Christopher and Annette Coughlan, both 54, recently sold their detached family home in Clondalkin and bought a three-bed villa on a plot of land in the Algarve.
The couple plan to semi-retire in Portugal within the next three years and, until then, they will live with one of their four children, all of whom own property in Ireland.
"We'd always planned to retire overseas," says Christopher. "We wanted to live somewhere warm and we decided that the last place we wanted to get old in was Ireland. So we agreed as a family some time ago, that we'd live with one of our children while we bought somewhere abroad and prepared to relocate there."
The Coughlans spent two years looking at various locations, including the US.
In the end they choose Portugal and bought the property in Vale da Telha in August 2006.
"We'd spent a good bit of time on holiday in the Algarve over the years," says Christopher. "The quality of life is much better over there, it's like Ireland was 20 years ago and the Portuguese are similar to the Irish.
"I don't think our lifestyle will change very much, but the pace of life will be slower and that's what we wanted. We'll probably see more of our family and friends now because we'll have a great place for them to come and visit.
"We're going with the intention of staying, but it's not written in stone. If we don't like it, we can always move on. It's the start of another phase of our life together."
