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How much does it cost to live a modest life in Portugal?

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Guest8967

Hi everybody,


How much money would I need to live with my wife a modest life in Portugal (rent and food). I get 2200 euro pension salary with full health care insurance, is that enough to live in Lisbon for example?


Many thanks

Perpetual_traveler

Having spent time in Lisbon, and quite a few smaller cities in Portugal, I think you would feel more comfortable in a smaller city with that amount of money; in Lisbon you will be paying out between one third and half of your gross income in rent. In smaller cities rent will be closer to one quarter that amount, or maybe even less, for a very nice apartment (though it must be said apartments in general are not easy to find in Portugal due to high demand, unless you go really far out).

EdEvans999

International Living has some good articles/advice for budgets, while living abroad.

nz7521137

If you owned an apartment or small house then I would say that the EUR 2200 are sufficient, but if you have to ren an apartment and have to pay the ever increasing gas and electricity bills then I have my doubts. Plus you didn't mention whether your pension will be adjusted for inflation. If not you might be in trouble quite soon.


Maybe you should use the numbeo website to calculate your cost of living in Lisbon compared to where you live now.

JohnnyPT

With that value it is almost impossible to live in Lisbon, due to the high house rentals. Look for cheaper areas. There are places with better quality of life than Lisbon and relatively nearby. I don't understand this obsession with Lisbon ....

Helder Carvalho78

In cities like Guimarães you can have a confortable living, you can get a T1/T2 apartment for about 500€ per month.

couta c25

@JohnnyPT indeed... why is everyone so obsessed with the city? I say try living there with traffic, human congestion wherever you go..

Strontium

There's a vast number of variables and only you know how you want to live and what you'll accept and therefore what you'll be willing to pay.  Here's one random website (there are many others on the same subject) giving you salary information for Portugal so you can see where your income fits in with the rest of society (and Lisbon) who - obviously - live on that income.  Read it but take notice that average may be " mean", "median" or  "mode" which will differ.


https://www.averagesalarysurvey.com/por … eCity=0915

Bruper

As they say: "how long is a piece of string"

In this case it depends from your standard of leaving. Many português family live with below 1k per month. In the country side rental and food is cheaper.

maxwmitchell1997

Try Caldas da Rainha about 1 hour North of Lisbon.  And 15 minutes from several beautiful beaches.  Much lower cost of living than Lisbon.

nz7521137

Try Caldas da Rainha about 1 hour North of Lisbon. And 15 minutes from several beautiful beaches. Much lower cost of living than Lisbon.
-@maxwmitchell1997

But: Will 12 * 2200 EUR plus health insurance allow a modest life for an expat? And for how long (considering ever rising prices)? I guess away from the urban centers the 26400 EUR per annum should be just about enough for a single/couple.

ctomac

We live in Porto, family of 4, renting for 1330/month, total monthly expenses including rent and  living very comfortably are up to 3000 euros/month.

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