How Pure Portugal Changed My Life — And Why I’m Now working with them to help others with Off-Grid Living
- Alex Sully
- Mar 12
- 5 min read
The Best Property Search Website for Portugal .
If you’re looking for property in Portugal, you need to know about Pure Portugal.
This site is unique. And run by some really fantastic people. In my opinion it’s the only property site you need for finding amazing rural properties in Portugal.
You can search by region, by district, by area.
The best one for me is you can search Filter by land size, property type — riverside, farmland, village house, ruin, quinta, whatever matches your vision.
Set your budget and see what’s actually out there within your range.
What sets it apart from every other property website I’ve used is the combination of detailed search filters and listings from both agents and private owners, all in one place. And you don’t have to see all the city properties which is better for the eyes and mind when you don’t wana see 1000s of properties that your not interested in just to find the ones you are .
It gives you the widest possible picture of what’s available in any area of Portugal. I’ve not found anything else like it.
I’ve been addicted to this site for seven years. I like moving, experiencing different places and locations across Portugal — and Pure Portugal is always where I end up when the itch starts again.
Whether I’m casually browsing riverside plots in the Beiras or seriously looking at farms in the Alentejo, the search just works. It lets you get specific in a way that other sites don’t.
But this isn’t just a review of a website. This is the story of how it changed my life.
Starting From Nothing — A €10,000 Plot and a Caravan
My first search was by price …
Seven years ago I had no contacts in Portugal. No experience of rural living. No building skills. No language. Just a laptop and a dream that most people around me thought was a midlife crisis.
I’d spent years running an £85 million retail operation in the UK. Office. Over a thousand staff. Everything that was supposed to mean I’d made it. But something wasn’t right and hadn’t been for a long time.
I found Pure Portugal and started small. A cheap plot of land for €10,000 — one hectare in central Portugal. Just to test the life. Just to see if I could actually do this.
I moved there with a caravan, hopes and dreams, and not much else. No plan beyond getting through the first winter and seeing how it felt to wake up without an alarm, without a commute, without the constant noise of a life I didn’t believe in any more.
I loved it.
The reality was harder than the dream, of course. It always is. But even on the difficult days — the days when nothing worked, when the language barrier felt impossible, when I questioned everything — I never once wanted to go back.
Going All In — A Fifteen-Hectare Farm With Three Stone Houses
My 2nd search was by land size …
Once I knew this was real, I sold my UK property and went back to Pure Portugal.
This time I was looking for something bigger.
Somewhere I could properly build a life, not just test one.
I found a fifteen-hectare farm for €100,000 with three stone houses to rebuild in various conditions. No neighbours. Stunning views across to Spain . The kind of place you’d scroll past thinking it can’t be real at that price.
It was real. And it became home.
I lived in one house with broken windows and the wind blowing through while I worked on all the houses. Installed solar systems. Figured out water sourcing. Learned how to rebuild stone walls, how to work with the land instead of against it, how to live with the seasons rather than against them.
I opened and ran a healing retreat centre helping 100s of people process there traumas and find inner peace .
That’s where Ben Fogle’s New Lives in the Wild filmed me — twice. The show has been broadcast in 42 countries. People watched and wrote to me from all over the world asking the same question: how do I do what you’ve done?
The answer always started the same way. Find the right property. And I always pointed them to Pure Portugal.
The River House — A Dream Bid That Changed Everything
My 3rd search was by unique location- riverside ….
Then came the property I live in now.
I found a stone house right on the river, listed by the owner on Pure Portugal for €390,000. Way out of my budget. But something about it wouldn’t let go.
I offered €220,000. As a joke, really. A dream bid. I fully expected to be ignored.
He accepted.
A direct conversation between two people. No pressure. No rush. No middleman protecting a commission. Just a human being willing to listen to another human being. That’s what can happen when you have access to the full market — agents and owners — in one search.
I now live in that stone house beside the Rio Águeda in central Portugal. Natural swimming pools and waterfalls on the doorstep.
I run an Airbnb and retreat space from here, supporting people going through their own life changes — career burnouts, relationship breakdowns, people who just know something needs to shift but don’t know where to start.
To book click here ..
Three properties. Three completely different chapters of my life. All found on the same website.
Why I Became Pure Portugal’s Group Expert for Sustainable and Off-Grid Living.
When Pure Portugal asked me to come on board as their Group Expert for Sustainable and Off-Grid Living, I said yes without thinking twice.
They helped me find the life I’m living now. If I can help other people do the same through their community, that feels like the right thing to do.
I’ll be sharing what I’ve learned over seven years of off-grid living in Portugal — the practical stuff like solar setups, water systems, and dealing with rural bureaucracy. The emotional stuff like loneliness, identity shifts, and what happens to your relationships when you change your entire life.
And the things nobody tells you until you’re already knee-deep in it — like how the first summer will test you more than the first winter, or how the simplest things become the most meaningful when you strip everything else away.
If you’ve got questions about sustainable living, rural property, what off-grid life is actually like day to day, or you just want to know whether the dream you’ve been carrying around for years is actually possible — they and me are here to help.
You can book a consultation for a detailed coversation and guidance…
My Advice If You’re Starting Your Portugal Property Search
Take your time with the filters on Pure Portugal. Get specific about what you want. Be honest about your budget. Search by the exact area you’re drawn to — you might be surprised what comes up when you narrow it down. Plus they have plenty of guides and advice on there site pureportugal.co.uk so have a look at how they can help you .
Look at the listings from owners as well as agents. Both have their advantages, but having access to the full market in one place gives you options you won’t find anywhere else.
And if you find something that feels right but the price feels impossible — make the offer anyway. The worst they can say is no. The best they can say might change your entire life.
Start small if you need to. I started with a €10,000 plot and a caravan.
Look where it led.
Anything is possible. I’m living proof.
For free courses / blogs visit my website wylderoots.org or if your not sure where your at in your journey take my free quiz https://wylderoots.scoreapp.com/
Takes about 2 minutes. It tells you whether you’re a Dreamer, a Planner, or Ready to Go — and gives you specific next steps based on your answer.
Real clarity on where you actually are.
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