Best place to live or retire in Europe?
For years we’ve been shining the spotlight on Portugal’s Algarve region… and with good reason. It checked every box on the would-be retiree’s list: great weather, high-quality health care, turn-key residency options, beautiful beaches, welcoming expat community, and low cost of living.
However, expanding global attention has done what it does. Prices are notably higher in the Algarve and generally across Portugal—both for daily costs and especially for property—than when we first directed your attention to this part of the world.
We’ve identified an alternative that, in key parts, is as sublimely affordable as Portugal was a decade ago.
I’m talking about Spain.
Cost of living is important, of course, but it’s but one point to address when shopping for where to reinvent your life in the Old World.
Let’s see how Portugal and Spain stack up against each other otherwise…
The Pros And Cons
| Portugal |
Spain |
|
PROS |
|
| · High-quality health care (ranked the world’s 12th best by the WHO)
· Offers the Portugal Golden Visa program · Schengen-member country · Residency is easy to acquire (the D7 option only requires proof of income of about 1,200 euros monthly) · Roman and Moorish patrimony · Excellent food and wine, with an emphasis on fresh seafood · Excellent beaches · Oldest country in the Old World, with history that dates to 1139 B.C. · Offers tax incentives for foreigners · English is widely spoken · Safe, welcoming, politically peaceful country (sixth-safest in the world) · Well-positioned for travel around the Continent |
· High-quality, effective health care (ranked the world’s 7th best by the WHO)
· Schengen-member country · Roman and Moorish patrimony · Excellent food and wine, with an emphasis on fresh seafood · Excellent beaches, with Atlantic and Mediterranean coastlines · Europe’s fourth-largest country, with a varied geography including islands, mountains, rivers, deserts, etc. · Diverse lifestyle opportunities, from cosmopolitan to vineyard to offshore island · Spanish is an accessible language · Well-positioned for travel around the Continent |
|
CONS |
|
| • Old-World bureaucracy
• Limited investment options within the Golden Visa Program (real estate purchases no longer qualify) • Bracing Atlantic-water temperatures at Portugal’s beaches—no Mediterranean coastline • Portuguese is difficult to learn • Portugal’s health system is over-stretched with long wait times for care |
• Old-World bureaucracy
• High taxes with a complicated tax system—Spain is best as a lifestyle play, not an investment one • Less politically peaceful: strikes, marches, protests, etc. are common in cities • Crowded beaches during peak season, over-development in some areas |
Accessibility
Spain
It’s easier to access the Costa del Sol than the Algarve through Málaga Airport. It has flight connections to 60 countries (including one direct flight to North America by way of Montreal, Canada) whereas the main airport in the Algarve, Faro International Airport, only connects to 16 countries.
Cost Of Living
Spain
The Algarve and the Costa del Sol have been transformed over the past 20 to 30 years. No longer rustic seaports and fishing villages, towns in these regions have seen major growth and development, with infrastructure upgrades to support the changes. With this has come an increased cost of living, as well.
The Costa del Sol is touristy, so it can be more expensive than parts of the Algarve, but generally speaking, life in Spain comes at a lower cost than life in Portugal.
Start Your New Life Today, Overseas
Real Estate
Portugal│Spain
Spain has six times more coastline than Portugal. This makes it a more competitive market… with many more options for the property buyer. It’s increasingly difficult to find anything affordable in the Algarve within steps of the sand. But in Spain, you can still find attractive coastal property for less than US$200,000. On the city scene, while prices in Porto and Lisbon skyrocketed in the last decade as foreign buyers scrambled for Golden Visas, Madrid and Barcelona are relatively affordable.
Property markets in both the Costa del Sol and the Algarve are hot. A recent spike in foreigner buyers has led to a severe lack of inventory in both markets.
Climate
Portugal│Spain
What qualifies as perfect weather is subjective, so it’s impossible to pick a winner in this category…
The southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula boasts the best weather in Europe, and the climate in these two regions is very similar. Both get 300-plus days of sunshine a year and minimal precipitation. Summers are dry and hot, and winters are mild and wet in both.
If you want higher temperatures and more sunshine year-round, go to the Costa del Sol. It’s warmer, influenced by the Med instead of the Atlantic. In July-August, the daily mean is over 78°F (26°C) versus the Algarve’s 73°F (23°C).
Winters are proportionately cooler in the Algarve as well… This might be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on your preferences.
Quality Of Life
Portugal│Spain
Again, it’s impossible to pick a winner…
Expat offerings in the Algarve versus the Costa del Sol are neck and neck. Both offer stunning coastlines with world-class beaches, welcoming expat communities, golf courses, hospitals, charming historical villages, and more…
Both cultures are strongly family oriented, and in the small towns that dot the hillsides, a simple, traditional village lifestyle dominates. Both destinations offer laid-back lifestyles—the opportunity to take your foot off the pedal when it comes to pace of life.
Ease Of Residency
Portugal
Portugal is the easy winner here… It offers the D7 or Passive Income Earner visa, which you can qualify for quickly and easily with about 1,200 euros of monthly income.
Spain’s equivalent to this program, the Non-Lucrative Visa, has more onerous requirements, including a higher qualifying amount for income (about 2,150 euros per month).
Portugal still offers a golden visas program, but you can no longer use real estate as an investment option to qualify for it. Instead, you’ll need to make a capital transfer or business investment with a minimum of 250,000 euros.
Infrastructure
Portugal│Spain
Infrastructure is about on par in the Algarve and the Costa del Sol… If you settle on the coast of either country, you will most likely need a car to get around. Public transportation is not well appointed, but the roads and highways are well-marked and high-standard in both places.
Likewise, things like electricity, internet, garbage collection, etc. are on par in both places.
Taxes
Portugal│Spain
Both Portugal and Spain are high-tax countries.
Both Spain and Portugal have tax treaties with the United States and Canada, so double taxation isn’t a concern.
Start Your New Life Today, Overseas
Health Care
Spain
Spain has the seventh-best health care in the world according to the World Health Organization’s rankings. Portugal comes in at #12, so it’s not far off of Spain’s lead… However, expats across Portugal complain of long wait times to receive care in the public health care system.
Ease Of Settling In
Portugal
Both the Costa del Sol and the Algarve have big, well-established expat communities, mostly made up of retirees from the U.K. That said, English is widely spoken in Portugal. Not so much in Spain…
Both Portugal and Spain boast many of the same attractions and have lots to offer retirees. Here are some of the advantages we’ve found that Spain holds over Portugal…
Language Barrier
Spain
With so much Latin American influence in the United States, you likely have at least some basic Spanish phrases… which can make it less daunting than starting a language from scratch. If you want to begin learning before you go, it’s also easy to find Spanish classes in almost any U.S. town.
Warm Water
Spain
If you’re fond of sea swimming, but aren’t a fan of cool Atlantic temperatures, then you may prefer Spain. Both countries have stunning coasts and beaches, but only Spain has Mediterranean coastline where water temperatures in the summer range between 76°F and 82°F (24-28°C).
City Lifestyle Options
Spain
If you’re after a cosmopolitan lifestyle, Porto and Lisbon are your only real options in Portugal. But from Bilbao to Barcelona, Madrid to Málaga, Seville to Santander, Spain has many more options for you to explore… and all major cities are connected by an excellent transport system.
One city in this country is attracting a lot of attention right now.
Valencia, Spain’s City of Oranges, has just won the 2024 European Green City Award.
It ranked as the third Most Innovative City In Europe in 2022, when it was also named World Capital Of Design and came first of 50 in InterNations’ Expat City Ranking.
For these reasons and many others, we’ve decided to base our first-ever in-person Live And Invest In Spain Conference in this pretty, lively, and very accessible point on the globe.
Our team has put together a killer program that will showcase all of your top options right now for living and investing in what we believe is the best buy in Europe right now.
Take a look here now for details on the event we’re planning… and a chance to reserve your seat in the room taking advantage of first-in-line VIP perks and discounts.
Until next time,
Kathleen Peddicord
Founding Publisher, Overseas Opportunity Letter
