PORTUGUESE RETIREMENT of 12 properties, with whom we share a pool.”


Next stop, the four-bed villa T e couple bought the property – which has a lovely 100m2 terrace - for £250,000 through agent Martina Lennon (mapcascais. com) – through whom they also sold their apartment. T ey pay £80 a month condo fees for the upkeep of the gardens and pool, as well as council tax of €1,100 a year (and utilities). Since Pat retired last year they have been


able to spend longer periods at the villa and essentially split their time roughly 50/50 between their four-bed detached home in Essex and Portugal. “We love both homes, and can now choose


to spend time at either. But when we are in Portugal we do the same sort of things we do at home – we shop, cook, clean, go for walks – and have the same set of books, CDs, DVDs,” says Pat, who is very keen to emphasize the fact their life is “not one long holiday”. But they do have the opportunity to go for walks along the beach, meet friends for coff ee, have Portuguese lessons and also have a few lunches at local restaurants, including their favourites, O Faroleiro on Guincho Beach (see box,


below) and Restaurante Nortada at Praia Grande, 30 minutes drive north (restaurantenortada.com). “We can live cheaper here than in the UK


if we eat seasonally and don’t frequent the tourist restaurants, and our outgoings are around €300-400 a month,” adds Pat. “But then of course we have to pay the bills on our Essex home too, so running two properties is not cheap. But 25 years ago we never dreamed we’d be able to aff ord live as we do now.” It’s also warmer in winter of course, and


the restaurants don’t close down as they do in seasonal holiday areas, which was why they prefer the Lisbon area to the Algarve. “We think the Algarve is one long stretch


of holiday makers, it’s not real life. T ere are lots of expats playing golf and tennis and it’s a bit like Chiswick-on-Sea!” suggests Pat. “Here we have a lot of people working who commute into Lisbon so it’s a very diff erent feel. We have Italians and South Africans as neighbours, there are also quite a few Scandinavians and Russians who have bought to take advantage of Portugal’s Golden Visa scheme [residency permits with property purchases of €500k or more for non-EU investors] or tax benefi ts [zero income tax for pensioners].”§


Aff ordable apartment: €250,000 (£200k) Close to the schools and shops in Barrio Rosario, this is a two-bed, two-bath apartment with sea views from the roof terrace - with access to pool, gym. mapcascais.com


High-end option: €1.47 m (£1.1m) Close to the popular and classy golf club of Quinta da Marinah, this is a contemporary four-bedroom villa with a private pool. th ground fl oor apartment with fi neandcountry.com.pt


Four-bed villa: €720,000 (£578k) Located in a sought-after residential location near Quinta de Marinha this is a 190m2 four-bed, three- bath villa with a pool and garage, central Cascais. mapcascais.com


Our favourite restaurant


O Faroleiro, overlooking Guincho Beach, Cascais When to go: Sunday lunchtime (you need to book) What to eat: Sea bream or bass cooked “Portuguese style” in a casserole with tomatoes, garlic, baby potatoes and fresh coriander Contact: faroleiro.com; +351 21 487 0225


68 | aplaceinthesun.com


WHAT’S ON THE MARKET // CASCAIS


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117  |  Page 118  |  Page 119  |  Page 120  |  Page 121  |  Page 122  |  Page 123  |  Page 124  |  Page 125  |  Page 126  |  Page 127  |  Page 128  |  Page 129  |  Page 130  |  Page 131  |  Page 132  |  Page 133  |  Page 134  |  Page 135  |  Page 136  |  Page 137  |  Page 138  |  Page 139  |  Page 140  |  Page 141  |  Page 142  |  Page 143  |  Page 144  |  Page 145  |  Page 146  |  Page 147  |  Page 148  |  Page 149  |  Page 150  |  Page 151  |  Page 152  |  Page 153  |  Page 154  |  Page 155  |  Page 156