I've lived in Porto for almost two years, and my expenses match up with your expenses with the exception of rent. My rent is 1.500 per month. I know it is very expensive, but it was a matter of 24 hours to complete a lease because of a deal that fell through. I love my apartment in the center of Porto, and I'm happy that I have it. My social security covers all of my current expenses, and I have not touched my retirement savings. At my age the saying that you can't take it with you is important.
As a statesider I had heard that Lisbon has gotten quite expensive recently. Then when I saw this I realize that must be very relative as I live a very modest life with a strict budget here in Chicago and my living expenses are almost double. Also no nice restaurants usually. I do live by myself so housing is my largest expense at $1,175 and also have a car whose expenses are $300 all in (including depreciation--it's an old car). My base cost of living is $2,500 and among my friends I am known to be the tightwad so now I'm interested in Portugal even moreso as seems cheaper and with obviously much better weather!
You can live decently well in Lisbon on $2500 (around €2300) after taxes. If you’re looking to rent a one-bedroom apartment, it would be roughly half of that. I wouldn’t say you would need a car in the city
Hi. Lisbon has always been expensive by Portuguese standards, but on the other hand it has also been where people have always earned more and better. If you leave Lisbon, the cost of living is cheaper, meaning those who work in Lisbon but live abroad substantially improve their family budget. It is also true that the cost of living in Portugal started to rise from the end of 2016. With the pandemic the increase was nonsense but it seems like it was the same all over the world too. I just remember that in 2016 we filled a car with groceries with 45 euros and the month was spent with 200 euros for 2 people, it was a month with plenty of everything. Today we need to spend more 100 euros at least.
Thanks for sharing! It’s nice to know that I’m not the only one overwhelmed with the increasing prices. It’s tough for so many. I am hopeful for the future that things will improve
Good coverage 😊
I've lived in Porto for almost two years, and my expenses match up with your expenses with the exception of rent. My rent is 1.500 per month. I know it is very expensive, but it was a matter of 24 hours to complete a lease because of a deal that fell through. I love my apartment in the center of Porto, and I'm happy that I have it. My social security covers all of my current expenses, and I have not touched my retirement savings. At my age the saying that you can't take it with you is important.
Hi John, thanks for sharing. It’s interesting to hear that the expenses are similar in Porto (minus rent). I hope you’re enjoying!
As a statesider I had heard that Lisbon has gotten quite expensive recently. Then when I saw this I realize that must be very relative as I live a very modest life with a strict budget here in Chicago and my living expenses are almost double. Also no nice restaurants usually. I do live by myself so housing is my largest expense at $1,175 and also have a car whose expenses are $300 all in (including depreciation--it's an old car). My base cost of living is $2,500 and among my friends I am known to be the tightwad so now I'm interested in Portugal even moreso as seems cheaper and with obviously much better weather!
You can live decently well in Lisbon on $2500 (around €2300) after taxes. If you’re looking to rent a one-bedroom apartment, it would be roughly half of that. I wouldn’t say you would need a car in the city
Hi. Lisbon has always been expensive by Portuguese standards, but on the other hand it has also been where people have always earned more and better. If you leave Lisbon, the cost of living is cheaper, meaning those who work in Lisbon but live abroad substantially improve their family budget. It is also true that the cost of living in Portugal started to rise from the end of 2016. With the pandemic the increase was nonsense but it seems like it was the same all over the world too. I just remember that in 2016 we filled a car with groceries with 45 euros and the month was spent with 200 euros for 2 people, it was a month with plenty of everything. Today we need to spend more 100 euros at least.
Thanks for sharing! It’s nice to know that I’m not the only one overwhelmed with the increasing prices. It’s tough for so many. I am hopeful for the future that things will improve
Thank you, Julia.
I have a house in Portimao and the electrical service provider I use is Iberdrola. I appreciate you sharing your expenses.
Interesting! I never heard of Iberdrola. What do you think of it?
@@JuliaRochelleAbroad Their customer service is very difficult to navigate through if you don't speak Portuguese but satisfied overall.
it is not much considering the most pleasant things in Portugal are free or almost free.