Retiring Abroad Is a Lot More Than Living on the Beach. Hereã¢â‚¬„¢s What You Need to Know.

Permit's face it, nowhere is perfect.

At that place are a lot of pros to life in Portugal: the conditions is great, the toll of living is low, the beaches are beautiful…I could go on. This website has hundreds of manufactures, and almost all the articles except for this one focus on the pros of living in Portugal. Only, information technology's non all pros. At that place are a few cons too.

Many other articles don't mention the downsides – just the upsides. Simply, it's important to get the full motion picture before you motion somewhere which is why this list exists. That way, if yous read this and still decide to motion to Portugal, you'll accept appropriate expectations.

It's also important to indicate out that this is a list of the downsides of Portugal primarily from the point of view of an outsider (although Portuguese people often agree with many of the things on this list). Information technology's also not a list of things that Portuguese should modify, and it'south definitely not a list of things that Portugal will change.

Portugal is Portugal, and you shouldn't come up here hoping for alter or expecting change. Moving to whatsoever country and wishing it was different is just a recipe for thwarting. Instead, weigh upward the pros against the cons and then, being honest with yourself, decide if Portugal is right for y'all.

In no particular society, here are some of the downsides to life in Portugal. A special thanks goes out to all of the Portugalist readers who submitted their grievances to this listing (many comments couldn't exist approved and some of the ones published barely made information technology through). While they probably paint a much more negative picture of Portugal than the reality, they also show that some people really struggle with sure aspects of Portugal, and that you should do your inquiry and decide if it's right for you before moving.

And then, Then Much Paperwork!

Endeavor to become anything done in Portugal, whether information technology'due south starting a business or applying for planning permission, and you'll run across a little matter chosen "hierarchy." There'south a lot of it in Portugal.

The hardest part of bureaucracy isn't the bureaucracy itself. Almost people know that hierarchy exists in Portugal, and aren't surprised when they come up up confronting it. The hardest office is that you lot never know which form y'all need or which person yous need to speak to. And, it'due south quite rare that anyone e'er tells you. You normally have to figure these things out for yourself.

Thankfully, there are a lot of Facebook groups and forums where you can ask questions and hopefully speak to other people who've had a similar issue.

This isn't unique to Portugal, but Portugal does accept bureaucracy to a new level. 1 solution to avoiding Portuguese bureaucracy is simply to pay someone else to do it for y'all. Whether it's taxes, NIFs, visas, or annihilation else, there are companies out there than can aid.

Cold, Grey, Damp Winters (In Places)

Although virtually people associate Portugal with beaches and sunshine, a lot of Northern Portugal can be very damp and wet in the winter. Some even say that the Northward of Portugal has worse weather than Ireland in the winter, and that's maxim a lot!

Portugal is a long country and regions similar the Algarve and Alentejo have different climates. Even Lisbon tin exist quite mild in the winter, and it's not unusual for the Southward of Portugal to get temperatures in the loftier teens and occasionally fifty-fifty hitting higher up the low twenties.

That'south outside, of course! In the house is another thing entirely.

This isn't unique to Portugal. Nearly of Europe is common cold in the wintertime – much, much colder than Portugal.

Only Baby it's cold INSIDE!

Portuguese houses tin be extremely cold in the winter. Most properties don't have central heating, or sometimes heating of any kind, and and then you may find yourself wearing a jacket and gloves inside to keep warm. That's not an exaggeration.

You tin can discover warm properties. Some are lucky that they take hold of the winter sun and stay warm. Others have a fire of peradventure even have a heating system of some kind. But many are only common cold.

This is because Portuguese houses are designed with summer in listen: they're designed to stay cool rather than warm upward. Many properties are also build quite cheaply, particularly apartments.

And just because you've bought a cold business firm, that doesn't mean you're going to be cold forever. You can improve the insulation or install something similar gas fundamental heating or an constructive pellet heater. All of that costs money, obviously, merely it's about definitely be worth it.

This isn't unique to Portugal, and it's quite common across Southern Europe. Houses hither are more designed for summer rather than winter. Thankfully, in that location are one or 2 things yous tin can practise to stay warm within.

Making Friends is Hard

In Portugal, the Portuguese and non-Portuguese often run in different circles. Fifty-fifty people who have lived in Portugal for years will usually be able to count the number of close Portuguese friends they take on one hand.

It takes two to tango, though. While the Portuguese can exist quite closed, even to people from other parts of Portugal, very few expats bother to larn Portuguese which really is essential for integrating into Portugal. It's quite likely that a lot of Portuguese assume that these expats don't want to integrate, and and so it all becomes a bit of a vicious cycle.

Merely, even ignoring the language aspect, many people who've lived in other countries prior to Portugal would say that integrating can be difficult.

This isn't unique to Portugal. People who've moved to other Southern European countries like Spain and Italia, to Scandinavia, or to Eastern Europe often written report the aforementioned experiences.

Some Things are Expensive

A lot of people think that just because food and wine are inexpensive in Portugal, everything else is. Unfortunately, that'south not truthful.

Electricity and petrol are 2 expert examples of things that are really expensive in Portugal. Per kilowatt, Portugal is one of the most expensive countries in Europe. It'southward also one of the nearly expensive countries for fuel, which leads to a lot of people who living about the Spanish border driving across to make full up.

Other things that are expensive include annihilation 2d manus, cars, article of furniture, electronic appliances, books, banking, branded international foods and household products (due east.thou. cereals), and cosmetics and toiletries.

Taxes

Portuguese taxes, specially when combined with social security payments, are high — at to the lowest degree in their simplest form. Portugal doesn't take the highest taxes in Europe, merely it definitely doesn't have the lowest taxes either.

That said, the Portuguese authorities does accept several revenue enhancement regimes and schemes which are designed to simplify revenue enhancement payments and to brand Portugal more appealing to outsiders. The most famous is the NHR tax authorities, which is designed to reduce the corporeality of tax you pay in Portugal for the commencement 10 years and, in many cases, allows you lot to pay your tax elsewhere.

Read more than about the NHR tax authorities

Workplace Culture

Sexism, micromanaging, not being allowed to show any initiative — talk to a Portuguese person well-nigh the downsides of living in Portugal and one of the primary things they'll mention is workplace culture. It'southward not every visitor, obviously, but it is something that gets mentioned frequently.

It'southward a downside that many foreigners moving to Portugal go to avoid equally many bring their own jobs hither, work for a strange company, or motility to Portugal for retirement.

Learning Portuguese Language is Challenging

For some people having to learn Portuguese to live in Portugal is a fact of life. To others, information technology'south a big downside.

Information technology isn't so much that people don't want to learn Portuguese (although some don't), but rather that it'due south a big stumbling cake that prevents yous from integrating into Portugal. It doesn't take too long to learn enough Portuguese to get by in daily life, and fifty-fifty in more hard bureaucratic situations, merely it does take a long time to acquire enough Portuguese to really integrate.

Portuguese is nowhere near every bit hard as Chinese or Arabic, or maybe even High german, just it's one of the about difficult romance languages.

This is apparently unique to Portugal in that Portuguese is seen equally harder than some other European languages, particularly Spanish. That said, it's probably not whatever more difficult than High german.

Dogs

Depending on where you're living in Portugal, dogs can cause problems.

Poop is the most common trouble, followed past noise. In the countryside, dogs barking through the night can be an issue and, even in residential areas, it's not unusual for people to leave their dogs on their apartment balconies during the day.

This isn't unique to Portugal, and information technology mutual in some neighbouring countries like Kingdom of spain.

Corruption is (Unfortunately) a Fact of Life

Inquire a Portuguese person what the biggest downside to life in Portugal is and almost all will say corruption.

Backhanders can permeate every area of life, from your local council correct upward to the higher echelons of government. Information technology's just seen as a office of life or a taxation for getting effectually bureaucracy.

According to Transparency International's 2019 Corruption Perceptions Index, Portugal was ranked 30th out of 198 countries for corruption.

This isn't unique to Portugal.

The Boring Step of Life

The dull stride of life is one of the main reasons that people move to Portugal, just that tiresome footstep of life tin also be a downside. When y'all have something that needs doing, suddenly you find yourself wishing that ho-hum pace of life wasn't a matter in Portugal.

Even in simple tasks like going to the supermarket, you'll find yourself queuing for a lot longer than you would in countries that don't have a slow pace of life. Information technology all depends which yous value more: the deadening pace of life (for when you exercise want it) or abiding efficiency.

This isn't unique to Portugal, merely common across most Southern European or Mediterranean countries.

The "Glass Half Empty" Mentality

The Portuguese mentality can exist frustrating for a lot of people, particularly for entrepreneurs and become-getters. If America has a "tin can practice" attitude, Portugal often sits at the other side of the spectrum with a "can't practise" attitude.

At that place are a lot of reasons for this departure, peculiarly historical and cultural reasons, but regardless of them, some people will still find information technology hard to bargain with.

This isn't completely unique to Portugal, merely it does seem to be more common in Portugal than in neighbouring European countries.

The Lack of Customer Service

Customer service, the fine art of solving customers' problems and keeping them happy, is an artform but it's not an artform that'southward specially popular in Portugal.

You may not like the American model of customer service where everyone is overly nice, smiley, and helpful. Yous might retrieve it's fake and, beingness honest, it is. But, when you lot're trying to go a problem solved, you lot'll wish that Portugal had adopted this approach.

This isn't unique to Portugal. Many readers living in countries like French republic, Germany, and Spain have said the same thing.

The Job Market

Portugal traditionally attracts much older expats, particularly retirees. There's a reason for that, and that's that people don't usually come up to Portugal to work: salaries are low by European standards, and there are a limited number of jobs here.

The expert news is that, even though salaries are still a long way from catching upwardly with other Western European countries, there are an increasing number of job opportunities in Portugal. Many people also bring their work with them — either starting a concern here or working remotely for clients outside of Portugal.

This isn't totally unique to Portugal: Across Southern Europe, job opportunities are fewer and salaries are lower when compared to Northern Europe. That said, Portugal does accept some of the everyman salaries in Western Europe.

The "Who You Know" Mental attitude to Business organization

To go ahead in a lot of industries in Portugal, it's all most who you know. This maxim is truthful in a lot of countries, of course, but it's especially true in Portugal.

In a lot of English-speaking countries, like the U.k. and US, who you know opens doors just it doesn't get in impossible to break into certain industries. In Portugal, non knowing the right people tin can make it impossible to do business organization in a lot of industries that y'all could break into in other countries.

This isn't unique to Portugal, and is quite common across virtually of Europe.

The Driving

Whether it's people flashing their lights because they're desperate to overtake, drink driving, or only leaving a gap of about an inch between your car and their's, driving in Portugal is bad.

Indicators are rarely used, touch parking is common in the cities, and in rural parts of Portugal people oftentimes park diagonally across two or three spaces.

Unfortunately, it's merely one of those things virtually Portuguese life that you have to get used to.

The Rising Price of Living

The cost of living in Portugal is on the rise, particularly when it comes to property prices. This is obviously more than of a downside for the Portuguese living in Portugal who typically have less buying power on average, but it's still a downside for expats also.

House prices are rising throughout Portugal, but particularly in Lisbon and Porto and the Algarve.

The Cold Ocean

A lot of people motion to Portugal for the beaches and are surprised by just how cold the water is. Yes, it tin can be very cold because it'due south non the Mediterranean Sea, information technology'southward the Atlantic Ocean.

It isn't a big bargain for a lot of people, as nigh just go to the beach in summer, but it tin can brand a difference if you were expecting to spend a lot of time in the h2o.

This is unique to Portugal. Other Southern European countries similar Spain, Hellenic republic, Italian republic, and Republic of cyprus are all on the Mediterranean Sea so ordinarily take warmer waters. France

The Overtourism

queues at pasteis de belem — Queues for Pastéis de Belém regularly extend into the hundreds

In the past few years, tourism has boomed in Portugal. Lisbon, in particular, has become one of the hottest destinations to visit and it has attracted millions of tourists from all over the world. Porto, and the Algarve, likewise, accept seen a huge increment in tourism besides.

Unfortunately, Lisbon and Porto are much likewise small to handle the sheer book of tourists that are visiting. The streets are narrow, and the cities themselves are quite compact and small. Historical attractions like the Torre de Belém in Lisbon or the Clérigos Belfry simply weren't designed to cope with queues of hundreds of tourists.

It's besides led to other problems in the local housing market, and put a strain on public transport and other services. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like over tourism is going to decrease someday soon and, with no existent solutions to the problem, information technology may just become something that people accept to accept. There'due south that Portuguese "can't exercise" attitude creeping in!

This isn't completely unique to Portugal. Lots of other cities like Barcelona and Amsterdam are struggling with overtourism.

Getting things delivered

Many people who move to Portugal come from countries where online shopping is extremely developed, to the bespeak where they can become their orders the same day. That'south non the case in Portugal, especially every bit nearly online shopping is done with international companies.

Equally an example, if you desire to shop at Amazon from Portugal, you lot normally store at Amazon Spain or perhaps Amazon Deutschland.

The claiming of getting things delivered, whether an online shopping society or a letter from overseas, is a constant complaint amount expats. It is something you go used to, though, and, like many of the other things in this list, is a minor price to pay for what you lot become in return.

Community

While nosotros're on the discipline of shopping, it's worth mentioning Portuguese customs. Only almost every country has a community organisation which charge import fees on products purchased abroad. That'southward annoying, but reasonable. In Portugal, however, the fees charged for anything imported from outside the EU are so high that it'southward non unusual for import charges to equal the value of the product purchased (and sometimes they're fifty-fifty more). Even gifts that are clearly handmade by family members are stopped, valued at much more than than they could ever be worth, and slapped with big import charges.

And, even if you agree to pay these charges or they have been prepaid, it tin can have days, weeks, and even months to get your deliveries released from Portuguese community.

Noise levels

If you live in an apartment in Portugal, it's not unusual to hear your neighbours watching Idiot box, talking or arguing, listening to music, or just about everything else. And, if they alive in a higher place you, you'll probably hear them walking around as well.

Noise levels in Portugal are nowhere virtually as high as in neighbouring Kingdom of spain where everyone seems to walk around their apartments in clogs, but information technology volition have some getting used to if you're from a country where things are a footling bit quieter.

Not all apartments have noise issues, specially the more than modern ones, and yous can insulate an apartment to reduce noise levels, just it is something to be aware of.

The Smoking

While smoking is on the way out in many countries, smoking is withal quite common in Portugal. It's something that you will get used to with time.

But, even though y'all'll become used to walking into a cloud of smoke every at present and then, in that location are definitely times when it can be a downside.

Portugal definitely isn't the only European country where smoking is mutual. It's like in French republic, Spain, and Germany.

Comments Policy: This article attracts a mixture of comments: some people who believe the pros of living in Portugal outweigh the cons and others who are frustrated with life in Portugal and want to vent their acrimony. While comments pointing out the negative sides of Portugal are allowed, at that place'south a diplomatic and a constructive style of doing this and there's a way that's unhelpful and only negative. Comments that are negative and without any substance volition exist removed.

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Source: https://www.portugalist.com/portugal-downsides/