# Moving to Portugal soon!



## Sue and Ian

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"]
Hi all

We are looking to be moving to Portugal in the near future, And we have a few questions, 
1st, We will be moving to the Alvor region to be close to Ians dad, I am a Dog groomer by trade and have been for around 25yrs plus, and I was wondering if there are many Grooming places, or if in fact there would be a call for expats to get their dogs groomed, 
2nd, How does the cost of car insurance comare with the UK? 
3rd, I am actualy disabled, I have a blue badge for parking, and I get assistence with Road Tax, How much is the equivilant to the british road tax.
4th, How do we go about getting the boys manes down at the school?
5th, Doeas anyone know the name of the Dog sanctuary around the Algarve?

Mant thanks

Sue x


----------



## silvers

Hi Sue,
I can only help with a few of those questions but here goes.
1. The Brits still love their animals here and therefore there should always be a demand for groomers, you must understand however, that your market is significantly smaller than back home.
2. Insurance is based on the engine size and not the badge. My Beemer costs me around 200 a year.
3. If you get an average car, that was originally registered in Portugal, not imported, then normal car tax is around 50 euros. My imported BMW costs 250 a year.
Good luck.
James


----------



## Margot

Hi Sue
about the dog sanctuary, you might have been asking about that one, in Lagoa:
Donkey Sanctuary
There is an address but there is no webpage. It is called Donkey Sanctuary but they have at least 100 dogs.

I take this opportunity to present you a dog shelter where I am volunteering:
BIANCA - Association for the Protection of Homeless Animals in Sesimbra (Portugal)

good luck with the move


----------



## Sue and Ian

Hi

Many thanks for your replies, I have mad contact with a Grooming Salon in Lagos, So I am hoping that they can point me in the right direction for finding some work, My Car is a Mitsubishi Pajero ( Shogun ) imported to the UK from Japan, So god knows how it will fair for Road Tax, as it is a 2.8 turbo Diesel.

Sue


----------



## silvers

It won't be cheap, mine is a 2.0 diesel.


----------



## Paul in portugal

If your car has been adapted then it could be that you will want to keep it, cars are dearer here but in the long run it is cheaper to buy in Portugal....unless you import yours within the first 6 months you will have to pay import tax, mine got through but i was quoted E8000 to import a 2001 1.9cdi renault scenic. lucky i got it i in time so didnt have to pay. Ann my wife pays E306 road tax for her 1998 suzuki vitara 1,6 petrol and the equiv potuguses car is about E47 still waiting for my road tax to be sorted so driving free at the moment untill the new docs arrive. you need to check very carefully with the customs here and with the embassy as an imported car is treated as a NEW car for road tax. so many friends have either had to take the car back to UK to sell or had it impounded and fined. they are getting very hot on importing at the moment the import tax went up about 4 times since last year.
Also the car inspection (mot) here is very much more thorough they dont like rust at all. Mine had to have the brake discs cleaned because of the build up of salt/rust from UK, and it had just passed a UK mot 1 month before. not all bad though hope this helps with some useful info we found out the hard way and just in time.


----------



## Sue and Ian

Paul in portugal said:


> If your car has been adapted then it could be that you will want to keep it, cars are dearer here but in the long run it is cheaper to buy in Portugal....unless you import yours within the first 6 months you will have to pay import tax, mine got through but i was quoted E8000 to import a 2001 1.9cdi renault scenic. lucky i got it i in time so didnt have to pay. Ann my wife pays E306 road tax for her 1998 suzuki vitara 1,6 petrol and the equiv potuguses car is about E47 still waiting for my road tax to be sorted so driving free at the moment untill the new docs arrive. you need to check very carefully with the customs here and with the embassy as an imported car is treated as a NEW car for road tax. so many friends have either had to take the car back to UK to sell or had it impounded and fined. they are getting very hot on importing at the moment the import tax went up about 4 times since last year.
> Also the car inspection (mot) here is very much more thorough they dont like rust at all. Mine had to have the brake discs cleaned because of the build up of salt/rust from UK, and it had just passed a UK mot 1 month before. not all bad though hope this helps with some useful info we found out the hard way and just in time.



Hi Paul

Thank you for your reply, Do you mean to import within 6 months of moving there? We will be using our car to get there, and as it is a 2.8 turbo Diesel Mitsubishi Pajero (shogun lwb) I realy dont want to get shut of it, It is a work horse, and as i am disabled ( slightly ) It is the only type of car i can drive comfortably, Auto, and sit high up from pedals, 

My partner used to live out there a few years ago and his dad still does, But trying to find out about all the new laws and regulations is a bit of a mine field, We are looking to be starting off around Silves for about 2 yrs and then heading to central portugal to settle finaly,

Many thanks again

Sue


----------



## patsy

*moving to portugal*

Hi Sue Ian i live on the silver coast, and i love it the house prices over here are a lot cheaper than the algarve. We have noticed over the last 5 years, that more and more pepole are moving over here from the algarve, there is a big comunity of expats here and everything cost a lot less so for your money you can have a better way of living .Hope to here from you both patsyxx


----------



## Sue and Ian

Hi Patsy

Many thanks for your reply, We have looked all over portugal for a suitable area to eventualy settle, We are starting off in Alvor, Like i saud thats where ian's dad is and has been since the 70's, What are the schools like on the Silver coast? and what sort of demand would there be for a dog groomer?

sue


----------



## patsy

*moving to portugal*

Hi sue ian my husband is portugues we had to find a school to ,our son could speak portugues a little before we came to live but the school we put him in there were no english children in it but we found that he was ok as the school bent over backwards for him . and he passed the first lot of xams which was great that was one of our worrries coming to live in potugal .To your next qestion dog grooming we have a big comunity of xpats who all nearly have dogs we have dog trainers kennals but no grooming weare are all dog and cat lovers here we eaven have dog walks 2 times a week if that helps i come from the north to manchester i would love to speak with you it is a bit easyer are you on face book or have a email address patsy


----------



## silvers

Where in Manchester are you from Patsy? I too grew up there.


----------



## Sue and Ian

Hi Patsy

Thank you for your reply, I do have a e-mail address yes, It is [email protected] Would be good to get some advise from other people living in Portugal

Sue


----------



## jellybean

Sue and Ian said:


> Hi Patsy
> 
> Many thanks for your reply, We have looked all over portugal for a suitable area to eventualy settle, We are starting off in Alvor, Like i saud thats where ian's dad is and has been since the 70's, What are the schools like on the Silver coast? and what sort of demand would there be for a dog groomer?
> 
> sue


Hi Sue, I've just moved to the the Silver Coast too (been here just 10 days and love it!) and have a gorgeous rescued flat coated retriever/collie cross who enjoys her trips to the salon! So you'd have at least one grateful client


----------



## silvers

10 days and still no invite to the BBQ, we know where we stand now!


----------



## Sue and Ian

Hi JB

Well at least I know there would be one furry I could look after on a regular basis. I was thinking about traning owners to groom their pets correctly, On a one off fee to be trained to do all that is required to keep them in tip top condition, Not being out there yet it is difficult to see if this would be a good thing to do or not, I suppose it is the old saying you dont know if it will work until you try, But I am sure that with the credit crunch hitting everyone people are always looking at ways to reduce long term outgoings, 
Sue


----------



## jellybean

silvers said:


> 10 days and still no invite to the BBQ, we know where we stand now!


Silvers, my Portuguese builders take over my BBQ every lunchtime and cook bacalhau and all manner of other fish every day washed down with local red wine and plenty of Sagres!! They can only say 'ok' in English and my Portuguese isnt much better but we have a great time!!

They're work is top quality too so if you're looking for good builders, look no further! 

Another couple of weeks of dust and rubble and 'minha casinha' will be ready to receive guests so don't fret


----------



## jellybean

Sue and Ian said:


> Hi JB
> 
> Well at least I know there would be one furry I could look after on a regular basis. I was thinking about traning owners to groom their pets correctly, On a one off fee to be trained to do all that is required to keep them in tip top condition, Not being out there yet it is difficult to see if this would be a good thing to do or not, I suppose it is the old saying you dont know if it will work until you try, But I am sure that with the credit crunch hitting everyone people are always looking at ways to reduce long term outgoings,
> Sue


Good idea! I gave up grooming my pooch when she could no longer fit in the kitchen sink :lol:

Still wanna come for that BBQ Silvers?


----------



## Sue and Ian

LOL,

I know what you mean, My old dog is way to big to fit in the sink, I wash the pole cat in there, but she wriggles way too much, 

BBQ's are great, cant wait to be out there to be able to light the BBQ and know we wont have to carry it in to the conservatory half way through cooking because it has started raining, 

sue


----------



## silvers

As long as you aren't giving the dog beer shampoos!


----------



## Sue and Ian

HAHAHA,

Beer shampoo!!!! what a waste of good drinks, Having said that, the dog always drinks the water when i bath him, 

sue


----------



## SkynFelix

*Dog Boarding in Central Portugal*

Hi Sue and Ian, 

My husband and I have a Pet Boarding service<snip> in Central Portugal and we would like to offer as an additional extra a dog grooming service for our pet boarders. As part of our pet boarding we do offer our clients a free wash and groom but we would like to offer a full grooming session so when you get here, drop us an email as we may be interested in doing a course with you. 

By the way, we have been here 2 1/2 years now and love it! We also lived in Bolton (Westhoughton)...small world! 

If you need any help or advice, send us an email.

Good Luck!


----------



## Sue and Ian

SkynFelix said:


> Hi Sue and Ian,
> 
> My husband and I have a Pet Boarding service <snip> in Central Portugal and we would like to offer as an additional extra a dog grooming service for our pet boarders. As part of our pet boarding we do offer our clients a free wash and groom but we would like to offer a full grooming session so when you get here, drop us an email as we may be interested in doing a course with you.
> 
> By the way, we have been here 2 1/2 years now and love it! We also lived in Bolton (Westhoughton)...small world!
> 
> If you need any help or advice, send us an email.
> 
> Good Luck!


Hi

Wow it is a small world, My parents live in Westhoughton, Ian's dad is in Alvor, Algarve, that is why we want to start off in that area, I think i may indeed go ahead with the idea of running grooming courses, As I think it may well go down well with the credit crunch hitting everyone, I dont mind if you want to e-mail us direct, our e-mail is [email protected] 
We were looking around the Beja area at first, but with ian's dad's bad health we want to be close at hand, but I will deffinatly be interested in teaching grooming, I will have to work things out, but it wont cost a fortune, 

Speak soon

Sue and Ian


----------



## SkynFelix

Sue and Ian said:


> Hi
> 
> Wow it is a small world, My parents live in Westhoughton, Ian's dad is in Alvor, Algarve, that is why we want to start off in that area, I think i may indeed go ahead with the idea of running grooming courses, As I think it may well go down well with the credit crunch hitting everyone, I dont mind if you want to e-mail us direct, our e-mail is
> We were looking around the Beja area at first, but with ian's dad's bad health we want to be close at hand, but I will deffinatly be interested in teaching grooming, I will have to work things out, but it wont cost a fortune,
> 
> Speak soon
> 
> Sue and Ian


Hi Sue and Ian, we lived in the Alentejo area (Beja region) for over 12 months prior to moving here to Central Portugal but we decided it wasn't for us as it is very arid, dry and dusty and it is extremely flat and it takes forever to get to any shops etc and we regularly had to go into the Algarve for any shopping (1 hour journey!) such as electrical stuff, food etc as the villages are only tiny and are shut from Saturday lunchtime and you are quite a distance from anywhere really so if you need any advice, let us know. We absolutely love it here in CP, there are hills, mountains, fantastic river beaches, really gorgeous beaches, lakes, everything is so green etc and much prettier than the Alentejo and a big bonus, the houses are a lot cheaper especially in the country. We lived in a tiny little house in the Alentejo which had no garden and needed a new roof desperately and was right on the road and the lady wanted 60,000 euros for it (she said prices are higher as the Alentejo abuts the Algarve!!) and here for not much more than that price we have a fantastic stone farmhouse in the country with nearly an acre of land with distant sea views in a fantastic countryside hamlet very peaceful and quiet but only 10 minutes to a biggish town with all amenities and facilities etc such as a great English speaking Doctor which you are very unlikely to get in the Alentejo (we know that from experience)! 

We lived in a place called Santa Clara a Velha and although it was near to a nice lake, that was the only good thing about it and there is nothing there at all and in summer you are constantly full of dust with it being so hot! 

We will drop you a line or you can contact us on the pm facility (we aren't allowed to put our email address on yet as we are new members).

Good Luck and look forward to hearing from you. 

P.S. It is indeed a very small world but we wouldn't return to Westhoughton if you paid us!

P.P.S. Great forum this, thanks very much, glad we found you!


----------



## Sue and Ian

SkynFelix said:


> Hi Sue and Ian, we lived in the Alentejo area (Beja region) for over 12 months prior to moving here to Central Portugal but we decided it wasn't for us as it is very arid, dry and dusty and it is extremely flat and it takes forever to get to any shops etc and we regularly had to go into the Algarve for any shopping (1 hour journey!) such as electrical stuff, food etc as the villages are only tiny and are shut from Saturday lunchtime and you are quite a distance from anywhere really so if you need any advice, let us know. We absolutely love it here in CP, there are hills, mountains, fantastic river beaches, really gorgeous beaches, lakes, everything is so green etc and much prettier than the Alentejo and a big bonus, the houses are a lot cheaper especially in the country. We lived in a tiny little house in the Alentejo which had no garden and needed a new roof desperately and was right on the road and the lady wanted 60,000 euros for it (she said prices are higher as the Alentejo abuts the Algarve!!) and here for not much more than that price we have a fantastic stone farmhouse in the country with nearly an acre of land with distant sea views in a fantastic countryside hamlet very peaceful and quiet but only 10 minutes to a biggish town with all amenities and facilities etc such as a great English speaking Doctor which you are very unlikely to get in the Alentejo (we know that from experience)!
> 
> We lived in a place called Santa Clara a Velha and although it was near to a nice lake, that was the only good thing about it and there is nothing there at all and in summer you are constantly full of dust with it being so hot!
> 
> We will drop you a line or you can contact us on the pm facility (we aren't allowed to put our email address on yet as we are new members).
> 
> Good Luck and look forward to hearing from you.
> 
> P.S. It is indeed a very small world but we wouldn't return to Westhoughton if you paid us!
> 
> P.P.S. Great forum this, thanks very much, glad we found you!



Hi

Thanks for your reply, I think i have found the pm facility, I sent a little message, So if you can let me know if i did it right please,
We are looking forward to starting our new life in Portugal, Ian has lived out there before, and as his dad is a long standing ex pat it wont be as hard as a lot of people find, But having said that, I have never lived out there, And I dont yet speak the language, Ian had taught me a little, but I need to learn more.
With my years of experiance working with dogs and cats I am hopefull of being able to earn a reasonable income, Ian is studying and will be for the next year or so, he will also have to see to sorting the boys out, He has two that will be coming with us, So long as we get leave to take them out of the UK, Once he finishes his studying we will be setting up a internet web design business, as that can be run from home and fit in around everything else we plan to do.
When we do leave here we will be taking it slow driving down to the Algarve, We are hoping to rent for 12 months or so, and look around for a place we want to eventualy settle permanently. 
We want to be self sufficiant and be as eco friendly as poss, so we will be wanting a place with a bit of land, for veg, chickens etc, 
Right was going to put all this down in a private message, but got carried away, 
Will check on again tomorrow and see if your about to have a natter, I can fill you in with what's going on in and around Bolton, 

speak soon

Sue and Ian,


----------



## SkynFelix

*Hello again.*



Sue and Ian said:


> Hi
> 
> Thanks for your reply, I think i have found the pm facility, I sent a little message, So if you can let me know if i did it right please,
> We are looking forward to starting our new life in Portugal, Ian has lived out there before, and as his dad is a long standing ex pat it wont be as hard as a lot of people find, But having said that, I have never lived out there, And I dont yet speak the language, Ian had taught me a little, but I need to learn more.
> With my years of experiance working with dogs and cats I am hopefull of being able to earn a reasonable income, Ian is studying and will be for the next year or so, he will also have to see to sorting the boys out, He has two that will be coming with us, So long as we get leave to take them out of the UK, Once he finishes his studying we will be setting up a internet web design business, as that can be run from home and fit in around everything else we plan to do.
> When we do leave here we will be taking it slow driving down to the Algarve, We are hoping to rent for 12 months or so, and look around for a place we want to eventualy settle permanently.
> We want to be self sufficiant and be as eco friendly as poss, so we will be wanting a place with a bit of land, for veg, chickens etc,
> Right was going to put all this down in a private message, but got carried away,
> Will check on again tomorrow and see if your about to have a natter, I can fill you in with what's going on in and around Bolton,
> 
> speak soon
> 
> Sue and Ian,


Hi again, thanks received the pm but couldn't find for some reason how to send a reply! I will send a message to your email address. We have relatives still in the UK my dad is in Leigh and my husband's dad is in Harwood and his mum in Halliwell so we get regular updates as to how awful everything is and the bad weather and crime etc! Here everyone leaves their doors open! Wonderful! 

We are also trying to be self sufficient and have now started growing our own veg and last year we had carrots, onions, potatoes, toms, radish, sprouts etc and this year we have all sorts of veggies planted and have already this year eaten fresh spuds from the garden, carrots, beets, spinach, toms, radish and we are also growing sweetcorn and onions, sprouts, parsnips, turnips, swede etc and we have fruit and nut trees as well so if you need any advice on growing everything, let us know. 

Speak soon. All the best.


----------



## Sue and Ian

SkynFelix said:


> Hi again, thanks received the pm but couldn't find for some reason how to send a reply! I will send a message to your email address. We have relatives still in the UK my dad is in Leigh and my husband's dad is in Harwood and his mum in Halliwell so we get regular updates as to how awful everything is and the bad weather and crime etc! Here everyone leaves their doors open! Wonderful!
> 
> We are also trying to be self sufficient and have now started growing our own veg and last year we had carrots, onions, potatoes, toms, radish, sprouts etc and this year we have all sorts of veggies planted and have already this year eaten fresh spuds from the garden, carrots, beets, spinach, toms, radish and we are also growing sweetcorn and onions, sprouts, parsnips, turnips, swede etc and we have fruit and nut trees as well so if you need any advice on growing everything, let us know.
> 
> Speak soon. All the best.


Hi Again

This gets spookier by the day, You would not belive it, I grew up in Harwood, Just off Longsight, Lived there from 1962 when i was 6 months old, and left home when i was 16 to go to collage to study grooming, kennel management, and animal nursing, Also I used to work for my dad, we used to build rally and track cars, and our workshop was off Halliwell Road.

How spookie is that?, You sound like your living our dream, We cant wait to get out there, Like I said before we will be doing some fact finding on our way to the Algarve, We plan to have a good looka round the more northern and central areas, Where abouts in central portugal are you again?

Maybe we could call ina nd say hi?

Well I better go I have gone down with a horrific cold, and I am aching from head to toe, and I think an early night is called for,

Hopefully I will be able to catch you on line, We get free calls to Portugal to land lines, So if you fancy a chat let us know

Speak soon

Sue and Ian,


----------



## SkynFelix

Sue and Ian said:


> Hi Again
> 
> This gets spookier by the day, You would not belive it, I grew up in Harwood, Just off Longsight, Lived there from 1962 when i was 6 months old, and left home when i was 16 to go to collage to study grooming, kennel management, and animal nursing, Also I used to work for my dad, we used to build rally and track cars, and our workshop was off Halliwell Road.
> 
> How spookie is that?, You sound like your living our dream, We cant wait to get out there, Like I said before we will be doing some fact finding on our way to the Algarve, We plan to have a good looka round the more northern and central areas, Where abouts in central portugal are you again?
> 
> Maybe we could call ina nd say hi?
> 
> Well I better go I have gone down with a horrific cold, and I am aching from head to toe, and I think an early night is called for,
> 
> Hopefully I will be able to catch you on line, We get free calls to Portugal to land lines, So if you fancy a chat let us know
> 
> Speak soon
> 
> Sue and Ian,


Hi again Sue and Ian, I sent you a message to your private email address last week but have had no reply, did you receive it okay? Hope you have recovered from the flu! 

Best wishes.


----------



## Sue and Ian

Hi Again

I have replied toyour e-mail address, Some ting i was thinking about, I work at the moment for Avon, Selling and sales leadership, Where i sign new reps up, Do you know if there are many english avon reps in Portugal, well around the area you are in, We are doing a lot of looking around Tomar on the internet, still looking for that perfect place.

sue and ian


----------



## Paul in portugal

wthin 6 months of leaving the UK otherwise you could end up with a large import tax bill. You need to produce utility bills to proveyou were living in the UK up to 6 months before importing to Portugugal .you should become portuguese resident within 6 months of leaving the Uk BUT if you leave it too long then all sorts of problems start to occur. but on a brighter note the wine is great and the weather damm hot lol.
if you want to contact me direct i dont mind Ann or I will try to help as much as possible. 00351 239428530 
hope you get it sorted 
regards 
Ann & Paul


----------



## Sue and Ian

Hi Paul & Ann
I have replied to you, I think, Via PM???? Your message starts off with within 6 months? Is the start of your message missing?

Sue


----------



## AvonLady

Hi Patsy....I am new to this forum but also from North of Manchester....you mentioned facebook..how do I find your on there and can you send PMs on this forum.

AvonLady


----------



## patsy

*patsy*

Hi Avon Lady
i cant send you a pm on here yet you have not got a pm yet have you got a normal email so i can email you patsy


----------

