The REAL Reason Americans Are Moving to Madeira, Portugal

Kalie from ExpatsEverywhere sits down with Alan from It'll Be Fun to talk about retirement and living in Madeira, Portugal. He, his wife, and their adult son moved to Madeira from the US and are loving the island life. Why did they leave the US? Are there a lot of Americans living in Madeira? Alan helps get information out to others about moving to Madeira. He talks about shipping items (including his car) from the US, if it ever gets boring, what to eat, if it's only for those retiring, and so much more.

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Josh and Kalie left the US for a life abroad in 2009 and haven't looked back. They have lived in Spain, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and are currently in Portugal. Yes, they realize they only moved to countries starting with the letter "S" until they spoiled that streak with their move to Portugal. Follow ExpatsEverywhere as we aim to get information to you through expat interviews, city breakdowns, expat life, travel, vlogs, and more.

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[ItllBeFun]

Bom dia! Thank you very much for the opportunity to speak with you about Madeira. We had a fantastic time while in Porto. Our new (2nd) favorite place.

[homemurso]

I'm azorean and we're beginning to see more and more foreigners moving in to the islands too. Not just retirees, but younger people and even young families in search of safer and healthier communities to raise their families in.
We're still weighing the pros and cons of the situation, but I think that the scales are pending more in to the positive side of the process 🤔
It's true that we've seen the effects of so many people coming in at once. Specially in the housing and building market. Prices are rapidly increasing and that's scary for us that have been living here for our entire lives. It's scary and worrying. But it's also true that we needed this push! Not only for the local economy, but also for this whole new energy and movement these new residents bringing with them. We see musicians, plastic artists, singers, writers, photographers, scientists, brokers, people working with big companies, with e-commerce and so many other businesses and different experiences and projects, so many different ideas and ways of doing things and living life, such diversity and new opportunities! I think that we all have so much to gain from this that we should all make an even greater effort to solve the issues that may arise from all the changes that comes with it and try to make it work

[SallySparks]

Three key historical barriers that make people worry about living on islands are not problems on Madeira: Transportation access, infrastructure and communications. Gone are the days of long passages or even long, expensive flights. Only a few years ago, even telephone calls would be expensive. But Madeira has an excellent airport with many regular cheap non-stop flights to dozens of European destinations, putting most European destinations 2-4 hours away . Internet service is blazing, with home service up to 500Mb available on most of the island, and cell service up to 1GB. The infrastructure is 1st world, with Switzerland quality tunnels connecting the areas of the island, a power grid running on almost 50% renewables, and a large university medical complex under construction. With the immense geological diversity on the island, it's hard to get bored with nature on Madeira.

[danielsemyck]

Great interview Kalie. We follow It'll Be Fun also. It's great to see fellow vloggers together! We're moving to Portugal in 2025, when I retire and are so looking forward to it. Planning an exploration trip next year. We may be calling on you and Josh for personal advice!

[davidmartinspresents]

I saw that Star Wars film crew is in Madeira to shoot some of the scenes. Fantastic scenery for the movie!👍

[davidchilton]

Spent 4 days on Madeira last October and absolutely loved it. Would love to spend more time there.

[nichols]

Very informative interview! Madeira looks like a very beautiful place. Although, as a former expat myself, I'd say a year anywhere is still the honeymoon phase. It takes a few years before the negatives starting biting harder.

[moward]

Great interview, Kalie! Great footage, Josh! Key questions asked and answered for those interested in Madeira. I really appreciate the information provided. Always detail rich with you guys. Well done, as usual. Your brand is solid! Love you guys! ❤😊

[michelelou]

Madeira is spectacular. I went there in 2019 and again in 2020 right before the pandemic. It is one of my favorite places on earth.

[PedroDVC]

I'm from Madeira but living in Porto and can't spend a full year without visiting my beautiful island. Enjoy the island and please take care of it. Much love to all!

[chrismedeiros]

Alan, Leslie & Wolf, from the YouTube channel, "It'll Be Fun" are enjoyable to watch also! Their perspective on Madeira is presented in a very relaxed way. It's loaded with breathtaking views of Madeira, especially Levada walks. They also share realities about the island as well as all the wonderful things, which there are many! Lastly, they also have a thriving Patreon group of friendly people to be a part of.

[AlefeLucas]

The fact that Portugal is taking in retirees from rich countries is making Portugal too expensive for the Portuguese themselves. These retirees have a much bigger purchase power than the Portuguese, they make the prices of everything go up and the locals can no longer afford anything.

[teodoro]

Thanks to you, I started 2022 in Coimbra (your vid of the studios). December 2022 was a month for my own country breaking record. I left Argentina the 22nd > Uruguay > Brazil > Lisbon > Coimbra (to leave my stuff) > Porto. I started 2023 in Funchal, IMHO it's even better than Coimbra. I spent a week in Santa Cruz, but it's too far away for me. Definitely, I fell in love with Madeira, and believe me, I have a lot of cities to compare with, UK and USA included. As Alan said, when I find my place, I'll buy something. Very informative vid, specially for me, the 20´ container info. ¡Thanks a lot!

[bijanbayne]

Was there in Sept. 2019 and found it charming w/ wonderful views. Wrote three travel articles about it. Great climate all year. I also stayed on Porto Santo

[terrisokolow]

Great video, Kalie! Very informative!

[fanstream]

such an excellent q&a = great questions, stellar answers = obrigado!

[paulharhen]

The island is certainly an excellent holiday location. We spent a week in Madeira last month, and covered it all. 2/3 days in Funchal, and the remainder on the rest of the island. We hired a car for the latter portion too. The island has more than enough to keep you going for a week. 2/3 days in Funchal was right for us.

The highlights for us were the Museu de Fotografia da Madeira - Atelier Vicente's, Igreja do Colegio Sao Joao Evangelista, Rua Santa Maria, all the gardens, and the old town generally.

The vegan cuisine scene on the island was pretty good, and we had our best vegan meal in years in Funchal at Olives. Vegan Mundo, Fala Fala and La Pasta were excellent too. However soy milk wasn't generally available in cafe's. We had all five rum-based Poncha's, the pineapple Nikita, and a bottle of Madeiran wine. The local breads, cakes and pastries too.

The roads outside of the city, are pretty good in comparison to other locations such as the Canary Islands. So travelling about is OK, but still while exercising care, even in a small car. Pico Avieiro we found badly organized (i.e. parking), and overrun with hikers/sightseers, and as a result unsafe ( e.g. a minor car collision happened in front of us). Porto Moniz was lovely and calm with the natural rock pools. Porto da Cruz too was nice and quaint. The Fanal forest wasn't a big deal, and it and the Pico Avieiro weren't worth the effort, we found.

Living in Madeira is a different matter. This was a secondary reason for our visit. Being EU/Irish citizens, we have access to the EU (27 countries) and the UK. We have lived and worked in four of these 28 countries, and have visited most of them.

Thoughts on Madeira as a place to live:
1. We found that the western side of Funchal, Sao Martinho, over developed, and has lost it's Madeiran identity completely.
2. Monte was too high to access easily and daily.
3. Eastern Funchal was better as far as Canico only, and not beyond.
4. In Funchal, lower Sé and San Pedro seems best for us possibly, however the air quality in Funchal was not good, because of the old cars and buses I guess.
5. The northern portion of the island is still underdeveloped, which is good if you can live with that. Lovely scenery. Lower pricing. Slower pace than Funchal. We would omit Sao Vicente however.
6. The weather is excellent, but having Spring/Summer all year round, is a problem for some..
7. Being on a relatively small island, packed with tourists year-round plays out both ways, i.e. newer properties, international cuisine, good shopping, and better infrastructure (roads and airport routes) on one hand, with overpricing (housing), and crowds on the other hand.
8. It rains, which is good. It has its own fresh water supply. Lanzarote, southern Spain, and southern Tenerife don't have enough water.
9. It doesn't get cold or hot. So heating or aircon is rarely really needed, I hear.
10. It has a good bus system, in Funchal in particular.
11. It has large supermarkets, and good value too like Pingo Doce (excellent veg./fruit and wine selection).
12. The free healthcare system is good, I hear. (But one should consider an insured top-up maybe??)
13. The beaches are rocky.

So, for the meantime we are staying put in Dorset, UK, I think.
1. 6 airports within a 2.25 hours max. drive. Buses and trains too, on our doorstep.
2. London, 90 minutes away, and all it has to offer.
3. English speaking.
4. Free healthcare (so far),
5. Four seasons with a relatively mild winter.
6. The cost of living (except for property) is higher than Madeira of course, but this is not outweighed by the switching costs (property selling/buying costs) of moving to another location.
7. 2 mins. walk to a 7 mile sandy beach. Lucky us!!
8. No hills in comparison to Funchal.
9. The above also outweighs also the current mad political situation.

If we HAD to move, it would be Valencia, Spain possibly. Bilbao, Spain, and Viana do Castelo, Portugal are still other possibilities to be tested.

[vickiroadman]

I am here right now! Lovely island, very VERY steep roads, not many level/flat areas or handicapped access. Come with strong legs and good knees!!!

[samcha]

Good interviewing, as in great questions!

[form]

Madeira was beautiful even in the winter, nice kind people, love Portugal