Where to live in Portugal

When emigrating, finding the right place to settle down seems to be the most asked question and I believe one of most important. And only after living somewhere for a couple of months do you get to know the feel of the place, only even after six months you start feeling less like an outsider and even after a year or two once you have a better grasp on the language you can actually feel like a local. I have gone through this process more times than I can count and I can say that it is essential to have other people opinions about where to live and why.

I would like to mention that this is merely my opinion and as the Portuguese expression goes “Gostos sao Gostos” = You like what you like. The first question you need to ask yourself when moving to this wonderful country is WHY are you moving and WHAT are you looking for because the way tourism is expanding in this country you can be one small step away from making the wrong decision which you will regret. Right now in Portugal you can buy a two bedroom house in the centre of a major city and pay almost the same as a farm in the countryside so it’s best to ask these two questions before embarking on a house hunt.

The next question you should ask yourself is HOW you want your life to be like from this point on, what are your goals and what you wish to accomplish with this move. The common goal I believe is to find happiness and satisfaction as well as getting your monies worth, the only way to accomplish this is find a place that lets you express yourself in the way you feel more comfortable and be part of the community around you, and trust me just the fact that you picked Portugal is a first great step to accomplish this.

Now enough about the philosophical mind sets to consider when moving even though they are important to make the right decision, these are the locations in which I believe you can obtain this. Take into consideration that I have lived in 7 different countries and travelled to more than 15. My main suggestions of places to live are as follows:

“Trás-os-Montes” literally translated, behind the mountains. This is the richest countryside area in my opinion, with the best views, best food and best wine and where the people are the nicest. This area is known for its agricultural heritage mostly related to wine, olive oil and many others. Portugal is the second biggest producer of olive oil in the world after Greece and this area contributes to most of this quota. This region is also home to the “Douro” Region which is the most famous wine producing region in Portugal, if you drink Douro wine it’s really hard to go wrong. You have very warm winters reaching 40 degrees and very cold winters reaching 0 temperatures but rivers to keep you cool and fireplaces and affordable heating to keep you warm. This area is ideal if you love wine and the countryside life, if you move here you will be sure to get along with your neighbours as everyone in this region is proud to welcome newcomers as well as knowing everything about what is happening in the place in which they live. My parents are from here and I have spent almost every summer of my life here and get constant, wine, olive oil, cheese and bread deliveries from my family, things I have trouble living without these days.

“Porto” literally translated means a Port, and it truly is a place where things you desire converge. Porto is a magical place that will capture your attention and heart. This seems to be a recurring sensation for people that pass through this wonderful city. There is something about it, a particular sensation that is uncommon to find in most parts of the world. This defining aspect is similar to the Bermuda’s Triangle, you normally arrive in Porto by mistake not knowing anything about it, it ends up being almost impossible to leave and for some reason you always end up coming back. This city brings all the best aspects into one location; you have the river, the sea the countryside and the city all in one place as well as 2/3 of the year with sunshine. It is extremely affordable from an investment perspective as well as standard of living; you also feel a strong sense of culture and hospitality from the people living here. Even though the city has had a strong influx of tourism in the last 6-7 years, there is a strong friction to change which fuels the city fighting back against this gentrification that is happening to most cities in the world, this movement helps maintain culture alive and gives the city a very strong personality.

Most of you are probably wondering why I didn’t mention the south of the country, In my opinion the south has given in more easily to this growing world gentrification offensive and I believe this has led to part of the culture being put to one side. A good example of this is Lisbon and Faro you go to these places nowadays and it’s harder to find truly authentic Portuguese culture, since most of the city is catering to tourists and making prices skyrocket. “Alentejo” for me is an exception to that rule. Look at Madonna for example, money is not a problem for her and she is finding a hard time buying a property in Lisbon, my advice to her and to all of you reading this article is LOOK NORTH you will find it will change your life for the better.