Where we currently live in Portugal
And the reasons why...
When deciding where to live in Portugal – at least initially – our criteria included:
Easy to walk without having to go up and down hills (many areas in Portugal can be hilly).
A walkable community as we weren’t planning to buy a car.
Accessible to good public transportation within a short walk.
A mix of expats and locals who could speak English.
Good shopping and restaurants within walking distance.
Close to good medical facilities.
Close to some of the services we already had secured such as banking, attorney, accountant, etc.
Close to a beach and a mild climate.
We decided on the Cascais municipality (the municipality goes from Carcavelos to Cascais) because it fit most of the above criteria. Cascais itself is one of the most affluent and expensive cities in Portugal with excellent shopping and restaurants. It is often referred to as the Portuguese Riviera. It’s a busy, crowded city, especially in the summer when tourists take over. There is a good mixture of expats and locals, and a lot of English is spoken there. There is good public transportation and it’s about a 30-minute drive to Lisbon. There is a mixture of housing including apartments, condominiums, villas, and homes. Celebrities live in Cascais.
We wanted to rent an apartment. Since we weren’t bringing a lot of possessions, our ideal wish list for the type of rental we wanted included:
Furnished rental including beds, sofas, kitchen table and chairs, etc.
Turn-key with linens, towels, cookware, dishes, glassware, etc.
Two+ bedrooms with at least one full-sized bed and mattress
Two+ bathrooms (modern with toilet, shower/tub, sink)
Fully equipped kitchen with full-sized appliances
Washer/Dryer (note that most people only have washers and not dryers).
A veranda, balcony, or patio
An elevator if not on the first floor (in Europe an elevator is called a lift)
Built-in closets (and not just an open rack with hangers)
A good internet connection
Storage and/or parking (a luxury – parking is most often on-street and limited)
Heat and air conditioning (note that most dwellings in Portugal do not have heat or air conditioning).
Newer or renovated construction with good windows, sound-proof walls, and ceilings
Located in a good area where we would feel safe especially when walking in the early evening
Our budget? We were willing to spend up to $1,800 USD per month but really wanted to keep it to below $1,000 USD if possible - especially since we were going to rent a place without actually physically seeing it and didn’t want to be stuck with a long-term commitment that we felt we couldn’t afford to walk away from. We started our search for a rental in late April 2021.
What we found out…
Long-term furnished rentals in the center of Cascais with our criteria average upwards of $3,000 USD per month if you can find one. A one-bedroom, one-bath 450 square-foot flat might be more in line with the budget we had in mind. And since a lot of property owners only want to rent short-term, it’s even harder. And furnished long-term rentals are especially hard to find no matter where you’re looking in Portugal.
We were told that the outskirts of Cascais - still in the municipality - were more affordable and would still be easy to get to the center of Cascais by train or Uber. So, we expanded our search to include, Carcavelos, Parede, and Estoril. We were able to find some places within our budget (high side) but still, it wasn’t easy to find a place that even came close to most of our criteria. With the need to secure a long-term lease before our upcoming June 2, 2021-scheduled visa appointment, we started to feel desperate.
By some sort of good luck, at nearly the last minute, we found a place! It fit most of our criteria for a place to live and even came with some added extras we weren’t expecting! Plus, it was within our maximum budget.
2024 Update: Long-term rentals have significantly increased in the greater Lisbon/Cascais area since this post was originally written.
So right now, we live on the outskirts of Cascais in Parede. Our modern apartment is on the Estoril town line, so we spend more time in Estoril than in Parede. We are about a 10-minute drive to the center of Cascais or an 8-minute train ride.
We have a 10-minute walk to the Sao Pedro do Estoril beach where we can sit at a beachfront café, sip some nice (and inexpensive) Portuguese wine, and watch million-dollar boats sail by.
Is Parede your “forever place?”
We’re not sure yet. As we’ve only been here for 5 weeks (at the time of writing this post), we’re still figuring out the basics. The location is not as accessible to as many restaurants and shopping as we had wanted, but we feel fortunate to have landed in a very nice place, in an upscale area, and with beautiful sea views!
2024 Update: We still live in this apartment and love it! We have acquired additional space (a studio/loft) upstairs and we are friends with our lovely landlord! We purchased a car so we can explore more of Portugal. Sometimes, you have to grow into a place.
The apartment has a lot of space including a storage room in the parking garage. Since part of our plan was to just get here and then figure out where to live permanently later on by exploring a little at a time and getting to know locals and expats alike, we feel good about living here! When we decide to explore other areas of Portugal, we have a dedicated parking space in the garage as well, so no need to worry about street parking.
Was it easy to move to Portugal?
No, it wasn’t easy – at least not for us. Although we had experience moving across the country, this move was different. It took a lot of research and planning.
Any Regrets?
Yes. We should have made the move to Portugal sooner!
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Until next time…
Obrigada!
Carol.
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Hi Julie,
I'm not an expert in energy ratings but I can talk about my own personal experience. I, too worried about mold and chill inside Portuguese dwellings before we moved here. That's why we decided to stick to a newer apartment building instead of an older one. We also wanted to rent a place that had heat as a lot of places do not have heat. As far as energy ratings, our apartment didn't have one - we had to pay for an energy rating inspection and certificate (normal here for renters - I think it was 60.00). I believe the energy rating here is a C but I think that's mostly because the appliances are original to the apartment (it's a 20-year old apartment that the owners never rented out before - it was only used for family visits and visiting business associates). So, we don't have a mold issue here. The building is made from concrete blocks so it keeps the apartment cool in the summer but it is chilly in the winter even with the heat. It's not horrible - it reminds me of winter cold spells in Arizona. We just wear socks in the house and heavier sweats when it's cool and we turn on the heat just to take the chill off. As far as noise, double-paned windows will help with that (as well as chills and mold). Our windows here are double-paned so we don't hear much noise (although we're in what would be considered a suburban area and not in the city). I wouldn't worry so much about the energy rating as much as the construction of the dwelling and how upgraded it is. I've been getting some inquiries about housing in Portugal so I'll be writing more about this topic in the next couple of months. I'm working with someone who is an expert and I'm in the process of scheduling some interview time. I hope this helps a little! - Carol.
Hi Carol: what's your opinion re the energy rating of housing in Portugal? I have read quite a bit about the chill inside and mold problem. Is the energy rating a good number to use to determine the interior comfort of a residence? Would a rating of B and above help avoid the damp/mold/noise issues? Please share your experience and insights. Thank you so much!