Retiring

Yes, an attorney or the Embassy/Consulate of the country(ies) you are looking to move to., is probably a better source of accurate info than this well meaning forum.

Just a couple thoughts, you are right to assume that your situation is different from your husbands, assuming a post-Brexit scenario. As an EU member citizen, You have rights of residency and work. I suppose it may vary somewhat based on type of nationality (Some passport holders based on hereditary or other special circumstance citizenship may allow residency but not work), so heading to the French Embassy would be a good start.

As for your husband, nothing is settled with Brexit. If he were to go today...maybe no problem (same disclaimers as above, he needs to head to the UK Embassy). Brexit happens, maybe a problem, seen no definitive agreement on what happens to the Brit expats, After a real Brexit, probably many more hoops to pass through for a UK citizen.

Start with your Embassy, then maybe find someone to guide you through the financial and property issues.

You will get better info from one of the Expat forums than this one. If you just google Expat forums Portugal, at least two or three will come up.
Your French and UK citizenships will allow you to come now. Current UK citizens who have lived here for a while will be ok after Brexit, but it’s still very unclear about people who come after. But, being married to an EU citizen simplifies residency for your spouse.

Regarding finding a house for your specified amount of money. It wouldn’t be enough around Lisbon as the housing has skyrocketed in the last few years. Casa Sapo and Idealista are two good sites for rentals in Portugal.
Other forums and the Portuguese Embassy website in the U.S. would be a better place to start obtaining the info you need.

You need to take specialist advice, as has already been stated that will consider your tax residency position, particularly if you want to work, which could be a problem.

If you want rocks on the Algarve, then you need to be west of Lagos or on the west coast. It’s flat in the eastern Algarve.

Your budget is low for a house with sea views on the Algarve. You should get a flat for this budget or a terraced house on a complex. Prices will be cheaper north of Aljezur.

Having a British passport probably isn’t going to help after Brexit.

Many thanks to all of you who replied to my message. We are, of course, waiting for the development of the Brexit “yes or no”. I understand US$ 2K per month maybe a low budget in the Lisbon area. We could raise our budget to US$3,000.00. We would like to renti for 6 to 8 weeks in Portugal, then, decide if we should or not move there. Would you advise to rent one week here and one week there? South of Lisbon down to the Algarve? I have been to Portugal before, a long time ago. It was pouring cats and dogs when we were in Porto and the Douro Valley. Was it an exceptional year or is the Northern part of Portugal more humid and colder? I live near Chicago and I cannot bear the weather anylonger
Again, thank you. Have a good weekend.

Definitely have an extended visit before you decide to move. Staying a few weeks in 2-3 places would give you ‘a feel’ for the place. But, a lot of us expats - myself included, made the final decision on where to live after we moved. And, I know a few people who changed locations once they had lived here for a while. The biggest decision is whether Portugal as a whole is the place for you.

And, yes, the north is cooler and wetter, but still nothing compared to Chicago. In the Lisbon area, it never freezes and rarely dips into the high 40’s at night in the winter. Most daytime temps in winter at mid 50’s - mid 60’s. But, ask questions about heating in anything you rent. There really isn’t central heat we know it in the States. And, many apartments (mine included), only have plug in heaters that can be moved from room to room. It’s an adjustment!

As a House Hunters International addict and having lived in Germany 1982-1985, I really recommend that you try some apartment rentals to test the waters. Being a tourist is way different from being a resident, but staying in apartments will give you some little glimpses into what living in Portugal will be like.

Over the past 10 years I've rented vacation apartments in Lisbon, London, Paris, Aix-en-Provence, Zandvoort, Amsterdam, Bruges, Rome, Venice and Athens. All were different, but all had the basics needed. With minimal changes, I could've lived long term in any of them.

I know it's a reality show, but a major theme of HHI is the differences between housing in other locations and that of the US.

My apartment in Germany was quite large, but it was on the 4th European floor. I was young and didn't pay much attention, but my 65 year old mother counted the steps up to it when she visited. There were 99. The toilet was separate from the bath, the kitchen was tiny with no counter space until I brought up an Ikea work bench and assembled it. I did that one step at a time because it was so heavy.

The mention of the movable electric heater really brought back memories. The attic was above me with no insulation. The radiators barely put out any heat, so I had one of those that I moved from room to room.

Because the military post DIY laundries were always packed, and I couldn't find any kind of laundry facilities near my apartment, I bought a washer from the PX that I could hook up to the kitchen sink faucet. There were lines to hang clothes off a little balcony outside the kitchen. Due to the weather, I was only able to use those a couple of months one summer.

Previous US tenants had put in 3 closet frames, not enclosed or they'd be considered rooms, 1 at the end of the hall and 1 each in the 2 bedrooms. I strung a line between the closet and a structural bit in the extra bedroom and hung my laundry on it. Drying time was about 2 days for everything.

I was able to work around the oddities and it was all a great adventure for me then, so I'm almost always amazed at how demanding most of the people are on HHI. Their expectations often far exceed their budgets.

And I'm continuosly perplexed by the concern about stairs or having to walk 10 minutes to get somewhere, even when they are young and have no kids. I expect it from someone like me, 73 with bad knees, but not from them.

No matter what kind of a place you end up renting, it will not be perfect. As my husband, a retired facilities guy, always says, "Give it 30 days" and you'll have settled in and gotten used to the quirks you thought would drive you nuts.