Life in Portugal Has Changed (Year 3)

Josh and Kalie from ExpatsEverywhere have lived in Portugal for three years now and have experienced a lot of changes. They share their thoughts, experiences, and opinions with you today. What have they seen change? What are some pros and cons to Portugal as we go into 2024? Is Portugal still worth living in? Come along with them as they talk about the past three years.

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Hi! We’re Josh and Kalie, expats since 2009. We’ve lived in Spain, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and now Portugal (we know, we broke the “S” streak 😅). Follow ExpatsEverywhere for expat interviews, city breakdowns, travel tips, and more to help you live your best life abroad!

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[donnahougenesq]

There is so much change all over the world, all over. Changes in feelings, changes in money, changes in markets, changes in food. Just a lot of change everywhere.

[OurContinuingAdventure]

Another great post! Obrigado. Citizenship and the language requirement - we (Ross and Kathleen) are taking the government offered class for A1 and A2 certification offered at our local high school. And right, it is a commitment. 50 classes, each 3 hours long, twice a week, for 9 months. The goal is to not have to take the exam. Just present our certification. About cost of living. We continue to maintain a spreadsheet of everything we spend and we continue to average around 2000 euros per month since arriving in Porto in February of 2022. That's for everything. Fortunately our rent is extremely reasonable and will always be the major part of our montly expenses.

[grizfan]

We've been living in Lisbon for the last 1.5 years, and next week, we're moving to Braga, after buying an apartment there. Cost of living, especially housing, has definitely gone up, but that seems to be true in so many other places (just ask Australians and Canadians, woof). The cost to maintain a home, though, does seem considerably lower than what I was used to in the States. Condo fees, property tax and home owner's insurance are a fraction of what we paid previously.

The fact that you can live car free is great. Cars can be wealth-killers, so having access to so many transportation options really helps the budget.

To me, it feels like there are more options and opportunities to keep costs down here in Portugal. Fresh food is less expensive than packaged/processed food. Public transportation is readily available in most areas. Cities and towns are built around people and not around cars, so walking is often the best way to get around. If a person moving from the US tries to recreate their US lifestyle, Portugal can actually be kinda expensive. But, the more one adapts, the easier it becomes to save money. As I learn my way around a Portuguese grocery store, I'm able to spend a lot less on groceries because I know what I'm doing. Just one example. If a person is willing to listen, learn and adapt, life here can be great.

[rickchandler]

Problem I’ve found with the language is I find it’s not that difficult to learn to read & write, but understanding a Portuguese person speak is certainly difficult. My problem is as soon as I hear a word I don’t know or understand, I immediately panic and my brain locks up. I’m getting better about asking them repeat and speak slower. That helps a lot here in Nazaré

[tharper]

Great video as always. We have been following you for 2 years now when Portugal came on our radar as a possible full time move. We did a 3 month stay in Cascais this past August, September & October. We went there with eyes wide open. We paid $6700 for the 3 months for a tiny studio apartment. I realize that we paid a premium due to the time of year & the fact that we had to book thru airbnb, but we were hard pressed to find anything that was less expensive. The place was just ok and our walk away was that the bar is very low for what passes as great accomodations in Portugal. We actually experienced that angst towards Americans while we were there. Let me say that I think it had less to do with being American & more to do with being a foreigner. The actions of our neighbor at the airbnb led us to draw conclusions that he wasn't to happy that the place was being used as an Airbnb. There is a weird dynamics going on in Portugal right now regarding housing. We spoke to many people about it & half of them blame the government & the other half said that the Portuguese people needed to look in the mirror, cause the people that own places chose to run them as Airbnb's instead of renting to locals. We found eating out was out of our budget, but I believe this is a worldwide issue right now post pandemic. Although we were not their long enough to see a rise in prices for groceries, we heard many, many locals complaining about it. Again I believe this to be a worldwide issue right now. We kept a spreadsheet of our spending for the 3 months while we were there. We live & vacation fairly frugaly & we were very surprised that the cost of living in Portugal was about the same for us in New Jersey (Union City, which is a 10 min commute to Manhattan) & a lot of it had to do with our accomodations. At the end of the day we decided to take a pass on the move to Portugal. Our top reasons of living, language barrier especially with dealing with bureaucracy, everybody smokes & they smoke everywhere & this one really perplexed us, there was dog crap everywhere. Our search continues.

[Wee_Catalyst]

I’m really appreciating the media mix going on in this video: the text is very helpful and the text boxes explaining what the NHR and the ALs are great and don’t distract in a bad way; the amount and type of b-roll; loving it! It’s very easy to follow and digest—thank you!

[AutumnAspens]

KEEP up the content! Budgets for housing and food/gas/etc is going up ALL over the globe now. From a personal perspective, look at Denver in the United States rental rates over the past 3 years or so. Do not respond to the hate on folks that criticize your videos at all! We love your HONEST perspective!

[JonesTravelers]

We really liked this video since your experience closely aligns with ours. We haven't had any change impact our way of life in Portugal. We have been tracking every penny spent since arriving in Lisbon in December 2021. Shannon breaks down the cost of dining out versus dining in per person for instance and the cost of groceries per unit. Our costs haven't budged overall and that maybe due to our better understanding of shopping sales and dining at places we know are cheaper. We spent October back in the US and were floored by the cost increases of the staples we use to purchase back in 2021 compared to here in Portugal. Happy to be home in Lisbon!

[coolscenessounds]

First off I must apologize for not commenting over a year ago. I have been following you since the beginning and keep wanting to thank you for the amazing content! Your approach to this multifaceted topic is perfect such great flow. We have been visiting Portugal for a very long and love it. We truly appreciate the detail and effort you guys put into every video. Our goal is to move there partially to start with .Watching your content certainly makes us understand the challenges and the benefits of living in PT. Thank you😊 Manny

[JPonEarth]

Thanks for your thoughts and great summary. Change is inevitable and adapting isn’t always easy. We just got both of our NIF’S approved and feel fortunate to call Portugal home. JP Porto

[josephlane]

I'm moving there in early 2025 and my language process is to continue with some of these free language "learners" just to get a feel of things and not be totally in the dark upon arrival. Since I will be moving there as a retiree, I'm actually excited to take the government courses and get my certificate early while learning from locals, and getting to know people in my area. Unless I am reading things wrong, the government courses are basically free so win win.

[teddydavis]

I would do the class because it would give you a chance to meet more people. The other thing is that you will never be able to appreciate or understand the culture fully until you understand the language fully. There is a saying that when you speak to someone in their language, you speak to their heart.
As English speakers, we tend to not learn or study other languages, which I think is a big mistake. It took me about 3 months to be able to speak Portuguese, and I'm not that smart.
If you love Portugal, show your appreciation by learning the language.
Boa sorte!

[skaidimusic]

Roughly the same situation in Spain. We were thinking a bit about moving to Panama but will wait and see how things develop, still cheap compared to other countries as it has become more expensive around the globe so it is not only here in Spain or Portugal the prices go up.

[janeferreira]

So so so glad you mention connecting with the Portuguese people. Too many seem to omit this part, which to my mind is the most important. I would tell anyone interested in moving to Portugal to do your research into the culture and history of the Portuguese people. Know the people you are going to live with and make every effort to integrate into their culture rather than trying to make their culture match where you came from. I believe this is one of the biggest negative traits of Americans traveling and living abroad and why one might be seeing or hearing more online negativity toward incoming Americans to Portugal. There is a lot of justifiable resentment toward Americans by Portuguese that we are only moving to their country to take advantage of them economically, that we get to keep and maintain our economic status, and that theirs does not change. It is evident that you two have made every effort to integrate. Kudos to you! Also, Kalie, you are looking quite 'portuguese' which is lovely to see!

[Stingerca]

With the Golden Visa & the NHR Portugal moved to the front of the line for Expats. It would seem now most warmer countires are on a level playing field after these programs have been removed. To me the Housing & Rental issues are NOT the influx of outsiders, but AirBnB's. I get that it is popular and profitable for some but this program puts a strangle hold on affordable housing and it should be phased out.

[nancywillette]

I took the class, 150 hours. Three times a week for 3 hours for 3 plus months. It was hard but, in the end, worth it. I am applying for citizenship at this time.

[FirewalkingJourney]

Wow I've been away from Youtube for awhile and it's awesome to see how well you're doing, both with life in Portugal as well as your YouTube channel! Probably been a year and a half since I last watched your videos...keep it up!

[onthenextthing]

Anti immigrant sentiment is in many countries due to the fact that people are moving around the world and there a lot more of us in 2023 versus 50 years ago. The pandemic accelerated this movement along with NHR, golden visas, digital nomads and such. We see the same thing in Vancouver, Canada as local people are pushed out of the rental and housing market by foreign investment, immigration, inflation, cost of living and so forth. It is however somewhat of a new reality though and is not exclusive to any particular country.

[growdigital]

I lived in Portugal for a year (Porto and Lisbon). The accommodation costs are too high, and bureaucracy is just beyond ridiculous. Porto is beautiful and will always be in my heart, but all over it was not for me.

[peterferreira]

Very informative video. As a Portuguese-Canadian who now spends half the time in Portugal and someone who has lived the immigrant experience, I believe portuguese are very acomodating and appreciate the expats amongst them. The economic reality over the decades have seen many emigrate to other countries. Last year alone saw over 70 thousand young professionals leave portugal for better pastures. I for one hope expats continue to enrich our multicultural society in Portugal.