Are you interested in a River Douro / Porto riverside / riverfront property (quinta or villa) in Portugal? To be set amongst the vineyards of the region enjoying the clean air and perhaps the famous Douro river railway? Does our quinta / villa look perfect?5 Bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, 10,000 sq m of grounds (wine and eating grape vineyards, fruit gardens, family garden, flower gardens, 2 small streams, vegetable garden), another 3,200 sq m available for an additional home, another 7,200 sq m of adjacent protected woodland available. Riverfront position with direct river access and even a slipway for boating! A "River Beach" (Praia Fluvial) nearby. Fine trout, savel and sometimes salmon fishing! Building zone and environment protected to ensure your views and privacy in the future! The river railway on the other side travelling mile after mile of beautiful river countryside. Yet we are just 15 to 25 minutes away from the main local commercial centres, 10 minutes from a station on the new Iberian high speed rail link (to Madrid, Lisbon, Vigo, etc.). The grounds are granite and hardwood fencing rich; yes we have a swimming pool. The house is made from the finest materials and furnished accordingly. Walled / fenced grounds with absolute privacy. Look, even our driveway / private road which runs from the electronic entrance gates all the way through the grounds, round the house and down to the river is made from "cubos" (granite cubes like cobblestones). Price? 1,200,000 Euros which is subject a little to negotiation using the time honoured Portuguese "You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours" system!
View our riverfront quinta here: Luxury Portugal Real Estate
But it gets even better! We are not on the River Douro but on the River Minho! We are actually further north than Porto on the border with Spain.
Why is that better?
1) There is a bridge into Spain just 3 minutes from us. This means you can pick and chose in which country you shop; Spain or Portugal. We buy half our shopping in Spain and half in Portugal; we are spoiled for choice.
2) Portugal is lovely but its health care system too often leaves a lot to be desired. If you are located on the River Douro / in Porto, you have very little choice. Here you have access to 3 International standard / certified full service hospitals in Spain (just 20 to 25 minutes with full paramedic ambulance service), plus 2 further hospitals in Viana do Costello (45 minutes), plus those in Porto (1 hour) if you prefer.
3) Although we have direct access to Spain and in fact our views are of the Spanish Galician mountains, our property is in Portugal. Spain has notorious building regulations and taxes; it can be very expensive tax wise and multi-storey properties can pop up and spoil your neighborhood and views. In Portugal such things are carefully regulated and the Portuguese have much better tax laws for foreigners.
4) Out of sight and mind are the massive Spanish commercial areas of Porrino and the new Vigo Dry Port; huge opportunities exist for business and employment. Even if you do not want to work, the fact they make the area one of the most affluent in Spain and Portugal means property prices continue to rise and facilities / amenities continue to improve. The Douro area by comparison is very nice but very isolated. We pretty much enjoy the same secluded / tranquil setting but are closer to a much greater range / diversity of services. For example, the fish restaurants, boutiques, department stores and hypermarkets in Vigo are well beyond what you can find in Porto.
5) It is easy to maintain an address in Spain, even if this is just an inexpensive post office box. Spanish mobiles work fine here; if you have a Spanish mobile, you can access cheap rate International phone services; Portugal has very expensive overseas call rates and almost no choice as to carrier. If you have a boat, you can enjoy the river and tie up at the Praia Fluvial the other side to have lunch with the Spanish families and fisherman who use it. You have the choice of Spanish or Portuguese mobile broadband on top of traditional Portuguese broadband. Importantly, you can run a business in Spain while residing in Portugal.
I love the River Douro and Porto, do not get me wrong. It is just I made the "mistake" of visiting the Minho area before buying.
Why are we selling? Because of friends and family. We wish to immigrate to Australasia. We are in no hurry though!
Please, check out our riverfront villa / quinta and the Minho area before you settle on a luxury Portuguese property near Porto on the River Douro.
