Victoria L. Says:
I have lived in Minnesota my entire life but toured Europe for four months when I was just 18. I need to explore and be happy again, and so I would like to move to Portugal.
I have a small, but steady source of income about $27,000 a year for the next 18 years. I would like to move to a community that is comprised of some American folks. I am looking to visit Portugal in about a year’s time to check it out. I would like to have some contacts before I come to visit. Could you possibly help me?
IL Portugal Correspondent Terry Coles Says:
Thanks for your questions and your interest in IL and Portugal, my adopted country. I am happy to hear that you have spent some time in Europe, although it was a long time ago. A visit to Portugal is a must before you make any final decisions about if it will work for you or not—so your plan to come visit in a year is a good one.
As a single person, which I assume that you are, the amount of $27,000 a year breaks down to $2,250 per month, which should be more than enough to live comfortably on. My husband and I live on about €3,000 ($3,153) per month, and we are in the Algarve—one of the more expensive areas—paying €1,100 per month to rent our apartment. As a single woman you could surely rent a one-bedroom apartment for much less. Average rents for a one-bedroom in the Algarve vary from around €600 to €900 per month, depending on how close to a city center you want to be.
Portugal has over 500,000 expats living here fulltime so it’s pretty easy to find a community with folks from back home. Do keep in mind that not all expats are Americans since there are expats from most everywhere living here. You’ll likely meet a lot of British expats living in Portugal, which is great because they all obviously speak English.
Lisbon, Porto, and the Algarve all have expat groups that can easily be found on social media platforms like Facebook. There are many groups that pertain to Portugal and the different areas that you may be interested in. Americans & Friends PT, Americans in Portugal, Americans Living in the Algarve, Americans in Porto, and Americans in Lisbon just to name a few. You can join these groups before you move and get to know the communities that could await you.
Hope this helps. Enjoy your scouting trip to Portugal and best of luck in finding the community that suits you best.
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