3 ways Portugal is better than the UK, and vice versa
During a recent, unanticipated trip to the UK, I couldn’t help making several comparisons between life in Portugal and in Britain. As a Brit who’s lived abroad for more than 10 years, there are things I notice when I’m back to see family and friends in my native country that are comforting, like a little treat for the spirit or the taste buds. Other aspects of life in the UK serve as sharp reminders of why I choose to live in Portugal.
Three ways in which the UK trumps Portugal
1. The sheer variety of food
Portuguese people are bred to be proud of their food, and in some instances, for example Polvo à Lagareiro (baked octopus with potatoes), their pride is understandable and justified. Unfortunately, this love of national food results in an almost identical menu in most restaurants. I can pretty much guess what’s going to be available without looking and when I find a café that serves something other than cheese / ham / ham and cheese sandwiches I get quite excited.
Britain, however, has a bad international reputation for bland food. This may have been true years ago but we Brits have firmly embraced foreign cuisines and this is reflected in almost every café, bistro, restaurant and sandwich shop across the land. I’m often overwhelmed by the options available but it’s a real treat to have such a choice. The last sandwich I had in the UK was crayfish and avocado on ciabatta. Delicious!
sandwich bar photo by su-lin on flickr.com
2. Supermarkets
I’ve been reminded how limited the range of food in supermarkets can be in Portugal. Unless you’re in a major city, or the Algarve, it’s almost impossible to track down anything that isn’t bog standard Portuguese fare. If, by some stroke of luck, you find something exotic, you should buy it immediately as it probably won’t be there next time you visit the same shop. In Britain, there are herbs, spices, sauces and ready-meals from around the world, even in small town supermarkets.
Food shopping also seems a lot cheaper in the UK than in Portugal these days. Except for wine, which is outrageously expensive in Britain. The cheapest drinkable red costs £4 whereas in Portugal, you can pick up a decent bottle for 2€.
3. Opportunities and activities
Even in a backwater, fairly deprived area in the Midlands, there are interesting courses on offer at the local library and other community organizations. Drumming, languages, and photography to name but a few.
I admit that my language limitations, rural location and unsocial working hours in Portugal make it more difficult to attend courses but there just doesn’t seem to be a comparable offer either in my local town or the city where I work. Or perhaps I’m just not looking in the right places.
Three ways in which Portugal beats the pants off the UK
1. The weather
An obvious one, I know, but the warmer weather is one of the main reasons why I love living in Portugal. It’s not perfect; the summers can be overpowering and winters chilly but the sun shines most days. There are times when I’m sunbathing in the garden and my friends and family back in the UK are having to put the central heating on.
The difference that blue skies and sunshine make to my mood and motivation are incredible and I couldn’t bear to return to the UK where almost every day is a grey day. Sometimes we have what feels like a month of solid rain in Portugal but it’s a small price to pay for great weather we get for the rest of the year.
2. Free things
The UK is a rip-off country. Everything costs a small fortune and if you want to go out for the day, you’ll be hard-pushed to manage it without putting your hands in your pocket.
Portugal, on the other hand, can still be refreshingly cheap. Parking at river beaches, and off-season at the seaside, is usually free. Most attractions haven’t been excessively commercialised and set up to extort as much money as possible from people. Long may they stay that way.
3. Coffee
café cheio / expresso topped up with hot water
For anyone who likes coffee and has been to Portugal, this is no surprise. I will never understand the Brits’ obsession with drinking bucket-sized mugs of watery, tasteless stuff that costs £3 a cup. Once you’ve had ‘proper coffee’ in Portugal, it’s best to avoid the muck they serve in the UK. I stick to tea these days.
Portuguese coffee, whether it’s a quick shot of expresso to keep you awake after a meal, or just to keep you going during the day, or a meia de leite (coffee with milk), is strong, freshly made and full of flavour. And cheap!
What do you think? What’s better about Portugal than your home country and vice versa? Leave a comment and share your views.
[...] Sadly, Mike’s mum died at the beginning of the month so we were in the UK for a large part of April. Spending time there inevitably led to comparisons between Portugal and the UK. [...]
My husband and I are now retired to northern Portugal, and where we are it’s mainly ‘family restaurants’ and yes, the menus are fairly ‘standard’ with few differences. However what REALLY drives us nuts, is the fact that in the markets and even the supermarkets we can buy all manner of vegetables [ except our beloved swedes, parsnips and cranberries *sigh*] but – when you eat out in a restaurant about the only thing you get veg wise alongside the potatoes [chips or roast] are those stringy, dark green ‘nabo’ type turnip tops. Pleasant enough once you are used to them .. but NOT very exciting when that is all you can get ! And the desserts too I can count on one hand.
If one goes into Porto though, there are all sorts of restaurants, from Moroccan, Chinese etc to the more unusual types of Portuguese!!
But, we love it here, and couldn’t contemplate going back to the UK !!!
I know exactly what you mean about the veg, and the desserts! Like you, however, it’s something I’m prepared to ‘lump’ in order to benefit from the more appealing aspects of life in Portugal
Hi Julie, what a great blog you have here, congrats! I hope you enjoy living in Portugal
I just have to disagree with you about the food. Maybe you need to visit a little more of the country to check out what more can be offered.
Just as pastery is concerned, we have a massive variety: the ovos moles, bolo rei, pao de lo, pastel de nata, bolo de arroz, requeijao, fios de ovos do algarve, tortas de azeitao, omg, there are so many I could go on and on and on..
Then, when it comes to food, almost every region has it’s own tradition. Matosinhos for instance is very well known for the dozens of fish plates that they do;
In Mealhada you have the famous pork sandwich;
In Mirandela you have the famous “posta à Mirandesa”, a great beef steak;
In Oporto you have the “Francesinha”, and the Cozido à Portuguesa (a mixture of the finest chicken, sausages, beefs, vegetables and whatnot).
Seriously I here could also go on and on and on..
Anyway I agree about the rest! And once more congratulations on your blog
Thanks for commenting and complimenting my blog, it’s much appreciated. I do keep trying out different Portuguese dishes, especially when I travel around the country, e.g. http://juliedawnfox.com/2012/11/17/the-gastronomic-delights-and-disappointments-of-elvas-portugal/ but I still prefer the wider range that’s available in the UK
I enjoyed reading your blog ..
As a big fan of Fado music and the language ( and the Portuguese people ), I try to visit Portugal every chance I get ..as much as I like the seafood that I had there, it is hard for me to understand the Portuguese affection with the ‘bacalao’ ..tried so many variations until finally decided never again ..the taste, the smell is sooo bad !
and about that famous licor beirao .. is there any coctail recipe to make it ‘drinkable’ ? happened to buy 2 bottles without trying ..
Hi Sibel, I happen to love licor Beirão, as it comes but it’s very refreshing over ice. There are some cocktail and food recipes on the licor beirão website: http://www.licorbeirao.com/. Just click through until you find something that appeals. I just tried the ‘morangão’ which is crushed strawberries, ice and Licor Beirão and it was delicious.
I’ve also used it to make kiwi sorbet http://juliedawnfox.com/2012/02/20/k-is-for-kiwi-fruit/ and kiwi crumble but you could just as easily use it with apples.
Good luck!
I am half Portuguese, half English and have lived in both countries for a long time. I too am constantly making comparisons. I do agree with your observations, especially about attitude to food. It amazes me sometimes that a country that pioneered the import of spices from the East uses so little in its diet. There really is no imagination or variety in their/our dishes. But the raw ingredients are great. Fresh fish, potatoes and onions, not to be matched. Answer is to cook fresh ingredients as simply as possible, and drizzle with olive oil. Which is also probably the best in the world.
Hi Joana, thanks for taking the time to comment. I can’t understand why there’s so little variation either but you’re right about the fresh food and olive oil. Fruit and vegetables actually have flavour and I’m a huge fan of olive oil.
I agree with the coffee. When I go back to Canada I see cars lined up at the local coffee take-out window, paying $2-$3 for a large cup of the watery mess. Since drinking a good coffee in Italy, I will never go back to the old ways.
There is no going back once you’ve had the good stuff
[...] 3 ways Portugal is better than the UK, and vice versa [...]
The reason for less variety in Portugal is it’s mainly local and organic which is a good thing with no air miles and petro chemicals. That was one of the many reasons I prefer Portugal over the UK. Local and organic are the preserve of the switch on middle class in the UK. Food plays much more of a part of culture and the family in Portugal, hopefully this will remain and Monsanto and McDonalds can stay away.
Hi Julie! Great blog! I hope you enjoy the country. I can´t agree with you about the food.
Portugal has one of the best and most varied cuisines in the world. Fish, meat, pastries, etc..´
Congratulations!
Thanks for your comment, André. Are you Portuguese, by any chance? Most Portuguese people I’ve spoken to about food are very loyal to their cuisine
.
I still think that although Portugal has lots of tasty dishes, there isn’t enough variety on menus or supermarkets, especially where I live.
Hello,I’m Portuguese born i live in England married to English man , and i agree with everything you said about the two countries. We’re thinking move to Portugal maybe within 2 years i miss so much the weather there and the food as well the people.Hope you be happy in Portugal always, and crisis and economic problems exists everywhere in world not just in Portugal .
In spanish: muy buen post y excelente tu blog =)
Muchas gracias para estas palavres amables
Funny, isn’t it, how some coutnries adopt all the foods available and others do not? Australia is like the UK in that respect – you can eat just about any food available on the planet, except for some things we just can’t grow or don’t import. Yams, for instance, we have to substitute with the white flesh sweet potatoes and we are having trouble finding the sort of rice they use in Nigeria – but of course there is plenty of varieties of rice, just not that one.
We can eat Thai, Malaysian, Chinese, Japanese, Greek, Italian, African (various), Turkish, French, German and a host of others I can’t remember of the top of my head!
Don’t forget to tell how nice and warm hearted the Portuguese people are.
Where ever you go you feel more than welcome and even while the country is poor the people will share the products of their gardens such as fruit and vegetables with you.
It is a peaceful country with relaxed people I feel privileged to live in such a fine country.
I agree, Iris. My neighbours often bring us eggs and vegetables, knowing that we don’t produce our own. We don’t need or rely on the things they give us, but appreciate their generosity and thoughtfulness.
Inclined to agree with you in the main Julie. Certainly about the coffee. I always find plenty of things to do in the Algarve, but of course they’re mostly outdoors, and the weather certainly helps in that respect. Aside from our recent Jubilee celebrations (and you may have seen what the weather did to that!) we don’t have half so many festivals.
I usually shop at the Minipreco and I do find them cheaper than our UK equivalent. The content probably has novelty value for me though, being a UK resident.
Hi Jo, when I did a quick price comparison between Lidl in Portugal and in the UK, I was surprised at how much cheaper certain things, such as nuts, were in Britain. I haven’t done a full analysis though so may be proved wrong on that point. The choice is still far better in the UK and the novelty of Portuguese food staples soon wears off, for me at least
Comparing to Australia, Portuguese food is great, here the only variety is Asian and more Asian! As for the coffee, not many countries have good coffee or know how to make it well. In Australia an average “bica” costs from 3dlrs upwards, which is enough to put you off coffee!
I don’t understand why coffee is so overpriced in some countries, like the UK and Australia, like you say, it puts you off even before you taste it and find out you paid over the odds for crap coffee.
Enjoyed this post Julie. I’d add port on the side of Portugal. I’m not much of a fan but a few days in Oporto made my husband a very happy man
As for the UK, I’d add theater (not just London but that in itself would win out).
Thanks for commenting, I agree with both your points. I drink a lot more port now that I live here and have discovered tawny port – yum! And my husband pines for British theatre…