4 Thoughts I Had About Living a Simple Life Whilst Staying in Porto
Aside from "bloody hell it's hilly here"
Porto is like a second home to me. I love it so much, I’m applying for residency to live there full-time.
I’ve been in Porto for the last week for some very boring tasks like going to the notary, opening a bank account, and finding an apartment - all requirements I need in order to move there.
I’ve also spent the week reflecting on why Porto is such a good place to live a good, simple life.
As I sit on a plane somewhere between Porto and Nantes in Northern France (a quick wine-based pit stop before spending some time in Croatia), I’ve got some time to write these reflections down.
Here’s what I’ve been thinking about simple living whilst hoofing up and down Porto’s hills.
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Your government can make or break a simple life
One of the big tenets of living simply is about lowering your baseline costs so you’re not shelling out thousands of dollars before the month even starts. Often we talk about this in terms of our possessions. Your house size, car payment, or how you spend your disposable income.
But your government - what they charge you for and how they let you work - also has a part to play in this too.
If you’re looking to live a calmer life - perhaps with less stressful, lower-paid work - but your government unfairly penalizes low-income workers, that will affect how simple your life can be.
If you want to do your own thing as a freelancer or small business owner but your government charges high levels of self-employment social security (Spain for instance charges c.€350 per month before you even make a single penny), that will significantly raise your monthly baseline costs.
I have to caveat here that I’m a high-tax, high-reward kind of person, I’m very happy to pay for public services. But I’ve also lived in countries where taxes are high and services are still poor.
Portugal - from what my Portuguese and ex-pat friends tell me - isn’t one of them (I hope they’re right).
Which means living a simple life is still possible here.
Apartment living isn’t weird here, it’s the norm
Speaking of keeping your baseline costs low, something I love about Porto is how many people live in apartments.
Apartment dwellers get a bad rep in the likes of the UK, Canada, and America. No one seemingly lives in an apartment unless they absolutely have to, and ideally for as short a time as possible.
Not so much in Porto. It’s not just the young’uns who embrace single-story living, it’s all ages. It’s for all demographics and incomes. It’s for couples and families and single people and roommates and the elderly.
Apartment living can be a lifestyle choice, not just an economical one (although that is definitely part of it). And in Porto, it’s a good choice too because it means you can live in the thick of the action. This is excellent news for people like me who thrive on what I call “ambient people.” Those people who mill around, making a place a vibrant and exciting place to be.
What’s more, it’s - of course - cheaper than taking one of the few houses that are dotted around city.
Cheaper living = more chance of living simply and sustainably.
Some cities are a better size for simple living than others
My husband and I always say that if you live in one of the central Porto neighborhoods, everything is 20 minutes away. The apartment we rented this week was 20 minutes to the central market, as were our friend’s wine bar, all of our friends’ houses, the supermarket (in fact that was 10 minutes), and even the airport via taxi.
You don’t need a car in Porto if you don’t want one because amenities are plentiful and within easy reach. And that means two things:
You save money. Like I say, a low baseline cost is imperative for living a simple life.
You integrate exercise into your daily routine because you’ve always got that 20-minute walk.
If Porto was bigger, everything would feel more overwhelming. If you had to take a car to the nearest supermarket for instance, it would mean a) having to be strategic with how you plan your day and b) having to own a car.
The size of Porto leaves room for spontaneity. It leaves room for taking a coffee whilst you do your errands. It leaves room for bumping into a friend and chatting for 20 minutes.
It leaves room for simplicity.
To live simply means living somewhere laid back
In Porto, no one gives a hoot about the clothes you wear, the apartment you own, the car you drive. They’ve got more important things to do like seeing friends or eating grilled sardines or drinking beer.
Sure, like every city, there’s a subsection of people who shop at the Rolex store, but they’re few and far between. So long as you hang out in the right places, you’re unlikely to bump into them.
That’s a far cry from where I lived in the UK where status trumped everything. Where for instance there were over 50 hairdressers in a one-mile radius.
Porto is a laid-back place, one that won’t judge you if you want to live a calmer, simpler life. It’s not a business or banking epicenter so you don’t have a culture like say in London where the suits are sharp and the size of your paycheck means everything.
In other words, it’s the perfect environment for building an interesting life.
My final thought about Porto is that although not everyone lives simply here, there is the potential to do so if you want to. Although I’m very aware I view Porto through a white, middle-class, Western lens, I like to think there is at least a chance to create a simple, easier, softer life here. It feels like the sort of place where anything goes.
You can’t say that about London. Paris. New York, or even Lisbon just a few hundred kilometers down the road. Places where life is expensive and hectic.
But you can say it about Porto.
It’s why I love it so.
Reading for the weekend
My recent Medium articles (paywall free)
Simple Living Isn’t Complicated. Modern Life Just Makes It Sound Like It Is
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This was a great read, thanks Charlie! As someone who is looking to move out of the UK and into Europe, I resonate with a lot of this. I feel we can seek out a simpler place to live than the UK and create a better work life balance as a result. Good luck with everything and I look forward to reading more about it 😊
My first thought was that it sounds idyllic. I especially love the fact that everywhere is a short walk - living relatively rurally in the UK means that I spend a lot of time driving and I hate it. It's an interesting point too about the baseline tax that different govts can levy on the self employed. I hadn't appreciated that it would vary so much between countries