Here's Why Burned-Out Millennials Are Flocking To Portugal

Alexandra Ryan-Yavaşca wanted to settle down in her childhood hometown of San Diego, California, to raise a family with her husband Utku.

But due to soaring housing costs, the 34-year-old can’t afford to live there like her parents — a teacher and public relations professional — could on middle-class salaries. Her childhood home, purchased in 1996 for more than $300,000, is now worth more than $1.2 million.

In the summer of 2021, the Yavaşcas moved to Lisbon, Portugal, citing the affordable cost-of-living and laid-back culture as key reasons.

“It’s liberating to leave America,” Alexandra says. “Where can you live in the center of the city in America and look at the ocean and eat fresh seafood and work in your freelance entrepreneur lifestyle?”

The Yavaşcas are part of a wave of expats and digital nomads settling in Portugal in search of a better life. The number of foreign citizens living in Portugal — more than 714,000 — is at an all-time high, making up about 7% of the population in 2021, according to the Portuguese Immigration and Borders Service.

The number of Americans residing in Portugal is at its highest level in more than a decade, according to agency data. There were about 7,000 Americans living in the country at the end of 2021, more than double three years earlier. The U.S. is the 24th most represented country among foreign residents in Portugal.

As the pandemic and remote work transform the way we live and work, people are moving and changing careers based on what fulfills them most.

“Previously, it seemed like Portugal was the destination to retire. And now it seems like it’s a cool destination to just start over,” says Mateusz Zurek, 35, who moved to Lisbon from Poland in early 2021 to co-found a restaurant with his American-Canadian business partner, Jahmarley Grant, 28. “The barrier to entry, to open a business is super low,” Grant adds.

I’ve spoken to dozens of people who moved to Portugal in the last few years, to start a new venture or revamp their lifestyle. Many spoke about their move with a sense of renewal and hope, like they could finally live the life they envisioned, one that seemed unattainable where they came from.

What is it about this small European country, about as populous as the state of Georgia, that holds so much promise for so many people? In late 2021, I traveled to Portugal for the first time, to find out.

What many foreigners say draws them to Portugal is its low cost of living and high quality of life. If a basket of goods and services cost $1 in the U.S., it would cost 57 cents in Portugal, according to 2020 World Bank data.

The reason Portugal is cheaper than many Western countries is because the country “is poorer,” says Portuguese economist Ricardo Reis, a professor of economics at the London School of Economics and Political Science. “A lot of the costs of the services that you buy are labor costs. Portugal’s poorer. Wages are lower. Therefore the costs of most things that require a lot of labor are cheaper.”

As an American tourist from Los Angeles, California, daily living in Portugal feels cheap. One evening, I enjoyed a three-course meal — including soup and salad, fresh fish, ice cream, and sangria — for about $17, in the small seaside town of Carvoeiro. A three-hour boat ride along the Algarve coast cost $30. An Uber ride across town in Lisbon at nearly 1 a.m. on a Friday night set me back about $19. In comparison, I cry inside anytime I need a late night Uber in Los Angeles or New York City, my previous home — typically costing me $50-$70.

I met a few Americans who have significantly upgraded their standards of living since settling in Portugal.

Samantha Hayden says she always lived in a “closet-sized space” in Singapore and New York City. After moving to Lisbon in the summer of 2021, the 32-year-old consultant now rents a three-story house, complete with two offices, a dining room and a garage, just outside the city center.

Shar Wynter spent three months in Lisbon in 2020, before officially relocating from Atlanta, Georgia in the summer of 2021. The 37-year-old’s monthly expenses now range between $2,100-$2,500/month, compared with $4,000-$5,000/month in Atlanta. She spends $1,250/month on a renovated one-bedroom two-bathroom apartment in the city center, with a balcony and plenty of natural sunlight. In contrast, Wynter was paying $1,800/month for a studio apartment in Atlanta.

Foreign residents also have access to the country’s free national healthcare.

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