My Cost Breakdown of Home Ownership and Renting In Foz do Arelho & Caldas Da Rainha Portugal

[@jimrose8034]

Hi Josie. We love your videos. We'll be moving to Caldas in June. Renting for a year near Praca da Fruta. Planning on traveling the country and eventually purchasing a home somewhere.

[@lisemae]

Great video! We are looking to buy a house too.

[@drperfect07]

I just found your channel and I think that you give excellent information. I love the video about the home buying process. Keep up the good work. I’m subscribing because I love your content. Best wishes.

[@jacquibrooks7059]

Hi Josie, great video … wow on your current utility bills. We moved to Caldas last August to a 2 1/2 year old 3 bedroom bungalow. Our water bill is 3 times your monthly bill, there are only 2 of us in the house, I don’t use the dish washer unless we have guests and our washing machine is used twice a week. Our electric bill is double and we have no heating installed in the house. We are also with Meo for internet and again paying double your monthly bill…. You have managed to get some great deals….very envious 😀😀

[@josieinportugal6454]

I was very shocked too. I am sure our utilities will go up in the following months since we are now heating the pool and adding water daily. Will do an update in the next few months

[@i0r-r-tjtkttl]

Is your house not insulated well even though it is new?

[@vdoundakov]

Hi Josie, great video, very useful, thank you!! One question I have: what is the energy efficiency of the house you bought? Do you think you could share the individual subcategories ratings?

[@Karen-vq5jz]

Hi,I have recently been started watching your videos,all videos are really informative. We are also looking to relocate from England in near future. Your home is beautiful ❤️

[@angelinagonzales6610]

Dear Josie, I love your videos! Do you have any suggestions for adults, retirees to build a community in Caldas da Rainha? I would appreciate your information🙏🏼

[@josieinportugal6454]

Hi! Caldas has tons of retirees and they meet up quite often. If you enjoy volunteering, there is a group called Silver Coast Volunteer where I’m sure you can make instant friends. There are also local lunch meet ups as well as normal meet ups happening weekly.

[@ToddWomack]

Josie do you know of a good resource that breaks down the different neighborhoods in Caldas? Thanks for all the insight :)

[@josieinportugal6454]

I can’t think of any online resource. I do recommend Googlemaps and using the browse street view. That will give you a good sense if that area suits your family.

[@boramy_anaya606]

Thanks for another great video. New subscriber. Do you have a recommendation of primary school around your area? 7th and 9th grade level.

[@i0r-r-tjtkttl]

Good to hear that utilities are low in a new home. WIll be there to check out Caldas and nearby towns during my 2 months trip to Portugal, in a few days.

[@StudyHaven2024]

have fun 😀

[@pawlieblog7967]

Cheaper utilities when you bought a well insulated home, wow!! Much lower property tax as well-excellent!

[@raypatton4670]

The utilities are amazing!! I wish my utility bills were that cheap I haven't had a utility bill in America under $300 and I have been in a studio and one bedroom apartment. I am ready to leave this place!!! Lol This video was so informative thanks of sharing!

[@thepeacefulpack]

We just bought our second house in Portugal (guest house for family and friends) and we love the silver coast region. We chose Obidos, only we visit Caldas all the time. Have you been to Lourinha yet? Or the Buddha Eden Park? Highly recommend both. The kids will love the dinosaurs and it's a great place for a family picnic. Or if you visit the city centre and you like chicken burgers...Terra Terra is a must. Your kitchen looks beautiful and lol...yup, we have been to Ikea plenty of times too. Any suggestions for activities in the surrounding area? We've been exploring and collecting places to eat and things to see for our guests when they visit. Thanks for sharing.

[@josieinportugal6454]

Congrats on the second home! We have been to Lourinha and to Buddha Eden. Definitely my favorite place to visit here. Have you been to the underground caves yet? Can’t recall the name off the top of my head, but it’s inland and a great place to check out. Also, have you eaten at Jamon Jamon yet in Obidos? Love it there.

[@thepeacefulpack]

@@josieinportugal6454 Thank you and I will look into the caves. Our new house is a short walk from the castle so our goal is to try all the restaurants and Jamon Jamon was one of the first. Have you explored any of the river beaches? That's the next excursion on our list to see.

[@josieinportugal6454]

@@thepeacefulpack that’s a great goal. I also love Avocado place. Can’t recall the name other than Avocado, but they have tasty and healthy food there. I haven’t been to any river beaches yet. Let me know how they are!

[@SaraStoner1977]

Thank you for another helpful video.

[@growingupforeveryoung5470]

Hi Josie, how far are you from Caldas central? Lovely home. Thank you for sharing your costs and showing us your home ❤

[@JenShea]

Great video Josie :)

[@phyllismacluan2755]

Can you give the ballpark price of your home? I'm loving your videos. Thanks

[@salmonteiro6681]

Hi, Josie I'm Portuguese and my wife is Korean I have a home in Foz do Arelho and would love to move there in the near future, I'm trying to convince my wife to move without any luck. She hpas never been there But I know she would love it. She loves the beach, warm weather, an of course seafood.

[@josieinportugal6454]

Hi Sal. Have you brought her there to visit? Did she grow up in America or did she immigrate there? I only ask because my parents immigrated to the US from Vietnam and during that time the US was consider the holy grail to most Asian countries. The land of opportunity etc. When I told my parents that I was moving to Portugal, they were shocked and asked why I would ever want to leave the US. My advice would be to plan several trips to Portugal. Once she sees it and gets to enjoy the country, I’m sure she will be more open to it. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that you already own a house there :)

[@pawlieblog7967]

Energy is expensive in Europe!

[@a.castillo9752]

Hi Josie thanks for the informative video . Is your home a new build ? Not sure if you said that . I’m wondering if that’s the reason for the A rating as most homes I’ve seen are usually at best a C .

[@datweetee1]

Hi Josie, thanks for posting your monthly expenses! It really helps me show/convince my husband to move there with our elementary aged kids. Did it take you awhile to find and finally the purchase of your home? How far away is your drive to drop off the kids at private school? We are Vietnamese Americans and husband is afraid of taking the leap to a foreign country.

[@katecarter6728]

New Sub, I am planning to move there with my family do you help with realtors in silver coast?

[@dramirez1154]

Hola Josie. What is the square footage of your place, and is it a new build? Lastly, would rehabs have a higher efficiency rating? When we look at idealista, I don’t recall seeing anything higher than a “C”.

[@josieinportugal6454]

My house is about 300m2 and it was built roughly 5 years ago. Rehabs may or may not have better ratings. It depends if they did the necessary things like insulating the home, double pane windows, add a heating source etc. Some new builds will likely have a rating of an A because builders now know what customers want and need. With older homes, insulation wasn’t well known. The purpose of the home then was to keep the heat out.

[@Aih777]

How much is your monthly mortgage payment? Sorry if I missed it if you mentioned in the video

[@K_H-Channel]

Hi Josie. Love your channel. I am from Canada and moving to Portugal in October with my wife and 10 month old. We don't know much about silver coast. But we are thinking of renting a place near Porto first. Do you know a realtor that you would recommend to help us find a rental? Thank you.

[@josieinportugal6454]

Hi! Unfortunately, I’m not too familiar with realtors in Porto. Most realtors will focus on whichever town/city they live in. Have you tried looking on sites like olx.pt and idealista?

[@nmaiso4887]

Do all properties have energy ratings and who and how are they rated? That’s new to me as in America that’s doesn’t happen.

[@josieinportugal6454]

Yes, all properties will have energy ratings. The ratings will go from E (the worse) to A++ (can’t recall if the best has 2 pluses or just 1). It will be based on a few things like if they have heating or a fireplace. If they have double pane windows or not. The age of the house etc. When you go to buy the house, they should provide a document with the energy rating.

[@simmonkoch]

Hi Josie, great video!! What was the mortgage rate you were able to get…was it variable or fixed? Thanks!

[@josieinportugal6454]

Hi! We chose variable rate which hovers around 1%. The rate changes yearly so it may go up or down a tiny bit.

[@rickchandler2570]

Do you know the energy ratings for both places? We'll rent at first for the first year but want to find something in the B/B+ rating.

[@josieinportugal6454]

My current house has an A rating. I am not sure about my rental, but my assumption would be a C rating.

[@SaraStoner1977]

We are in limbo deciding to rent or buy. We have heard that (in Portugal) if you buy, don't love, then want to re sell, it's not an easy process.

[@Tinto4]

Congratulations, your home looks beautiful. I'm not sure your comparison is valid. If it was, everyone would buy a property, and the average Portuguese person would be satisfied with a MUCH more modest home than you have. Sorry, but it sounds like whoever rented you the house gave you a soaking.