Expat Guide to Living in Portugal 2022

One needs to know many things when they want to move to a new country, and a single article won’t be able to cover all. But we at least put together this overview of the most important things you have to be mindful of when you want to live as a digital nomad in Portugal, especially after the developments of the last few years.

The prices of property and rentals in Portugal are very affordable, especially compared to other countries in the area like France or the UK. Accommodation is also readily available in all price brackets, cities being more expensive than smaller towns, though the difference is relatively small. But finding accommodation in Portugal is another thing entirely. Luckily, there are handy websites that can help you with that, like Explorastay.

You can always try a real estate agent based in Portugal, but there might be a language barrier or steep fees, so it’s not always the best choice. Either way, you might be better off finding a place to stay for a few months at first, instead of a full year that estate agencies see as standard. A great alternative to long-term renting is Flatio’s mid-term rentals. The fees are small, and you get to choose from many apartments in many different parts of Portugal.

Some ex-pats have noted that the people in Portugal sometimes seem sad or even fatalistic. This is due to the “fado” culture centred around the music of the same name. However, if we look more closely, the culture is also full of joy and energy that is rarely matched by other European countries.

And like anywhere else, once people warm up to you, you will get the chance to see a completely new face of the culture. Many have also noted that Portuguese people are very laid back, trying not to stress about things, which may lead to services and even workplace workflow being much less strict than you may be used to. It is recommended to embrace it and learn how to slow your life down rather than fight it.

As noted above, Portugal is a very affordable country – especially if you come from more affluent parts of Europe. However, the cost of living differs a lot across Portugal. Some estimates say that an average family of four will pay roughly €1800 per month and a single person around €530 per month – but that’s without rent.

Rent is challenging to average since Lisbon will have much higher rents than less popular places like the Algarve. But to give you some idea, outside of the city, you can get a small, one-bedroom apartment for as low as €300 while the same apartment can go as high as €900 in the city centre, but these are the two extremes of a large spectrum. Groceries may be similarly priced across the country if you buy them in chains or supermarkets, but if you like smaller markets or local shops more, then the prices might be very different.

This is especially true of locally produced things, such as meat, eggs, wine, and even some vegetables. Cities will see markup for deliveries of these goods, so even markets might sell certain foods for more. However, when it comes to ports like Lisbon or Porto, fresh seafood will be delivered for more reasonable prices than inland.