'I ditched the UK to live my dream retirement in Portugal for less than £1,000 a month'

A British granddad who sold his UK home and moved to Portugal says he now lives his "dream retirement" for less than £1,000 a month.

Paul Ward, 61, worked as an electrician for 36 years on a £40k a year salary before he retired at 55 and packed up his life.

After living in Portugal for five years, Paul, from Leeds, now owns a rural farmhouse and lives off the 2.5 acres of land.

He doesn't have a mortgage, grows vegetables, and uses solar power and wells for his electricity and water – and lives comfortably on around €730 (£630) a month.

The dad-of-four and grandfather-of-four said: "This has been an absolute dream for me."

He added: "I didn't know anything about Portugal really but I wanted to see the landscape and learn about the culture.

"It has given me more time. I'm not driving around Leeds, Manchester, or Bradford for hours every week.

"Living in Portugal has got its stresses but that's because life goes on. But here, people have more time, work less hours and have more money to pay their bills."

After retiring and selling his business to his nephew, Paul decided to rent out his £220k two-bedroom home near York and live out of his van while travelling Europe with "no destination".

Paul ran his own electrical contracting company after beginning his career as an electrician at 19.

He said: "I couldn't have retired in England but there were opportunities elsewhere in the world. I'd become disillusioned with the UK especially after Brexit. I could see the country was heading downhill.

"I'd had enough of the corporate mentality. I had a dream."

Paul, his now-former wife and his younger daughter Martha began their journey in 2019 with a residency visa and Martha being just three months old.

He said: "My wife, who I've