Living in Madeira Portugal

Portugal’s Madeira Islands lie in the Atlantic Ocean about 360 miles west of Morocco and actually 540 miles away from Portugal’s capital city of Lisbon.

The islands of Madeira and Porto Santo are the only two inhabited islands and this article is all about living in Madeira, Portugal for those seeking a new home abroad.

Madeira is directly accessible from the UK and Ireland.  Flights from Glasgow, Newcastle, Manchester, East Midlands, Luton, Gatwick, Bristol, Birmingham, Bournemouth, Exeter and Dublin fly in to Funchal International Airport every week for example, and low cost flights can be bought from across Europe which makes getting to and from Madeira easy…a key consideration for those with family still in the UK or mainland Europe and who don’t like to feel too isolated.

Madeira is a popular expatriate and holiday location because it has such a beautiful climate, is rich in sights to see and things to do.  Because it lies to the west of Africa it benefits from a similar climate to Morocco and is warmed by the Gulf Stream.  It has long hot summers and mild, temperate winters which is perfect news for those who want to move to sunnier climes.

Although Madeira is nearer Africa than Portugal it still feels very European and has the majority of the same rules, laws, regulations and legislation as Europe; the official language is Portuguese although English is widely spoken and you drive on the right in Madeira.  Because of the island’s geographic position it has the advantage of being pretty much crime free – after all, Madeira is small and everyone knows everyone so you couldn’t get away with very much without your neighbours finding out – the lack of crime is a significant reason why more people are considering living in Madeira Portugal.

Living in Madeira expatriates will find the pace of life quite slow and the quality of life achievable very high.  Especially during the summer season the island is busy with tourism traffic but this doesn’t affect the laid back nature of the locals.  This is worth bearing in mind because those who want things doing quickly may find they have to wait and wait! 

In terms of finding work in Madeira, unless you speak Portuguese the majority of jobs available are in the tourism industry.  This doesn’t restrict the type of work all that much however as Madeira offers an abundance of activities and services for tourists from theme parks, golfing, scuba diving, hot air ballooning, fishing, riding, tennis, walking, shopping and enjoying the night life.  Therefore the range of work available is quite broad.

Like property in Portugal, especially on the Algarve, property in Madeira is not cheap – basically on any island there is a limited supply of property for sale - which in a place like Madeira where demand for real estate is high creates an environment where prices rise quite sharply.  As an indicator only, currently available for sale from Madeira Property.com are a four bed apartment for EUR 300,000, a four bedroom detached home for EUR 470,000 or a plot of land with planning permission and sea views for EUR 97,500.

The level of health care available in Madeira is quite high, there are a number of private medical centres as well as the main hospital Cruz de Carvalho, but private expatriate health insurance is recommended for those moving to Madeira.  For those moving to the island who have children, The British School of Madeira is a bilingual Portuguese and English school recognised by the Regional Education Authority of Madeira but there are other international and local options available to parents.  Local education is free up to the age of 16 and private schools charge a wide range of fees depending on the age of the child, whether they board at school etc.

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