Overall, Portugal is arguably Western Europe’s most affordable country. Even in the capital, Lisbon—one of Europe’s most charming and underrated cities—a couple can live comfortably from about $2,200 a month in residential neighborhoods just a half-hour’s walk from Lisbon’s central, most tourist-driven areas. (And you’ll leave the tourists behind.) In Portugal’s smaller cities and in the country’s interior, a couple’s budget can run from $1,700 a month.
Enjoy all this…and yet have First-World amenities at hand, including road and highway systems, good telecommunications and high-speed internet, museums and concert halls, chic restaurants, cafés, bars, and much more. Portugal has extensive bus and metro services in cities like Lisbon and Porto. Long distance bus and train services carry you throughout Portugal and beyond, so you don’t need a car here. And modern airports can take you throughout Europe.
Pros & Cons
Climate
Pros: Portugal’s climate is a warm, temperate, moist, forest climate with wet winters and dry summers. The average temperature is 71.6 F. You can drive this compact country from north to south in about five and a half hours. A road trip from west to east, from Lisbon to the Spanish border, takes less than half that time. Obviously there’s not a great variation in climate.
Lisbon is popular with tourists not only because of its cultural offerings, cafés, restaurants, and physical beauty, but also its weather. Winter months bring about 10 days of rain and daytime temperatures of 50 F or higher, while in the summertime, wet days average from none to one or two, and the mercury hovers around 85 F.
Cons: In the north, winter means rain about half the time, and temperatures run about 10 degrees cooler year-round than farther south. Shorelines can be extremely windy as well as northwest of Lisbon.
Earthquakes. More common on the islands of the Azores, they do occasionally occur on the mainland. The Great Quake of 1755 devastated Lisbon, of course.
Cost of Living
Pros: Cost of living is much less than North America. A comfortable but not extravagant lifestyle will cost you about $2,500 a month. If you choose to live in Porto in the north, Lisbon, or in the expat havens of Cascais or the Algarve, you probably want to bump that up to $3,000. You can, however, keep that lower figure simply by moving 20 minutes away from a city center. Enjoy urban amenities, then head back to the ‘burbs and lower rent.
Cons: Electricity, gasoline, automobiles, and large appliances like washers and dryers are more expensive. Tolls on the autostrada add up, too.
Safety and Security
Pros: The Global Peace Index rates 163 nations and has named Portugal the third safest country in the world. Gun ownership is permitted only for hunters and sportsman, not for personal protection. The locals are peaceable people who seek to avoid conflict and just live their lives with family and friends. And eat fish and drink wine, of course.
Cons: Petty crimes of opportunity, mostly in large cities, exist everywhere. Portugal is no exception.
Medical Care
Pros: Professional, public, and private healthcare is available in clinics and hospitals throughout Portugal. Private insurance averages $46 per person monthly. We pay $40 a year per person for insurance entitling us to half-price doctor visits, and either use public healthcare or pay discounted prices in the private system. Cost per person for catastrophic insurance is $90 per month.
Cons: Scheduled for surgery in the public system? Be prepared to wait for months for availability.
Activities and Recreation
Pros: With half the country coastline, there’s ample opportunity to enjoy surfing, snorkeling, boating, wind-surfing, and more. Landlubbers may opt for golf, tennis, horseback riding, hiking, and biking, or exploring Roman ruins.
Not so much for the outdoors? Head to the country’s marvelous museums, like the Tile Museum in Lisbon, or go shopping on the pedestrian walkway, Rua Catarina, in Porto, and quaff a beverage at the Belle Époque Café Majestic.
