E26 Retiring in Tavira, Portugal, in the Algarve region

Ken and Bina Cline enjoy hiking and travel immensely. They searched for a retirement location to serve as a launchpad for travel to other parts of Europe and beyond. They landed in Tavira, a fishing town with a year-round comfortable climate in a southern region of Portugal known as the Algarve. It is no wonder that Tavira has become a popular retirement destination for Americans and even more so for Europeans. The couple consider themselves “global nomads” — living mostly outside the U.S. — since 2015.  Learn more about Tavira on episode 26 of Retire There with Gil and Gene.

Ken has authored three travel books:

1. Sauntering to Santiago:  Camino de Santiago for Slow Walkers (2019), which is about a 200-mile walk which Ken and Bina undertook in 2018 from Porto, Portugal, to Santiago de Compostela, Spain. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07RHQX2PX/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0 
2. Tracking the Queen of Sheba: A Travel Memoir of Yemen (2016), tells of Ken’s adventures accompanying an archaeological expedition to the wilds of eastern Yemen in 1984. https://www.amazon.com/Tracking-Queen-Sheba-Travel-Memoir/dp/0997941510/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= 
3. Village on the Nile: A Travel Memoir of Upper Egypt (2017), describes Ken’s  experiences living in an Egyptian village in 1983. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B076QKM1T2/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i1

Bina blogs of the couple’s adventures in “Two Clines Traveling” at https://twoclinestraveling.wordpress.com.

For people beginning research on Portugal as a place to live, the Clines recommend  juliedawnfox.com as a good place to start. Julie is an English expat who has lived many years in Portugal and provides excellent information for expats and casual travelers alike.

A go-to source for Americans wishing to seek residency in Portugal is a Facebook page called “Americans & FriendsPT.” https://www.facebook.com/groups/americansandfriendsPT/ The Clines consider this a “gold mine” of information about applying for a residency visa and other important documents. They used it extensively in working through all the paperwork required. 

The Clines suggest that once someone has definitely committed to Portugal, they also might consider Amy Kraushaar’s expacity.com. This is a fee-based site that features webinars about living in Portugal and navigating the ins and outs of buying a house, dealing with paying taxes, using the healthcare system, best places to live, and more.