House Hunters International Episode, a Fresh Take on Family in Lisbon, Portugal

Portugal

Portugal Fast Facts

Population: 10,833,816

Capital Metropolis: Lisbon

Climate: Maritime temperate; cool and rainy in due north, warmer and drier in south

Time Zone: GMT+00

Language: Portuguese

Land Code: 351

Coastline: ane,793km

Explore the Erstwhile Globe in Laidback Portugal

When you imagine old Europe—those cobblestone alleys, medieval town walls, crenelated castles on hilltops, all soundtracked by the toll of church building bells…Portugal delivers. Not in a touristy, contrived way, only as the standard day-to-day life of the country. It exudes history, dazzler, and ho-hum-paced living that is—by whatsoever standard other than financial—rich. (Although yous needn't exist rich to enjoy it. Expats report that their expenses hither run to about ane-third of what they were on the States.)

Quietly friendly, emphatically old-fashioned, and highly witting of their illustrious history, the people of Portugal are what makes the country such a magical destination to retire to. Information technology would be misleading to think that modernity has bypassed Portugal—it's infrastructure, education system, and healthcare are as advanced every bit you'll notice anywhere—but the fast-paced rat race that seems standard in N America feels very much an optional lifestyle pick, and non a hugely popular one at that.

Rocky, rugged Atlantic coasts where salt spray mists the air…green hills and winding country roads…medieval towns perched above deep river gorges…graceful cities of broad boulevards and bustling cafés…

Portugal, continental Europe'southward westernmost country, lies quietly in the shadow of the larger, more than bouncy Espana. With a sliver of coastline and an interior that can take you back centuries in time, Portugal in many ways notwithstanding belongs to an earlier era. People are friendly and courteous, with an about courtly style. Family and friends are important, and people know their neighbors and the local shopkeepers. Aboriginal buildings await worn and lived-in, and quiet, cobbled lanes air current through seaside villages.

This is Europe as information technology used to be. And though modernity is overtaking Portugal quickly, you tin nonetheless savour an erstwhile-mode, Onetime-World life here.

Though its coast is the Atlantic, Portugal is typically Mediterranean, with the warm weather and lifestyle that you tend to find in Mediterranean countries. The sea, which forms the land's western edge, nonetheless plays a strong function in Portuguese life and diet: You'll notice fish and seafood on menus throughout the country.

©iStock/SeanPavonePhoto.

Like countries around the Mediterranean, Portugal also produces expert food, vino, and olive oil, at inexpensive prices. Try its slightly fizzy vinho verde or its port, the fortified wine that took its name from Portugal's 2nd city, Porto. Shop in modern supermarkets, or—as many Portuguese do—in the traditional markets found in cities throughout the country.

Overall, Portugal is arguably Western Europe's virtually affordable country. Fifty-fifty in the capital, Lisbon—one of Europe's almost charming and underrated cities—a couple can alive comfortably from about $2,200 a month in residential neighborhoods just a half-hr's walk from Lisbon's central, about tourist-driven areas. (And you'll go out the tourists behind.) In Portugal's smaller cities and in the country'due south interior, a couple'southward budget can run from $1,700 a month.

Savour all this…and even so have Commencement-World civilities at hand, including road and highway systems, good telecommunications and high-speed internet, museums and concert halls, chic restaurants, cafés, confined, and much more. Portugal has all-encompassing bus and metro services in cities similar Lisbon and Porto. Long distance jitney and train services deport you throughout Portugal and beyond, so you don't need a car here. And modern airports can accept you lot throughout Europe.

Pros and Cons of Living in Portugal

Past Tricia Pimental

"No legacy is so rich as honesty," wrote William Shakespeare. I concord. So I'm going to exist directly with yous. What's the existent story on Portugal? Is it as nifty as people say? Does the lord's day polish every 24-hour interval? Is it rubber?

I've lived in Portugal for six years, in the north most Braga, the central region outside of the academy town of Coimbra, and close to the capital of Lisbon. Here'due south what I've learned.

Climate

Pros: Portugal's climate is a warm, temperate, moist, forest climate with wet winters and dry out summers. The average temperature is 71.6 F. You can bulldoze this meaty state from due north to south in about five and a half hours. A road trip from west to east, from Lisbon to the Castilian edge, takes less than half that time. Manifestly at that place's not a great variation in climate.

Lisbon is popular with tourists non only considering of its cultural offerings, cafés, restaurants, and physical beauty, but likewise its weather. Winter months bring almost 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 ways rain about one-half the time, and temperatures run near x degrees cooler yr-round than farther south. Shorelines tin can be extremely windy. When we lived in Esposende, we were painfully aware of why information technology's a kite-surfing mecca. Same applies going down the coast, to the surfing destination of Nazaré, where a tape was recently set with a 100-human foot wave. Farther s, when nosotros lived northwest of Lisbon and six miles from the beach, nosotros needed a back-upward plan when entertaining outdoors. Gusts would carry paper plates, plastic cups, and the occasional small dog upward in true Wizard of Oz fashion.

Earthquakes. More mutual on the islands of the Azores, they practice occasionally occur on the mainland. The Great Quake of 1755 devastated Lisbon, of course. Just if y'all've lived in Southern California as I have, about likely you won't find it an area of business concern.

Cost of Living

Pros: Expats typically detect their expenses in Portugal run most 1-third of what they were in u.s.a.. While the substitution rate is not as favorable as it was when we first moved here, we still live a comfortable, although non improvident, lifestyle for 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 desire to crash-land that upwards to $3,000. You can, however, keep that lower figure simply past moving 20 minutes away from a urban center center. Enjoy urban amenities, then head back to the 'burbs and lower rent.

Cons: Electricity, gasoline, automobiles, and big appliances like washers and dryers are more expensive here than in the U.S. Tolls on the autostrada add up, likewise.

Condom and Security

Pros: The Global Peace Index rates 163 nations and has named Portugal the 3rd safest country in the world. Gun buying is permitted but for hunters and sportsman, not for personal protection. The locals are peaceable people who seek to avoid conflict and simply live their lives with family and friends. And eat fish and drink wine, of grade.

Cons: Petty crimes of opportunity, mostly in big 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 twelvemonth per person for insurance entitling us to one-half-toll doctor visits, and either use public healthcare or pay discounted prices in the private system. Cost per person for catastrophic insurance is $ninety per calendar month.

Cons: Scheduled for surgery in the public system? Be prepared to wait for months for availability.

Proximity to the U. S.

Pros: Portugal offers iii international airports servicing many airlines. Plan alee and y'all could snare a nonstop, seven-hour, roundtrip economy fare from JFK to Lisbon for less than $700.

Cons: Everyone wants to visit. If they're coming from any distance they'll want to stay long enough to make the trip worthwhile, so exist prepared. Also, have varied tourist itineraries under your belt so y'all don't begin to feel you're a resident of all the palaces and castles you'll invariably exist showing them.

Activities and Recreation

Pros: With one-half the land coastline, in that location's aplenty opportunity to enjoy surfing, snorkeling, boating, current of air-surfing, and more. Landlubbers may opt for golf game, lawn tennis, horseback riding, hiking, and biking, or exploring Roman ruins.

Not so much for the outdoors? Caput to the state'south 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.

Cons: Let me think… Sad, aught comes to mind.

Characteristic epitome: ©iStock/Jacek_Sopotnicki

More Portugal Resource

• The Silvery Coast, Portugal
• Retire in Portugal
• Porto, Portugal
• Lisbon, Portugal
• Beja, Portugal
• Guimarães, Portugal
• Aveiro, Portugal
• Viseu, Portugal
• Abrantes, Portugal
• Vila Real, Portugal
• Peso da Régua, Portugal
• Faro, Portugal
• Évora, Portugal
• Sagres, Portugal
• Setúbal, Portugal
• Tomar, Portugal
• Portimão, Portugal
• Movement to Portugal
• Albufeira, Portugal
• Sintra, Portugal
• Vilamoura, Portugal
• Caldas da Rainha, Portugal
• Portugal Visa and Residency
• Óbidos, Portugal
• Tavira, Portugal
• Lagos, Portugal
• Healthcare in Portugal
• Cascais, Portugal
• Taxes in Portugal
• Nazaré, Portugal
• Mafra, Portugal
• Coimbra, Portugal
• Cost of Living in Portugal
• Renting in Portugal
• Estoril, Portugal
• Braga, Portugal
• Portugal Facts
• Real Manor in Portugal
• The Algarve, Portugal
• Peniche, Portugal
• Where is Portugal?
• Traditions and Civilization in Portugal
• Portugal Weather and Climate
• Alive in Portugal
• The Economy in Portugal

Top ten Things to Do in Portugal

Mellow port wines nurtured in northern vineyards. Sun-kissed, sandy beaches with world-class surfing. A uppercase city whose cablevision cars clatter over hilly, cobblestoned streets sweeping down to the bay.

A $905-a-Calendar month Rental in Sintra, Portugal

At the age of 55, feeling emotionally unfulfilled and seeking a more exciting life, Heidi Dezell, walked away from her six-figure job equally a national sales executive to travel the world in search of her personal utopia. Her enquiry led her to Portugal and she at present lives with her dog, Bailey, in Sintra.

Private health insurance for $166 a month, per couple

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Source: https://internationalliving.com/countries/portugal/

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