Moving to Portugal Cuts Monthly Cost in Half

How Californian Family Reduced Monthly Living Costs by 50%

Frances Bo Cordova lived with her family in California for her entire life but found it to be too expensive. So decide to relocate and start a new life for herself along with her husband and four-year-old son.

With the rising cost of living in the US, many people are searching for alternative locations to relocate to. Frances explains how she arrived at her choice in choosing Portugal as the new family home.

During her online search, she narrowed her alternatives down to Portugal, Spain, France, Italy and Greece. With the option of working remotely and the dollar being quite a strong Europe seemed the best option.

However, her research always seemed to lead her in the direction of Portugal. The cost of living was an immediate draw along with the country being one of the safest places to live. Along with a climate similar to the Californian sunshine they are used to.

The fact that English was widely spoken and both the education and healthcare systems appeared to be high in standards and easily accessible was another tick in the right boxes.

When reaching her final two choices of Spain and Portugal it was the taxation that swayed her in favour of the latter. Not knowing anything about Portugal and never having visited the country her online research grabbed her curiosity and the final decision was made.

Applying for the D7 visa whilst resident in her home country at the Portuguese Embassy meant finding and renting a property before she had even made the move. The stipulation of proof of residence involved paying 2 months’ rent, the time it took to get their visas, whilst not even living in the property. 

Although the move including logistics has cost her around $8,000, since moving to Portugal in October she stated that her monthly outgoings had halved from $10,000 to $5,000 so had more than recovered the initial outlay. 

Stating that the bureaucracy can be complicated and the application process takes some time to come through she and her family are happy with her new life in Portugal.

Even though the relocation was not cheap, Frances is realising that the overall experience with be worth it in the long run and “The longer we stay the more it will have been worth it”

Read her full story here.

If you are thinking of relocating to Portugal and need any advice concerning visas and moving to the Algarve, we at Gatehouse International are always here to answer any questions you may have.