The Truth About Living in the Algarve I Canadian Expats Tell All! I LIVING IN THE ALGARVE

hello everyone and welcome back to another episode of living in the Algarve I have a very special treat for you today I have my guests here Leanne and pepe and before we get started make sure you take a moment to like And subscribe this video so that like And subscribe um so that you don't miss out on any future episodes of living in the Algarve and more stories from people just like you who made the move to the algar good afternoon Ling Peppy hello thanks so much for having me over problem thank you before we get formally started do you want to just take like a quick second and let our viewers know who you are uh my name is leam Valencia from Canada and I'm Pepe of Valencia originally from Mexico but you know 45 years living in Canada so essentially Canadian okay great thank you so much so can you tell me a little bit about what led you to consider the olar as a post-retirement place to to live it was a decision that we uh we have been thinking about for some time and I guess the biggest reason is because we wanted to slow down a lot and we know that a retirement life in Portugal would offer us that would offer culture food um in the 300 days of sun per day yes that would be great you know no more snow yeah okay we're we're Avid motorcyclists so we want wanted to be able to ride our motorcycles year round that was a big thing for us not have any snow okay that all sounds like very important factors when you're needing to ride a bike as an aside have you had the chance to go to the farro uh cycle Festival last summer did you go we did not no we did not no we uh traditionally don't do so well on Mo Bunch motorcycles or rally environment because we we like do hang around with each other instead and take different routes so well we haven't but that's something that we wouldn't be opposed to to go into one of them but we haven't yet okay okay any other bikers out there if you are and you're thinking of moving to the Algarve comment down below so when you were looking to purchase your property what were some of your top priorities let's say your top three uh priorities in considering what you were looking for in a property uh for me it was having space enough space to put our stuff if we have a lot of uh motorcycle gear um so I wanted I wanted at least a two to three bedroom place that was one thing yeah we uh some of the factors looking for a place where um you know adequate big enough for us but not as big as we had in Canada because one of the things that we did when we started making this plant was we eliminated 90% of the stuff that we had well done yeah well we still needed a little bit of space because we couple of things that now I've got get rid of that so we're yeah fair enough enough and what about the immigration process can you tell me a little bit about that did you find any hurdles that you had to overcome the biggest hurdle and and is this is not a put down on on Portugal as a country because every country has different levels of bureaucracy the hardest thing is a bureaucracy how slow certain things move and and coming from a Canadian perspective or I guess a North American perspective where you send an email and you get a you get an answer you know sometimes the same day or certain things arranged very rapidly with a back and forth that flows logically over here sometimes you sit down and wait two three four days weeks for emails to come back so but it's all part of the change of culture and we're okay with that that was the biggest hurdle and of course uh finding out from other people that have done the the same move and doing a lot of research and and the process itself and certain things and because we're not exactly computer Adept we that was you know that I think it did pretty well yeah I think we sort of got lucky y yep I think that um just yeah I think when he talks about being computer adapt it was things like uploading documents to um the Eva Portugal Eva it just wasn't exactly clear to us so you know we we did a whole bunch of things and then realized that we did it wrong and then it like okay now what so it was just um one of those things that we just needed to maybe confer the some of the Facebook groups a little bit more find out how to that's all okay all right um if you've ever gone through the Portuguese immigration system or any other immigration for that matter uh let me know how it was in the comments down below was it an easy process for you or did you face some hurdles as well especially bureaucratic hurdles um so in terms of your property we know that when buying property location location location is the most important rule so what were your considerations in terms of what location uh you wanted to purchase in when you were on your house hunting TR well initially we really wanted SE views we wanted to be um within walking distance to the beach to the water um but I think unfortunately we did not give ourselves enough time for a house hunting trip and we tried to look for a house I think in the span of 10 days in a country that we'd never been in before so um we just didn't have we didn't research well enough I think that was a big part of it so that was you know a big thing for us was having C you and and because we were constrained by time we you know we chose this because of it the proximity that we did have to be we knew it was only going to be a 15-minute bicycle ride yeah and we thought that was pretty good so am opposed to lots of amenities I believe and um yeah I'd say that in on in addition to the to the view uh we were looking for proximity to shopping hospitals that kind of thing and and I I'm guessing and I and I don't know Lisbon or portal really well but those seem to be the largest cities in Portugal in terms of the rest of the cities in Portugal everything is very close like that's you know if you're in ptim or like Sha or Al the fighter any of these places it's very easy to find a place that's going to be in proximity to shopping blah blah blah you know hospitals pharmacies that kind of thing so in the end what we should have done is come here and rent a place for a year so we could travel like we are now we're going all over the place looking in oh I like it there I like it here I like it there but because we were short in time we ended up taking Raquel's advice on this place which worked out really really well this is a combination of a place that solve our situation and gives us an opportunity to perhaps I don't want to use the word flip it but turn sell this into you know you know after finding what we want maybe going to I'm not going to say better property this is very nice it's just a different property just looking for a little more okay perfect um I'm actually a little surprised that you mentioned you would have preferred if you'd rented first for a little bit because given that the property Market in the algar is so robust and healthy so now your property is appreciated quite a little bit we're we're we're simulating okay right um and as OPP post having spent money on rent right do you find any comfort in that idea yeah we do there is there is no uh in in this kind of in this kind of transaction I don't think there is I don't think there is a true loss of money anywhere and for us I just I think it was a better a better approach to just buy and not throw away 10 or 12 or 15 or 18 or 20,000 in one year or rent right so in in the end we're pretty positive it's going to work out so yeah we're happy with the fact that and I mean I don't want to I don't want to plug Raquel too much but we we went with her suggestion for this place exactly because we knew that this property would had the potential to appraise and give us an opportunity to find whatever we really really want which is not much more than this okay well since you brought it up and since you want to plug me how was it navigating the Portuguese real estate market with the assistance of me it was amazing actually it was amazing we're happy to we're happy to have you on our side if you come from Canada or the US for example the the the system over there is substantially different than it is here so approaching the real estate market in Portugal with zero knowledge how things work here is is it's a fast road to frustration and probably losing money yeah probably losing and I found a lot of comfort in the fact that you were from Ontario you lived on Ontario you know what it's like there you knew what we were coming from more or less and the fact that you um your your English and Portuguese sorry um Canadian Portuguese it was it was wonderful having you batting for us it was yeah it was wonderful have and very reassuring having you holding our hands in the process it was uh okay I think you're being way too generous but I'll take it I'll take it what just me truthful we were quite um in a different mind space when we were visiting in February of last year trying to figure out what we're doing in the space of 10 days so yeah well we actually have similar uh house hunting stories because mine was also a very very short go go go one um so yeah thank you for that that's very very kind so since you've been here and you've been here now seven months months six months six months or so yeah any lifestyle changes that you've experienced that like really stand out you're like oh this has really changed that's really changed so on honey well I think embracing retirement really I mean I when we retired we basically went on a long road trip on the motorcycle so I think getting settled into our a new home and our new way of life in this new country it's everything been a big change for us really just slowing everything down and getting used to you know living in a different place at a different pace it's just uh yeah and the slowing down of things do you see that as a positive 100% 100% fantastic 100% the reason we wanted to come here is so we could slow down that that culture getting being busy busy busy busy busy busy busy busy all the time and now we still fight it sometimes yeah that that has been the hardest thing to adapt to is is what do I do now well I don't have to do anything it's okay to wake up have coffee and if we were somewhere else I guess you'd be thinking about a going to work or going to the gym or you know arranging your day off whatever that M groceries or or just going somewhere right and no here is like no I have time to have another coffee and another one and I don't care if I get out at 8:00 or get up or get up at 700 or at noon whenever so yeah okay amazing good stuff good stuff if you're looking for a slower pace of life and thinking of the algar as your go-to destination comment down below if you're if you've already considered any specific areas that you're looking at so I can tell you that there are fellow Canadians watching this channel what advice would you give to them in terms of the in terms of the logistics of moving abroad wow that's um that's a really wide question because one tip or two yeah yeah yeah no no no no no I just I do have certain things to say it's just we have observed because we're members of Americans and friends in Portugal and Canadians and immigrated to Port and in a half a dozen other websites which is where we obtain some really useful information and uh sometimes there's a back and forth between what is it that you should do should you bring everything you own or should you sell everything like we did and come and get everything new uh do your research that's what I would suggest yeah do your research of of what you want to replace when you get here because I think we found out that some things are a little bit more expensive to buy here than we thought right M place that is yeah and yeah if you have a favorite thing that you there's a comment just recently about um Gast Iron Pants yes apparently and we have looked for Gast Iron Pants and although we have found cast iron pants that we can use that we seem to be attached to the ones like heavy ones that take two arms to pick up that we are used to in Canada so if you really need that cast P bring it with you pay the extra money for well I can tell you where to find some of those okay yeah there we go so there you go so there a lot of the markets um uh they they're they sell them at many of the markets the Christmas one in L lle had like a fantastic selection so I'll find out for you who the who the owner of that little company is thank you but yeah youd need a couple of men to lift those yeah I mean another thing say do your research uh start your process in advance uh it takes it takes a long time to do everything and just that regardless of what you hear and part of the government the country of Portugal is in transition right now from one government to another one and a transition in the way they dealt with immigrants and and retirees and at all levels it's also in flux and changing and he hasn't finished changing and he may change again because is a new government so if you need to be if your plans are for one or two years start now don't don't do like we did that's we're just going to go on this lifechanging trip to the us and we'll deal with everything we should started before we went on that six-month trip yeah well hindsight is always 2020 right but there are never any guarantees that if you do start weigh in advance that things will turn out differently so I mean I think you've done pretty well for yourself you know what we have we have there there are certain things that we wish we had done slightly different just TimeWise just in terms of timeline but certain certain other things have been like super easy like we were able to apply for a n and we got it within a day yeah we applied for nhr within a day we were approved once we had pass certain parts of the process so we certain things seem really easy but then again our case is really simple the way we're reti we're retiring here strictly on pensions and annuities that's it that's our income stream but all the people have rentals and they have companies and they they have a much more complex system so that's a different followups yeah so that's actually a really good point that Pepe brings up I always advise my clients to get um a consultation for themselves because everybody's situation is different even when on the surface it looks the same everybody's situation is different if you're looking for more detailed advice my calendly link can be found in the description below go ahead and book an appointment and if you have more specific questions we can talk about those so now that you've been here for half a year how have you been navigating staying connected to family and friends back in Canada oh that's easy we don't want to talk to anybody I say social media mostly yeah we do it the uh the normal way now which seems to be social media so Facebook Messenger WhatsApp that's it okay chats video chats or just just typing chats yeah yeah yeah and what has been the most rewarding part of your new life here any new hobbies activities attending events okay so you want to go ahead and say what you want to say or I seem to be Hing I would say the motorcycling just being able to ride our motorcycles year round I mean motorcycling has been really important for us as a couple because we both love it so much um we've been here 6 months and we already on our second side of Pikes because we've decided that you know we wanted to go back to the adventure style route so um yeah that's I think that's the most rewarding thing it just riding around the landscape of Portugal just oooing and a over how beautiful it is here how undeveloped it is how green it is it's just the the Landscapes are just amazing on develop in a good way it's not it's not put down yeah um I would have to agree with that in just the basic thing that my biggest realization is that everything I expected Portugal to be it is and more everything is like I told you so I told myself so so I knew it was going to be it was going to be like this and it is yeah it is we're very very happy there's absolutely no way I would consider going anywhere else it's we just love it here every time we're out for ride we're like oh it's so beautiful here we just love it here I know we didn't discuss this beforehand but would you be able would you be open to sharing a few clips of your motorcycle adventures with our viewers if you say no I'll just edit no no no no you we don't have we haven't made any clip any video clips but but we have but lean's got a couple of little bit of a little bit of footage and we have like everybody else a on so we're taking pictures of everything so yeah we we we'll be happy to share a couple of things yeah 100% a that's so kind of you thank you so yeah if you want to see those uh Clips stay tuned right till the end now um so if you had to do it all over again you touched on this briefly in terms of the property buy aspect but if you had to do the H process all over again what's one thing you would change into completely differently come here with more time okay spend more time researching so that way you can avoid the I want to rent and pay 12 15 18 20,000 for one year for an apartment houses not yours yeah um either make more trips to come here or spend longer here yes figuring out where you want to be because there's so many communities um it's really hard for to narrow things down sometimes with just a very limited amount of time you really needs I mean like we literally had not been to Portugal before our house hunting trip yeah we had planned to come here in 2020 to walk the communo but that got canceled because of because of right so um so yeah yeah come come here don't just take everybody's word for it because there's a ton of people and now that we've done this move we have a lot of people on our side and Canadian side saying so how is it is what you expected so there are people that are questioning it and we've already had somebody visit so um uh I would say like I said before come here on holidays and spend 15 days here and spend 15 days in the north Lisbon Porto and Braga and all these places over there then come to the South they're really different yeah really different okay they do they both have things to offer so that it's amazing in such a small country have so much variety so much variants yes and that applies to everything price prices of properties and uh and you might be surprised once you get here if you have a certain expectation and that happened to us a little bit uh if you have a certain expectation of what you see as your dream property or almost dream property and then you get here and you go in Ma and completely like a 180 and think differ like we you know like everybody else wanted a property close to the water and maybe a view of the of the water and everything but then we went into the hills and on cheep and it's like wow it's not Waterfront but it's just absolutely beautiful you like the hills and and and and the forest and and and trails and right right there it is so come and spend some time here absolutely so looking towards the future are you really excited about anything is there anything on the horizon any new plans or projects that you're really excited about we're looking forward to um to traveling around uh Portugal more and exploring more um and also Europe um we're doing some research on motorcycle luggage right now so we can start so we can start planning our next road trips trying to figure out if we're going to do hotels or camping um we're going to see a we're going to Lisbon or PTO we're going to PTO to uh that's one of the things that we we had wanted to get get to in Europe was culture uh I am a I am a history buff and I particularly like the history of the Mediterranean C cage room uh gree so being in this part of the world is really key for me because I'm I'm a day trip away from carage for example yeah I'm I'm a day away from Tunis where I can go to the the the beginning of the cenan Empire I can go to Italy so the algar specifically or Portugal specifically a great place to set a base if you like culture or you like history or you like traveling you always come back here because everything fantastic weather and it fantastic weather 300 300 uh days plus of sun here guaranteed we haven't had rain in it's been now what three weeks almost very very little not just was one day just sprinkle a little bit once you get out of that sasai rain season of the AL yeah it's like this blue SK yeah it's good that there is some rain of course so but yeah once we get over that um it's absolutely fantastic so now that you're considering possibly I know no decisions have been made but you're potentially considering uh moving again how important has it been to you to have a real estate agent that you are working with again well you know in spite of the fact that we have now seen and got a glimpse how the how the the real estate system works in Portugal I think it's even more important now to have somebody to hold your hand there's a because there are so many variables here so many variables and all of them may change from area to area and from frasia to frasia so that because their rules are so different so we are in putting out and we are like essentially 5 minutes from malor it's a different frequeny things could be different when it comes to how things are done so having somebody hold your hand through all these changes and some of them some of these things can cost you a lot of money if you don't do the right thing yeah so having somebody Hold Your Hand super important don't don't do this on your own okay you're not making scrambled legs you need help lean did you want to add any final thoughts no I think I'm good okay so if you've watched until the end as promise you get to see some clipss now of lyanna and Pepe's motorcycle Adventures [Music] this is Leanna getting ready for the pic experience pic [Music] experience as you can see are you going I mean really there's literally thousands of motorcycles here the adventure bike and the scooter are K sit here I mean half more than half of the motorcycles I've seen right now go by are Adventure bikes and half of that half are BMWs [Music] all right thank you for tuning in another episode of living in the Algarve remember before you go like this video share it with anybody who you think can benefit from Pepe and Leanne's um experience moving to the algar and don't forget to subscribe and hit that notification Bell button so that you don't miss out on any future episodes of living in the allgar as we say here in the alar [Music] beus beus

Channel: Living In The Algarve

Views: 3,084

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Id: 3vwseS_27t8

Length: 26min 43sec (1603 seconds)

Published: Sun May 19 2024