While we continue to wax lyrical about the beauty and benefits of living in the Algarve, we have found a site that deals with what we now consider normal, from the perspective of someone who has not yet taken the plunge.
When we planned to relocate to Portugal we pushed ourselves a bit, took odd jobs to build up a tiny surplus of cash, made a few good investments and re-mortgaged our UK home. We never, however, were quite as organised and focused as the people writing the blog, Move To Portugal.
As we continue to write about life and lifestyle in the Algarve, it is our intention not only to extol the virtues of the southern Portuguese countryside, but also to look at the real cost benefit that one derives from living here.
We have frequently agreed that were we still in the UK, our standard of living would be far below what it is now. Our ultimate conclusion is that had we remained in Blighty, there is no way we could survive without drawing down the funds from the investment pot. In the Algarve, however, particularly north of the EN125, we have a material lifestyle equivalent to that which we had when we were both working, and an emotional lifestyle we had only dreamed of.
Now we are both professionally unemployed, and a good 15 years ahead of the game. And that's just fine by us.
