{"id":2429,"date":"2026-08-03T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/?p=2429"},"modified":"2026-08-03T09:05:56","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T08:05:56","slug":"%ca%bcwe-spend-less-in-a-month-here-than-we-did-in-a-fortnight-at-home%ca%bc-a-roscrea-couple-on-eight-years-in-the-algarve","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/%ca%bcwe-spend-less-in-a-month-here-than-we-did-in-a-fortnight-at-home%ca%bc-a-roscrea-couple-on-eight-years-in-the-algarve\/","title":{"rendered":"\u02bcWe spend less in a month here than we did in a fortnight at home\u02bc \u2014 a Roscrea couple on eight years in the Algarve"},"content":{"rendered":"

They landed in southern Portugal with two rucksacks<\/strong> and a scribbled budget<\/strong>, promising themselves a year. Eight years later, the Roscrea couple are still there, feeling oddly lighter<\/strong>\u2014in the wallet, in the bones, in the daily noise<\/strong> that once filled their lives.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

From drizzle to daylight<\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

The first shock was not the heat<\/strong>, they say, but the length of the days<\/strong>. \u201cIn winter we still get a soft glow<\/strong> at 5 p.m.,\u201d says Eileen, who counts the light like currency<\/strong>. \u201cBack home I clock-watched through grey<\/strong>, then raced dinner against the dark<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

What a month costs when you slow down<\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

Money was the nudge<\/strong>, not the whole story<\/strong>. Still, the arithmetic feels simple<\/strong>. \u201cWe spend less in a whole month<\/strong> now than we used to in a racing fortnight<\/strong>,\u201d says Kieran, almost sheepish<\/strong>. \u201cIt\u2019s not that we live ascetic<\/strong>\u2014we live different<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n
  • Rent for a modest, bright apartment<\/strong>: about \u20ac750 per month<\/strong> <\/li>\n

    <\/p>\n

  • Fresh food from the market<\/strong>: roughly \u20ac220 for two, including local fish<\/strong> <\/li>\n

    <\/p>\n

  • Utilities, internet, and a prepaid phone<\/strong>: around \u20ac140 in an average month<\/strong> <\/li>\n

    <\/p>\n

  • Coffee on the square<\/strong>, two glasses of local wine<\/strong>, the odd pastry: \u20ac90\u2013\u20ac120<\/li>\n

    \n<\/ul>\n

    <\/p>\n

    They laugh at their old habits<\/strong>\u2014standing in a soggy shop<\/strong> queue while a takeaway clock blinks \u20ac19.50<\/strong>, repeating the ritual three times a week<\/strong>. Here, they cook, they share, they linger<\/strong>. \u201cYou spend less when you hurry<\/strong> less,\u201d Eileen says, lifting a bowl of tomatoes so red<\/strong> they feel lit from within by August<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    Learning the grammar of elsewhere<\/h2>\n

    <\/p>\n

    The first summer, they learned to say bom dia<\/strong> with a round, open mouth<\/strong>, then stumbled through the verbs<\/strong> that make a life: to pay, to ask, to mend<\/strong>. \u201cWe carried a pocket notebook<\/strong>,\u201d Kieran says. \u201cWe drew tiny forks<\/strong> for caf\u00e9 and little taps<\/strong> for the hardware shop.\u201d Language came patient and crooked<\/strong>, like a vine that finds its wire<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    They found a rhythm of errands<\/strong> on foot: butcher, bakery, pharmacy, the post with its tidy stamps<\/strong>. They learned the wait at the municipal office<\/strong>, the sudden kindness of a clerk who slides a form<\/strong> across the desk and says, slowly, \u201cNo stress<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    Health, heat, and the sensible midday<\/h2>\n

    <\/p>\n

    Their bodies adjusted in tidy increments<\/strong>. Fewer aches, more sleep<\/strong>, better feet from walking the long promenade<\/strong>. \u201cWe miss Irish rain<\/strong>, not the cold that gets into your knuckles<\/strong>,\u201d Eileen jokes. They made friends with the siesta<\/strong> logic and an early swim<\/strong>, lying low through the high sun<\/strong>. \u201cIt\u2019s not a beach poster<\/strong>,\u201d Kieran says. \u201cIt\u2019s a way to pace<\/strong> yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    Healthcare felt navigable<\/strong> after the paperwork maze<\/strong>. A neighbour introduced them to a clinic<\/strong>, where the doctor listened with neat, careful<\/strong> questions. The costs were reasonable, the pharmacy kind, the advice<\/strong> practical: walk more, cook simply<\/strong>, avoid noon heroics<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    Work that folds into the day<\/h2>\n

    <\/p>\n

    They did not retire; they retuned<\/strong>. Eileen tutors English over video<\/strong>, Kieran edits short guides<\/strong> for a travel website. The work is light<\/strong>, but precise, with deadlines that keep the mind brisk<\/strong>. \u201cWe measure ambition in hours<\/strong>, not in titles,\u201d he says. Afternoons belong to the sea<\/strong>, to a chair in a patch of shade<\/strong>, to the slow mending<\/strong> of a shirt.<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    \u201cBack home the week ate our energy<\/strong> and we bought it back on Saturdays<\/strong>,\u201d Eileen says. \u201cHere, our time is our luxury<\/strong>, and it costs very little<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    Friends found in small habits<\/h2>\n

    <\/p>\n

    They built a circle the way you build bread<\/strong>\u2014by tending the same starter<\/strong>, day after day. Same caf\u00e9, same grocer<\/strong>, same wave to the man who trains his dog<\/strong> at the pier. The talk is mixed\u2014Portuguese, Irish, stray German<\/strong>\u2014held together by small courtesies<\/strong>. \u201cWe bring biscuits to the market<\/strong> lady; she saves us the last figs<\/strong>,\u201d Eileen says. \u201cThat\u2019s a better exchange<\/strong> rate than any bank.\u201d<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    What they miss, what they don\u2019t<\/h2>\n

    <\/p>\n

    They miss the deep green<\/strong>, the long stories<\/strong> in pubs where the rain drums the roof<\/strong>. They do not miss the rush<\/strong>, the bills that seemed to breed in the post<\/strong>, the heavy Sunday shop<\/strong> that ate the evening whole<\/strong>. \u201cWe miss people,\u201d Kieran says, \u201cbut when they visit<\/strong>, we get the best of them<\/strong>, and the best of here<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    Not paradise, but a decent bargain<\/h2>\n

    <\/p>\n

    They don\u2019t romanticise the bureaucracy<\/strong> or the whiff of mould<\/strong> after a damp winter spell<\/strong>. Rents edge upward; summers crowd the roads<\/strong>; a new tax rule demands a fresh read<\/strong>. \u201cEvery place asks for a kind of tithe<\/strong>,\u201d Eileen says. \u201cOurs is patience and a good fan<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    Still, the ledger balances on the right side<\/strong>. The calendar feels wider<\/strong>. The sky does a different kind of blue<\/strong>. They cook with garlic smashed under a knife<\/strong>, tomatoes cut thick as coins<\/strong>, herbs bruised to release a smell<\/strong> that says dinner will be early and unfussy<\/strong>. They watch neighbours argue kindly about football<\/strong>, then apologise with tiny cups of coffee<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    \u201cPeople think we came for sun<\/strong>, but really we came for space<\/strong>,\u201d Kieran says. \u201cSpace in the day<\/strong>, space in the mind<\/strong>.\u201d Eileen nods, turning a page in her book<\/strong> as the kettle rattles in the small tiled kitchen<\/strong>. The window is open to a breeze<\/strong> that smells like orange peel<\/strong> and hot stone, and there is nowhere in particular they need to be\u2014except, quietly, together<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2502,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2429","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-50"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2429","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2429"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2429\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2493,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2429\/revisions\/2493"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2502"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2429"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2429"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2429"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}