# Help needed



## mollys11 (Nov 19, 2012)

Hi all,
I am new to this site, I was going to move to greece but after a lot of research on the net I decided it is not for me. 

Now I am looking at portugal, and would be grateful if someone could answer a few questions for me please.

Firstly I have a 12 year old son and I would like him to go to an English speaking school. Does anyone know of any good English speaking schools.

How much roughly would it cost to rent a 3 bed villa approx 150sqm.

How much is the cost of daily living e.g groceries. 

I am not yet sure which part of portugal I would like to go, I was hoping I might get some suggestions on here.
I don't want to be to far from school about 10-15 minute drive, somewhere peaceful but not remote.

How complicated is it to bring a car over.

And lastly what sort of Internet speeds can I expect to get.

I thank you in advance


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## Janina k (Nov 30, 2011)

*Reply*



Making Wines Like Those You Buys11 said:


> Hi all,
> I am new to this site, I was going to move to greece but after a lot of research on the net I decided it is not for me.
> 
> Now I am looking at portugal, and would be grateful if someone could answer a few questions for me please.
> ...


Hello

I can only answer two questions. When we stayed at a friends at while we were having work done on our house, where we stayed was 5k from the local town and the Internet speed was so slow it was quicker to walk even now it's only 2mbs and we pay for 4mbs.

Getting a car made legal. We have been reading someones Blog about how to Matriculate a car in a day. The article did go on to explain that it was a day to matriculate after completing all of the preparations etc. We can't go into detail on the forum as their are rules as to placing links.

If you Google * matriculate a car in a day portugal* their is some helpful information.

Fred


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## canoeman (Mar 3, 2011)

mollys11 said:


> Hi all,
> I am new to this site, I was going to move to greece but after a lot of research on the net I decided it is not for me.
> 
> Now I am looking at portugal, and would be grateful if someone could answer a few questions for me please.
> ...


It's difficult to answer I've put my twopenny worth below your questions, as I said if the English schooling is that important then you have very limited options on location which narrows your other options


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## jerryceltner (May 15, 2012)

Hi,
First with matriculation.
Do you want to pay the import tax or import it with no import tax as there is a big difference in procedure. Whatever way you go it is very time consuming. 
It is easier just paying the tax but it can be very expensive. We have done both as we have 2 vehicles and the best we did from start to finish was 13 weeks. You will wait at least 5 weeks to get the vehicle onto the national computer IMTT after you have done everything else needed.
As for internet speeds they vary greatly dependent if you live in town, city or the sticks. We have friends that live far away from an exchange and can only get the internet on a dongle.
If you want to send your son to an English speaking school then the schools are situated in either large towns or cities and have fibre optics so speeds in Lisbon for example can be up to 200 mb/sec but expensive.
I had 2mb/sec when I was with Sapo on ASDL but have changed now and get 18mb/sec and I live in the sticks but pricey. Renting a villa ..... how long is a piece of string......the Algarve, Lisbon etc are expensive and central Portugal is very reasonable for rentals but alas the problem here is that you would be far away from an English school. That's my opinion only and others on this forum may have more forsight than I have.
There was a thread about 2 weeks ago regarding living expenses and mine were 1100 euro a month which included everything that you would pay in the UK but in your case you would have to add on the cost of the rental property to this as I don't have a mortgage.


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## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

You might like to Google Bentley Walker for the best internet. 

As for cars & matriculation, although you can DIY it requires a knowledge of Portuguese etc so most people use an agent to do it for you..... The one I used hit me for E600 and was as much use as a chocolate teapot so I wouldn't recommend him but there are many out there who do a good job. 

Rentals are going to vary immensely but a Google search will show you plenty of choices on rentals so take your pick of what's on offer. 

Cost of living is like asking how long is a piece of string but FWIW, fuel is E1.53 or so a litre, a cubic meter or firewood in my area is E45 and that lasts me about 2 weeks, meat from about E1.50 per kilo and veggies are cheap enough.

You can probably also expect friendly neighbours to bring fairly regular gifts of food or wine but it is customary to give in return when you get the opportunity...... for example, I recently gave several neighbours some venison and they in return have been bringing me wine and veggies ever since...... personally, I find this practice an absolute joy because it gives you a chance to meet the locals and begin to slot into the local scene. 

I don't know anything about schools but would expect English speaking schools to be mostly close to the larger towns.


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## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

You might like to Google Bentley Walker for the best internet. 

As for cars & matriculation, although you can DIY it requires a knowledge of Portuguese etc so most people use an agent to do it for you..... The one I used hit me for E600 and was as much use as a chocolate teapot so I wouldn't recommend him but there are many out there who do a good job. 

Rentals are going to vary immensely but a Google search will show you plenty of choices on rentals so take your pick of what's on offer. 

Cost of living is like asking how long is a piece of string but FWIW, fuel is E1.53 or so a litre, a cubic meter or firewood in my area is E45 and that lasts me about 2 weeks, meat from about E1.50 per kilo and veggies are cheap enough. Gas seems to be going up fairly regularly but I'm currently paying E26.50 per bottle and a bottle lasts us about a month....... it only provides hot water though. We cook on electricity and heat the house with firewood or diesel powered central heating.

You can probably also expect friendly neighbours to bring fairly regular gifts of food or wine but it is customary to give in return when you get the opportunity...... for example, I recently gave several neighbours some venison and they in return have been bringing me wine and veggies ever since...... personally, I find this practice an absolute joy because it gives you a chance to meet the locals and begin to slot into the local scene. 

I don't know anything about schools but would expect English speaking schools to be mostly close to the larger towns.


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## Algarve (Mar 30, 2011)

well here goes to burst your bubble, we have seen many people who do not own a property last no longer than 2 years they have spent most on putting the children into International schooling then looking for work or some kind of business venture for the future, that work, but nearly all have now left and returned to the UK as are so many of the Portuguese that are leaving for work in other countries, forget bringing a UK car unless you can afford the import tax then it means you either have to drive back to the UK to get a legal Mot and tax or be like the many over here that are chancers, cost of living is very cheap but if you are used to buying ready washed lettuce leaves in a bag then expect to pay the same as the UK, not being a killjoy but you really need to think your finances first, if you have a legal steady income then give it a try otherwise, forget it unless you want to be another statistic


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## canoeman (Mar 3, 2011)

Just a note on car* if you meet the ownership and resident criteria and have the correct paperwork* then currently it is perfectly possible to import 1 car per person for around 5-700€, there is* no* import tax, if you follow the correct procedure..


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## Algarve (Mar 30, 2011)

canoeman said:


> Just a note on car* if you meet the ownership and resident criteria and have the correct paperwork* then currently it is perfectly possible to import 1 car per person for around 5-700€, there is* no* import tax, if you follow the correct procedure..


thanks Canoeman forgot that part, but still a cost that most can not afford.


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## canoeman (Mar 3, 2011)

Really? but still cheaper than buying an equivalent car here, except you probably end up with a RHD car and higher road tax


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## steve01 (Dec 8, 2010)

Hi i can offer a little advice about the Algarve
Not many english schools here and the term rates are very expensive - try 
Escola Internacional do Algarve - International School of the Algarve

3 bed villa in the Algarve for long term rent - think around 1000 euros per month +utilities (approx 1-200)
Groceries / living costs - we get by and have a comfortable life on around 1000 euros / month
I imported my own car - cost about 400 euros - basically you have to pre own it for 12 months within the eu prior to moving to Portugal and fill in a lot of paperwork - pain in the ass - saves a lot of money but i wouldn't do it again
your choice of where to live will be very limited by needing an english school
We get 8mb broadband / ADSL both in the Algarve and in the Alentejo countryside


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## GitGud (Oct 14, 2012)

mollys11 said:


> And lastly what sort of Internet speeds can I expect to get.


As has been said above, it depends on where you'll be living.

In Lisbon you can get the best speed in Europe (as far as I know), except for UK (and even in the UK you only beat our upload speeds).

For instance I get 120 mbps download, 12 mpbs upload, plus TV and phone for 60€ a month. Higher internet speeds are available (up to 1 gbps download and upload).

Here is a link to my ISP.


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