{"id":4034,"date":"2023-11-13T06:30:00","date_gmt":"2023-11-13T11:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/startabroad.com\/?p=4034"},"modified":"2026-05-14T09:14:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T13:14:10","slug":"expat-qa-kamra","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/startabroad.com\/pt\/expat-qa-kamra\/","title":{"rendered":"Expat Q&A: US Expat Living in Portugal"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Are you looking for help moving abroad? Reach out to specialists at info@startabroad.com.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>

Kam C. is a US citizen living in Lisbon, Portugal. She is a budget travel and holistic wellness blogger. Her website<\/a> connects travel and wellness through storytelling, advice, and tip sharing.<\/p>

We met up in Lisbon in October to record a video interview. Unfortunately, the sound came out poorly, so this interview has been transcribed and minorly edited.<\/p>

Who are you?<\/h3>

My name is Kam. I am the co-founder of Black in Portugal, and I\u2019ve been living in Lisbon for over a year now.<\/p>

Why did you move to Lisbon?<\/h3>

I was looking for the next city that I wanted to be in. I was living in Thailand, and I knew that I didn\u2019t want to be in the States. I was trying to find a city that was more international, a city where I could blend in, and a city that was a little closer to the US but also affordable and that worked well with my lifestyle.<\/p>

How\u2019s it been?<\/h3>

It\u2019s been a journey, full of ups and downs. I think a lot of times when people are blogging about living abroad they\u2019re only showing the positive parts of it, but I dealt with a lot of adversity since I\u2019ve been here<\/p>

What kinds of challenges have you dealt with?<\/h3>

With the housing situation, trying to find something that fit within my standards. In Portugal, there aren\u2019t as many regulations with housing, people can give you whatever you want. But on the plus side, you only have to fulfill a third of your contract. So if you sign a year lease, you only have to stay there for 4 months before deciding you want to leave and live somewhere else.<\/p>

I\u2019ve had a lot of problems with the housing. I moved four times within seven months. The first time \u2013 this is kind of embarrassing \u2013 I was living in a co-living space and there were bed bugs. And then the second time, I was living with a bunch of university students, and they didn\u2019t mesh well with my lifestyle because I\u2019m past that. And the third time I was living in a tiny, tiny apartment, so tiny I was basically touching every single side of the apartment. And it was in a very touristy area so I couldn\u2019t sleep very well.<\/p>

And then I finally found my place in Campo de Ourique, which is about 600 square feet, which is pretty big for Portuguese standards<\/p>

Also navigating the healthcare system, trying to get my public health ID number. And sometimes when you\u2019re talking to people they\u2019ll give you different answers. So setting things up has been the most difficult part of living here with my apartment, with my insurance, with my metro card, everything feels like a task sometimes. But once you get that out of the way, ease.<\/p>

What do you like about living in Portugal?<\/h3>

The community for sure. All of the adversity I went through, I wouldn\u2019t have been able to get through that all without the strong community that I have here. I\u2019ve just been able to meet people who are so genuine. I\u2019ve gone through a lot in my short time being here that doesn\u2019t have to do with Portugal necessarily, and I\u2019ve been able to lean on my community.<\/p>

I like that Portugal teaches you to slow down. In the US we want everything instantly, and that\u2019s not how things work here. So you kind of adapt to the mindset that, Ok maybe it\u2019s not working out this time, but it\u2019s not that big of a deal. I\u2019ve learned to enjoy my Tuesdays and my Wednesdays by meeting up with friends at the park for coffee and to play on the jungle gym. So I like that it teaches you to slow down, and that there\u2019s such a strong community here in Lisbon.<\/p>

You mentioned earlier that when you moved here there was a plateau of emotion.<\/h3>

When you move abroad there\u2019s a lot that you have to deal with on an emotional level. You\u2019re leaving behind your family, your friends, a routine that you\u2019re used to. And you\u2019re assimilating to a new culture. So learning how to be more patient and slow down was a difficult task for me. But also not having, initially \u2013 I had people I could lean on, but I didn\u2019t feel comfortable doing it because I didn\u2019t really know them yet \u2013 so that was difficult for me.<\/p>

And the bed bug situation.<\/p>

And having to move. Trying to find housing. Not having a co-signer. Yeah, there were a lot of things that came up that made it difficult for me, and the community was what made me stay.<\/p>

So how are things now?<\/h3>

Good! I signed a 3-year lease this year. I also have a community, Black in Portugal, and we\u2019re thriving. We have over I think 13,000 people, collectively on Instagram and Facebook. So, the community has been thriving here, and I have my apartment. I have really great friendships that I am so appreciative of. And everything has become normal, taking public transportation, all of that.<\/p>

What\u2019s your experience with Cost of Living in Portugal?<\/h3>

Cost of living is going to depend on your lifestyle. If you\u2019re coming from the US and you want to have the same lifestyle here, I would say that you\u2019re going to spend about \u20ac2,500 a month. If you are someone who does not mind eating at the pastelerias, and you\u2019re vegetarian like me, you\u2019ll spend \u20ac2000 a month. For rent, I pay \u20ac575, but most people are paying around \u20ac1000 \u2013 \u20ac1200 a month, and then groceries can be \u20ac40-60 a week for a single person. The monthly metro pass is either \u20ac30 depending on if you want to stay in Lisbon center, or \u20ac40 if you want to be in the metropolitan areas. Health insurance can be as low as \u20ac9.90 a month. It can be all the way up to \u20ac75 a month. I would say the biggest cost is the housing, but outside of that everything else is really affordable. It can be cheap, it can be expensive, it depends on how you live. If you take Ubers everywhere, you\u2019re going to rack up the cost.<\/p>

What\u2019s one thing that people who might be thinking about moving to Portugal would be surprised to know.<\/h3>

That lemonade here is sour. I\u2019m joking, but it is true. I was really disappointed in the lemonade.<\/p>

I would say how slow things are, but in a good way. You want to unlearn your American ways, and just being able to slow down, don\u2019t expect everything to be fast paced. Expect to take your time with things.<\/p>

What\u2019s one thing you love about Portugal?<\/h3>

One thing I really love about Portugal is how safe it is. Obviously there\u2019s no place in this world without crime. But Portugal has been ranked the third safest country in the world. And I feel safe walking by myself. But you want to have to be street smart, you don\u2019t just go walking on your phone not paying attention to your surroundings.<\/p>

I\u2019ve felt safe traveling solo and I just love that the crime is really low here.<\/p>

Tell me about Black in Portugal<\/h3>

We are a resource for those who are wanting to come to Portugal, and those that are already living in Portugal. We highlight black businesses in the metropolitan Lisbon area and hopefully other cities soon. We also host monthly meet-ups. And then we have Facebook and Instagram where people can ask us questions about relocating to Portugal, how to find housing, things of that nature. So overall, a tool for our community and to bridge the gap between expats and locals.<\/p>

Thanks so much!<\/h3>

Of course!<\/p>

StartAbroad is Here to Help<\/h3>

Navigating the move abroad can be challenging. StartAbroad offers a visa application support service, which you can learn more about here<\/strong><\/a>.

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You can also speak with a relocation specialist for free by scheduling a 15-minute consultation, or reaching out to info@startabroad.com.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kam C. is a US citizen living in Lisbon, Portugal. She is a budget travel and holistic wellness blogger.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":4035,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_theme","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[48,47],"tags":[],"post-country":[32],"class_list":["post-4034","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-expat-finances","category-housing","post-country-portugal"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t