How much will the move cost?


We plan to make our final decision on where to move after we return from our October trip to Portugal -- probably on November 9 (the significance of this day will be obvious to folks in the US). A big part of that decision will include the cost of living in different locations where we might live: how much does it cost to have a home, healthcare, food and enjoy our favorite activities and past times. But there is also the up front one time (so it is to be hoped) cost to actually move to a place and that is what this entry is about.

Right now Portugal is our only official option and so I will list the detailed costs for a move there and will also include the costs for two hypothetical alternate destinations: a generic US city on the other coast and a generic Latin America/Caribbean country.

All costs shown are estimates based upon my research.

  • Horses
    • Portugal:  $30,000 (for two horses). Includes transport to LA for quarantine, the flight to Europe, and transport to our boarding stable.
    • US: $2,000. We can transport them ourselves and need only overnight facilities for the move.
    • Latin: $10,000 (for two horses). This varies greatly depending upon the country and so I included an upper range value.
  • Household
    • Portugal: $3,000 (a little stuff) to $15,000 (a lot of stuff).
    • US: $0 (a little stuff) to $10,000 (a lot of stuff).
    • Latin: $1,500 (a little stuff) to $10,000 (a lot of stuff).
  • Visa/Residency
    • Portugal: $7,000. This includes things like costs to get a NIF, open a bank account, the required travel insurance, visa and passport processing, FBI report fees, the trip to San Francisco VFS for our appointments, and two months "unused" rent (you must have a 12 month lease contract before you apply for the visa, and you can expect to not have your visa for a couple of months after your lease begins).
    • US: $0.
    • Latin: $2,000 (this amount varies widely from country to country, and I have listed the average).
  • Air Fare (one way)
    • Portugal: $2,500.
    • US: $0.
    • Latin: $2,000.
Total Moving Costs
  • Portugal: $42,500 (moving a little stuff) to $54,500 (moving a lot of stuff).
  • US: $2,000 (moving a little stuff) to $12,000 (moving a lot of stuff).
  • Latin: $15,500 (moving a little stuff) to $24,000 (moving a lot of stuff).

The move to Portugal will be expensive no matter how much stuff we take, and the difference in cost between shipping a little stuff versus shipping a lot of stuff is proportionally small, and so I will use that set of costs when comparing destinations.

Portugal versus the US

The difference in moving costs is a staggering $42,500. That is a lot of money for us and so how can we justify such a high upfront expenditure? We have to look at the long term costs of living in Portugal and the US. Housing costs in the US are higher as are healthcare costs. Focusing on only the latter we can expect to spend $16,000 more for health insurance in the US versus Portugal, at least until we qualify for Medicare. Living in Portugal for 2 years and 8 months will make up the difference in moving expenses just in health insurance cost savings. Even after we qualify for Medicare our insurance premiums would still be higher in the US than Portugal for the equivalent coverage.

Some things cost more in Portugal (energy and, for the long term, taxes), but these balance out with things that are more expensive in the US: housing, car insurance, house insurance (I see a trend here) and medical expenses not covered by insurance (such as deductibles).

I have already discussed the intrinsic quality of life differences in a previous blog, which for us lean more favorably toward Portugal.

Portugal versus Latin American Countries

The difference in moving costs is $30,500 -- that's still a large gap, and there are no long term cost of living savings to be had to financially offset this expense.

And thus in choosing between these two destinations we need to decide if our quality of life in Portugal compared to a Latin American country would be better enough to justify the extra $30,500 in moving costs.

So which option shall we choose? Check back here in November to find out.


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