# Living/Schooling in Portugal?



## jomccartney

Hello there
We are a family of 4, my husband is a US Citizen and I am a UK citizen. We moved back to the UK after living in the US for 9 years. We are haing a hard time with the weather, food etc here!!We are planning on moving to Portugal in 2-3 years, we have just started looking into areas, but basically want somewhere on the coast, older town, not too touristy!! any suggestions to start out?
I am also concerned about schooling for my now 3 year old. I've heard about some english schools which are private that we might consider, but am curious about opinions on portugeese schools? I don't want my children to be isolated due to the fact they arn't from portugal? does any one have any experience with either the private english schools, or any of the education systems there? Thanks in advance for any advice.


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## palmeiro

As far as areas go, if you want to stay away from touristy areas, then you should probably stay away from Algarve. Unless you go into the remote areas of Algarve. Then you'd have to drive into the touristy cities for private or international schools.

An option that seems to be gaining popularity is the silver coast (Leiria, Marinha Grande, Caldas da Rainha, etc). There are a growing number of expats in these areas and it's on the coast. House prices are much better than Algarve, and Lisbon is about an hour away. I don't know of any private schools in this area though.

As far as schools go, I've heard good and bad about the state public schools. I know that Portugal is going through a change in their school system right now in order to strengthen the quality of the education system compared to the rest of Europe. They scored poorly in recent studies. So maybe in 2-3 years they will have things sorted out.

I am from Canada and am hoping to move to PT also in 2-3 years. It's such a beautiful country filled with such great people. And the quality of life has so much more potential then North America. Not just weather and beaches, but family values, fresh foods, so much history. People seem to live happier lives with less monetary things, and live longer.

Anyway this is just a "Cold" Canadian's opinion. Good luck to you and your new life...


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## MrBife

palmeiro said:


> As far as areas go, if you want to stay away from touristy areas, then you should probably stay away from Algarve. Unless you go into the remote areas of Algarve. Then you'd have to drive into the touristy cities for private or international schools.
> 
> As far as schools go, I've heard good and bad about the state public schools. I know that Portugal is going through a change in their school system right now in order to strengthen the quality of the education system compared to the rest of Europe. They scored poorly in recent studies. So maybe in 2-3 years they will have things sorted out.


The Algarve only has two 'Cities' and neither of them have an International school. The International schools are in Tavira, Almancil and Porches which are inland from the coast. Schools need to be based in a catchment area with a reasonable population which is why there are three in the Algarve and none on the Silver Coast.

All of them (in the Algarve) have bus services so no need to drive far.

There is far more to the Algarve than just the coastal strip! Please come visit some time.

Lisbon is in fact the main tourist destination of Portugal - It also has two International schools and a lot of Expats - some of them are even from Canada.

I have not seen any studies that say the local education system is worse than say the UK, if you choose your school carefully then (as with anywhere else in the world) your kids will get a good level of education


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## Mr.Blueskies

Hi Jomccartney,

The only international school in the entire central coastal region
is C.L.I.C. ie Colegio Luso -Internacional do Centro. This school in in Marinha
Grande. The link is CLIC - Colégio Luso-Internacional do Centro They have both a junior and senior school.
I sent my daughter there for her first school term here while we were checking
everything out and in the process of deciding if portugal was right for us long
term.


:eyebrows:


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## Mr.Blueskies

Don't know why the e-mail address failed to appear ? CLIC - Colégio Luso-Internacional do Centro


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## Mr.Blueskies

Sorry, but can't post the link. It is also not getting through by private message ? 

Must be against their advertising policy, they are funny about stuff like that ???


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## jomccartney

Thank you! I can google it - don't worry about the broken link.
What is your experience of living in portugal with a child (going to school, friends, etc)?


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## Mr.Blueskies

"Overall our experiences have been positive! It is very easy to squander money foolishly though, if one arrives here without a good solid game
plan and a well thought out course of action. Initially, the international school
seemed like a very good idea because we were just trying things out and so
sending my daughter to a portuguese school at the start would have caused her
to rebel and I feel would have caused us uneccessary problem.

We really liked Caldas da Rainha and so rented a house there. The
school was a 35 km drive which did not help matters. So one has to weigh up
the school fees + the distance and travelling costs against local portuguese school
and the school bus which is all free in comparison. I know lots of people who all
purchased houses in Marinha Grande and just to be close to the international
school. The trouble is they next decided they wanted their kids to fully integrate,
so after a year put them into local portuguese school anyway and now found that
they were stuck with a house in Marinha Grande.  It is almost impossible to 
re-sell a property here if you get it wrong. So do not purchase a house just to be
close to an international school. These are probably the two most costly mistakes
that people make. The kids will make friends anyway, and there are plenty of 
expat kids in portuguese schools right along the coast in particular. We have become friends with both expats and portuguese and it basically just depends on
what you want and how much involvement with otheres you desire.

Buying a house can be straightfoward or tricky. Renovation projects
can turn into black holes and money pits and you can find out that you cannot get
the permission to do what those with vested interests (estate agents) and (vendors) had led you to believe was possible. lol If you purchase a used house
the vendor is likely to be caught up in a chain and trying to sell to buy which can
create problems and big delays to what was initially agreed. Buying a completed
new build is less problematic. At least there will be no previous owner with a
mortgage or two already on it (which in some cases can be more than the asking
price) if this happens and they are next unable to get the additional finance that
they need to lift the mortgage before they can sell it to you as agreed more
problems will arise and completion dates will not be honoured.


These are the main problem areas in my opinion that can sink your ship
if one is unlucky. Everything else is good though. :clap2: The climate, the cost of
living, the calmness and it is non threathening here, no yobs or lager louts falling
about, no mindless vandalism, the portuguese are lovely people and in the main
very helpful, accepting and welcoming.

"Wow! I have gone on a bit.


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## PETERFC

*Reply*

Hi Mr.Blueskies

A wonderful story very well told. May i wish you well and when we meet mine is a Superbock. 

Peter the 666 man


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## Mr.Blueskies

Hi Pete,

The whole thing is a learning process. Can be very costly if you 
don't get it right. I'm not out of the woods yet myself, but thanks for your
good wishes. They are appreciated.


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## jomccartney

thanks very much. We moved back to the UK, with the idea of eventually moving to portugal...later on. Life in Los Angeles was so crazy, so just being in the relatively calm UK is wonderful. how ever, the yob element here is bad, the awful weather isn't helping and the negative mindset can be quite oppressive! it didn't used to be this bad.... I think!
so our plan has expedited to get to protugal sooner. we plan on doing lots of holidaying there in the next few years, and will definately keep your suggestion about not moving just to be close to a school area. I will definately look into the local portugal schools as an option. We would rent for 6 months before we decide to buy. Thank you again for all the information, it really does help to know there are others that have done it!


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## Mr.Blueskies

"You are very welcome! If you would like to know anything else, just ask.
Forums like this one are very good sources of information. The best and most
honest advice and information comes from those who have made the move here
already and have no vested interests in trying to sell you the dream.


Nothing though, can beat the first hand experience gained that only comes
from actually living here. Good luck with your plans.


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## Guest

Hi,
We live on the Silver coast with our 6yr old daughter and almost 3yr old son. It is a fabulous place for children to grow up - much safer than UK in my opinion.
If you don't like the food in UK then you will definitely struggle here. There is much less choice and it is all much more basic. If you like takeaway food then this is definitely not for you! We have got used to it and instead of complaining that we can't get this or can't get that we have adapted our way of cooking to suit what you can get here. We are getting pretty good at Indian and Chinese dishes!!
As for schooling, it depends on the personality of your children. I think the International schools have a lot more rules and regulations. If you want your children to speak a good standard of Portuguese I would send them to a local school. Our children are in a Portuguese creche which I would highly recommend. Our daughter will start "proper" school in September which is still being built (hopefully it will be ready in time) and it sounds like it will be fabulous with all mod cons.
We live on a modern estate with lots of children around so when our children are a little bit older they can go out and play with the children in the neighbourhood and speak with confidence.
I hope that helps.
Good luck!


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## jomccartney

Thank you for all the helpful info. It really is great to hear what we think re-affirmed. Obviously, first hand experiance will be the true test!! We are just concerned about our youngest, but most people seem to have a good experience.
We do all our own cooking, including indian/chinese,etc, so we should be OK there. also love mediteranian food...olives, bread, salami, etc.


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