Hello everyone. Want to ask you guys, rather advice than particular guide. Me and my wife consider immigration for the future. Our two options that we consider are Portugal or Spain, and unfortunately can’t pick up a one. Maybe somebody here would assist…? I’m interested in political stability, tax rates ( we both work in IT sphere), security in general, tolerance to immigrants and climate as well.

I appreciate any help here.

  • jabonkagigi@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    I’ve lived in both and I prefer Spain by far. It’s more international, the people are more open minded and the economy is better (It depends how you look at it). Portugal has become a theme park for tourists (which may distort your views of the country if you only visit the popular areas). Portuguese people are unable to live in the city close to their work and I’m aware that this also happens in Spain but at a lower magnitude. Spain also has many liveable cities with great infrastructure, whereas in Portugal it’s basically Lisbon and Porto.

    My experience with Portuguese people has been bad. I don’t blame them, because I know how little they’re paid and how many hours they work only to go back to their home that’s 45 minutes away. I felt like a big percentage of people are depressed or angry at life and they take it out on you. As I said before, if you spend most of your time in the city centers of Lisbon and Porto you won’t notice it, since those have become places for tourists exclusively and since they make money with hotels, restaurants and other face to face services, you’ll hardly ever encounter this rudeness and sadness I’ve told you about.

    I’ve also found Spanish people to be more open to friendship, even though they also prefer to hang with their social circle from childhood. In Spain there’s a big chilling culture which you’ll see after work hours - People finish work and go drink a few beers with friends and coworkers, and even if you don’t participate in this, you’ll reap the benefits of people who live a more relaxed life on their day-to-day since you’ll be interacting with them. Portuguese people work more hours and usually they’re tired after a long day of work, so they go back to their place after 6.