How Lagos, Portugal Stacks Up as a Retirement Destination

The crisp taste of a glass of vinho verde with a lunch of freshly caught fish, a hike along the boardwalk on towering cliffs, strolling the centuries-old, tiled streets of Lagos and listening to the street musicians, enjoying cheese, olives, a white port and tonic and the company of new friends in their beautiful home with views of the Atlantic Ocean.

It wasn’t one big moment, but rather a series of moments such as these that led to the realization that my husband, Chris, and I could live a fulfilling, enriching, and happy expat life in Portugal.

A confession: I never really understood why people retired and moved thousands of miles away from home. I also generally don’t like change. Other than going to college in Virginia, I’ve lived in Atlanta my entire life and have moved only a handful of times—usually within a one-mile radius. Most of my friends are those I met prior to the Carter administration. But to contemplate retirement is to contemplate change and to consider the question: What do you want the rest of your life to look like?

Fortunately for us, we had the opportunity to experience living in another country when we won the International Living Win Your Dream Retirement Overseas competition in 2022, which allowed us to spend a month on Portugal’s Algarve.

It was a chance to see how we could adapt to life in a foreign country and for me, to find out how I would handle living somewhere other than my hometown…more than 4,000 miles away. Could I leave my familiar, comfortable life for a new place where we knew no one, didn’t speak the language and weren’t sure we’d find the dark beers that Chris loves (an important part of his retirement plan)?

We had some criteria for our retirement. We love being outdoors all year so we wanted a climate that would facilitate that. Eating well is important to us and we enjoy it, so good food is also on the list (plus it means we’ll never run out of things to talk about because we can always talk about our next meal). We want to be in a place with plenty of cultural activities like the theater and live music.

Even though we are both in good health, as we get older we want to make sure we have access to good healthcare. Affordability is also another big factor for us. We are both still working and think we’ve saved enough for a comfortable retirement, but of course we want our money to go as far as possible when we are no longer working.

And finally, we want to retire somewhere that will enable us to be part of the community. One of my main concerns was meeting new friends and giving up our active social life in Atlanta. How would we find a new community?

Why Portugal, Why Lagos?

The competition prize included a month in Portugal, and it was a country that had been on our list to visit for years, ever since I’d returned from a trip there in 2008. I loved its beauty, culture and affordability and had been wanting to go back with Chris. He was eager to go as well—his parents had traveled extensively and his mother said Portugal was her favorite country.

As for the Algarve? Confession #2: I wasn’t familiar with what or where the Algarve was. (Geography is never my first choice in a trivia game.) After looking it up on a map and learning it was quite large at 100 miles long, we decided we should be proactive and request a place that may suit us best.

We watched a video about towns and cities along the Algarve and decided on Lagos. This city of around 27,000 is on the western part of the Algarve, 187 miles from Lisbon. Was it the right choice for us?

The short answer is yes, Lagos was perfect for us. Here are some of the reasons we fell in love with it.

The climate: Lagos has mild weather year-round due to the warm Gulf Stream. With about 3,000 hours of sun a year, it draws sun-lovers from all over Europe. Even in October (when we were there), visitors lounged on the beach in bathing suits and strolled through town in flipflops, shorts, and sundresses. With such fantastic weather, the Algarve is perfect for recreational activities just about year-round. Golfing is big here and there is hiking, kayaking, swimming, fishing, sailing, paddleboarding, and surfing.

Good food: We found several restaurants we loved with just about every type of cuisine. Chris was overjoyed when he discovered his new favorite restaurant in the world that offered delicious all-you-can-eat grilled fish. The bill for two of us at A Barrigada (see: restauranteabarrigada.pt) along with a half-liter of wine and a large beer? €32.70. As for the beer, Chris developed a fondness for the two major beers made in Portugal, Super Bock and Sagres, and paid less than €3 for a large glass.

Cultural activities: While we may not find touring Broadway shows like in Atlanta, there is a cultural center in Lagos where we enjoyed a Big Band concert and other cultural activities are available in neighboring towns. You can find the traditional fado music being sung at some restaurants and other opportunities for live music.

Healthcare: We fortunately didn’t have to learn about the healthcare options firsthand, but expats we talked to told us about the free public healthcare and inexpensive private healthcare. Most doctors speak English so there isn’t a language barrier. You don’t have to worry about going bankrupt or resorting to crowdfunding for excessive medical bills.

Affordability: Portugal is one of the most affordable countries in Europe and with the exchange rate of the dollar to the euro at 1:1 when we were there, made it an even bigger bargain. Typical prices included Uber rides for €3, a glass of wine in a restaurant for €3, and a nice hotel in Lagos for around €100 a night. Our retirement dollars would definitely go a long way here.

Walkability and public transportation: We didn’t have a car and walked just about everywhere, only taking Uber home from the grocery store if we bought too much to carry. And it’s easy to catch a train or bus to neighboring towns.

It’s also easy to travel to other parts of Portugal and Europe from here. Faro Airport is about an hour away from Lagos and has flights to several cities in Europe. Portugal has an excellent bus and train system and you can take a four-hour scenic train ride to Lisbon.

No language barrier: Just about everyone we encountered spoke English, which made for an easy transition to a country where we speak little of the language. Grocery stores proved to be the exception. We used Google Translate, which was helpful.

Gorgeous scenery and proximity to water: With towering cliffs and gorgeous beaches, Lagos is stunningly beautiful. We are both water people so loved being so close to the ocean.

Safety: Portugal is one of the safest countries in the world. We walked around at night with no concerns, even in Lisbon and Porto.

Ability to form community: Finding friends so quickly was the biggest shock to us about being in Lagos. Prior to going to Lagos, I had joined the International Social Group of Lagos, Portugal (see: facebook.com/groups/575131216585192). Our apartment in Lagos, close to the marina, was very nice, however we like lots of fluffy pillows so on day one I asked the group where we could find them. Not only did I get suggestions, I got an offer to drive us from a woman named Denise, who also took us to her favorite pizza place and another day, to Sagres.

“I have found it easier to meet people in Lagos than I would if I moved to another city in the U.S.,” she told me. We had other people invite us to lunch, show us around the farmers’ market and invite us to their homes for drinks. We met one couple, Annette and Michael, with whom we really clicked and who entertained us a few times in their gorgeous home with a balcony with sea views.

My #1 tip if you move to Portugal is to join Facebook groups for your area. It was the best way for us to quickly find a friendly, warm, and inviting community while providing a group of people happy to answer any question you may have, even about pillows!

What We Missed About Home

No place is perfect and we did miss a few things about home. Lagos doesn’t have a lot of shopping, and I missed the ease of walking into a Target, drugstore, or grocery store and getting just about anything I would need. We could find a limited supply of toiletries at the grocery store, but they often cost far more than in the U.S. I wanted to buy a pair of yoga pants but those were not to be found around town. But Portimão, a city a short distance away and easily reachable by train or bus, has an IKEA, Primark, and shopping malls.

Another thing I missed was fall. Even though we enjoy a fairly mild climate in Atlanta as well, we have four distinct seasons and when October comes, I’m ready for sweaters and a plethora of pumpkins. Lagos was a pumpkin-free zone.

We were sad to leave Lagos after our month’s stay, having acquired new friends, tons of happy memories, and the knowledge we could make a life overseas. Although we aren’t ready for retirement yet, we learned so much about what we want the rest of our lives to look like when we do.