Our Low-Cost Home in Northern Portugal

Braga
©iStock/trabantos

“We weren’t sure where we were going to go at first,” Tim and Irene Thomas told me when I met them in the city of Braga, Northern Portugal. “We considered ‘the usual suspects’ like France, Italy, and Spain, but could tell from what was being written in 2020 that Portugal was a good option for access to Europe. It was definitely easier to be able to become a resident there than in other countries.”

Tim and Irene were living in Los Angeles when they decided it was time to make a life-changing move.  Even without a firm destination in mind, they embarked on the process of selling their belongings, storing some items, and renting out their home. Within eight months, they were ready to leave California.

The two wisely planned an exploratory trip to Portugal, arriving in the fall of 2020. With the pandemic in full swing, visiting other attractive countries like the aforementioned France, Italy, and Spain was not a simple matter. So they spent the entire 90 days in the EU permissible on their American passports in Portugal only, enjoying a bit of time in Lisbon, several weeks in the Algarve, a month in Coimbra, and a month in Porto.

“We had also been considering Costa Rica,” Tim says, “but after just six or seven weeks in Portugal, and because of conversations with travelers we met here, we realized we would be more comfortable in Europe.”  

Of the various locations in the country, the couple found themselves most at home in Porto, Portugal’s “second city,” but their discoveries didn’t stop there. 

Tim and Irene Thomas left California for a better, more affordable life in Portugal.
Tim and Irene Thomas left California for a better, more affordable life in Portugal.

“We drove out of Porto one day and ended up in Braga,” Irene says. “We knew absolutely nothing about the city. It was cold and rainy and we stopped into a coffee shop. Later we strolled the cobblestone streets of old town. I turned to Tim and said, ‘You know what? I could live here.’”

“Things were clearly advancing rapidly,” Tim continues, “so we scrapped our other plans, and while still in Portugal we hired a lawyer to start working on our D7 [visas] and opened a bank account before we returned to Los Angeles to continue with the visa process.” 

The Thomases wanted to buy, not rent, in Braga. Irene’s career as a corporate controller in the field of real estate came into play here, and she and Tim—who has a background in architecture—purchased a three-bedroom, three-year-old condo in a 10-year-old development a short drive from the center of town. Situated on the top (third) floor of the building, they love the wide-open views from what they describe as “acres of terrace.” In fact, according to Irene, that freedom is a reason the two chose Braga over Porto, where they felt the smaller spaces were too confining. 

How much their euros would buy factored in as well. “We found the real estate prices here on average 40% less expensive than in Lisbon, and 25% less than in Porto. We have a parking space, which comes in handy with the purchase of our car just two months ago. And our monthly maintenance fee is just $35 compared to $600—with a $1,000 assessment—in L.A.” 

Tim and Irene’s Braga condo offers “acres of terrace” and wide-open views above the city.
Tim and Irene’s Braga condo offers “acres of terrace” and wide-open views above the city.

Do they feel there’s a language barrier?  

“The thing that’s really interesting about northern Portugal,” Tim says, “is that it’s very agricultural. Not big agricultural like in the Alentejo, but small farms and wineries, families that go back generations. Once you’re out of Braga, the language quickly becomes significantly more Portuguese. But in most every case you can get by.”

To that end, both Tim and Irene are taking Portuguese lessons. Irene explains, “We are at the point where we begin speaking in Portuguese and if someone says, ‘English?’ we can switch. But there has never been a point where we said, ‘Oh no, what are we going to do? We can’t communicate!’” 

And there’s plenty of opportunity to talk with all kinds of people in and around Braga. 

“There’s a pretty strong expat group—they’re on Facebook—that meets the second Saturday of every month for coffee,” Irene says. Tim adds, “But honestly, most of the people we’ve made friends with in Braga we actually met outside of the group, just in day-to-day encounters. We had a party at Christmas and 23 people came, representing seven countries. It’s amazing, and one of the nice things about being in Europe.”

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