Your advice to see a property with your own 2 eyes, is SO a important. You MUST see it for yourself to get an impression of the actual house, area, services, neighborhood. In Portugal are there agents or property finders who offer “remote purchase” programs? There is one company which is doing this in the Puglia area of Italy. I was shocked…absolutely shocked at what particular properties people have purchased from this one particular property finder without ever seeing it in person! Sure, they can do a video tour of the house and they can take video of the approach to the subject property but how do you, the prospective purchaser get a feel for how many disused, rotting falling ruins, ill kept, unmaintained POS houses/flats will surround your “dream” home? How about the feel of the community itself? How about stores, entertainment, shopping, transportation links, etc etc etc….these are many of the things you will NOT be shown when the property finder’s fee depends on the prospective purchaser being “drunk on the dream” and not asking enough questions. Please folks, buy a plane ticket, get a hotel, rent a car and put boots on the ground so that your dream to purchase a home, whether a principal residence or a vacation home, doesn’t turn into a nightmare because of some charlatans scheming to separate you from your hard earned money. Oh and these are also the same people who will “conveniently” offer to undertake all/any renovations the property they’ve persuaded/encouraged you to buy will need. This, they do at a generous mark-up at your expense. Dream big fellow prospective purchasers but don’t let your guard down or some unscrupulous people will quickly separate you from your money. No, this didn’t happen to me, but my recent visit to Puglia gave me an opportunity to see first-hand how closely edited and curated some of the towns/properties viewers are being shown. I don’t even want someone else picking out my apples at the grocery store much less a property in another country. Great video as usual Luiza. Good content and conversation starters. 👍

Great honest video. Spain was a consideration for us, but given that they have no drivers license exchange process outside of the EU and you have to start from scratch (regardless of experience) that took it out of the running. Would still consider an investment property there though.

My very personal idea of algarve is that I'd prefer a property without mortgage in Almancil ( just 4 stones away from Vale do Lobo ), than a mortgaged property in Vale do Lobo. I know it's not the same, but from a personal peace of mind I'd prefer option 1

After living in Portugal for a year now, I have learned that the Portuguese believe that olive oil is its own food group 🤣🤪.

Very usefull vlog! Thanks

The honesty and balance of good with bad you share are always so appreciated!

Thank you Luiza for your honest assessment. I believe many don’t openly admit a mistake or an error so I find your reflection to be refreshing and helpful. 🙂 I put a lot of trust in YT videos (like this one) by those that live somewhere vs stopping by for a few days or hours—so I TRULY appreciate this type of video. 👍🏻 Before making a final decision—we plan to rent an apartment so we can experience life in PT as much as we can before making a final decision. BTW—I was intrigued by your preliminary observation on housing in Spain vs PT. Looking forward to your analysis. Finally, don’t believe everything “Hollywood” portrays! All the best to you and Flavius. Obrigado. 🤗

https://youtu.be/T2rMlc_0Cw4 !!

Once again a very honest appraisal of living in the Algarve in the winter when the tourist spots are closed ..no more junk food then i think you will find a local family run restaurant with good food at reasonable prices i wonder if you both had considered France some beautiful places with reasonable priced farm houses in beautiful villages with excellent food ..i am a loss as to why your subscribers are not in the hundred of thousands when i see so many of the English sites in Portugal spouting total BS and are getting large subscriber numbers ?,loved the video thank you.

Regarding the US, we're not looking to overpay for housing. The listing prices in the US are typically close to the value of the property. The listing prices in Portugal are often greatly in excess of the actual value. A lot of US people don't realize this and can unknowingly overpay, and the Portuguese sellers are happy to accommodate. No one from the US is comfortable overpaying multiples for real estate. Most of the people coming from the US are not rich, and we're trying to make the numbers work. A lot of us are beyond frustrated with the healthcare costs here, the politics, gun violence, and the unrelenting stress of the work culture; and that's the motivation for moving someplace that is not in the US. 

No place is perfect and one can always move. You can always rent your place out for a year, or sell it, and travel to explore locations in Portugal or Spain that may be offer you a higher quality of life at a lower cost. Maybe that's a set of videos, exploring places to live for a month.

Thanks for the realistic assessment! So, we moved from France and are 100% sure of our move…EVERYTHING except gas is cheaper here for us! We are closing on a home tomorrow!! We rented in Lisbon for a year and took our time ruling out areas really and when we found the right house we knew it was right!! I love everything about Portugal except the bureaucracy, but bureaucracy is bureaucracy everywhere!! Food is great and reasonable IF you don't go out in touristy areas, love the weather in Lisbon, people so welcoming, etc! Good luck whatever you decide to do, but maybe check out other places in Portugal!!

I loved the "300 years of sunshine" bit (13:34) – it's obviously a mistake, but it's funny anyway…

My dream country Portugal