Good places to live that are NOT Lisbon?

My husband and I are retiring to PT in two years and want to do as much research as possible before the move. We have decided that Lisbon is not for us (housing being quite expensive) and would like to know of other areas that are a bit smaller (hopefully with more affordable housing).. The only place that we don't think would work for us is the very far north. (Not sure why, that was my husband's decision.) I realize that this is a Lisbon forum but I thought it might be a good place to start. Thank you in advance for any help!