Let’s talk money! 💸 In this episode we discuss the cost of living crisis in Portugal (minimum wages vs. extremely high rent prices, especially in bigger cities like Lisbon and Porto). We talk about our expectations about the cost of living in Portugal before moving here and how it turned out in reality. We discuss if Portugal is still affordable (and for who) and we’re comparing the cost of living in Portugal to our homecountries (The Netherlands and the United States). Also we talk about what’s surprisingly expensive in Portugal, if our spending pattern has changed since moving here and where we spend the most and the least money on.
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With love, April Betts & Anna Jirina.
About From Lisbon With Love
Welcome to From Lisbon With Love! A podcast about real stories of love, laughter, and life in Lisbon — from women who have left it all behind. We share real stories about moving to Lisbon, starting over and figuring life out along the way. We talk love, dating, friendships, breakups, healing, growing, all of it. Basically, the stuff we usually talk about over coffee ☕️ or vinho 🍷. If you’re thinking about moving to Lisbon, already here or just love honest conversations with heart: you’re in the right place! Learn more about our story here.
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Cost of living in Portugal
The rising cost of living in Portugal is a hot topic, especially in the capital Lisbon. Locals are being prized out of their houses and young Portugese leave the country for better job opportunities, better salaries and better quality of life. Also the cost of living crisis is affecting the expat community, making many foreigners leave, as Portugal became less affordable over the last years.
Is Portugal still affordable?
For years, Portugal was seen as one of the cheapest destinations of Europe. But this changed rapidly in the last 5-10 years, especially after COVID-19. Portugal became a popular destination for tourists and, with the introduction of the Golden Visa (a residency-by-investment program offering a path to citizenship after 5 years) interesting for foreign investment, which has driven up the housing prices. Also inflation and strong economic growth in sectors like exports, technology, and renewable energy made the cost of living in Portugal rise.
However Portugal remains relatively affordable, especially compared to other European countries and the USA, costs are still rising. In Lisbon, the rent of an apartment is higher than the minimum wage in Portugal, making it really hard for young people to move out of their parent’s house. In this episode we discuss is Portugal is still affordable (and for who) and why Portugal became so much more expensive over the years.
If you’re thinking of moving to Portugal and want to know more about the cost of living in Portugal, you might find this interesting as well: In this episode we share the process of moving to Portugal and what we needed as an EU and US-citizen to move here.
