Using the same criteria I did for Mexico and Ecuador, here's my "review" on Portugal's suitability as a retirement option with grades for the major considerations:
Weather: B+ This could easily be an A-, but it needs to be scored a bit lower than Ecuador due to Ecuador's consistency/lack of extremes. That being said, the coastal location keeps it temperate and pretty consistent. They can have a fair amount of rain some years during the rainy season. I'd need to come during a different time of year to really judge this, but from everything I've read (and now experienced) the weather is definitely a plus.
Safety: B+ It's this "low" only coz of anecdotal stuff I've heard - and only an issue with petty crime in tourist areas. As mentioned previously, I always feel safer abroad than in America just because of the much higher chance of being a victim of random crime/a shooting in America.
Food: A- Just a tick off coz they're big on fish here (again, on the coast), and I'm not. Lol Also a lot of meat, a lot of pork. Excellent variety and quantity of street cafes, supermarkets, ethnic food, and fast food places (both local and American). In fact, the American fast food places are BETTER here coz Europe doesn't allow them to use a lot of the disgusting shit America allows in food, and all fast food places have veggie options - the KFC veggie tenders are better than the real thing, and the Taco Bell veggie meat is indistinguishable from the real thing.
Infrastructure: A Our electricity never went out, nor did our internet. Roads in good condition, but traffic can be heavy in the center during rush hour due to narrow streets. Extensive bus system we never used coz we could use the (newish/clean/modern) Subway for anything we needed outside of the historic center. You can easily get to their nice, not too crowded airport by Metro for less than $3. And it's about a 20 min. ride from center.
Health Care: A / INCOMPLETE We didn't access the health care system during our time, BUT I have read lots of good about it, talked to expats living here who say it's good, AND I did experience it at a minor level during a vacation here some time ago and a friend experienced it more "extensively" during our stay, and had an EXCELLENT experience.
Costs: B I would need to research things like utility/internet costs as I understand utilities can be high (BUT, you don't need A/C/ heat as much due to climate). Our small, furnished loft 1-BR apartment was around $1200 a month (washer but no dryer) and included all utilities and internet. Eating out was definitely cheaper than the states, but more expensive than Mexico or Ecuador - ditto for movies. Subway was around $1.50 per ride - cheaper if you get a monthly pass. On the whole, I would say our cost of living was about 75% of what it was in Oklahoma.
Social/People: B There IS an expat community here, and the locals are friendy enough. I didn't make any real local friends, but didn't really try, either--I'm guessing this grade could be higher with effort. We never came across a situation where we had to interact with someone who didn't speak at least enough English to communicate well enough.
Culture: A There's a shit ton of cool historic buildings to see and also a ton of museums. Large malls that are still heavily trafficked with lots of shopping, multiple screen movie theaters (altho occasionally hard to catch SOME movies in English). Multiple smaller, art hourse cinemas, as well. Small parks and lots of plazas with frequent festivals, carnivals, and parades, etc. As mentioned previously, great sidewalk cafe culture.
Flora/Fauna: B+ Porto is on the coast (although center of town is a bit inland) along a river which is really cool. You have to get out of centro to find more "urban trees" but there are still some. ZERO bugs/pests in our apartment. We never saw a roach, never had ants, and only had a couple of flies after the maid left a window open after cleaning. The seaugulls are a mixed benefit: they can be annoying with their screeching sometimes, and they will full on snatch food out of your hand if you're not careful, but they're also amusing/have "personality" and a little interesting local color.
Location: B+ The time zone difference from the states knocks the ranking down a peg, as does the fact that Porto is Portugal's "secondary" city, which means access to Rail Europe really has to go through Lisbon first. But boo hoo, I would just plan an overnight in Lisbon before going somewhere as it's a cool city, too. Europe has more economic air options which is cool, as long as you can travel light. I actually bumped my initial B ranking to a B+ because, duh, it's in Europe! lol
At the end of the day, Portugal/Porto moves to the top of my current rankings for places I'd consider for retirement, ALTHOUGH I would definitely check it out during a different time of year, experience/research health care, etc. I could live in the neighborhood we were in (Bolhao), tho the main pedestrian street can get a bit crowded/touristy, so I'd probably stay in a different area to compare. Click HERE for more deets on my previous ranking, just moving each country down one spot with Portugal now #1 and Ecuador #2.
Next up: As mentioned, I had to pause my scouting trip to bring my little monster back to the states for care, but once that's done, I plan on checking out Medellin/Colombia, then Cuenca (in Ecuador), then some eastern European spots and POSSIBLY Vietnam. Stay tuned!
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