The Van Table

The Van Table
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Pull up a chair. The van table is an unedited podcast about life changing decisions from a pub landlord to van life, family, Portugal, Scotland, food, Business and our adventure building a new life. We bought a mountain in Portugal and then 2 years later decided to sell everything and move there. That was the plan or so we thought!

Episodes

  1. 4d ago

    Can You Really Buy a House in Portugal for €20,000?

    Can you really buy a house in Portugal for €20,000? Yes. But finding a cheap property is only the beginning. In Episode 5 of The Van Table, Alison and I talk about what we’ve learned from actually buying property in rural Portugal, including our mountain and our village house. We talk about €8,000 houses, €12,000 ruins, an €18,000 shop with three floors above it, where cheap Portuguese properties actually turn up, and why getting to know people locally can completely change what you find. Then there’s the bit that doesn’t normally make the property videos: what happens after you’ve bought it. Water, solar power, rural access, renovation, woodworm, fire season, builders who may or may not appear, Amazon deliveries that may or may not arrive, and the joy of discovering that the screws you need are a 40-minute drive away. We also talk about our experience buying through Melanie at Home Key Portugal, NIF numbers, rural versus urban property, renovation and planning, and what our own purchase actually cost us. And after everything we’ve learned, the storms, the work and the occasional questionable decision, would we still buy the mountain again? Absolutely. Important: This is our personal experience of buying and owning property in Portugal, not legal, tax or planning advice. Rules, taxes and permissions can vary by property, municipality and individual circumstances. Always check current requirements with the appropriate Portuguese authorities and qualified professionals before buying or carrying out work. The Van TableVan life • Portugal • Property • Off-grid living • Family chaos

  2. 5d ago

    Van Life, Bad Ideas & Going Back To Portugal

    Is van life actually cheaper? What happens when six people live in a Mercedes Sprinter, and just how many unfinished projects can one family accumulate? David and Alison are back around The Van Table in the Scottish Highlands, talking about the reality of van life with four kids, the cost of living on the road, Starlink, solar power, Scotland versus Portugal and the growing graveyard of brilliant ideas that are definitely still going to happen. There’s also an Aldi milk frother, water-pistol interruptions, a leaking tap, hundreds of olive trees, plans to find water on the mountain and the bigger question of what happens when the Scotland season ends and the family heads back to Portugal. Recorded largely unedited from the static caravan in the Scottish Highlands. Real life continues in the background, as usual. The Van TableVan life • Family • Scotland • Portugal • Off-grid living • Food • Work • Whatever happens next

  3. 6d ago

    She Made Me Buy A Mountain - In Portugal

    This time Alison joins me at The Van Table to tell her side of the story. After selling our houses, selling the pub and buying a mountain in Portugal, we’ve spent the last few years trying to work out what comes next. In this episode we talk about how we ended up buying the mountain, what we were actually looking for, the decisions we made along the way and whether Alison really did make me buy it. We’re recording from our temporary static caravan in the Scottish Highlands, where we’re spending the summer with four kids, a dog and rather more rain than we’d planned for. No studio. No script. Very little editing. Just the two of us around the table trying to remember what actually happened. Welcome to Episode 3 of The Van Table: She Made Me Buy a Mountain.

  4. Aug 7

    Why We Bought a Mountain in Portugal

    Why on earth would anyone sell everything and buy a mountain in Portugal? In this episode of The Van Table, I tell the story of how Alison and I went looking for a small piece of land with a few trees… and somehow came home with around 100 acres of Portuguese mountainside stretching all the way down to the river. It wasn’t the plan. We talk about: 🌿 Why Portugal beat Italy🏔️ The moment we knew we’d found the place🚙 The terrifying 4x4 drive to the property💰 How we actually afforded it🌳 Olive trees, springs, wildlife and the reality of owning so much land🤕 Breaking five ribs while clearing an olive tree🚐 Why we’re still living in a van four years later☕ The long-term dream of creating a simple retreat where people can slow down and reconnect with natureThis isn’t an expert guide to buying property overseas. It’s simply our story, mistakes included. If you’re dreaming about escaping the rat race, curious about rural Portugal, or wondering what possesses someone to buy a mountain, pull up a chair. Welcome to The Van Table. 🌍 Website: https://thevantable.me📖 Articles, photos and the free Van Guide: https://davidstanley.me Dave’s Accuracy Notice These podcasts are recorded without a script, usually with coffee. Measurements are approximate, stories occasionally wander, and the facts don’t always arrive in the correct order… but they’re all true as far as I remember them!

  5. Aug 3

    From Pub Landlord to Van Life | The Van Table Ep.1

    # From Pub Landlord to Van Life | The Van Table Ep.1 Welcome to The Van Table. Pull up a chair. I'm David, and this is where we chat about van life, family, Portugal, Scotland, work, ideas, the occasional disaster, and whatever else ends up on the table. In this first episode, I talk about the journey from running pubs to living in a campervan, why we chose this life, what we've learned along the way, and where we're hoping it takes us next. There isn't a script. There aren't any fancy edits. Just honest conversations from wherever we've parked up. If that sounds like your sort of thing, grab a brew and join us at The Van Table. 🌍 Website: https://thevantable.me 📰 More stories: https://davidstanley.me 🎙️ New episodes whenever life gives us something worth talking about. If you've got a question or a topic you'd like us to chat about around the table, leave a comment. We'd love to hear from you.

  • 5 Episodes

About

Pull up a chair. The van table is an unedited podcast about life changing decisions from a pub landlord to van life, family, Portugal, Scotland, food, Business and our adventure building a new life. We bought a mountain in Portugal and then 2 years later decided to sell everything and move there. That was the plan or so we thought!

Information

  • Creator
    The Van Table
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    5
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © The Van Table
  • Show Website
    The Van Table