coastal areas are generally busier, but has better winters and the central zone or inland areas is quieter with cheaper property prices but not such clement winters. 

As for nursing: PT has good hospitals (at least by the standards I'm used to) but work is rare and even rarer if you don't speak Portuguese..... I'd imagine nursing work would be hard to find unless you're a fluent Portuguese speaker.


----------



## canoeman (Mar 3, 2011)

You might find this link useful EU - Recognition of professional qualifications in other EU countries -Your Europe   as far as I'm aware you wiould need to take a language test, if you do decide to study in UK make certain it's European Portuguese you learn NOT Brazilian


----------



## jellybean (Nov 28, 2008)

''As for nursing: PT has good hospitals (at least by the standards I'm used to) but work is rare and even rarer if you don't speak Portuguese..... I'd imagine nursing work would be hard to find unless you're a fluent Portuguese speaker.''

Not wanting to put a dampener on your plans, but just this evening the Portuguese news was reporting on how Portuguese nurses are emigrating to the UK in droves because of the lack of work here in Portugal. And, as Travelling Man quite rightly said, unless you're fluent in Portuguese, your chances of getting work are very slim indeed.

I worked in the NHS for 19 yrs before moving here but knew that finding employment in a hospital was unlikely. Even though my Portuguese is not too bad, it's by no means fluent enough to communicate with patients and fellow health professionals with the level of competency that would be required. So I started my own small internet business and haven't looked back. I now employ 2 Portuguese women part time. You might need to consider other options too. You may be able to turn a hobby into a money spinner. I know another expat who loves dogs and has started her own dog grooming business. The opportunities are out there if you think outside the box. Good luck!


----------



## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

jellybean said:


> '' So I started my own small internet business and haven't looked back.


We're semi retired now but do also earn some of our income from our website & it also works well for us.

We can work the hours we want & stop when we want.


----------



## canoeman (Mar 3, 2011)

One of my Consultants says the exodus of health care professionals in all fields across Portugal is to do not as much with the availability of jobs but the current crisis and the much higher wages they can earn elsewhere.


----------



## jellybean (Nov 28, 2008)

canoeman said:


> One of my Consultants says the exodus of health care professionals in all fields across Portugal is to do not as much with the availability of jobs but the current crisis and the much higher wages they can earn elsewhere.


It's both. The crisis has resulted in a freeze on recruitment and wages in most public sector professions.


----------



## canoeman (Mar 3, 2011)

Well not according to my Consultant professionals in all health fields are being actively recruited for positions abroad, not saying there isn't a freeze but that would just make it more difficult for a non Portuguese to get a position unless they have a niche skill and the language.

The question for dawson is how important is work/income to them to remain in Portugal, if it's a necessity then careful research and decisions need to be made as is your own business, as being 100% legit here is costly and not always straightforward


----------



## jellybean (Nov 28, 2008)

Well I'm sure 'your Consultant' is right and everyone else is wrong.


----------



## canoeman (Mar 3, 2011)

jellybean said:


> Well I'm sure 'your Consultant' is right and everyone else is wrong.


This is an ongoing discussion with him on Portugal in general over the last couple of years as he's the director of his hospital department then he presumably knows what he's talking about and one of his major fears are that across all professions in Portugal there is an exodus of "talent" that the country will suffer for in short and long term


----------



## jellybean (Nov 28, 2008)

dawson said:


> Hi
> My husband and I are planning on moving to Portugal in the near future and any information regarding moving and living in Portugal would be greatly appreciated...in particular what areas do people think are the best place to live...we want somewhere relatively quiet (not isolated!) but with easy access to amenities etc....and does anyone have advice about UK nurses working in Portugal?
> Thank you.


Just found this Financial Times article that should give you an idea of nursing prospects in Portugal at the moment. It's 6 months old but the nurses interviewed at Lisbon airport as they were leaving Portugal last night were saying the same thing 


Portugal sees exodus of skilled workers seeking better prospects - FT.com


----------



## dawson (Feb 6, 2014)

Hi. 
Thank you everyone for your replies. I will not need to work when we move to Portugal but would like to...it sounds like it will be hard to work as a nurse so may just go with the suggestion working for myself...I did hairdressing before I became a nurse, so I may think about taking that up again!


----------

