Portugal is known as one of the top destinations for digital nomads. And, this happens for a good reason. Portugal combines many factors that together make Portugal easy to beat. Let’s address 5 of the main reasons:

1. Immigration Framework

Immigration in Portugal is not a patchwork of laws and rules that happen over time like you see in other countries. Portugal revamped its immigration system to create solid paths for qualifying immigrants to enter and stay in Portugal without too much harassment. 

The “D” series visa in Portugal include the Portugal Digital Nomad Visa, the Portugal Golden Visa and the Portugal Passive Income Visa also known as Portugal Retirement Visa. Pretty much any visa will give you a path to permanent residency or Portuguese citizenship after being 5 years. Most countries will restrict these two benefits to few high level visas such as the golden visa. 

2. Technology Infrastructure

Living like a digital nomad or getting a new home far away from friends and family works much better when you have access to light-speed internet. Portugal has consistently good internet no matter where you are. You can have good internet at the hotel, cafe, and even over Vodafone’s unlimited cell phone plans. Trust us. We have even had live streams using an iPhone connection without a single glitch for over a hour.

True, it is easier to secure great internet when your geographic location is relatively small. But, it is so refreshing to see a country that is capable of putting its government to work and create one of the best internet networks in the world.

3. Stability and Safety

You don’t want to spend your hard-earned money on a property that could drop in value later on or by settling on a place where you need to constantly watch your back. Portugal combines the fact of being a stable and developed country to ranking consistently as one of the safest countries on earth.

If you have been in Portugal, you know the feeling. Whether true or not, the feeling is that you can go anywhere at any time without ever fearing something bad happening to you.

On the government and economy fronts, Portugal is as solid as it gets as a major member of the European Union. In addition to a solid currency and government, Portugal also strives to streamline the business environment while still retaining its characteristic human-centric culture. 

4. Food and Health

Food and health are closely related to each other. The mediterranean cuisine found in Portugal is recognized as one of the enablers of people living healthy and active lives in their 60s, 70s, 80s, and even 90s. And, food in Portugal is not just healthy. It is actually amazingly tasteful. Portugal does not tolerate stale food like you commonly find in the US. Fish, fruit, and vegetables are usually never frozen and have an incomparably shorter trip from the source to your table. Try one of the many cod dishes in Portugal and it will be hard to believe that this is the same kind of fish you buy at Costco. 

5. Cost of Living

What if in addition to all of those things above, you could have this for an affordable price tag? There you go. Portugal cost of living is substantially lower than what you get in the US or the UK. That’s where the concept of Geo-arbitrage shines. Geo-arbitrage means you make money in one place – where it is easier to make money – and you spend in another place – where it is easier to save money. That’s what dozens of US military personnel – for instance – are doing every month. While a disability or social security paycheck of $3,000 can hardly allow you to get by in the US, the same amount can allow you to live a life of plentiness in most of Portugal.