The Portuguese capital turns out to be one of the most expensive cities in the world. This is the result of a recent study by a British insurance company, which takes wages, house prices and the cost of living into account on the basis of official data. The result came as no surprise to the Brazilians living in Lisbon, who feel this increase in different sectors on a daily basis.
The study “The Cost of Living Crisis: How Big is the Gap Between Outgoings and Incomings Worldwide?” shows that renting a 3bedroom apartment in Lisbon costs an average of 1,625 euros taking into account the average monthly salary of around 1,037 euros and the cost of living of 561 euros, there is a negative balance of €1,149 at the end of the month.
The data shows that a family cannot make it through the end of the month without debt, given that there are no private school expenses that would increase family costs by at least €500 per child.
Journalist Renata Cordeiro left Rio de Janeiro about four years ago and wasn’t surprised by the research. According to her, the cost of living increases from food to the value of real estate.
“The difference in the cost of living four, five years ago, even two years ago is pretty significant for the moment we’re living in now. Some things are more noticeable, for example the energy part. We also noticed a big increase in supermarkets, beef, fresh produce like fruits, vegetables and medicines. Another thing I noticed was the increase in restaurants. The difference in the final billing is very significant.”
“There is also an increase in the value of real estate: I had the intention of buying some properties that cost between 180 and 200,000 euros and now I could not buy for less than 340,000 euros. The difference is very big !”, he comments. .
Gymnastics teacher Adrian Gomes arrived in Lisbon three years ago and is concerned about the rising cost of living in the city. In addition to a steady job, the Gaúcha gives massages in her free time to circumvent the crisis and supplement the family income, and is even considering leaving the Portuguese capital.
“It was already expensive when I arrived and now it’s gone up a lot more. We work, work and work and it seems that we are not seeing results, that money is not growing with inflation. The cost of living is very high in Lisbon and this was not the case when I arrived. Now it’s absurd. We can’t save 200 euros at the end of the month.”
“Even the price of clothes has gone up. I have a fouryearold son and the child is growing fast. We always have to buy clothes and we can keep up with the daily and monthly expenses, and we see that the clothes are gone too, which is absurd, but we can’t dress the kids. It’s very complicated. The cost of living is absurd, very high and I’m not the only one complaining and I’ve come to the conclusion that Lisbon isn’t worth staying anymore! ‘ she laments.
The budget gymnastics that many families like Adrian’s are forced to do has pushed businesswoman Cristine Carreira, who has two children, to leave Lisbon and move to Braga, a small town in northern Portugal. Despite the change, she is afraid of the rising cost of living. “The value of real estate has really skyrocketed, in fact it has skyrocketed and we don’t see where it’s going to end. Also the bills for consumption of energy, gas, water, market, food and fuel prices have been increasing at a very high speed, it has caused a lot of anxiety and it is something that is affecting my monthly budget. I need to restrict my lifestyle, e.g. B. Traveling by car and now I carefully analyze the products I buy in the supermarket because I have to pay more attention to everything that comes to my house because the prices are very high and we only see them increasing every day. This is very worrying!” he says.
Cristine says Lisbon’s move to a smaller city has had an impact not only financially but also on the quality of life. “My departure from Lisbon to Braga happened not only because of buying a much cheaper property of the same type that I would pay in Lisbon, but also because of the quality of life I have here in a smaller town where I can go to school much easier , to parks, to get to a hospital. All of this saves me time and money. So when we manage to organize life in a smaller town that offers everything so easily, it ultimately affects our financial lives. What Braga offers me I would find more difficult to do the same things in Lisbon,” he says.
London tops the table, followed by Rome and Lisbon
The study, which ranks Lisbon as the third most expensive city in the world, compared a total of 56 cities and was produced by calculating the cost of living, the average cost of rent and the average salary. It is important to emphasize that the cost of living includes grocery shopping, transportation costs, utility bills, sports and leisure activities, clothing costs and childcare costs. The insurer’s ranking puts Lisbon at the top of the table, after Rome and London, as the most expensive city to live in.
Lucas Vitoretti, 25, from Santa Catarina, works in a restaurant in downtown Lisbon. About three years ago he moved to the Portuguese capital.
“The cost of living here in Lisbon is very high and will be even higher than three years ago. I can give you the average of how much I spent when I got here. I’ve always worked in a restaurant, I practically don’t have expenses with lunch and dinner, but with cafes, supermarket and extra for education. When I first arrived alone, I spent an average of €100 a month or less, and now my boyfriend and I spend more than €300 a month on groceries. That is a significant increase.”
Flavia Motta from Rio de Janeiro, who has lived in Lisbon since September 2014 and works as a real estate consultant, also feels affected by the rising cost of living.
“The difference I have noticed in the cost of living since arriving in Portugal is an increase in prices, particularly rent and groceries: more so in restaurants and bars, which I think is related to the increase in rental prices that new commercial establishments saw rents are going up too.”
According to Flavia, this increase is having an impact on lifestyle. “I rent and have moved a few times over the years, at least half of them because I had to find another rental option because the owners wanted to add too much. I’ve had situations where they wanted to double down on contract renewals and I had to look for alternatives in other parts of the city. Today I know that if I have to move to another apartment with what I pay for, I have no alternative and I have to leave Lisbon,” he says.
Journalist and public relations officer Marco Hennies, 57, has also had to change his habits and says the low wages in Lisbon are his biggest problem today.
“I feel like the cost of living has gone up and on the other hand there hasn’t been a readjustment of our income, so that’s the biggest impact. Increasing things are of course, international crisis, pandemic, all this affects all sectors of the economy, but the salary does not follow and has been the same for six years and at the end of the month there is less left. It’s a problem we need to be able to deal with. Now I choose carefully the cheese I will buy and even the wine because everything turned out well.”