Choosing My Next Home In Portugal
- Lisa Tisdale
- Sep 3
- 5 min read
It was time to decide where I’d live for the near future
My Year Exploring Portugal Comes to a Sudden End
While back in the US, caring for my mother whose dementia had suddenly worsened, my return to Portugal was delayed by 2 ½ months when she needed heart surgery. That delay put me closer to the date when I would need to renew my Portuguese residency card. For that I needed a permanent address.
That ended my year traveling around Portugal. I would not have the opportunity to visit my last three stops of Evora, Coimbra and Guimarães, each of which I had visited briefly in the past and was eager to return. But things happen for a reason and I focused on how grateful I was that I could be there for my Mom when she needed me.
But now I had to decide where I would live when I returned to Portugal.
Change Is In The Air
There is a popular TV show in the United States where people make gut wrenching tradeoffs over three options for new homes. Whether or not these decisions are truly gut-wrenching we may never know. However, my upcoming decision to choose my next home was feeling a bit like that.
A year ago, I left Lisbon to begin my trek around the country, certain I’d be back. But first, I was off to explore Portugal; from the remote and windswept Azores Islands, to the popular and sunny beach towns of the Algarve, to the more remote towns along the western border with Spain, up death-defying mountain roads to beautiful hilltop villages, and finally to the picture perfect cities of the north.
My plan was to return to Lisbon during the year to see friends and visit my favorite Portuguese city. On those visits, I’d stay in different neighborhoods to get a better idea of where I might want to live when I returned.
As I traveled, I was surprised to find I loved living in every place I visited, even the hot, remote, microscopic town of Paços da Serra. I found myself truly sad to leave many of my new “homes” and might not have if a new adventure was not always in front of me. While some would not realistically work out for me long term, there were quite a few places I could not stop thinking about. It felt a bit like that person you meet, that is not your “love at first sight” but somewhere down the road you find yourself in a long-term relationship with them.
Playing My Version of House Hunters International
As I moved around Portugal, exploring its every little corner, I slowly realized I would not be returning to Lisbon. It was not a feeling I could explain. I had gone on a journey that was supposed to have an expiration date and I did not want it to end. I was most surprised to find myself truly happy in so many of the smaller towns. After years of living in big cities, I had allowed myself to try out a new way of life and found it suited me well.
Now it was time to choose one place for my next “permanent” home, just as they do on House Hunters International. While I could have made any of them work, there were three strong contenders.
Option 1: Porto
Porto seemed the obvious choice and a place I’d considered moving when I first moved to Portugal. Porto is a lively big city with the bonus of having two football teams where I could actually go to games! There are plenty of sports bars for me to watch almost any game I want to see. I already had many favorite food spots and cafes and Lisbon was a fast train ride away. A true bonus was that it has an airport. Porto would be an easy transition except for the challenging hills and lengthy rainy season.
Option 2: Braga
Up the road and north of Porto, is the lovely and small city of Braga. I’d fallen in love with their chaotic and plentiful festivals. There were places to watch sports and the local team does well in the top league of Portuguese football. During my time there, I was fortunate to make many friends. I quickly felt like I’d lived there for ages and had a well-established spot in the community. The big drawbacks were how far north it is and the weather which is rainy in the fall, winter and most of the spring and hellishly hot in the summer.
Option 3: Leiria
Right in the middle of Lisbon and Porto, soon to be connected to both by high-speed rail, lies lovely Leiria. Leiria was not in the original schedule but after receiving several strong recommendations while traveling, I swapped out the tiny, picturesque town of Amarante for a week in Leira. I adored it. It was probably the loveliest of the places that I visited, set on a river with lovely parks and a beautiful castle perched above the town. The downtown was lively with restaurants and cafes and even a few places to watch sports. There was even a football team with a stadium in the city center! It ticked all my boxes outside of having an airport.
With three great options, how would I choose?
Choosing a Home in Portugal
Leiria. Braga. Porto. Where would I call home?
Leiria was a great option. It gave me everything I needed and in a very central location. I would be within striking distance of both large cities. And it was simply lovely.
Porto had everything I needed and a little bit more. The hills of Porto are a thing though, and ended up being more of a drawback to life in Lisbon than I’d expected. However in Porto I could get around more easily by public transportation.
And finally, there was Braga. Braga was easy living for me but the weather would be a challenge. However the town is relatively flat and has the bonus of a ready made friend group.
And the Winner Is…!
While I knew I would be happy living in any of the three choices, my heart was pulling me to Braga. If I had not made so many friends in Braga during my time there, I might have chosen Leiria. However, the heart wants what it wants so I caught my flight back to Lisbon and took the next train headed north to Braga, anxious to start my new life.
Comments