Cost of Living in Portugal in 2020

You can access my experience of living in Lisbon here :

linkedin.com/pulse/what-i-have-experienced-software-developer-lisbon-babak-fakhriloo/

Thank you for sharing your experience living in Portugal. Great article! We are from US and living in Lisbon.

I also wanted to write an article about relationship and its culture but I still need to collect more facts. At least I know that their girls, specially from 90`s generation have struggles building relations.

Hello All

To ask these types of questions is subjective.  Everything is relative to where you live.

Lisbon is hideously expensive.

Living on the Silver Coast (Oeste) is so much easier and cheaper.

Of course fuel is an issue in Portugal wherever you are.  It is cheaper in many other parts of the EU.  Shop around and it is slightly cheaper, but not a lot.

In terms of accommodation, my suggestion is to look at the main housing websites for rent or buying.  You can buy a large traditional Portuguese (3 or 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms) home for 200-250K in many village situations along the Silver Coast. The same type of house in Lisbon would be millions.
The closer you get to Lisbon, the more you will pay for rent and buying.

The housing websites I suggest you trawl through are:
CasaSapo
Imovirtual
Idealista

Regarding rental properties - it is hard to find rental accommodation in Portugal.  This is mostly because It is not easy to be a "buy to let" owner.  Govt tax on rental income is very high.  No incentive.  Also it is difficult to remove a tenant who is not paying their rent,  bashing up the property, causing issues with other tenants, etc.  It is foolish to have a rental property without going through the proper contract channel (ie with Govt involved) because without a proper contract there is no way to remove a difficult tenant.

I have read some comments about finding it hard to get a job here in Portugal, well I dont understand why somebody who REALLY wants to work in Portugal says it is hard.  In my town I have friends who have 2 cafes and they struggle to find staff and keep them!  Main reason being that the Govt here pays similar money to somebody if they dont work!  No incentive.

Groceries -  1 kg packet of long grain (Agulha) is able to be bought at any one of the supermarkets (own brand) for around 0.69.  Pasta is similar (own brand):  Look at websites of Continente, Pingo Doce, Intermarche, etc.

Health is a difficult one.  I have paid 500Euros up front to be a life member of Montepio in Caldas da Rainha.  This enables me to see GPs and Specialists at a much reduced rate.  Other private health insurance is expensive, plus many will not insure somebody over 65. 

The National health system (SNS) is not good in my experience.  Each SNS (national health clinic) can be quite different to another one.  It depends on the management there.  I am registered with one of the SNS clinics, however it would take me a month to get an appointment to see a GP.  There is no money in the SNS "kitty" anywhere in Portugual.  The "service" is very very limited.  Oh - and they dont do some types of examinations for people over 65!  I have a Portuguese friend who has some pretty serious health issues and he has recently waited several weeks just to get repeat presciptions.

Electricity is very expensive in my opinion.  Not enough competition.

Package internet, TV (loads of channels, but many are very average!), phone will cost between 30-40 Eur per month, but oh boy, dont call anyone outside of Portugal on your desk phone or mobile!  The cost is huge.  Thanks to having WhatsApp!  Again, there is very little competition.

The people's mentality is "socialistic".  They keep voting for socialist govts even though they are corrupt. The population is afraid of anything which hints at right wing, saying that you are a facsist if you mention anything slightly "blue". They lived for many years under a dictatorship.  Oddly though, when you talk to the old people they seem to think the dictator was right and fiercly patriotic in many ways.  Having the same car his whole working life (now in a museum) and not in any way tolerating politicians who were corrupt.

All of the above said, I have lived in Portugal for 4 years and I lived in Spain for 1 year.  I know which country I prefer.  The biggest reason is the people of Portugal are kind and helpful.

hi, to all, I am thinking soon of moving to Portugal from the uk, the silver coast seems the place that attracts me the most, lourinha, and caldas de rainha, stand out to me. I am retired and myself and my wife want somewhere warmer than the uk,  we plan to buy, we are looking  for a friendly place that's not to out of the way, that has shops, and most importantly good transport links, as I don't want to drive, after  being an HGV driver more than 45 years, at this moment we don't really know much about the buying process, and settling in a new country. We have been to Lisbon, Algarve, a few times and like the Portuguese people very much, we would so like to meet new friends  who could give us some ideas on  the places I have mentioned,  thank you for reading my message regards tom

Hello Tom

I know very well the areas you mention.  My first home in Portugal was by the coast not far from Caldas da Rainha.  I can tell you that along the Silver Coast anywhere near to the sea the atmosphere will be "wet" and almost certainly you will need a dehumidifier.
In my opinion you are better off (not so damp) to go inland.
If you are looking for a little town, then I would like to suggest that you look at places like Cadaval, Bombarral, or Torres Vedras.  Further inland you could look at Rio Maior.
Actually, the winter is colder here than most people realise.  Of course it is not like the UK, but we do have to wear coats and a scarf in winter.
As far as buying a house and coming to live here goes - I would strongly suggest that you seek the help of a solicitor.  The lady I had was amazing.  She helped with the Deed, getting me onto the utilities, taking me to register for my tax number, taking me to the health centre to register, helping me to get a bank (even though at the time I was still living in UK).
I hope this helps.

hello au Margaret, thank you for your kind reply, I will take your advice  and look a little inland, and check the places you suggest to, so you got a solicitor in the uk, not in Portugal, we will go and look first at places we think will be suitable and hopefully choose a home, can you bargain a little on the price?.  The coronavirus has put many things on hold now, and the currency not good either, but this will give me more time to sell up, and contact a solicitor,  did you move your  furtiture over, or buy all there?, i realise the atlantic is close and that can be ;chilly;, but the uk weatheris dull for most of the year,  i was hoping to that my pensions wont be difficult to draw when over there too, but the solicitor should help on that to,   kind regards to you  TOM

Sue,

I am an American and my wife and I will be moving to Lisbon as soon as we can.  But, it will probably be 2-3 yrs before we are able.  We have been to Lisbon many times, and love it, but I know things are different once you are actually living there.  When we move, we will each be around 50yrs old, but will hopefully be retired, so working/work visas will not be our issue.   We do plan to stay long term. 

Would you mind terribly if I ask you some questions, and perhaps a follow up email or two?

1.  We know areas we really like (Principe Real is a big fave of ours) because we want to be near green space (2 dogs) and quality public transport (ideally the metro, but we realize that is very limited and the bus may end up being more realistic).    but, I recently was sent an email for an apartment in Graca that seemed WAY too good to be true in terms of price.   We will not have a car so the lack of parking is ok with us.  I know it is very hilly over there, but can I ask your impression of that area for ex pats?

2.  Re. #1, the apartment is just east of Rua da Senhora da Gloria, and just south of Rua dos Sapadores, just to give you a frame of reference.  The area looks a bit run down in parts, but in Europe that is not always synonymous with a "bad neighborhood" like it could be in the US.  Is that a fair opinion about slightly more run down areas in Lisbon?     The apartment I was talking about in #1 is nearly 1300 sq feet, fully renovated and looks quite nice.  But, it is one of those places that you go DOWN from street level into it (so bedrooms have the smaller upper windows at street level), but it is on a hill so the windows out the living/dining area are normal size...but no views.   So different for me as a "style".  The price is only 270,000€ which seems VERY inexpensive for Lisbon for a fully renovated 2BR/1bath (with potential for a 2nd bath) apartment.  Thus, even if this is not our preferred location, I may consider buying now, renting it out for now, and deciding on living in it or selling later.

3.  Are you workers, or retired?  Are you using the public health system or the private system?  It may be hard for us to jump into the public system b/c that sounds very inefficient and slow, and would be a huge adjustment.  can I ask your experience in this regard?

4.  What are your largest couple of frustrations living in Lisbon?  I see that people say the bureaucracy and the healthcare system often.

5.  Would it be okay if I exchanged a few emails with you to ask some follow up questions?

Thank you VERY much, 

Jeff

Tom

Just to say. NO, I did not get a UK solicitor.  The solicitor must be Portuguese or they wouldn't know all the details of what is required for you to be living here, buying property etc.

Definitely bargain on the price!

Yes, I brought all my stuff over here with me.  However, it is possible to get furnishings here.  New and old.  There are a few second-hand places around where you can get reasonably priced things.  However, if you like old or antique furniture made of wood, often it will have borer holes.  It can easily be treated.

Your pension should not be a problem.  There are many many Brits here, particularly in the Silver Coast region.    As a general comment Portugal and England have one of the oldest alliances in the World (before UK came about) and so the Portugal Govt is pretty kind to Brits.

au margaret, , sorry i meant a portuguese solicictor that  works from the uk, i did read somewhere on a post that furniture is very expensive to get, and to buy there ,at the moment the sale of  my house in the uk is on hold due to the world wide virus, everywhere on lockdown. Sao martinho looks a beautiful place,  is there many brits there, torres vedras looks good to, when this virus calms down we shall be over and look around some of the places that you suggested,  thank you  kind regards TOM

Tom

The solicitor has her office in Sao Martinho (not UK). 
My first home here was in the next village around the bay from Sao Martinho.  As I said previously, all around that area close to the sea will be "wet".  At certain times of the year you wake many mornings to heavy mists.  Things have a bad habit of going mouldy.  It is why I moved inland for my next house purchase.
Yes, quite a lot of British people live around that area as well as French, Dutch and Belgian.  There are also quite a lot of UK people living around Tomar and Alcobaca.
As a general comment, I suspect that furniture might be more expensive than UK.  There is IKEA here of course.  Also people often buy things from classified adverts from other Expats.
Stay well !!

Hello AuMargaret,

Your posts are insightul and to the point, I very much appreciate reading them.  I am several years before retiring, I live in Canada but am a holder of EU passport.  Portugal is my country of choice, not origin, I travelled there with my wife several times, but never to Silver Coast which I now realize is perhaps one of the best option to retire.  Especially for folks who are not affluent but want to live comfortably. 
You did say the climate is wet near the coast.  Would Caldas da Rainha be still in this wet zone?  If yes, how much far inland one has to go to avoid humidity?
Regards,

Hello Peter

I know Caldas well.  It is my go to place for some things. Yes, it can still be a little "wet" at times there.  I live about 20 Kms south of Caldas in a nice little town called Bombarral. It is a little more inland and I thought it would be drier here, but there are times when I run my dehumidifier for 24 hrs and fill it with water.  I wouldn't believe it if I did not see it.  Almost all Silver Coast will have the "wet" atmosphere at some stage.  Running your air con continuously to keep the moisture down is out of the question because of the cost of electricity.  There is 23% tax on top of your bill!

I have friends in Rio Maior and they don't seem to have the humidity there.  Also I believe Tomar is drier.

Setubal is turned to the south and does not have the moist air.  However it is expensive there because of the proximity to Lisbon.

Hope this helps
AuMargaret

Hello AuMargaret,

Interesting and helpful, thank you.  I do not like wet, Toronto, where we live now, is humid in summer, and at times way too much.  I experienced humidity in Guimaraes and Porto but have never been to Silver coast area, I appreciate your insight very much. 

I've already noticed on numbeo that Setubal is more expensive.  I saw pictures of Bombarral, it is a very picturesque town as well as area around.  It feels it has its own ambiance. 

I do not speak Portuguese so I think I need to look for a slightly bigger city hoping to cope in a new life, before I would learn the language.  Also, even if I am completely healthy now, I wonder if, when we will be planning to relocate to Portugal, it is better to live in the proximity of some hospital where at least some personnel speak English.  But the matter of health insurance is a separate complex subject. 

Last year we stayed in Coimbra which I thought might be possible but somehow I did not feel right there, the city attract tourist and people are friendly and yet it seems to be fractured into separate entities / areas and I felt disconnected. Smaller but compact towns is what we will be looking for, especially that cost of renting or buying an apartment matters a lot for us.

Is Caldas good place to live? 

Friendly people and public safety were everywhere we went in Portugal. I could not say that about France which I knew from the past.  Portugal feels less busy, living at slower pace, not intimidating.
Would you agree?

Wishing you good day,
Peter

Peter, you are welcome to write to me on laureelennon at gee mail dot com.  I will send a further reply later.

Hello AuMargaret,

Interesting and helpful, thank you.  I do not like wet, Toronto, where we live now, is humid in summer, and at times way too much.  I experienced humidity in Guimaraes and Porto but have never been to Silver coast area, I appreciate your insight very much. 

I've already noticed on numbeo that Setubal is more expensive.  I saw pictures of Bombarral, it is a very picturesque town as well as area around.  It feels it has its own ambiance. 

I do not speak Portuguese so I think I need to look for a slightly bigger city hoping to cope in a new life, before I would learn the language.  Also, even if I am completely healthy now, I wonder if, when we will be planning to relocate to Portugal, it is better to live in the proximity of some hospital where at least some personnel speak English.  But the matter of health insurance is a separate complex subject. 

Last year we stayed in Coimbra which I thought might be possible but somehow I did not feel right there, the city attract tourist and people are friendly and yet it seems to be fractured into separate entities / areas and I felt disconnected. Smaller but compact towns is what we will be looking for, especially that cost of renting or buying an apartment matters a lot for us.

Is Caldas good place to live? 

Friendly people and public safety were everywhere we went in Portugal. I could not say that about France which I knew from the past.  Portugal feels less busy, living at slower pace, not intimidating.
Would you agree?



Hello Peter
Yes, I agree that PT is much better than France in many ways. It is why so many French people are coming here to live.
Caldas is ok, but I wouldn't want to live there myself.  I go there for some shopping and I like the daily market in "Praca da fruita".  Also I am a member of a medical Centre there called Montepio (nothing related to the bank of same name).
I do not speak PT myself.  I went to the college 3 nights per week for 4 months and gave up as it was SO frustrating.  Too many in the class and from every nation (including Russia and Pakistan).
Cheers.... for now

hello again au margaret,  everything in uk is now so strange and lifeless, so thinking of moving seems distant, but ime still strongly in the hunt for somewhere on the silver coast. Thank you so much for your valuable info on the `WET`problem living close to the coast, i like many people dont really want to drive, so transport links is important for us, i suppose you carnt have everything perfect. I dont really want to go to far inland, as the sea and coast so appealing, the bay in sao martinho looks idilic, a beautiful place. Moving to portugal seems now more realistic for next year in current climate, probably stay  over in a few places ie,  hotels in caldas, lourinha, sao martinho, and see what we like , booking viewings from the uk first, when we moved into the home we live in now we bought everything new, only 8 months ago, will take this with us, please may i ask if the solicitor you used , would you recommend, if so please could i ask their email , i would be so grateful many thanks au margaret for your advice and contact, kind regards tom

Yes, Sao Martinho do Porto looks lovely.  It is a nice place, however as I said earlier, it is very "wet" quite a lot of the year.  I lived close by in Salir do Porto which is a walk around the bay from Sao Martinho.
The solicitor (advogada) is Luisa Herculano.