Daily costs seem very high

Without knowing your standard of living and expectations it is difficult to comment more precisely.  But can I ask where you are doing your grocery shopping?  And does that include super expensive wines?  We would find it next to impossible to spend 200 euros per week where we shop, mainly Continente and Lidl.  Good wines can be had at less than 5 euros per bottle.  As far as apartment rent, are you renting short term with furnishings and utilities included, in a property catering to foreigners?  You can definitely live well for much less that that, if you sign a long term lease.

beijinho wrote:

Without knowing your standard of living and expectations it is difficult to comment more precisely.  But can I ask where you are doing your grocery shopping?  And does that include super expensive wines?  We would find it next to impossible to spend 200 euros per week where we shop, mainly Continente and Lidl.  Good wines can be had at less than 5 euros per bottle.  As far as apartment rent, are you renting short term with furnishings and utilities included, in a property catering to foreigners?  You can definitely live well for much less that that, if you sign a long term lease.

yeah, try to seek local food and local supermarket for cheaper fares.
cheap varieties rather than the premium, expensive premium branded stuff

I think you can choose the area in Oeiras, live more local and much comfortable for the cost and live. Cascais depends the area, if you can consider Parede area, it is also good area to live. I don't know where do you choose.

Thanks everyone. We are shopping local and are buying wines for the most part between 4-5 euros. We do enjoy our wine, so perhaps drink more than others, usually opening a second bottle in the evening. We are shopping at Continente and Jumbo. We cook three meals a day at home, as we do not eat out. Right now we are renting a tourist apartment with everything included because we are renting short term. We are ready to commit to a long term lease, but this is where we are struggling to find something suitable. I know that it is difficult to give advice when everyone's standards of living are so different. We are looking for a top floor (to help mitigate some of the noise transfer issues) one bedroom with a fully fitted kitchen, washing macine, heat, and within walking distance to the train as we do not have a car. We will look at Parede and Oeiras - thank you!

It's making more sense now!  Three cooked meals and two bottles of wine will certainly result in a grocery bill higher than many.  I think the local tendency is to eat very light if anything for breakfast, and a small, possibly uncooked lunch, or eat out.  Hence lower reported expenses.  Meals can be had at local tascas for about 6 euros, wine included.

As for the apartment, I'm afraid that cold and damp in the winter is standard.  Everyone speaks of the mild climate, and this surprises many newcomers.  You can buy portable heaters if the apartment does not come with heat.  Noise from neighbors varies property by property.  I would not rule out other floors.   Good luck!

you must be doing something wrong. Why ? Coz locals are living with lower income.

Hi

Agree costs are high.  However you are living in Cascais and that is more expensive.  Perhaps if you moved out to one of the suburbs, Oeiras, Carcavelos etc. you should be able to find something more reasonable.  I currently commute on a monthly basis  between the UK and Portugal and every time I return I find things more expensive.  However your monthly budget should allow you to live comfortably and still eat out etc.  One has to find the local restaurants etc, we can eat out for 10 euros each and that includes soup, bread, butter, olives, main meal, dessert, wine and coffee.  A lot of the apartments can be very damp and one needs a dehumidifier otherwise can become unbearable.  Another tip is not to use gas heaters, these generate more moisture so a vicious circle.  A site with some apartments etc to rent is the following

https://www.idealista.pt/arrendar-casas … o-min_300/

You can input your area, budget etc and it does a search and normally there are a lot of apartments, houses etc available.

You also have to shop around for groceries etc.  All the shops are very competitive at the moment so if you check what is on specials and purchase what is on special that also helps.

Any other info you may require let me know

Regards

Rene

Hi. Cascais already in general, is a bit more expensive to live and also you mention that you are in a short term tourist apartment. I live between Parede and Carcavelos in a top floor 2 bedroom apartment with a view of the ocean and pay 570 euros per month. There is no heat in the apartment but we have oil radiators / heaters which heat up the place quite nicely, just bringing up the electric bill a bit higher during winter. Agreed with the damp / cold apartment thing - I moved here from San Francisco where every home has central heating so this was hard to deal with at first but you get used to it eventually. Dehumidifier is a must.
As far as eating - I shop at Continente or Lidl or Pingo Doce - Jumbo is generally pretty expensive so I only go there when I am missing certain foods which are available there - international stuff. I feed a family of three and we generally cook at home also - I generally spend around 35-45 euros per week on food - extra for wine of course.
I think it's all a matter of where you shop and where you eat - you can eat out for very little money if you know where to go....
Good luck!

Pam

Hi Canadian Expats
I found your thread interesting and I hope you have been able to solve your cost dilemma. We spent a month in Baixa Lisbon last year and our rent, right in the historic section, for a beautiful 2 bedroom apartment,  was less than what you are paying. I'm not meaning to sound condescending just wanted to let you know that there are deals out there. We did love Caiscas, but have found it to be more expensive. What I find interesting is that your food bill is so expensive. I could not believe the inexpensive food prices when we were there (I used to be a buyer for Superstore/Loblaw) and I hope you've been able to resolve that issue by switching grocery stores. Food prices in Panama are about 15%higher in David Panama than in Porto or even Lisbon. (Based on Numbeo)
We did speak with many Portuguese natives and they all advised us to go to Porto as the cost of living is so much lower.
But I am also interested to learn how you have fared since and how have you found the immigration/temporary resident process? It's tough getting a hold of anyone at the embassy in Vancouver to find out exactly what documents you need.
We currently live in Panama and have gone through the process before and had all our ducks in a row before we came here. But getting info has been tough.
Obrigado