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          Home Countries Europe

          Spain Versus Portugal: Visas, Real Estate, And More…

          by Kathleen Peddicord
          Aug 11, 2023
          in Europe, Portugal, Retirement/Living, Spain
          0 0
          Portugal to the right and Spain to the left. Comparison image

          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

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            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.

            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.

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              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.

              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…

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                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.

                Until next time,

                Kathleen Peddicord signature

                Kathleen Peddicord
                Founding Publisher, Overseas Opportunity Letter

                Tags: beachside rentals in SpainLive in Spainlow cost of livingRentals in SpainRetire in SpainRetirement In Spain
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                Kathleen Peddicord

                Kathleen Peddicord

                Kathleen Peddicord has reported on opportunities for Americans to live, retire, and do business overseas for 40 years. She has traveled to more than 75 countries, invested in real estate in 24, established businesses in 7, renovated and built properties in 6, and educated her children in 5.

                Kathleen has moved children, staff, enterprises, household goods, and pets from the east coast of the United States to Waterford, Ireland, then to Paris, France, and finally to Panama City, Panama, where she has based her Live And Invest Overseas business. Peddicord and her husband, Lief Simon, now divide their time between Panama and Paris.

                Peddicord was a partner with Agora Publishing’s International Living group for 23 years. She opened, staffed, and operated International Living publishing and real estate marketing offices in Waterford, Ireland; Panama City, Panama; Granada, Nicaragua; Roatan, Honduras; San Miguel de Allende, Mexico; Quito, Ecuador; and Paris, France. Peddicord launched Live And Invest Overseas group in 2008 and has built it into a successful multimillion-dollar business. Today, she shares her firsthand experience of expat life with more than 500,000 readers of her publications, including Overseas Opportunity Letter and Overseas Living Letter.

                Kathleen has been featured often in The New York Times, MSNBC, AARP, CNN, Bloomberg, CNBC, and more and writes monthly about expat matters, international real estate, and offshore diversification for Forbes and U.S. News.

                Kathleen has written several books including the memoirs “At Home In Ireland” and “At Home At Los Islotes” and her latest title “At Home Abroad,” all published by Lahardan Books. Her best-selling "How To Retire Overseas: Everything You Need To Know To Live Well (For Less) Abroad” was published by Penguin Random House in 2018 and her “Buying Real Estate Overseas For Cash Flow (And A Better Life)” was published by Wiley in August 2020.

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                      HOME

                      Top Countries

                      • Spain
                      • Portugal
                      • Panama
                      • Belize
                      • Colombia
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                      Best For:

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                      BROWSE ALL COUNTRIES

                      Budgets

                      How Much Will It Cost
                      To Live Overseas?

                      Super Cheap

                      • Chitré, Panama
                      • Santa Marta, Colombia
                      • Phuket, Thailand
                      • Dumaguete, The Philippines

                      Cheap

                      • Medellin, Colombia
                      • Boquete, Panama
                      • Kyrenia, Cyprus
                      • Hua Hin, Thailand
                      • The Algarve, Portugal

                      Affordable

                      • Valencia, Spain
                      • Cascais, Portugal
                      • Las Terrenas, The DR
                      • Pisa, Italy
                      • La Rochelle, France
                      • Mazatlán, Mexico

                      Luxury

                      • Ambergris Caye, Belize
                      • Kotor, Montenegro
                      • The Panama City Beaches
                      • Paris, France

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