I think your income level contains the bigger part of the answer. You will not live well in Portugal with a local salary, that needs no debate.
Both countries are getting worse, and no longer are what they used to be just a few years ago.
I wouldn’t live in any if I could help it, but if I must choose, I still prefer Portugal by a small margin.
I have a T-Mobile pay-as-you-go account/number/esim. $3 plus tax per month to keep active and send or receive a few SMSs.