Returning back to Europe

Member since 07 April 2019

Anna and TheoMember07 April 2019 07:25:28

G'day all

We are a Dutch couple 55 and 60, no kids. We jumped from The Netherlands 15 years ago to South Africa. Due to the current economic climate and it's uncertain outcome .... We are looking to relocate to Portugal. Having lived "under the sun in the Karoo, EAstern Cape" we are looking in the area Alentejo !!

Long term rental is preferable. As we need to wait for our sea container to arrive initially we would look at a furnished house/apartment. Once all our stuff has arrived we would look for an unfurnished house. With a fully equiped or rather functional kitchen. Budget max Euro 500. It needs to be pet friendly as we will bring 4-5 cats with us !!!

Looking for a 3 bedroom house. Rural far away from the hustle and bustle. Not that much interested in beaches.聽 Meeting locals yes most certainly !! We speak several languages but alas Portuguesa is not one of them but can be learned.

Currently trying to finish our own home here which wld take just about under 1 year, then try and sell and "jump" again. Meanwhile we try to gather as much info as we can get (shrug). This is a long term plan as you can see ?

Is there anybody that can advise ??
Much appreciated
Cheers
Anna & Theo

JMSP Active member

Member since 14 February 2018

JMSPActive member31 May 2019 17:04:38

Hi!

What are you looking for exactly? Advice on locations in Alentejo or where to look for property rentals?

Regards.

Strontium Serial 暗网禁区

Member since 27 April 2019

StrontiumSerial 暗网禁区11 June 2019 13:20:05

373

Hi,

I'd suggest you should spend some time here before deciding where to stay for longer. It is a very diverse country and though you say you are not "beach people" the Atlantic coast is rugged and has the occasional accessible sandy beach (mobbed only at holiday times) and stretches the length of Portugal. As for rural - a country of 10 million people with 25% of these in greater Lisbon and 23% in greater Oporto the rest are spread thinly about in old cities/towns/villages so mainly a rural population.

Things here are generally done at a personal level, many letting agents/estate agents are local and deal with local properties, many will not respond to email or call back unless they have met you in person, many do not have an current listing of propertied on the interweb so the way to do it is go visit as many as possible and talk to them otherwise they will not take your seriously. To be honest if you contact 30 agencies they have to invest time/money in dealing with you and 29 wont get paid so it makes sense. Rental places are often not advertised via agents as it costs money but local agents usually know if some where may be available and often contact owners directly if they have a serious client. Rental agreements vary but generally you'll need a NIF/tax number (first) and bank account (second) both of which are straight forward to set up but bring a few bits of paperwork.

Go visit as many areas as possible before deciding where to stay longer as somewhere I think is nice you may think is revolting. I'd out a few vids here but can't at the moment so do a search on the idilic town of G贸is laying on a meandering river then look at video of Gois in August