The answer to this question will depend pretty much on your objectives and budget. Unfortunately, there´s no, in this specific case, one size fits all types of answer.
Portugal has become a very popular destination from expats around the world and attracting, due to its high-quality of life including safety, beautiful natural landscape and historic cities and villages, attracting more retirees and professionals, including digital nomads.
What it can be said, with assurance, is that most of the expats, including the US and British communities, are concentrated in the Greater Lisbon area and in the region of Algarve.
Why Expats Choose Portugal
The concentration of expats in Greater Lisbon is quite easy to explain. This area represents more than 36% of Portugal´s GDP, it´s by far the most cosmopolitan area and many of the best international schools are concentrated there.
Another advantage of the Lisbon area lies in the international airport, that in 2024 handled more than 35 million passengers, the 8th busiest airport in the European Union.
The weather in Lisbon also tends to be milder, with less variance than in other areas of Portugal like the north and the Alentejo region.
Greater Lisbon Area
Cascais and Estoril
Cascais and Estoril are very well regarded for upscale high quality coastal living and retirement.
Oeiras
Oeiras is also a good option, more economical than Cascais and Estoril, it is near Lisbon and has some well-ranked international schools.
Ericeira and Mafra
For surfers and beach lovers Ericeira or Mafra, both about 45 minutes’ drive from Lisbon, can be a fantastic option.
Lisbon City
Lisbon itself is also a good option, due to its cultural offer and historic heritage sites, but residents frequently complain about the city being swamped by hordes of tourists and cost of living is higher than the remaining of the country.
Porto and the North
Porto is the second largest city in Portugal with a rich history and one where the urban renovation thrived during the last 10 years.
Porto is more affordable than Lisbon and the Douro Valley is known for its natural beauty, being awarded by Unesco in 2001 as a world heritage site.
Porto area has a strong local culture but over the last few years has become a more internationally exposed city with a growing expat community.
Like Lisbon, Porto is also served by an international airport, but much smaller than the Lisbon airport, serving less than 16 million passengers and ranking 40th in Europe.
Algarve Region
Algarve region, in the south of Portugal, is well known for having the best weather in Portugal and hosting some of the most beautiful beaches in the country.
Faro, the capital of Algarve, has an international airport, with good connections to other European destinations.
Algarve is ideal for retirees that seek a more relaxing, laid-back lifestyle. However, it´s a highly touristic area, especially during summer, and this will mean more traffic, stress and higher cost of living, during that time of the year.
Other Notable Cities
Portugal has many other notable cities as good alternatives to live, like Coimbra, Aveiro, Funchal in the Madeira Island, Chaves and Évora.
In our opinion, Setúbal, just 40 kilometers south of Lisbon, is one great alternative, with an excellent combination of quality of life with affordable cost of living, including moderate house prices.
Setúbal has a very good transport connection with Lisbon through motorway and train and is surrounded by a beautiful natural landscape with a smashing port bay, smashing beaches and the impressive Arrábida Natural Park.
Historically, Setúbal area economic development has been propelled by industry, like the Volkswagen auto plant located in Palmela and ship building, but tourism is becoming a more important part of the economy. All the tourism and residential developments being built south of Setúbal from the Troia till Comporta, will also contribute heavily to the development and economic prosperity of Setúbal area.
