Finally got through all the red tape today after a 6 month struggle. It was well worth the effort though.
Now we can relax for 5 years then my wife can get permanent residency.
I am happy to report that we have lived off my investments for 6 months and the portfolio has grown by 5%. This is more than I expected in the current market plus the fact that we had to buy carpets, bedding, cutlary, crockery etc. We also had visitors for 2 weeks and had to do the holiday thing and that was rather expensive.
My wife has been keeping tabs on our spending (living expenses) and have consistently spent R4 000.00 less here pm than we did in Cape Town. Our rental is more expensive here but then this apartment is much more modern to the extent that one expects to see a hotel reception area when stepping out the elevator at the bottom. All the hallways and passages are marble and dark wood. Seems the whole of Portugal is built on marble and granite to the extent that to save money, rather use marble blocks than expensive bricks to build.Even the streets are lined with marble blocks.
