Sylvie has just returned with her husband from the island of Madeira off the coast of Portugal. She visited about twenty homes there, finally bidding on one of them. The decision has been made: this summer, when the master retires, they will leave Grenoble (Isère) and France to settle there. The first country to retire abroad, according to our ranking, Portugal has already attracted several thousand French people who are looking for a better quality of life, lower prices and above all sunshine.
For Sylvie, 55, going to Portugal is a huge leap into the unknown. She had never considered going to live abroad, until she had an “island merger” in Madeira, last summer, while on vacation. “We appreciated the climate – it was 20C in February, when we went to visit homes – the fact that there was little crime, good hospitals…”, she explains.
A little problem for Sylvie and her husband: “We don’t speak Portuguese, we have to learn, but since it’s very touristy, they speak English and a little French. In the house they’ve bought, they want to make guest rooms. When asked if she’s not afraid of being separated from her loved ones, she replies Sylvie: “On the contrary, we will be closer! Our family is in Paris, six and a half hours from Grenoble (In the car, Three and a half hours by train), while Madeira takes three and a half hours by plane! »
In France, on the tenth of the month, we have nothing left.
In Portugal, Aurore had already moved a year and a half ago with her husband, when he retired. Repatriation of a disabled person born in Portugal. Her husband, a former ArcelorMittal electrical mechanic, knew nothing of Portugal. She highlights the economic interest of their exiles in the sunshine of Brittany: “In France, on the tenth of the month, we have nothing left. Here, we manage to live, go to a restaurant, etc. Even coming to Portugal opened doors for them: “No We could never buy in France, and always stayed renting, while we were able to get our own home there! »
Portugal has other strengths. One of the most important, in the eyes of the exiled French, is…among the population. “Portugal is not like France,” notes Aurore. People are welcoming and not pressured. They take the time to live and care about people. “A lot of Portuguese people went to work in France to take advantage of attractive salaries, they speak French,” explains Aurore, who knows Portuguese, unlike her husband.
“Crush” for Greece
Portugal, Sylvie also visited (other than the first interviewee) and also thought of spending her old age there. “I loved it so much, but once we went to the touristy places, there were a lot of French people,” she explains. She and her husband also looked at Spain and Italy without further enthusiasm. Until the discovery of Greece, it ranks fourth in our ranking: “We fell in love with the countries, the simplicity of the people, their hospitality…” Like a click Sylvie, 54, has bought a house in North Olympia, where she plans to retire.
Greece passed all criteria for a couple. “We wanted to be by the sea, but in France there are hardly any places where there are not more tourists, and we can’t afford that,” explains Sylvie. “In financial terms, Greece is, compared to France, day and night,” explains this Auvergne resident. As evidence: she bought her house on more than 150m2, with 1000m2 of land, 4 km from the sea, for 150,000 euros. Sylvie smiles, somewhat worried: “Don’t tell so many people about it!”
