Climate, cost of living and safety among most popular reasons for moving
To finally be able to enjoy retirement to the fullest is a long-awaited moment for many, and so the choice of destination to spend a happy retirement must be considered carefully.
Mostly due to its exceptional quality of life, Portugal is at the top of the world’s ‘best countries to retire’ list, whether for its climate, cost of living, diverse landscapes, accessible healthcare or laid-back, welcoming communities.
According to the 2025 Annual Global Retirement Index, by International Living, only Panama comes before Portugal, with Costa Rica in third place. Quality of life and ease of communication are two factors that contribute to the excellent ranking and diversity of nationalities.
Portugal is one of the most attractive places for expats to retire, and many choose the Algarve, the country’s southernmost region, for its year-round sunshine, stunning coastline and golden beaches.
Here, Portugal Resident shares some real-life stories of expats who decided to retire to the Algarve.
Born in Canada, Madeleine Wheare has swapped the cold for a mild climate where she can enjoy what she loves the most. Although she spent her childhood in Quebec, she is the daughter of Scottish parents who immigrated after the Second World War, so she had a connection to Europe.
At 18, she decided to do her final year of high school in the UK, after having completed it in the French system in Canada. She was always interested in science and biochemistry but, after a stimulating year in Europe, decided to perfect the power of the written word and opted for English and French literature at McGill University.
When she finished, she worked as a translator and an interpreter in the criminal court in Montreal and, at the same time, had her own translation business.
Love led her to move to London, where she lived with her lawyer husband for two years and had their first child.
Later, they moved to Hong Kong where Madeleine lived for two decades, had her second child, taught French, founded a newspaper at the Lycée Français, was secretary to an American missionary society, and president of her local church’s parish council. She then returned to the UK, where she was based in the Oxford area.
Change has always been part of her life, so she’s used to the process of adapting. To integrate into a new environment, she always joins her groups of interest such as the Catholic church, the amateur theatre group, the garden club, and joins in fundraising events.
“It’s important to have activities to meet people with common interests,” she explained. Fluent in English, and French, with a knowledge of German and Chinese, when she arrived in Portugal in 2017, she couldn’t speak Portuguese but decided to learn it and recently she just passed the A2 exam, which certifies her with basic skills.
“I do everything I can to speak Portuguese. I never go into a café or supermarket and speak English,” said a determined Madeleine.
Her top priority when choosing a place to spend her retirement was a Catholic country. Next on her list was proximity to the sea and good weather so she could garden all year round, hence the Algarve, a region she had visited twice before but never thought of living in.
“It’s important to have activities to meet people with common interests” – Madeleine Wheare
Madeleine lives in the popular seaside town of Carvoeiro, where she says she feels “extremely safe”. Nowadays, as well as spending quality time with her two dogs, she is very involved in the community, becoming a self-appointed liaison for Catholic foreign residents in the parish of Lagoa, as there was no representation before.
“I want to belong to something more inclusive, with more information, livelier and more vibrant, where all the nationalities are together,” she said. For that reason, Madeleine produces a weekly bulletin with the readings in English, topical information, and times of celebrations for all non-speakers of Portuguese.
Consequently, more people attend – English, Irish, Scottish, Canadian, and Americans, and a number of French and Swedish as well. Once a year, she runs Carols on the Cliffs, a fundraising event where everyone sings Christmas songs in English, Dutch, German, French, and Portuguese, on the eastern cliffs above Carvoeiro.
“It takes a lot of courage and resilience to make changes in life,” she recognised adding that “Portugal is a safe place to live”. However, she believes that it lacks in the quality of healthcare as professionals are too few and poorly paid.
“There is a gap in the number of workers, services, and machines available. Professionals have to work both in the private and public health systems to make ends meet. But it is clear they are all doing the best they can in a difficult situation.”
A different opinion is shared by American couple Pat and Rob Marcotte, who say they have never had any problems with the public healthcare system in Portugal. “When we needed help, we were stunned by the competence and professionalism,” they said. Despite that, they agree that a downside of Portugal is the bureaucracy.
Nevertheless, one aspect that they are certain about is that the Algarve is the best place to retire, and recommend it to anyone who is considering it, both for the weather, gastronomy, safety, community spirit and for the ease of communication in English. However, they don’t rule out the importance of expats learning Portuguese.
“Don’t rule out the importance of learning Portuguese” – Pat and Rob Marcotte
Both former members of the United States Air Force, they moved to the Algarve in 2017 after a lifetime of travel. Pat was only 18 when she joined the Air Force and Rob was 20. Although they were in the same field, she moved around several bases about every three to five years while he spent nine years in Miami.
With the Iraq war, the two were assigned to the combat unit where they met and spent around six months working together, with Rob as Pat’s supervisor. After 23 years in the military, Pat decided to retire and became a civilian air traffic controller.
At that time, Rob’s unit in Louisiana was hiring and their paths crossed again. He was working at the New Orleans Airport when he was promoted and moved to Dallas, and invited Pat to join him. They got married in 2005, but soon after Rob had to go back to Iraq, which meant the honeymoon was put on hold.
Due to Hurricane Katrina, he ended up returning to help with the safety of New Orleans, followed by a period of more than a decade in Dallas in which Pat resigned and went back to university. She got a bachelor’s in Sociology, a master’s in Military History, an associate degree in Human Behaviour, and started teaching History at Tarrant County College.
“When we retired, we started planning to move abroad. We considered everywhere, including Panama because Rob grew up between there and the United States, but Europe was at the top,” they recalled.
“We had a set of criteria of what we wanted in each country we looked. First, our pets because we brought up two dogs and two cats (which have since died). Then we looked at safety, the cost of living, and the medical care,” the couple explained.
As they had never been to Portugal, it wasn’t an option until they came across an article in International Living magazine highlighting the Algarve as “the hidden gem of Europe”. Watching videos online, they were enchanted by the natural beauty of the Algarve coast, the Portuguese lifestyle, and the gastronomy.
They rented a car, explored the region, and were convinced that they wanted to move. Initially, they thought they would only stay for three to five years and live in other European countries, but that idea has since dissipated, and they can no longer imagine themselves living anywhere else.
Here they have a group of American and British friends and new hobbies such as playing golf and supporting the Carvoeiro Cat Charity, dog shelters, and the Good Samaritan Children’s Home (Lar de Crianças Bom Samaritano), in Alvor.
“Our life is wonderful! We really enjoy living here and we have our family and friends visiting us regularly. They love it here!” they enthused. Nowadays, when they are not travelling, they spend their days in an incredible villa in Carvoeiro with sea views and a large outdoor space where their two rescue dogs, whom they adopted here, enjoy the sun and refreshing sea breeze.
In the east Algarve, in Loulé, we spoke to Helga (German) and Larry Hampton (American), a couple who have lived in various parts of Europe and describe southern Portugal as “the perfect retirement home”. Their reasons align with those already mentioned by Madeleine, Pat, and Rob. They share the same feeling, as they both play golf, enjoy the lifestyle, and classify the beaches as “world-class”.
As further reasons to love the place, they mention the proximity to lots of interesting places in Europe, the international and multi-cultural community in the region, the clean air, natural and healthy foods, and wonderful wines, which delights Larry, a founder member and first secretary of the Algarve Wine Society of which he is an honorary member now.
The couple, who had already visited the Algarve before moving, had already shared their views with American friends, arguing that “unlike Florida or Arizona, which are the two main retirement states in the US, there are no crocodiles, dangerous reptiles, hurricanes or nasty insects”. They also point out the new direct flights between Faro and New York as an additional bonus.
“Portugal is the perfect retirement home” – Helga and Larry Hampton
Both are familiar with different languages as Helga worked as an interpreter and all her professional career was related to languages, and Larry, who worked in Management Consulting and Writing, is fluent in French, good at Italian, and has notions of German and Portuguese.
Since she arrived, Helga has been extremely active. She was a “founding mother” of the first International School in Porches (Lagoa), and her passion for music led her to create ‘Opera on DVD’, a project in which she invited like-minded people, initially to her living room and later to the São Brás Museum to watch, discuss and explore recordings. This led her to become part of “Amigos de Música”, an international group of friends of music of which she is now president.
From British, Germans, French and Dutch, to Americans and Canadians, many choose to live in the Algarve and wouldn’t swap the region for their home country because it was here that they found what they were looking for – quality of life.
By BEATRIZ MAIO
