RRider wrote:
Spain and Portugal are both quite popular destinations for Finnish pensioners too. Lower living costs and nice weather, that's it in a nutshell
Yep! The Portuguese people are friendly, too. Portugal has a lower cost of living than Spain, but still has a relatively high EU
standard of living.
RRider wrote:
Much less in Portugal, although Portugal was a 'pensioners tax paradise' for us until recently, as we could enjoy there Finnish pension with Portugese tax levels. Now that loop hole is fixed with heavy pressure from the Finnish goverment, lucky us
As US citizens, we will be taxed in both countries no matter what. Fortunately, taxes paid to one country can be deducted from the other country, so we will likely pay US taxes and then a bit more on top of that to Portugal.
RRider wrote:
Why Spain is so popular - well, as you know, the economy there is in a better shape than in Portugal. This makes the overall feeling a bit more familiar from our viewpoint. Living costs are of course higher than in Portugal, but still very low compared to ours. The other key factor is other Finns in there - many Finns wish to make their great escape with the safety net of familiar faces and voices around them, especially when getting a bit older.
I would say that the cuisine of Spain is also better -- exceptional, even -- compared to Portugal. But Portuguese cuisine is still quite good, with some notable exceptions. The tomatoes we were regularly served in Portugal would be an insult to any Italian.
RRider wrote:
I'll have to add - I've been countless times in Spain, both for work and pleasure. Amazingly, I've never yet been in Portugal. So no first hand experience there.
Crime rates in Portugal are lower than Spain. The interior is sparsely populated, though this has a lot to do with the exodus from Portugal during the 90s (and migration to cities). Rural property can be purchased at a discount, though we probably won't go that route.
Perhaps the most important difference for non-EU citizens is the path path to citizenship in Portugal vs. Spain. There are some very attractive visa options offered in Portugal, designed to bring foreign money into the Portuguese economy. And after 5 years of residency (or relaxed residency, if going the Golden Visa route) one can apply for citizenship. In Spain, it is 10 years before you can apply for citizenship. Further, Portugal allows for
dual citizenship, whereas Spain does not (except for citizens of certain Latin American countries). So there are clearly some advantages in favor of Portugal, at least for us.
Portugal is also the proverbial "road less travelled". And that's attractive to me.