
Portugalist - The Moving to Portugal Podcast
Want the real story about moving to Portugal? Skip the fluff and dive into honest conversations about what it actually takes to make Portugal your home.
Each episode, we bring you in-depth discussions with immigration experts, tax specialists, and real people who've already made the leap.
From understanding the D7 visa process to navigating Portugal's property market, we cut through the noise to deliver practical, actionable insights. Our guests share their unfiltered experiences—the wins, the challenges, and everything in between.
What You'll Learn:
- Expert breakdowns of visa options (e.g. D7, Digital Nomad Visa, Golden Visa)
- Step-by-step guidance on essential processes (NIF application, opening bank accounts)
- Real estate insights from seasoned property professionals
- Healthcare system navigation tips
- Tax optimization strategies for expats
- First-hand accounts of cultural integration
- Common pitfalls to avoid
Whether you're a digital nomad looking to base yourself in vibrant Lisbon, a retiree dreaming of the Algarve sun, or a family seeking a better quality of life on the Silver Coast, each episode arms you with the knowledge you need to make your Portuguese dream a reality.
Subscribe now to join our community of future and current Portugal expats. New episodes drop all the time.
Portugalist - The Moving to Portugal Podcast
9 Harsh Realities of Being a Digital Nomad in Portugal
Thinking about Portugal for your remote-work base? In this episode, we go beyond the Instagram reels to break down the real day-to-day—rents that bite, houses without heating, slow-moving bureaucracy, integration hurdles, language realities, taxes, and mixed local attitudes—alongside the reasons so many nomads still choose Portugal: lifestyle, safety, community, beaches, and a clear residency pathway.
What you’ll learn
- The Digital Nomad (D8) Visa in plain English—who it’s for and why it’s so popular
- The real cost of living (Lisbon, Porto, Algarve, Madeira vs cheaper regions) and why your choices (flat whites, co-working, international restaurants) move the needle
- Housing realities: insulation, heating/AC, mould, noise—and how to spot liveable apartments
- Bureaucracy 101: why timelines slip, AIMA delays, renewals limbo, and when lawyers are worth it
- Taxes after NHR: what changed, why Portugal isn’t a tax haven, and the trade-offs for EU life
- Food & lifestyle: simple, tasty Portuguese staples vs. limited spice/variety—and where Lisbon/Porto shine
- Integration & language: why Portuguese is hard, why immersion is tricky for WFH nomads, and how to actually progress
- Local sentiment: housing pressures, bubbles vs. belonging, and how to be a good guest
- The upside: world-class nomad community, safety, family-friendly culture, beaches, surf, and the EU citizenship pathway
Who this episode is for
- Freelancers, founders, and remote employees weighing Portugal against Spain, Bali, Mexico, or Dubai
- Digital nomads looking to settle down
- Anyone eyeing the D8 (digital nomad) or D7 route and wanting the unvarnished picture
- Lisbon/Porto/Algarve/Madeira curious listeners who want lifestyle and logistics
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<b>Everybody's talking about moving to</b><b>Portugal as a digital nomad.</b><b>But very few people are talking about the</b><b>challenges that go with this.</b><b>I'm talking about 1,000 euro a month</b><b>apartments with little or no heating,</b><b>bureaucracy that takes</b><b>months and even years to resolve,</b><b>and living in a country where integration</b><b>is extremely challenging.</b><b>Portugal is fantastic for digital nomads.</b><b>There's high-speed internet, great</b><b>weather, attainable residency visas.</b><b>I mean, what more could you ask for?</b><b>But nowhere is perfect.</b><b>Nowhere is.</b><b>So before you pack your bags, I want to</b><b>talk about some of the hard truths,</b><b>the things that you really need to know</b><b>about life as a</b><b>digital nomad in Portugal.</b><b>Now, just very quickly</b><b>before we jump into all of that,</b><b>I want to tell you why is Portugal so</b><b>popular as a digital nomad destination?</b><b>Is it the weather?</b><b>Is it the beautiful cobblestone streets?</b><b>Is it the Pashtaishta Nata?</b><b>It is all of those things.</b><b>And that is typically why people come to</b><b>say, visit for a week or two,</b><b>or maybe a couple of months.</b><b>But there's a reason that so many people</b><b>are moving here as</b><b>freelancers and remote workers.</b><b>And that is because of Portugal's D8 visa</b><b>or digital nomad visa.</b><b>This visa is aimed at people who can</b><b>bring an income from outside of Portugal.</b><b>It allows them to live there.</b><b>So if you are a freelancer,</b><b>if you're a remote worker,</b><b>and you are from outside the EU, if you</b><b>are an American, for example,</b><b>an Australian, British, Canadian,</b><b>Argentinian, whatever,</b><b>you could potentially move to Portugal,</b><b>live here and have access to benefits</b><b>like the public health care system</b><b>and have the ability to later apply for</b><b>Portuguese citizenship,</b><b>get a Portuguese or EU passport, which</b><b>then opens up the whole of the EU to you.</b><b>Now, if you would like more information</b><b>about the digital nomad visa,</b><b>be sure to check out portugalist.com,</b><b>where I'll be discussing this particular</b><b>visa in a level of depth</b><b>that you won't find elsewhere.</b><b>Now, let's get back to the hard truths</b><b>about living in</b><b>Portugal as a digital nomad.</b><b>Now, first things</b><b>first, Portugal isn't cheap,</b><b>or at least it isn't as</b><b>cheap as it used to be.</b><b>Portugal has a reputation as a bit of a</b><b>bargain destination,</b><b>and it can be depending on</b><b>where you're coming from,</b><b>particularly if you're coming from</b><b>London, New York, San</b><b>Francisco, LA, for example.</b><b>I do think it is going to</b><b>come across as a lot cheaper,</b><b>but for a lot of people, they come here</b><b>and they're a little bit surprised.</b><b>Now, Portugal can be affordable in</b><b>certain areas, for</b><b>example, food and drink.</b><b>If you get a café, which is an espresso</b><b>at a local Portuguese café,</b><b>you might pay as</b><b>little as 50 cents for that.</b><b>The lunch menu in certain parts of the</b><b>country still costs like 6, 7, 8 euros.</b><b>It's gone up in a lot of other parts of</b><b>the country, but it's still affordable.</b><b>But here's the thing.</b><b>Most digital nomads</b><b>that move to Portugal,</b><b>they don't move to the</b><b>cheaper parts of the country,</b><b>like the Alentejo, like the north of</b><b>Portugal, even central Portugal.</b><b>They move to Lisbon.</b><b>They move to Erisaira.</b><b>They move to Lagos,</b><b>to Cascáix, to Medira.</b><b>These are also some of the most expensive</b><b>parts of the country.</b><b>And when they go out,</b><b>they don't have espressos.</b><b>They have flat whites.</b><b>They don't eat the dish of the day,</b><b>typically, in a</b><b>traditional Portuguese restaurant.</b><b>Instead, they go out to</b><b>international restaurants.</b><b>All of these things</b><b>have a higher price tag,</b><b>and this increases</b><b>your cost of living there.</b><b>So when people talk about</b><b>the cost of living in Portugal,</b><b>often they're basing</b><b>it on what it could be.</b><b>But in reality, when all of your friends</b><b>want to go to a specific location,</b><b>you'll end up spending more on meals out,</b><b>on coffees, on beers, on wines,</b><b>than you would if you were living a more</b><b>traditional local lifestyle.</b><b>Of course, you can live as a digital</b><b>nomad any way you like in Portugal,</b><b>but I think this is the reality that a</b><b>lot of people end up facing.</b><b>The biggest costs, I think,</b><b>is probably accommodation.</b><b>This is where it really hits people.</b><b>So in Lisbon, I would say right now</b><b>you're looking at around 1,200 euros,</b><b>roughly for a one-bedroom apartment.</b><b>It could be more than this.</b><b>It could be less than this.</b><b>But this is sort of an</b><b>average at the moment.</b><b>Now, this is still cheaper</b><b>than New York, than London,</b><b>than any of the major</b><b>cities around the world.</b><b>But it is on par with a</b><b>lot of other European cities.</b><b>And I've heard a lot of people saying,</b><b>"Well, I paid the same amount of rent as</b><b>I would in such and such a city."</b><b>Here's the thing, though.</b><b>I think you can't really</b><b>compare apples to oranges.</b><b>If you are living in somewhere like the</b><b>Algarve or Lisbon, for example,</b><b>you just get a quality of life there</b><b>that's very different to what you get</b><b>in other parts of Northern Europe and</b><b>other parts of the world, really.</b><b>Can you get on the train from where you</b><b>are and get to a beach in 20 minutes?</b><b>No, you can in Lisbon.</b><b>Are winters mild enough that you can just</b><b>wander around in a t-shirt</b><b>outside even in December?</b><b>No, well, you can in the Algarve and even</b><b>some days in Lisbon as well.</b><b>So it really is a case of paying for a</b><b>specific lifestyle here.</b><b>And if you want to compare what the cost</b><b>of that is in somewhere</b><b>like Lisbon or the Algarve,</b><b>even Porto, which has its wetter winters,</b><b>you need to compare it to somewhere that</b><b>would be similar in lifestyle.</b><b>Now, there are a lot of other costs that</b><b>I think people don't</b><b>factor in when they're moving to</b><b>somewhere like Portugal.</b><b>Some things are just more expensive.</b><b>Cars, for example, are more expensive in</b><b>Portugal than they are in a lot of other</b><b>European countries.</b><b>More expensive for fuel as well.</b><b>Utilities can be quite expensive.</b><b>Then there are things</b><b>like co-working spaces.</b><b>Now, you might expect these to cost less</b><b>here because Portuguese wages are lower,</b><b>but you're looking at probably around 150</b><b>euros per month on average, if not more.</b><b>Things like laptops or cell phones are</b><b>more expensive here.</b><b>Even clothes can be more expensive here</b><b>than other countries</b><b>like the US, like the UK,</b><b>for example.</b><b>And a lot of people get stuck on this</b><b>because they think, well,</b><b>people earn less in Portugal.</b><b>That means these things will cost less.</b><b>But in reality, that isn't what happens.</b><b>So I do think you need to think about the</b><b>costs before you come here</b><b>and just be aware that costs</b><b>are not going to be as low as you expect</b><b>them to be, but they</b><b>probably are quite low for the</b><b>lifestyle that you're getting in return.</b><b>Now, continuing on with costs and what</b><b>you get for your money,</b><b>houses in Portugal are</b><b>built quite cheaply.</b><b>At least they were in the past.</b><b>Now, a lot of newer apartments are being</b><b>built to better standards.</b><b>But typically what a lot of people end up</b><b>in is somewhere in the middle,</b><b>and they're paying, say, 1,200 euros a</b><b>month for a rental in Lisbon.</b><b>There's no heating there because heating</b><b>isn't typical in Portuguese properties.</b><b>Neither is air conditioning, by the way.</b><b>You can get it installed and you can get</b><b>heating installed if</b><b>you own the property,</b><b>but it just isn't the norm.</b><b>Properties don't even have good</b><b>insulation in general, which</b><b>means that it can be cold in</b><b>winter.</b><b>Now, I'm talking about wearing a jacket</b><b>in the house and maybe</b><b>gloves in the house levels of</b><b>cold.</b><b>And I know people who have moved to</b><b>Portugal and then have moved back to</b><b>Canada or to Scotland</b><b>to spend the winter there because they</b><b>were warmer inside there</b><b>than they would be in Portugal.</b><b>And this is people who've</b><b>lived in the Algarve or Lisbon.</b><b>If we're talking about somewhere like</b><b>Porto in the north, it's even colder.</b><b>You also run into issues with mould,</b><b>particularly black mould as well.</b><b>Then you have noise issues.</b><b>The lack of insulation in the properties</b><b>means that noise travels.</b><b>You might hear your neighbour's TV.</b><b>You might hear them arguing.</b><b>You might hear them doing other things.</b><b>If they have children, you will hear them</b><b>running around sometimes,</b><b>chucking their toys everywhere.</b><b>If they move the chairs, that sound sort</b><b>of echoes and it</b><b>actually sounds like they're</b><b>moving a wardrobe rather than a chair.</b><b>Now, not all property in Portugal is bad.</b><b>As I mentioned, the newer ones are built</b><b>to better standards and</b><b>often you can just get</b><b>lucky.</b><b>And if you live here long enough, you</b><b>start to know what to look out for.</b><b>So, for example, after a while, I figured</b><b>out that if you find a</b><b>property that catches the sun</b><b>during the day, particularly if it faces</b><b>east and catches the sun in the morning,</b><b>that means that it's going to heat up.</b><b>If you find one that's completely in the</b><b>shade and is blocked by</b><b>buildings, that property is</b><b>going to be very,</b><b>very cold in the winter.</b><b>If you stay on the top floor, for</b><b>example, you won't have</b><b>noise from people above you.</b><b>And I think the noise from people above</b><b>is probably the worst noise.</b><b>So there are ways around all of this.</b><b>But what I'm just trying to explain is</b><b>that the quality of</b><b>property that you get in Portugal</b><b>is lower and you're often paying what</b><b>many would consider northern European</b><b>prices for a property</b><b>that's not as good.</b><b>Now, if you live in a house share as</b><b>well, which a lot of people</b><b>end up doing, these can be quite</b><b>large and it's worth pointing that out.</b><b>Typically four to five other people, but</b><b>I've seen house shares</b><b>with 10 or more people.</b><b>Actually finding a house</b><b>share with just one other person,</b><b>it's really, really hard to just with the</b><b>sizes of Portuguese property.</b><b>Now, point number three, the bureaucracy</b><b>in Portugal will almost break you.</b><b>Now, a lot of people moving to Portugal</b><b>think, oh, I've heard</b><b>about this bureaucracy,</b><b>but that's just paperwork and I'm good at</b><b>filling in forms and things like that.</b><b>That's not what it is at all.</b><b>Portugal runs on standardized</b><b>bureaucracy, which means</b><b>that when you go to a place,</b><b>to your appointment to register for the</b><b>health service, something like that,</b><b>the person being there might decide that</b><b>they need a completely different document</b><b>than they wanted yesterday.</b><b>And if you go back the next day, it'll be</b><b>someone else working there</b><b>and they need another document.</b><b>Nothing is uniform.</b><b>Everything takes a long</b><b>time to get processed.</b><b>The actual paperwork,</b><b>it's all stored somewhere,</b><b>but it doesn't seem to lead to anywhere</b><b>efficient or productive.</b><b>There are delays.</b><b>So getting an appointment at the</b><b>consulate, which you will need to do</b><b>before you move to Portugal,</b><b>the consulate or the VFS office, that can</b><b>take months at the</b><b>moment due to backlogs.</b><b>Getting your AIMA</b><b>appointment can take months also,</b><b>to the point where many people often have</b><b>a big gap between what their visa allows</b><b>when their AIMA appointment is, and</b><b>they're kind of living</b><b>in Portugal in limbo,</b><b>not fully registered as legal, but also</b><b>not really able to leave.</b><b>And this is a common issue.</b><b>It actually gets much worse with</b><b>renewals, or at least it has in the past.</b><b>It's understood that this is hopefully</b><b>going to get sorted.</b><b>But I've known people who have been stuck</b><b>in Portugal and waiting for a year,</b><b>maybe even two years, to get a renewal.</b><b>During that time,</b><b>their permit has expired.</b><b>They're stuck here.</b><b>They're trying to get through to AIMA.</b><b>AIMA doesn't answer the phone.</b><b>AIMA doesn't answer emails.</b><b>Even if they do get through to someone,</b><b>they just say there are</b><b>no appointments available.</b><b>It's gotten to the point now, or at least</b><b>it has been in the past few months,</b><b>that many lawyers have actually</b><b>recommended taking AIMA,</b><b>that section of the Portuguese</b><b>government, taking them to</b><b>court just to get an appointment.</b><b>So the entire system is backlogged and is</b><b>quite frankly chaotic.</b><b>Now, this affects all people moving to</b><b>Portugal, all expats.</b><b>But I think it's particularly</b><b>frustrating for digital nomads.</b><b>One, because digital nomads are probably</b><b>going to be working</b><b>for eight hours a day,</b><b>or perhaps more, and they don't really</b><b>have time to deal</b><b>with this kind of system.</b><b>Someone retired may not want to deal with</b><b>this kind of system,</b><b>but they have a little bit more free time</b><b>to take care of these things.</b><b>So many digital nomads, I think, also</b><b>AIMAgine that they'll use</b><b>Portugal as their base.</b><b>They'll stay here for, you know, the</b><b>number of days that they</b><b>need to stay here to meet</b><b>the requirements, and then they'll travel</b><b>the world as they did before.</b><b>But actually, with these delays, with</b><b>these issues, so many</b><b>people end up getting stuck here</b><b>and spending a lot more time in Portugal</b><b>than they expect to.</b><b>Now, this does vary.</b><b>There will be periods of time where all</b><b>your paperwork is in order.</b><b>Because you've just completed it, and</b><b>you'll have this big gap,</b><b>and then you can go off and do a lot of</b><b>traveling in that time.</b><b>But there'll also be periods, most</b><b>likely, where you're just</b><b>having at least one bureaucratic</b><b>issue, and you kind of need to stick</b><b>around to get that</b><b>sorted before you can go.</b><b>Here's the thing, though.</b><b>Every country has its downsides.</b><b>Every single time I cover</b><b>this and speak to people,</b><b>the biggest issue is always this sort of</b><b>chaotic, unstandardized bureaucracy.</b><b>And the question you need to ask yourself</b><b>is, which downside are</b><b>you willing to live with?</b><b>For some people,</b><b>Portugal is just not a good fit.</b><b>They end up moving back to somewhere like</b><b>the US, even though there</b><b>are numerous issues there,</b><b>rather than try and deal with the issues</b><b>that come up in Portugal,</b><b>though it's just too</b><b>much of a downside for them.</b><b>Other people put up with it.</b><b>They don't like it, but they know it's</b><b>worth it because it</b><b>means that they're now living</b><b>in an EU country with a public healthcare</b><b>system, and one day they're</b><b>going to be able to apply for</b><b>Portuguese citizenship, which is going to</b><b>open up the whole of the EU.</b><b>So if you're patient, and if you're</b><b>potentially willing to</b><b>hire professional help,</b><b>you'll get there eventually.</b><b>And once you are set up and in the</b><b>system, like I say,</b><b>everything will be a lot easier.</b><b>Now, point number four, you'll need</b><b>professional help at least sometimes.</b><b>I did mention this in the previous point,</b><b>but you will need to</b><b>spend at least some money</b><b>on professionals more</b><b>than you would expect.</b><b>Now, I think a lot of digital nomads are</b><b>quite used to doing things by themselves.</b><b>They are used to doing research, they are</b><b>used to figuring things</b><b>out, and they are used to,</b><b>you know, moving to various different</b><b>countries around the world,</b><b>trying to figure out how to,</b><b>you know, work on your laptop in the</b><b>middle of a part of the</b><b>world that doesn't have Wi-Fi.</b><b>They are used to challenges and figuring</b><b>out those challenges themselves.</b><b>And you might be used to, for example,</b><b>filing your own taxes.</b><b>You might be used to filling out forms</b><b>for residency yourself.</b><b>But as an expat in Portugal, you're</b><b>actually going to need a</b><b>decent amount of professional help.</b><b>You can do a lot of it yourself if you</b><b>want and you're</b><b>willing to spend the time,</b><b>but it can be very time consuming.</b><b>It's very easy to make mistakes because</b><b>the information out there</b><b>isn't clear or sometimes</b><b>contradictory.</b><b>And so you will need to decide at some</b><b>point what is more</b><b>valuable, my money or my time.</b><b>And I think most people end up somewhere</b><b>in the middle where they</b><b>realize there's some things</b><b>that are worth spending money on, some</b><b>things that are not.</b><b>Now, what are some examples of things</b><b>that you wouldn't expect</b><b>to have to spend money on?</b><b>Now, I mentioned tax returns.</b><b>I think that is something</b><b>that is worth spending money on.</b><b>I actually think it's worth speaking to</b><b>an accountant or finance</b><b>professional before you</b><b>move to Portugal so you can get an idea</b><b>of what your tax liability would be here.</b><b>But more surprising than that, I think,</b><b>is things like renting a property.</b><b>Now, you don't need a lawyer to read over</b><b>your contract before you sign anything,</b><b>but it is a good idea.</b><b>It's a good idea for them to put in</b><b>clauses to protect you,</b><b>especially if you're getting</b><b>your first property, which you typically</b><b>need as part of your</b><b>digital nomad visa application.</b><b>And you want to clause in there to say if</b><b>your visa isn't approved,</b><b>that you aren't on the hook</b><b>for at least one year's rent.</b><b>Want to get your</b><b>deposit back at the end of it?</b><b>Some landlords in Portugal think that</b><b>this money is just extra</b><b>money, a little tip, if you will,</b><b>and you will need your lawyer to draft a</b><b>threatening letter to get it back.</b><b>Want to get health insurance?</b><b>You might be used to going on a</b><b>comparison website and</b><b>figuring this out for yourself,</b><b>but in Portugal this is much harder and</b><b>you will typically need to use an</b><b>English-speaking broker</b><b>to help you get the</b><b>right health insurance.</b><b>Portugal is not a tax haven.</b><b>Now, I only make this comment because</b><b>there are a few websites out there that</b><b>claim that Portugal is,</b><b>particularly when Portugal used to offer</b><b>the NHR tax regime,</b><b>which no longer exists.</b><b>There were a lot of websites saying that</b><b>you could move to Portugal</b><b>and never pay taxes again.</b><b>There was an element of truth in it, but</b><b>for the most part it wasn't correct,</b><b>at least for most people.</b><b>Now, NHR regime has gone.</b><b>There is an NHR 2.0 as its dubbed, or</b><b>IFICI, but it's more limited and it</b><b>typically doesn't apply</b><b>to digital nomads.</b><b>There may be another version of the NHR</b><b>regime in the future, and</b><b>different governments have</b><b>talked about it.</b><b>Whether that happens or</b><b>not, we don't know yet.</b><b>But if you move here as a digital nomad</b><b>on a visa, like the digital</b><b>nomad visa, or perhaps the D7,</b><b>it's important to realize that you're</b><b>likely to be a tax resident in Portugal.</b><b>You can't just decide, "I'm going to live</b><b>in Portugal, but I'm going</b><b>to file taxes elsewhere."</b><b>At least for most people.</b><b>Anyway, if you have a very good</b><b>accountant, maybe you can figure out</b><b>something like that.</b><b>But I think people do expect to be able</b><b>to do that, and then are</b><b>surprised when they have to</b><b>pay taxes in Portugal.</b><b>One way you can get around it is by going</b><b>for the Golden Visa and</b><b>spending less time in Portugal,</b><b>but the Golden Visa requires a €500,000</b><b>investment on average,</b><b>usually into a Portuguese</b><b>fund, and most people listening to this</b><b>will not have that type of money.</b><b>Now, taxes in Portugal are high compared</b><b>to other places that</b><b>digital nomads like to go.</b><b>For example, Asia, Dubai, even the US.</b><b>And I think they are high for high</b><b>earners because Portugal,</b><b>with lower wages on average,</b><b>doesn't have as many high earners.</b><b>So income over around</b><b>83,000 is taxed at 48%.</b><b>This is progressive, so it doesn't mean</b><b>all your income will be taxed at 48%,</b><b>just the amount above it.</b><b>But it is a big consideration if you are</b><b>coming in on a US salary.</b><b>Now, as mentioned, I always say speak to</b><b>an accountant because</b><b>there are deductions you</b><b>can make.</b><b>There are various schemes that, even</b><b>though the NHRS come, for</b><b>example, there are other</b><b>tax regimes that you</b><b>can take advantage of.</b><b>So if you're looking at this and you're</b><b>thinking, "That sounds terrible,"</b><b>speak to an accountant, speak to a tax</b><b>advisor first, and get the</b><b>full picture before making</b><b>any decisions.</b><b>But needless to say,</b><b>Portugal is not a tax haven.</b><b>And at the end of the day, if you want to</b><b>move to Portugal, or you</b><b>want to move to a European</b><b>country because you want to live in an EU</b><b>country, and you want an EU</b><b>passport later on, you will,</b><b>for the most part, just need to accept</b><b>that taxes are just</b><b>something that comes with that.</b><b>You can move to Dubai and you can pay</b><b>less taxes, but will you</b><b>get the same quality of</b><b>life there?</b><b>I don't know if you will.</b><b>That's for debate.</b><b>So Portuguese food is simple.</b><b>It's filling, and there are</b><b>some great dishes out there.</b><b>I think a few to try that I would</b><b>recommend are piri piri</b><b>chicken, which is best in the</b><b>Algarve, typically, but you can get it</b><b>throughout the country.</b><b>Bacal yao in almost any form.</b><b>That's the salt dried cod,</b><b>leitang, which is roast piglet.</b><b>Cabrito, which is goat, and poco creto,</b><b>which is a black pig</b><b>from the Alentejo region.</b><b>But even then, just grilled fish dishes</b><b>that you'll see on</b><b>the menus, like Dorado,</b><b>ruballo, those are great.</b><b>Those are healthy.</b><b>And it's so nice to just have that as</b><b>your local food that you can get any day.</b><b>The snacks are great too.</b><b>I think pifanas are great.</b><b>Prégos are great.</b><b>Of course, the pash del the nata is loved</b><b>by pretty much anyone around the world.</b><b>But Portuguese food is very simple.</b><b>It doesn't use a lot of herbs and spices.</b><b>Despite the Portuguese going and</b><b>discovering the world and</b><b>discovering all those spices,</b><b>they didn't really bring that much back</b><b>and put it in their own cuisine.</b><b>In terms of seasoning,</b><b>often, again, it's very simple.</b><b>Salt, maybe, is all there is, and people</b><b>might put little olive</b><b>oil on that for more flavor.</b><b>And there isn't a huge</b><b>amount of variety either.</b><b>For example, I've eaten hundreds of</b><b>different cakes across Portugal.</b><b>And after a while, you start to realize</b><b>that there's only a</b><b>few that are different,</b><b>and the rest are just variations on this.</b><b>Some are even just the same</b><b>cake, but in a different shape.</b><b>Now, I say this because many</b><b>people who move to Portugal,</b><b>who are younger, who are in the digital</b><b>nomad sort of category,</b><b>first of all, often they come from a</b><b>country like the US or UK,</b><b>where they're used to maybe having</b><b>multiple cuisines on their doorstep</b><b>and eating different food all the time.</b><b>They may have also spent time living in</b><b>somewhere like Thailand or Mexico.</b><b>And in comparison, their local food</b><b>that's on their doorstep</b><b>can feel a little bit</b><b>bland and a little bit simple.</b><b>Portuguese food is good, as I mentioned,</b><b>but it does lack that variety.</b><b>And it does lack those sort of vibrant</b><b>spices and flavors that</b><b>you get in other cuisines.</b><b>So I will say if you move to Lisbon, you</b><b>will have an excellent variety of options</b><b>on your doorsteps and goes</b><b>with somewhere like Porto,</b><b>even smaller places like the Algarve,</b><b>like Mediro, for example,</b><b>you will have options too.</b><b>But generally speaking, the main cuisine</b><b>on your doorstep will be one that's good,</b><b>but maybe not your favorite</b><b>cuisine in the whole world.</b><b>Now, Portuguese people are wonderful,</b><b>but Portugal is quite a closed society.</b><b>And if you've lived in</b><b>other parts of Southern Europe,</b><b>and even other parts of</b><b>the rest of Europe as well,</b><b>you will be familiar with this.</b><b>People in Portugal have</b><b>their circle of friends.</b><b>Sometimes these friends go all the way</b><b>back to childhood, sometimes to college,</b><b>but they often are formed quite early and</b><b>breaking into that is quite difficult.</b><b>They also tend to have a perception of a</b><b>lot of digital nomads and experts</b><b>that they will leave</b><b>at some point anyway.</b><b>And it is very easy for them, I think, to</b><b>assume that what's the point</b><b>in putting in too much effort if these</b><b>people are going to leave.</b><b>Now, along with</b><b>breaking into friend circles,</b><b>I would also say that</b><b>dating is quite hard in Portugal.</b><b>A lot of this comes down to the fact that</b><b>Portugal is quite a closed country,</b><b>and even Portuguese people moving from</b><b>one part of Portugal to another</b><b>find it hard to make new friends.</b><b>And I think it's hard for digital nomads</b><b>because they are</b><b>typically working from home.</b><b>They're not going into an office.</b><b>And going into an office is one of the</b><b>main ways that you can</b><b>make friends as an adult.</b><b>There are other ways, for example, you</b><b>could join a sports club,</b><b>but often these only meet up once a week</b><b>or something like that.</b><b>So it will take you a long time to be</b><b>familiar enough that people</b><b>start making friends with you.</b><b>But one thing that I think where digital</b><b>nomads could do better is</b><b>around learning the language.</b><b>Now, a lot of Portuguese</b><b>people speak excellent English,</b><b>particularly in cities</b><b>like Lisbon and Porto.</b><b>But if you want to integrate, you'll need</b><b>to learn Portuguese.</b><b>For example, if you get invited to go out</b><b>with a group of Portuguese people,</b><b>they'll want to speak in Portuguese.</b><b>You can expect everybody to speak English</b><b>just because you're there.</b><b>You may be given some</b><b>exceptions in the beginning,</b><b>but people will expect you</b><b>to learn to speak Portuguese,</b><b>and it is a sign that you're making an</b><b>effort to integrate.</b><b>If you don't do this, it will be much,</b><b>much harder to make Portuguese friends.</b><b>Now, on to the language.</b><b>One point I will make about Portuguese is</b><b>learning Portuguese is hard.</b><b>Now, it is a Romance language.</b><b>It is a European language, and so people</b><b>will have some</b><b>familiarity with some of the words</b><b>and concepts already.</b><b>But it's not an easy language,</b><b>particularly the listening.</b><b>Words just are not pronounced how you</b><b>would think they would be pronounced.</b><b>But here's why I think it's particularly</b><b>challenging for digital nomads.</b><b>Most digital nomads don't speak</b><b>Portuguese on a daily basis</b><b>or don't speak much</b><b>Portuguese on a daily basis.</b><b>I know a lot of people think that, oh,</b><b>you move to another country,</b><b>you'll be immersed,</b><b>you'll just pick it up.</b><b>For digital nomads, at</b><b>least that's not the reality.</b><b>They're not going into a job.</b><b>They're not speaking</b><b>Portuguese for eight hours a day.</b><b>If they would, they would pick it up.</b><b>But most are working from home, where</b><b>they're probably speaking in English</b><b>or whatever language they speak.</b><b>And then they go outside to the cafe, to</b><b>the supermarket, to the bank,</b><b>and they use the same phrases that they</b><b>learned in the beginning</b><b>and will continue using those same</b><b>phrases all the time.</b><b>"I would like a</b><b>coffee," things like that.</b><b>And so you never really progress from</b><b>that level of Portuguese.</b><b>When people go outside, they're then</b><b>going to be speaking English most likely</b><b>or whatever language they</b><b>speak, because, as I mentioned,</b><b>there are challenges to integrating.</b><b>And you typically need</b><b>to speak Portuguese first,</b><b>before you can have Portuguese friends to</b><b>speak Portuguese with.</b><b>And the only time they really develop</b><b>their Portuguese or push it further</b><b>is if they take the</b><b>initiative to take a Portuguese class,</b><b>if they find a language</b><b>partner, if they force themselves</b><b>to watch a movie or</b><b>TV show in Portuguese.</b><b>And honestly, it can be</b><b>hard to find that motivation,</b><b>because Portuguese isn't going to open up</b><b>a huge number of job</b><b>opportunities for you.</b><b>Unfortunately speaking, if you</b><b>are on the digital nomad visa</b><b>and you are living in Portugal and you</b><b>are bringing in an outside income,</b><b>which is part of the visa requirements,</b><b>your money is going</b><b>to come from somewhere</b><b>like, let's say, the US, for</b><b>example, or Canada or the UK.</b><b>And you're most likely not going to</b><b>switch to a Portuguese job</b><b>or a job from Brazil, for example, if you</b><b>can get paid wages from</b><b>one of those countries.</b><b>So you're going to continue speaking</b><b>English in your job.</b><b>In terms of even films and TV shows,</b><b>Portugal doesn't produce</b><b>breaking pad or a loft.</b><b>It just, it has some TV</b><b>shows and some of them are okay</b><b>and some movies are okay, but they're</b><b>just not to the same caliber</b><b>as what you'll find elsewhere,</b><b>even other European countries.</b><b>And so if you want to practice Portuguese</b><b>by watching TV shows,</b><b>you have to force yourself.</b><b>You do need to decide, am I going to be</b><b>the kind of person</b><b>that learns the language,</b><b>knowing that making prints</b><b>is still going to be hard?</b><b>It is doable, but it'll still be hard.</b><b>And am I willing to put in the time it</b><b>takes to learn a language?</b><b>I'm not going to be in a job in Portugal.</b><b>I'm going to have to</b><b>force myself to study,</b><b>either by taking classes or by studying</b><b>myself in order to get there.</b><b>Or do I get to an</b><b>okay level of Portuguese?</b><b>Enough to get by, enough to pass the A2</b><b>language exam so I can apply for</b><b>Portuguese citizenship.</b><b>But for the most part, do I stay in my</b><b>expat digital nomad bubble,</b><b>maybe with a couple</b><b>of Portuguese friends,</b><b>especially ones that are happy to speak</b><b>English most of the time?</b><b>That's something you</b><b>need to ask yourself.</b><b>And that is a reality</b><b>that people face in Portugal,</b><b>is that if they don't learn the language,</b><b>they end up in this bubble.</b><b>The bubble can be perfectly fine, but it</b><b>can also be quite isolating.</b><b>Point number nine, attitudes towards</b><b>digital nomads are quite mixed.</b><b>Now, Portugal has a</b><b>housing problem at the moment.</b><b>A lot of European countries do.</b><b>Portugal is pretty bad, though, because</b><b>the minimum wage in 2025</b><b>is around €870 per month.</b><b>An apartment in Lisbon costs at least</b><b>€1000 a month, if not €1200,</b><b>and that's for a one-bedroom property.</b><b>You don't need to be an</b><b>economist to see the problem.</b><b>People are living at</b><b>home until their 30s,</b><b>simply because they can't</b><b>afford anywhere to live.</b><b>And a lot of this has happened, or at</b><b>least a lot of the</b><b>property price increases,</b><b>has happened in the past 10 years or so,</b><b>when there has been an</b><b>influx of digital nomads.</b><b>Now, besides digital nomads, there have</b><b>been a lot of other things going on.</b><b>There has been Airbnbs, for example.</b><b>And I have to say, a lot of Portuguese</b><b>people have benefited</b><b>from having Airbnbs,</b><b>having a home in the family that they</b><b>were able to rent out.</b><b>So it isn't all foreigners who are</b><b>responsible for the</b><b>increase in property costs,</b><b>but needless to say, there is an issue</b><b>there with increased costs in property,</b><b>increased costs in a lot of areas,</b><b>and digital nomads are one of the groups</b><b>that are sometimes blamed for this.</b><b>Now, I do think there is also issues</b><b>relating to integration,</b><b>which I mentioned earlier.</b><b>A lot of people decide that they can't</b><b>integrate into Portugal.</b><b>They don't want to learn the language,</b><b>or at least they don't</b><b>want to dedicate the time,</b><b>and so they end up in their bubble.</b><b>And so there is a little bit of sort of</b><b>tension between locals and expats,</b><b>because there are people moving here.</b><b>They're not really becoming</b><b>a part of the culture there.</b><b>They're simply living</b><b>in their own bubble.</b><b>But there is tension there, and at least</b><b>one political party in Portugal is doing</b><b>very well out of it.</b><b>Now, what I will say is that this</b><b>negativity towards digital nomads,</b><b>along with all expats, really,</b><b>it's not something that I experience too</b><b>much on a day-to-day life.</b><b>In fact, I would say rarely, if at all.</b><b>It's something that I tend to see online,</b><b>and you obviously notice it when people</b><b>go to the polls and they</b><b>vote for parties like Shega.</b><b>But for the most part, I find the</b><b>Portuguese people are</b><b>generally very nice and very welcoming.</b><b>But you do have to be</b><b>aware of this ongoing situation</b><b>and the perception of digital nomads, at</b><b>least with some groups of people.</b><b>So with all of this in mind,</b><b>why move to Portugal at all?</b><b>Well, as I mentioned, every country has</b><b>its pros and its cons.</b><b>Portugal just happens to have these cons.</b><b>Things like bureaucracy.</b><b>Things like poor quality housing.</b><b>Those are the ones that a lot of people</b><b>are willing to accept</b><b>because they get an amazing</b><b>quality of life in return.</b><b>Why do they get an</b><b>amazing quality of life?</b><b>Here's why.</b><b>Portugal is one of the</b><b>world's largest digital nomad hubs.</b><b>It's right up there with</b><b>Chiang Mai, with Medellin,</b><b>with other places around the world that</b><b>people are flocking to.</b><b>If you want to meet other entrepreneurs,</b><b>other people working remotely,</b><b>if you want to grow your skills, if you</b><b>want to learn from other</b><b>people who've been successful,</b><b>if you want to make friends with</b><b>like-minded people, put</b><b>simply come to Portugal.</b><b>Not only can you come and stay here for a</b><b>few months like you could</b><b>if you were going to say</b><b>Chiang Mai or Bali, but you can actually</b><b>come and live here and have that</b><b>lifestyle full time.</b><b>In terms of its own lifestyle, the</b><b>non-digital nomad element, it has a</b><b>fantastic lifestyle.</b><b>It has great beaches.</b><b>The winters can be quite mild</b><b>depending on where you live.</b><b>The surfing is great.</b><b>There's great scenery.</b><b>There's beautiful cities.</b><b>And the country is laid</b><b>back and family-friendly.</b><b>I mention family-friendly because when</b><b>people end up moving to</b><b>Portugal as a digital nomad,</b><b>they're often in their 30s, maybe getting</b><b>into their 40s or later.</b><b>And for those that are</b><b>thinking about having children,</b><b>it is a good country to have</b><b>children and raise them in.</b><b>There are pros and cons to all of this as</b><b>well, but I would say Portugal is a very</b><b>child-friendly country.</b><b>And that is something that is very</b><b>important to consider when you are</b><b>thinking about having</b><b>children.</b><b>But obviously the biggest reason for</b><b>moving to Portugal is it is an</b><b>opportunity to move to an</b><b>EU country.</b><b>Portugal has a digital nomad visa.</b><b>Spain has a digital nomad visa.</b><b>But not every country in the EU does.</b><b>And being honest, I don't know if</b><b>Portugal and Spain</b><b>will have them forever.</b><b>They've certainly made</b><b>changes to their other visas.</b><b>They may well make</b><b>changes to this visa as well.</b><b>Moving to Portugal allows you to live</b><b>here and to get all the</b><b>benefits that come with</b><b>being an EU resident.</b><b>The biggest one being having the safety</b><b>net of a public health care system.</b><b>Portugal is also incredibly safe.</b><b>After living here, you will be able to</b><b>later apply for</b><b>Portuguese citizenship through</b><b>naturalisation.</b><b>But even though you will have to wait</b><b>until you can do that,</b><b>while you are living here,</b><b>you get to take advantage</b><b>of universal health care.</b><b>You get to take advantage of living in a</b><b>country where safety is pretty common,</b><b>particularly compared to somewhere like</b><b>the US or Brazil, for example.</b><b>And you have all the protections that</b><b>come from living in an EU country.</b><b>I'm going to be talking more about the</b><b>digital nomad visa in other videos.</b><b>I'm going to be going</b><b>into it in a lot more depth.</b><b>So I'll give out the requirements,</b><b>talking more about the</b><b>pros and the cons and what</b><b>you need to consider.</b><b>If you would like more information about</b><b>that, if you would like</b><b>more information about the</b><b>D7, the Golden Visa, about finding</b><b>property in Portugal,</b><b>about everything you need to</b><b>know about moving here, be sure to head</b><b>over to portugaless.com.</b><b>There you will find more information,</b><b>more articles and everything else.</b>