One of the comments said of the lack of roaches in the north !! Since 2021 I´m living in Coimbra, but I fell in love with Madeira at the start of 2023. I´ll start 2025 also in Funchal, but I´m considering buying something in Santana near to the Continente
I live in São Vicente, which I consider one of the best places to live in the north for several reasons: Climate: Contrary to popular belief, São Vicente is the sunniest village in the north. The surrounding mountains shield it from ocean clouds, providing more sunshine and less wind. Location: It’s just 20 minutes away from the south coast at Ribeira Brava, where a long beach is currently under construction, and 15 minutes from Seixal, home to one of the best beaches in the area. Natural Beauty: The landscape is stunning, with lush greenery, waterfalls, and trails (levadas) perfect for nature lovers. Convenience: A new Continente supermarket is under construction, adding to the convenience of living here. However, there are a few cons to consider: Rain: It can experience heavy rain at times, with occasional periods of rain lasting up to a week, though this is not very common. Cool Nights: Due to the surrounding high mountains, cold air can settle in the valleys at night and in the mornings, making it cooler than coastal areas. In summer, this can be a blessing, as it offers relief from the warm summer nights in Funchal (which stay around 20-23°C). High Humidity: Humidity can be an issue, so investing in a dehumidifier or a wood-burning stove is advisable to help keep the house warm and dry.
Hey Teodoro, I agree with all the points made by @thevirtualrelaxation , São Vicente is truly an incredible part of the island! I haven’t explored much of Santana beyond the usual attractions, but I think being close to local amenities makes all the difference.
@@thevirtualrelaxation This notice of the Continente is really important for me. I have a Pingo Doce at 250 meters and an an Auchan at 1000 meters. Well, in Coimbra I have all the rest. Humidity, rain, etc are no problems for me. I lived on a sailboat, in Argentina I went to college and became a widower in 2017, in Hamburg I had a house. In Madeira you have to respect the banana line & the landslides (a big banana tree) Greetings
Madeira is not a country. Madeira is part of Portugal. I'm sure you know that, but you said that Madeira is a safe country. I hope you learn the language so you can really understand the humor. Welcome back!
Hey Teddy! I’ve had a few comments like this and was honestly a bit confused at first, as I didn’t realise I’d said Madeira was a country instead of Portugal (oops!). Learning the language is a slow process, but i'm definitely making progress
Nice, but it ain't perfect - if only. #1 Con - V. common - large Dogs are left on unprotected balcony's all day long, every day of the year and many are chained. Rain or shine and over 100 degrees F., doesn't matter, too often neglect of our furry Pack animal Friends happens all over the island. To any doubters out there - Go to every single village and town and just listen to the non-stop barking between 5pm and 9 pm every night of the week. #2 Con - Daily Poor Air Quality here, because of chronic burning and majority drivers choose to buy the Cheap Diesel Cars vs. gasoline. No one tells you this, but Banana Farmers are always burning here vs. composting or recycling. Out of control Fires are very common. Just Google the news to prove that. But drive through any tunnel during evening rush hour home and you're lucky if you can see 30 yards in front of you. #3 Pro/Con = Levada Trails trekking = good, BUT . . . They're all loaded with ticks - ALL OF THEM. For anyone who has a dog, you will spend more time grooming out the parasites afterwards than you spent on your trail hike(s). This means you will be limited to the smaller coastal walks if you want to avoid coming home and finding the Creepy Crawlies all over your home. Yuck!!! #4 = safe/Butt . . . (Fair warning on this one) Madeirense locals 90%+++ do not speak English, they are above average distrustful of strangers, they are a distant people and they won't welcome you with friendliness (you will always be the first to wave a "Hello" to them, they WILL NOT wave first), many give out entitled vibes and practice talking over you about subjects that they know little about, they are not a gracious people and 9 times out of 10 they are most often late to every appointment or meeting. Again, reflections from daily encounters, observations and vibes, not absolutes. There are rare exceptions, but courtesy warning = local people are not warm and gracious. Think more Northern Euro vs. Asia Pacific and you'll get the picture. On the Friendliness scale for Locals, don't expect anything above a 3 to 4. #5 - The Views - Always end on a high note = The views and overall safety here are to die for. Overall, it ain't perfect, but it's pretty damn good. Qualifying the above = I'm a two+ year resident.
Thanks for the video!! May you do a comparison on Madeira vs Azores and what made you chose one over the other please (if that was even a choice you ever made at all?)
Thanks for watching, and I appreciate the video suggestion! I did consider Pico Island for a bit, but in the end, I felt like Madeira was a better fit for me.
Thanks for your Video! We live in Gaula on around 300m and also have 3-4 Cockroaches a week. usually they come when darkness sets in and mostly from one of the bathrooms. It might be a sewer problem as someone mentioned before. But we leave all windows open very often... Maybe they just sneak in 😅
Haha, glad to know I’m not the only one battling cockroaches! They really are sneaky and will squeeze through any gap they can find. At this point, it’s probably best to think of them as unwanted pets xD
Good morning, the white residue that's on the ceiling. is salt, The reason for that is here in Maderia. They use a lot of black sand, do not use black sand. I learned it the hard way when I remodeled my home this year, it's taken out straight from the ocean and it's full of salt and because of the humidity it will eventually Leach out. And as far as the humidity coming in on the walls, I have tried many, many expensive products that was suggested by The architects and the locals, don't waste your money they don't really, if you really want it done right either you have to put in a windows or You can also use black tar on the roof and on the walls, but then you have to cover it
That’s the first I’ve heard of the black tar method! After a quick Google, it actually seems pretty straightforward (famous last words). It must have been so frustrating to discover the salt issue during renovations; thanks for the heads-up
Interesting, we found groceries to be incredibly affordable to us, but maybe we were focused on the wine, wonderful breads, salads and olives 😂. And we are from a very expensive location in the US so used to ultra high. Fully appreciate the challenge on a Portuguese salary. Aldi would be amazing.
I'm surprised the animal rescues don't capture the stray cats and dogs and neuter them. They need to get funding and get the vets onside to help reduce the costs of the operations. This arrangement works great in the UK 🐱🐶
Good afternoon, I live in Madeira also, and I'm from United States, those large cockroaches you're talking about are sewer cockroaches and the reason you see them dead is because they cannot survive outside, if you look around your house and make sure all your sewers are covered or they have a air trap or water trap, they cannot get through. You will have solved your problem, and if they're outside, obviously there's some kind of open sewer somewhere and they come up from there, I hope that helps
I want to thank you for the video you made about Madeira, your observations are relevant. I would just like to leave some observations: Madeira is not a country, it belongs to Portugal. As for hiking, you're right, excrement and paper and other lack of civility are common, especially now that we have more mass tourism, another problem is that some people camp anywhere, something that was unthinkable a few years ago. Another situation that has happened is that many people prefer to rent their houses and apartments to tourists instead of locals, it is happening that many people here do not have the possibility of having their space because they cannot afford it, the prices of houses and apartments to buy have skyrocketed and many people have to live with their family and with too many people in the same house to have a roof over their heads. That is a major problem that in the past didnt exist só bad as today. Thank you for your video, and hope you enjoy living in Madeira.  Feedback
The housing situation seems to be what has happened in many places in the UK. I think it is shocking that all people in their own country cannot afford to live there and have to move away, or stay in a cramped house, all whilst thousands of properties are left empty most of the year as holiday homes, and other houses bought up for airbnb and not rented out fully.
Loved this video, perfectly articulated. In terms of “cons”, I would also add the ubiquitous barking dogs, which has almost become iconic, and the extremely loud motorbikes. Keep up the great work! <3
Really good video , I was lucky to find an affordable houses on the south, my energy efficiency is D and had a hole in the roof, cockroach are part of the island unfortunately, but not that bad where I live, stray cat is very upsetting, considering it's free to neutering if you book with the Camara, you are right about microclimate I can leave home in Ponta do sol in t-shirt and short and will visit my friend in Monte and will freeze there , i would say up to 7c difference in winter ....I hardly advice to anyone coming here, to learn some skill before moving here hard to find any tradesman, for cheap fly found lots of last minutes deal but expensive if you book in advance
Estou plenamente ciente de que Madeira não é um país, mas sim uma região autónoma de Portugal. Quando falo sobre amar Madeira ou viver 'neste país,' estou me referindo a Portugal como um todo, já que também passei algum tempo em Portugal Continental.
Olá linda, thank you for a great video! What you say is so true, thank you for your honesty. I was in Madeira for the first time last year, I stayed at Savoy hotel in Funchal for 6 weeks to explore. It was more like exploring how life is in Funchal. Where I stayed is a really nice area, it was a nice experience. Greetings from the Netherlands Angel xxx Tchau!
the price of insularity... it was horribly expensive 30 years ago, nothing has changed :D rough landings used to be much worse, and much more frequent, I believe... it's almost good now!
Hello beauty . About the parking places, here in continental Portugal I have the same impression, people are so liberal about the spaces they can park. I don't know if it break any law or not, but is that what I see.
Very useful info for me !! Since 2021 I´m living in Coimbra, but I fell in love with Madeira at the start of 2023. I´ll start 2025 also in Funchal, but I´m considering buying something in Santana near to the Continente
É exactamente igual.. o aglomerado de casas umas em cima das outras, os gangs da droga, a policia militar, as balas perdidas.. é exactamente tudo igual.. parabéns, quando brasileiro abre a boca, é para falar merda
Re cats, what needs to happen is for the cats to be neutered. Maybe you could get willing people to help and to financially contribute to help with vet bills and hope the vet is willing to reduce the costs. I know other parts of Portugal have done this. Just an idea.
Thanks P, I couldn't have said it better myself 🙂 This was a great list! & you even informed me of things I wasn't aware of! Hope to see you next week & hi Joe if you're reading this! 🤗
Overall is not perfect, but it is a nice house, so be proud of what you done...my house had nothing, I had to start from scratch and living in a building site as property here are so impossible to rent .. few note, its really hard finding contractors here so try to learn as much as you can, the unlevel floor is driving me mad here as well but i managed to reduced lots of it, after a long search i managed to find self levelling compound, its like a cement that once mixed with water will stay level like water. when you paint over a water stain, apply first some stain sealer paint, and then apply the water base, it will stop the stain to come back.
I sure have bought yourself a project home miss P, Philippe seems perfectly happy with it . I had purchased a project home myself by the ocean also . I spent an entire year working on it without a building permit, local city inspector decided to visit me one day and made me stop the work as he nicely said, all the work I have put into will require permits. Needless to say, I decided to demolish it and had a contractor build me a new home.
Love it 🌅..more content of your life,house and around Madeira 😊 Do not be embarrassed...you are example for lots of young women. You are independed, you own house abroad. The best could happened to you.❤💃🏻✌️
