Spain or Portugal: where is the best place to buy a home?
Similar in many ways, Spain and Portugal both offer expats the chance of an idyllic life in the sun
Choosing to move away from the homeland is a huge decision for every expat, one that’s made all the more difficult by the number of appealing options. For years, neighbours Spain and Portugal have shared a fierce rivalry as the top destinations to relocate to, but which country takes the prize as the best place to buy a home?
Both Portugal and Spain have many excellent qualities in common: they are both laid-back, family-focused nations with rich cultures, year-round fabulous weather and a range of properties to suit all tastes and budgets. But there are also some striking differences, from obvious things like the language and history, even down to the types of food they like to eat.
Property prices
Homes in Spain and Portugal are
excellent value for money compared to in the UK, and both countries offer every style, shape and size of property imaginable, from rural mountain retreats to stunning sea-side villas. From the foreign buyer’s perspective,
Portuguese property is surprisingly good value, although a home on the well-loved
Algarve will set you back around 1,562 euros per square metre.

While
property in Spain tends to be a little more expensive, it’s still way below the 2,649/m2 price tag of the UK. One of the main plus points is that it’s much larger than Portugal geographically, so there’s far more choice for the foreign buyer. Spain is also home to several big cities while Portugal only has Lisbon and Porto, which tend to be pricey.
Work and play
On the other hand, Portugal exempts foreigners from paying taxes for the first 10 years of residence, while the charges in Spain, particularly for the self-employed, are notoriously high.
Since they’re part of the Schengen zone, both nations require third country expats to jump through a fair few hoops, but Spain has recently introduced its
Digital Nomad visa which gives UK citizens another great option.
Once you open that first pay packet, you’ll be delighted to see that money goes a lot further on the Iberian Peninsula than most other places, and the cost of living in Spain and Portugal is still very low. Food, clothing, public transport and education are all really cheap in Spanish locations like
Alicante and the cost of living is estimated to be 44% lower than in the US.
And although employees earn less, Portugal is more expensive than Spain in many fundamental areas including electricity and petrol.
Climate

Since they’re both situated in the southwest of Europe, Spain and Portugal experience similar Mediterranean climates. However, due to its sheer size, Spain has more diverse weather: the north tends to be rather wet and considerably cooler while the south of the country in places such as the
Costa del Sol,
Granada and
Huelva provinces all enjoy baking hot summers and damp winters.
Portugal is generally warmer than Spain, with much of the country easily hitting 40°C in high season. Here again the north is a little cooler, frequently dropping to 5°C in winter.
It may seem at the outset that Spain and Portugal are very similar nations but the deeper you dig, the more you’ll realise that they both have something unique to offer. It’s really worth taking the time to get to know both countries before choosing where to relocate to and ultimately, the life-changing decision will come down to one factor: which of the two you fall in love with.
Images: Girasol Homes
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