Portugalist - The Moving to Portugal Podcast

9 Harsh Realities of Being a Digital Nomad in Portugal

James

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>