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Question
Why are all the digital nomads in Portugal? Or is it just my perception?
I was just wondering why a lot of digital nomads are based in Portugal? What drove you there, is it the sunshine, the vibes, taxes, the people, community?
Thanks
Tom
Thanks
Tom
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Think a lot of people ended up there during Covid
The government had huge incentives for golden visas where you could buy a relatively cheap property and get permanent residence or similar (don’t sue me, I don’t know the exact details on that)
It’s also a reasonable climate and centrally located for people living in America or Europe relative to taking a long flight to Southeast Asia with a good COL. I think it’s gotten more expensive recently though.
Good summery.
@ben that's what I figured, I'm based in Croatia, but it seems that a lot of digital nomad are based in Portugal, so the vibes are probably better there I think
Personally, I am going there this summer because of the following reasons:
I just checked the prices and living in Lisbon isn't that far off from Berlin, so it's not cheap anymore lol
If you go to touristy places you get touristy prices.
According to Nomadlist Porto for example is 25% cheaper than Berlin, while Lisbon is only 10% cheaper.
But in one you get sea views and in the other you live in dirt. Not really comparable.
my understanding is that the #1 reason a lot of EU citizens changed their residency to Portugal is that it doesn't tax people nearly as heavily as their home country (some of which were like 50% taxes or something crazy high like that). IMO people/jobs moving to lower COL countries is going to be a major trend in our lifetimes, and the higher-tax / higher-COL countries are going to need to have some Argentina-style cost cutting and/or face Detroit/West-Virginia-style blight.
Yes I tend to agree. I’ve been back in the US for a week now and the amount of money I’ve spent doing regular, everyday things is just insane.
Just to get home from the airport I paid $35 for an Uber - in a low COL country the same distance covered would be ~$5 or less
I lived in the US my whole life up until this year and was used to the prices of everything, but now it feels like robbery when I’m used to the alternative.
now woder all the digital folks coming here in Europe, I would do them same if I wasn't living here....
I think NHR has greatly contributed to the number of nomads who set their tax base there.
Although it's no longer available for new residents, it still works for everyone who came before.
Plus, general conditions people mentioned: great climate, more/less developed infrastructure, it was cheap before, many great cities to live in, safe, good medicine, coast, and surf.
The "it was cheap before" break my heart because attracting foreigners actually created a bigger gap in the economy between native Portuguese and everyone else. I am a foreigner myself, and having an in-law portuguese family and being in the rural area of Portugal, I get to see a lot of people work very hard for little, and as the prices rise, their wage doesn't.
That's terrible, and it's a huge question for the Portuguese government. But it's definitely not foreigners' fault.
We definitively can't blame foreigners, because they are doing nothing wrong other than using their money, the issue is that the government has enticed people to come because the country needs it, but they somewhat forgot (or dismissed) the economical impact on native portuguese.
@hugohamelcom this is why I was asking you about the community, seems like lot of makers are there! :)
From 2021 to 2023, Lisbon grew a lot and attracted a lot of people. I personally moved there from Canada because my wife is Portuguese, and we were looking to get closer to her family while also being in Europe, so Portugal was a good option (we considered Berlin, but it was too complex with the language barrier and all).
Screenshot from @levelsio: x.com/levelsio/status/1807822…