Setubal vs Ostroda

Setubal is a small city of 10 thousand people where a one-bedroom outside the center runs $821/mo and the local average net salary is only $1,274/mo, so remote workers on foreign income will live well while anyone banking on a local job will feel the squeeze. The numbers tell a clean story: $650/mo in non-rent costs, $45/mo for transport, and a $1,321/mo mid-range budget make it genuinely affordable, and an 82/100 expat score with a safety index of 80 backs that up. The catch is scale and language, since English proficiency is common mainly in tourist areas and LIS sits just 12 km away, which helps for flights but also means Lisbon's gravity pulls hard. Come for the Mediterranean climate and the D7 visa at $1,031/mo, not for career ambition.

A one-bedroom in central Lisbon runs about $1,040/month, roughly a third of comparable Boston or DC rents. Combined with $776 in monthly living costs, a couple can live well under $2,500/month total, and the D7 visa only requires $1,031 income to qualify. The catch: Portuguese progressive tax hits 48% (top bracket), so this works best for retirees on fixed foreign income, not high earners staying tax resident.