Portugal Offers a Safe & Peaceful Life Close to the Sea
Expats love Portugal’s 300 days of sunshine and relaxed lifestyle but complain of inefficient bureaucracy, housing costs, and difficulties in the job market.
In Brief
In the 2025 Expat Insider survey, Portugal comes in 17th place out of 46 countries. The performance of its indices is mixed, from a top 10 Quality of Life (10th) to a bottom 10 Working Abroad (40th). And while Personal Finance (12th) receives good marks, the Expat Essentials (34th) aren’t as well received. Overall, expats appear happy with their life in Portugal, ranking this factor 11th.
Portugal’s Climate & Nature Delight
When asked about their primary motivation for moving to Portugal, the biggest share of respondents (24%) cite a better quality of life (vs. 7% globally). Good news: Portugal’s Quality of Life Index ranks 10th. The index’s Environment & Climate (4th) and Safety & Security (9th) Subcategories particularly delight.
Well over four in five expats are pleased with the air quality (85% vs. 63% globally) as well as the climate & weather (89% vs. 58%). And 94% are happy with Portugal’s natural environment (vs. 83%). These factors are conducive to increased recreational sport opportunities (9th). The nightlife (17th) and culinary (16th) scenes are also decent — overall ranking Leisure Options 14th.
When it comes to Travel & Transit (15th), expats find public transportation to be relatively affordable (17th) even if it’s not the most readily available (25th). In cases where transport isn’t at hand, 84% of expats say it’s easy or safe to get around on foot or by bicycle (vs. 77% globally).
One downer for quality of life in Portugal is Healthcare (24th): expats say it’s not widely available (31st), and it’s not the easiest to get equal access to all kinds of healthcare services (29th).
Comfortable Cost of Living
In 12th place is the Personal Finance Index. Portugal may offer a good cost of living (11th) but expats’ satisfaction with their financial situation is only slightly above average: 59% are happy compared to 54% globally. Overall, 72% feel their disposable household income is about or more than enough to lead a comfortable life (vs. 69%). A decent share, considering that only 49% of respondents in Portugal are doing paid work (vs. 70% globally).
Decent Work–Life Balance vs. Poor Job Market
Portugal doesn’t appear to be the place for chasing a career. Only 13% cite job-related reasons for their move (vs. 36% globally), with 15% moving for the purpose of retiring (vs. 3%). In fact, 29% of expats there are now retired (vs. 11%).
Nevertheless, a Working Abroad Index (40th) in the bottom 10 can’t be pleasant. Two of its subcategories are similarly in the bottom 10: Career Prospects (43rd) and Work Culture & Satisfaction (40th). Nearly half of expats (48%) negatively rate the local job market (vs. 33% globally), and 38% say moving to Portugal hasn’t improved their career prospects (vs. 22%).
The index’s best-performing factor is work–life balance (23rd). Perhaps unsurprising if a quarter of expats (25%) are freelancers or self-employed (vs. 11% globally) and nearly a fifth (18%) have their own business (vs. 7%). But overall, job satisfaction is pretty low (43rd).
Troublesome Bureaucracy
Another index that shows a poor performance is Expat Essentials (34th). Two of expats’ biggest concerns prior to their move are related to this sphere: 39% cited the language barrier (vs. 32% globally) and 33% the bureaucracy (vs. 13%).
Thankfully, it’s not too dire getting by without speaking Portuguese — 56% say it’s easy compared to 47% of expats worldwide about their own host countries. However, the paperwork is indeed a cause for concern as it’s difficult to deal with the local bureaucracy or authorities (42nd) and there’s a lack in availability of government services online (38th). In fact, 60% give the bureaucracy a negative rating (vs. 41% globally), pulling the Admin Topics Subcategory down to 34th place.
In terms of Housing (30th), a higher share than the global average say it’s unaffordable (53% vs. 48% globally) and difficult to find (40% vs. 36%).
Friendly Locals & Culture
With the logistics out of the way, what’s it like to settle and build a social life in Portugal? Expats rank the Ease of Settling In Index 16th. Overall, they’re pleased with the Culture & Welcome (13th) and Local Friendliness (15th) Subcategories. Meanwhile, Finding Friends (20th) is a little trickier.
Around three in four expats say the locals are friendly in general (74% vs. 62% globally) and towards foreign residents (75% vs. 60%). Yet when it comes to making friends with these friendly locals, Portugal only ranks 21st.
Overall, expats feel both at home (12th) and welcome (15th) in Portugal; find it easy to get used to the local culture (13th); and are happy with their social life (17th).
The Typical Expat in Portugal
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Kathrin Chudoba
Editor in chief
