From Roman Ruins to Terrace Wine: Portugal for Every Taste

“We Wanted a Country That Was Safe”

Names: Kathy Stearman and Keith Glynn
From: Kentucky and New York City
Living in: Coimbra, Portugal

Kathy Stearman’s career as an FBI agent took her and husband, Keith Glynn, around the world to exotic Asian destinations like India and China. So, when it came time to retire, returning to the U.S. seemed a bit out of the norm for this worldly twosome.

“We did extensive research into Southeast Asia, New Zealand, Thailand, and Vietnam as possible retirement destinations,” Keith explains.

After a career in law enforcement, Kathy had a specific wish-list in mind. “We wanted a country that was safe, with no gun violence and the possibility of becoming citizens in the future,” she says. “The first time we visited Portugal it just felt right, and I love the fact that only police can carry guns.”

Life in Portugal for these active 61-year-olds began in Lisbon, the country’s capital, where they rented an apartment for their first two months. Kathy, originally from small-town Kentucky, found big-city living to be too noisy for her liking.

Keith, a native New Yorker, longed for a quiet living space, with a good internet connection so that he could continue to work remotely as an engineer.

They found the ideal location in Coimbra, a riverfront city in the center of Portugal. With a preserved medieval old town and university culture, Coimbra is just big enough to have all that they need at their fingertips. “Our mornings can be spent walking along the river, riding our bikes, or taking a 30-minute drive up into the mountains or to the beach,” says Kathy. “We can even visit Roman ruins and be home by lunchtime,” Keith adds.

“We found a five-bedroom, three-bathroom house for rent on the outskirts of town, since we both like to be surrounded by peace and quiet,” Keith says. “We each needed our own office space—for me to work and for Kathy to write—plus a guest room. Although it sounds huge, the house really isn’t, since it has a much different floor plan than the typical U.S. home and rents for much less.”

The house sits up on a hill, with spectacular views of the countryside. It comes with a terraced garden and even a garage.

“We did buy a car, and strongly suggest that all expats moving to Portugal do too,” Kathy says. “Why move to a beautiful country like Portugal and not have a car to be able to explore all of it, from one end to the other?”

The couple estimates their cost of living in Portugal to be less than half of what it would be in the U.S., but admit that it all depends on where you moved from. “The cost of living in Portugal compared to New York City is much less, but the cost of living compared to rural America may not be so different,” Keith explains.

As Kathy and Keith complete their first year of living full-time in Portugal, they have nothing but good things to say about the country. “We love everything about our lives here,” Kathy says, “and do not miss anything about the U.S.”

“The quality of the food is so good here,” says Keith. “The meat and produce just taste better.”

Their advice for anyone contemplating the move to Portugal is to be organized and patient. “Don’t come expecting things in Portugal to be like the U.S.,” Keith says. “Don’t try to bring there to here, but instead embrace Portugal for all that it has to offer.” — Terry Coles

“So Many People Here Speak English”

Names: Lori and Dave Hetes
From: New Port Richey, Florida
Living in: Cabanas, Portugal

In 2016, Lori and Dave Hetes started thinking about moving overseas. The couple, retired at 62, decided it was time for a change.

“We saw things in the States fall apart and started looking at where we could afford to live from a retirement perspective.”

Initially, Portugal was just an idea. “It wasn’t an end-of-the-rainbow, show-off place like Monaco,” says Dave. “It was just a country I picked.” The more they read about it, though, the nicer it seemed. “We especially liked the location—right on the coast and a good base for traveling around Europe—and the climate. “By the time we read that Portugal had over 300 sunny days a year, we were sold,” Lori recalls.

The decision was easy; the paperwork not so much. “We applied for our residency visa in early September 2022 and were hoping to move mid-October,” says Dave. “However, by the end of December we still had no word on our visa application—and no place to live in the U.S. anymore. After weeks of staying with friends and family, we decided to just fly over and wait there.”

Dealing with the Portuguese bureaucracy took patience and perseverance but eventually the paperwork was approved, appointments were scheduled, and now Lori and Dave are hoping to receive their residency permits by the end of May.

They’re settling in fine, learning the language via Duolingo and planning to take Portuguese classes soon. “We’re fortunate that so may people here speak English, but it’s important to have at least a few Portuguese words in your vocabulary,” says Lori.

The couple live in Cabanas, right on the Algarve coast. “Every day we walk to the beach and stroll on the boardwalk,” says Lori. “We regularly go for a drive in the mountains and look at the Atlantic Ocean from the top of a hill. Last time, we found fields of wild lavender and picked a bundle which is now drying at home. We discover new beaches by driving along the coast road and randomly following signs that say ‘praia.’ Recently, we tried (and failed at) making nesperra (or loquat) jam, and on a walk through town on Good Friday, we suddenly came across an impressive Stations of the Cross procession.”

Soon, Dave and Lori will be moving to Altura, closer to the Spanish border, where they’ll be renting a house within walking distance of the beach for €1,000 ($1,096) a month.

“It’s a two-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment with a beautiful balcony terrace where we’ll be spending most of our time,” says Lori. “In the U.S., this would cost twice the amount.” Less expensive in Portugal as well is the food. “Our grocery bill here is always less than it was in the States.” And of course the wine: “€2 to €3 gets you a decent bottle.”

Apart from the cost of living, Lori and Dave were also pleasantly surprised by the Portuguese tradition of a relaxed lunchtime.

“I’ve never been a lunch eater: back in the States, I’d always grab something quick,” says Lori. “Not in Portugal! Here, you sit down with friends, have a glass of wine, talk, enjoy, and take your time. Lunch easily takes an hour and a half. There’s only one thing you should never do here, and that’s go to a Portuguese café at lunchtime and only order coffee!” — Yayeri Van Baarsen

“Portugal Living is Definitely in Our Future”

Names: Gary Springer
From: Croton-on-Hudson, New York
Living in: Considering Lagos, Portugal

My wife, Elizabeth, and I came to Portugal by chance… or maybe it was fate.

For a number of years, we had tossed around the idea of moving overseas, at least part-time. But we hadn’t done much research… It was one of those things that we figured would happen at some stage in our future.

In the fall of 2020, we planned a three-month trip to Italy’s Liguria Coast, really just to escape the northeast winter. But COVID squashed those plans.

We finally got around to rescheduling that trip earlier this year. Little did we know it would fast-track our plan to spend some of our time living overseas.

We’d been reading International Living and decided—since the trip was in January—we’d ditch Italy and instead head for warmer, sunnier Portugal.

We knew we wanted to be near the water, and since Lisbon and Porto were also a tad colder and wetter that time of year, we set our sights on the Algarve. And specifically the resort town of Lagos.

Lagos had everything we were looking for. It’s on the ocean, it isn’t a huge resort town but it has an active community and is brimming with Old World charm. And the weather is ideal (the Algarve gets over 300 days of sunshine a year).

We rented an apartment through Airbnb for six weeks. It had a huge deck right in the center of the Old Town and that was our base for our daily walks. We got to choose between the walking trails over the cliffs down to the Ponta da Piedade, jutting into the Atlantic with its magnificent rock formations and grottos… the new wooden walkways running the length of the sweeping Meia Praia Beach… and all over the Old Town and around the ancient city walls.

We did occasionally cook and eat at home, but with such a wide variety of cuisine, we ate out most nights. We sampled everything from grilled octopus, cod, and sardines to some of the best Italian, Mexican, and upscale dining to be found most anywhere. My wife is a vegetarian, and she had no troubles (although the wild boar cheeks I had one night rattled her a bit). And the prices…

At home, a trip to Starbucks for two lattes and breakfast sandwiches costs us about $25. In Lagos, we would stroll down to the London Tiger Café and have a couple of lattes, a fresh flaky buttery croissant, and a homemade scone with clotted cream and jam for around €10 ($11). Our most expensive meal at an upscale restaurant in Lagos was about $180 (still incredibly reasonable compared to New York prices). But most of our meals cost between $40 and $80 for cocktails, starters, entrees, wine with the meal, and desserts (usually with a port and coffee to finish the sumptuous repast). That’s less than half of what I recently paid just for me in NYC.

If we needed a mall or bigger stores, we would just hop the train that runs between Lagos and nearby Portimão or a bit further on to Faro. And although there’s generally no need for a car here, we did rent a car (for the amazing price of €90 for three days, including full insurance) to take an overnight trip to the historic town of Silves, with its Moorish Castle and outlying vineyards.

Lagos is a great retirement location, but we also discovered its investment potential. This is a year-round destination—we were there in the winter months and it was still full of visitors. We looked at a few properties and were amazed to discover that the monthly costs—taxes, water, electricity—add up to about $4,500 a year (multiply that by 10 and you still won’t get to what we spend on home ownership costs in the U.S.).

We’re back home in the U.S. now but this trip has convinced us that we want to buy a property in Portugal. We’ll spend part of the year in the Algarve and rent our property out when we’re back in the U.S. (right now we’re waiting on the Portuguese government to clarify the laws around rentals and Airbnbs. As soon as they do, we’ll be back to find some real estate to buy).

And if for some reason that plan doesn’t materialize, we’ve decided we’ll visit Lagos on a regular basis… We’ve really found home here. Portugal living is definitely in our future… and we can’t wait. —Gary Springer