Pros and cons – living and working in Portugal

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Pros and cons – living and working in Portugal

Hi! I am Iris and I decided to change my life and moved to Portugal. Best choise of my life! If you are thinking to move to another country this article may be nice for you to read. I would like to give you an idea of my pros and cons of living and working in Portugal. Enjoy! 

 

Pros

1.   Living a more tranquil life.

For me number 1 is very important. When I lived in the Netherlands I was always rushing, things needed to be done right away and I hated it when someone was late again. I realized that if you would ask someone how it was going, the answer was always ´´I am busy´´. It was almost like being busy was a good thing.

Now in Portugal I learned how to relax and enjoy my time. It almost looks like no one experiences stress here and people are so happy! If you cannot do something today, you can do it tomorrow. And a big change: now I became the person that is sometimes late.. oops.

2.   The weather is great (most of the time).

The weather in Portugal is great, but l will be honest: not the whole year. When my boyfriend was telling me that April is very raining I didn´t believe him, but unfortunately, he was right. Also, in months like December it can be that cold that you need to wear a winter jacket. Let´s say it like this: the temperatures are higher than for example in the Netherlands. For me, the best months are from May until October. Sitting outside, in the sun, with a good glass of vinho (wine).

And to be honest, I will always stay a dutchie. A little bit of rain reminds me of home.

3.   The houses are not too expensive to rent\buy.

If you want to rent or buy a place and you don´t have a lot of money, it is certainly possible. Of course, this also depends on where you want to live. In the center of Lisbon, you will pay more than where we live, in Almada. We pay for an apartment with one bedroom 500 euro rent every month (In Amsterdam you will not even get a room for that money). Also, in Almada you can buy already a nice apartment with 2 bedrooms for 140.000 euros. If you are curious and want to do research, you can check it here: https://www.idealista.com/

4.   You can visit the greatest places.


 I really love Portugal for the landscapes, the beautiful beaches and the nice villages and big cities. From Lisbon\Almada you are pretty close to everything. I can recommend visits to Porto, the Algarve, Obidos, Èvora, Setubal, Sintra, Cascais and even more close to home: Costa da Caparica. Summary: great places!

 

 

 

 

 

5.   The people are very friendly.

Portuguese people can be perhaps a bit shy at the beginning, but when you get to know them, they are warm and friendly people. Their houses are open for visitors and they like to make conversations. My heart is still melting when I see elderly people in the parc together, talking and drinking a coffee.

 

One little sidenote if you are Dutch: We are saying hello or good morning to everyone if we pass them on the street (even when we don´t know them. Here... Let´s not do it. They are not used to it.

6.   Companies are providing you with accommodation.

The first company where I worked offered people an accommodation. This can be really nice when you just moved here. No stress about finding an apartment and more time to explore Portugal. You only don´t know what kind of apartment it will be and where it will be. Adventure, right?

 

 

 

 

 

 

7.   Great food and great wines.

I think I can dedicate a whole blog about the great food and the great wines, believe me it is great. The famous Pastel de Nata, the cheesy francesinha and the wine from Alentejo. If you go to the right place it will not be expensive (win!) To be continued…

 

Cons

1.   The salary is very minimum.

Perhaps for some people a dealbreaker, but you won´t get rich with the Portuguese salary. The Portuguese minimum salary is around the 700 euros per month(!). If you are a foreigner, you are a bit luckier. Because I am Dutch, I always get a language bonus. This means that I earn maybe 200 euros more. Most companies also work with other kinds of bonusses to earn more money. I know that the salary is low, but to be honest: I am never struggling with the money. We can always manage to enjoy and save some money.

2.   Your family is not here.

For me the biggest con: my family is in the Netherlands and I am here in Portugal. Luckily, we live in a time where we can facetime together and we can send messages, but it is not the same. A flight to the Netherlands is 3 hours. This is not on the other side of the world, but it is always a bit of a travel. Now with the Pandemic it changes the things even more…

I think every place in the world has it pros and cons. You just need to see a way to balance it. 

Love, Iris 

Locatie: Portugal Almada, Portugal

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