We own three properties in Europe – Portugal and Spain – for less than it cost us to buy one “entry-level” house in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin … Staunton, Virginia … or Jacksonville, Florida (three places we lived before leaving the USA).

Mind you, we’re not talking about upscale, Architectural Digest places in features and accoutrements. Just nice, comfortable, pleasant, typically attached homes. Of course, if it’s a spectacular stand-alone home you want here in Spain or Portugal, plenty are available for $250K or more.

But we’re basically homebodies who like to be connected to our neighbors, along with the savings inherent to “row” houses. Our last USA house was in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. A great place for tourists, but lots of limitations for residents. We bought and sold our west side of town property – 3 BR, 2 BA, LR, DR, kitchen, two garages, fenced yard, and unfinished basement – within less than a year for the same price we paid for it: $135,000. Now, according to all reports, there aren’t any 3 bedroom, 2 bath properties available in Sturgeon Bay for less than $150,000. Realtors and property agents tell us that, regardless of condition, any such property sells before it’s technically been listed!

For a lot less than that, we now own three conjugal properties: two in Portugal and one in Spain. “Yeah, that sounds great,” mockers will say. “But where are you living … and what about all the costs to upkeep, maintain, and run those three properties?”

Spending less than $20,000 per year on comprehensive health, car, and property insurance, taxes, heating and air conditioning, furnishings, water, twice monthly cleaning, trash pick-up, and all other living expenses, we’re maintaining all three houses on my Social Security payments of $2,250 (about €2,100 at the current exchange rate).

The take-aways?

We don’t live in the most expensive areas: Lisbon, Madrid, Porto, Barcelona. We don’t have brand new properties with all the associated amenities. We live with the locals, driving to the “big city” about 20 minutes away for major shopping, albeit groceries at a variety of supermarkets, clothing, our whatever else tickles our fancy in shopping centers and malls. Ditto for cultural pursuits: live theater, museums, movies, concerts. Our three, 50-year-old row houses were created from concrete and plaster, with no insulation … except for their new, double-pane windows. So, it can be hotter inside than out during the summers and colder in winter. But we compensate with inverter aircon (and heating) units that we use only when occupying specific rooms.

Furniture has been moved time and again among the three properties, as artwork and furnishings are rotated for new perspectives.

Electricity is relatively expensive in Portugal and Spain. But the emphasis is on that word “relative.” Becoming accustomed to Portuguese prices for everything from health care to property insurance and taxes, we freaked when we received our first electric bill (before turning down the heat from the inverters): about $450 for those first two months. But, after our melt-down, we remembered paying about $500 per month for electricity in Florida and $350 or so for gas and electric in Wisconsin. It’s all in one’s frame of reference …

Meanwhile, without any rental income, we’re maintaining three separate properties.

We purchased our primary property in Vila Boim, a charming village about ten minutes from UNESCO Heritage site Elvas (Portugal), on the border with big-brother city Badajoz (Spain). It’s an easy drive and great get-away to our house in Spain. With a well-proportioned living, dining, kitchen, bathroom, and two bedrooms, it benefits from a big bonus: a compact, enclosed backyard with two fruit-laden trees—perfect for the dogs (as well as grilling outdoors). There’s also a “dispensa” (pantry) and small storage bed in the backyard.

Also quite comfortable is its layout and space configuration, with a good-sized bedroom in the middle of the house. Although the Alentejo area of Portugal, where it’s located, tends to be a bit hotter in the summer and colder during winter, the exterior walls of this house are built from boulders between two and three feet thick. That’s what we call “natural” insulation (although we’ve replaced the windows and added air conditioning). Purchase price for this newly-renovated and refurbished property including all fix-ups, add-ons, and improvements: $50,000 in US dollars or about 47,000 euros.

Home-away-from-home is also in the interior … of Spain, in an Andalucian town of about 9,000 (Olvera), where the provinces of Málaga, Sevilla, and Cádiz intersect. We owned a little pied-a-terre off and on for 18 years. After moving to Portugal and spending more time in Spain, we sold it and bought a bigger property with two bedrooms and two baths, along with a separate living room, dining room, and kitchen. Here, our taxes are about €70 ($75) per year (including daily trash pick-up); we pay €140 ($155) annually for comprehensive homeowner’s insurance; and our lightning-fast Internet connection is €20 ($22) debited directly from our bank account in Portugal monthly. We paid €32,000 ($35,000) not including Spain’s 8% property transfer tax—it’s only 0.1% in Portugal!–and spent another €10,000 ($11,000) on home improvements: new windows, doors, floors, appliances, three aircon inverters, two water heaters, kitchen cabinetry, handrails, kitchen cabinets, bathroom, appliances etc.) Total including €3,000 ($3,275) in closing costs: €45,000 ($49,000).

Last, but certainly not least, is our “annex” property, a four-minute walk from our primary residence in Vila Boim. We like to entertain … but space is tight — compact! — in our home. We can’t have more than another couple (or two) over for dinner, let alone invite guests to stay overnight with us. We met this challenge by purchasing what once was a house … then became a “ruina” (ruin) … later purchased by an architect who tore it down and erected a new two-story “garage” with an efficiency kitchen and full bathroom (shower, no tub). Upstairs are our offices now, while the lower level is a fully-equipped guest apartment that we use for entertaining and communal gatherings.

The property cost us €33,000 plus about €500 in closing (transfer taxes, legal, and administrative) costs. We spent another €9,500 to furnish it completely — upstairs and down — as well as to have new kitchen cabinetry and appliances added. The place also has two aircon invertor units (one 18,000 BTUs, the other 12,000 BTUs), along with upgraded electrical wiring and more than a dozen new outlets for efficiency and convenience. Total cost: just about €43,000.

So there you have it: Three very different and separate properties with a combined purchase price – including all appliances, repairs, improvements, and upgrades – of €137,500 or about US $150,000.

Capital costs are one thing, monthly expenses yet another. I did say at the beginning of this narrative that two of us live together in these three properties … at a combined cost of about $2,250 per month—my Social Security payment. How do we do it?

Here’s our monthly budget, based on euros:

• €150 Electricity*

• €60 Water

• €125 Petrol/Gasoline/LPG for Two Cars

• €35 Propane/Butane for Heating/Cooking**

• €125 High-Speed Internet/TV/Telephones (for all three properties)

• €75 Property Taxes (for all three)

• €15 Vehicle Taxes (a new 2023 Dacia Jogger and a 2005 Jaguar X-Type)

• €50 Portugal Income Taxes

• €150 Comprehensive Health Insurance for Two (one 75, the other 60)

• €95 Other Insurance: 2 Cars (€50)/3 Properties x 3 (€45)

• €500 Food: Groceries

• €250 Food: Restaurants/Eating Out

• €70 Cleaning & Upkeep: Properties + Laundry

• €100 Miscellaneous (Unbudgeted)

€1,800 Total Estimated Monthly Expenses

That’s just about $1,965 per month (based upon the current currency exchange rate).

What’s not included? Portugal’s full annual income tax! We benefit from Nonhabitual Residency (NHR) status, a somewhat confusing term that basically means we pay substantially reduced or little income tax on our Social Security and pension payments, interest, and dividend distribution. Alas, the program — structured as it was when we moved here just over six years ago — no longer exists. And, while we still have four more years to benefit from NHR, we will need to budget more Portugal income tax to our budget each year.

We like art and antiques, so we visit municipal markets once a week … typically spending about €150 per month. Other incidentals cost, say, €50 per month. All in all, we’re spending some 2,000 euros (US $2,175) per month. So, we even have about $100 each month to leave in our savings account.

Of course, others pinch pennies or pence much better than we do and are far more frugal. Others spend a lot more … mainly because of where and how they live.

But, hopefully, I have made my point: You can live comfortably and well on a modest budget, including health care and insurance, taxes, and home ownership.

The caveat? In Portugal and Spain. Probably elsewhere, as well!

*Two of our homes are all-electric: HVAC + cooking. *One house uses propane for cooking and water heating … electric for all else.

Shared here are personal observations, experiences, and happenstance that actually occurred to us as we moved from the USA to begin a new life in Portugal and Spain. Collected and compiled in EXPAT: Leaving the USA for Good and its update, Spanish Towns, Portuguese Villages, the books are available in hardcover, paperback, and eBook formats from Amazon and most online booksellers.