You still have a lot of places with some beach and some tourists that are not full of people. I might think of some places close to Lisbon like Peniche, Santa Cruz or Ericeira, that have an ok weather and some tourists (so you will still find some nice restaurants / most people speaking english / easy to rent apartments and hotels). If you are not into beach and you want really calm places with nice sights, some history and you want to do some walking
in natural places maybe Serra da Estrela is your place.

If I can choose, i would be looking for the first two weeks of June or in September, because there aren t that many tourists in Portugal in that months and renting an apartment should be cheapest in this months.

Probably like 2, but don t be surprised if someone ask for more.

I would say that yes, but if you want to know more be more specific with your question. Are you talking about security, night, or what else?

K, thanks. That's what I suspected (seems standard in EU). Just trying to figure out how much cash I need on me.

edit: Although apparently in the UK 1 months rent is more standard.

Most are 3x that I've found (1st, last, and deposit.)

So you don't pay rent for the first and last month and at the end you receive back 1 months rent as a deposit?

Not having much luck so far getting replies from landlords about details. Been contacting them by mail. How did you go about finding a place at first? Did you go through a broker?

http://lisboa.olx.pt/apartamento-casa-a-venda-cat-367
http://www.custojusto.pt/
http://casa.sapo.pt/EN/
http://www.casa.iol.pt/
http://www.remax.pt/default.aspx

It varies and is sometimes negotiable. I think the standard is that you don't pay the last month and then you get your deposit back after you move out.

I've lucked out with my two apartments here. First one the landlord was really cool and just let me move in to a sweet furnished apartment without a deposit or last month's rent. He even let me move in before I paid the rent and when I moved out he didn't even charge me for some of the remaining utility bills. He was just a guy renting his place while he was out of the country though. Then my current apartment I found when the agent couldn't show up for a viewing and I happened to meet the landlord. I didn't like the place, but he had another he hadn't given to an agent yet so I went with him and saw it and got it without an agent tacking on their percentage, which I think is pretty high.

One thing that was complicated that I don't know would apply to EU residents is that you have to have a Tax number to get a lease or a bank account and you have to have a Portuguese address to get a Tax number. You might want to confirm that though because my memory is kind of fuzzy on it. But I do remember thinking how the hell am I gonna do this. But my landlord helped me work it out.

One thing you will notice is that some apartments have multiple listings with difference prices because they will have different agents working the same place and adding on fees so watch out for that.

Thanks for the info. I remember I had the website listings from one of your previous posts, back when I had considered moving over. I've only checked some places on casa.sapo.pt so far, but will keep in mind to check between sites too so I can compare.

Will have to look into the tax number thing, but it shouldn't be much of a problem as I am EU and have rented places in the EU in my name before, but that's interesting to know too.

I will be flying out to Lisbon on the 16th of April. I'm gonna try and look for a place in Oeiras, though I am flexible on that, it's just what I've narrowed down based on research.
I think I will stay in "Hotel Real Oeiras". I'm thinking how long I should book for, do you guys think two weeks is enough? Can I find a place that quickly? Then I could move in at the beginning of May.
Don't really think I can book shorter than that, worst case scenario I have to fly back out to the UK and then fly back in if I get a place and I have to wait for 3-4 weeks or something, but based on what Sly posted, I should be able to find something within that time space.

Need to start working on my Portuguese again...

You'll have no trouble finding a place. I wouldn't even book the hotel for that long. You can always find a hotel room if they can't extend your reservation.

Keep in mind that Oeiras is a little out of the way to get around Lisbon though. Maybe a 20 euro cab ride to the city center. The train will get you in town but if you go out a lot you'll have to take a cab home. Maybe that's not important to you. There are places to go out in Oeiras too of course, just not like Lisbon. If the beach or casino are more important to you, then Oeiras is better.

If it helps ease your mind, when I came out here it was on short notice and I didn't have an apartment or know anyone or any of the language. I just had a 10 day hotel reservation. I ran out of time and had to switch hotels but it was no big thing. I was looking for a baller place though. If you just want a 500 euro apartment and aren't that picky, you'll find one fast. If you're willing to live with roomates, it will be even cheaper/faster.

Your making me change my mind about Oerias now :P. I don't go out a ton, but that might change if I am somewhere where it actually makes sense to go out regularly. Also I'm not a car type of guy (I just think it's an unnecessary expense/burden in certain places) so I rely a lot on location. This is also why I chose Lisbon over other areas, because of the main airport being there.
I'm not looking for something baller right away. I just want to grind and sleep in my apartment for the meanwhile.
Fwiw the 500 euro apartments in Lisbon don't look that bad, because they are all fairly big. I used to live in Austria and had a very central place there for 500€, but it was only 27m².
Definetly not looking to stay with room mates, but yea I could imagine that would be pretty cheap and fast (though some friends of mine might be renting a vacation rentalin that time for a couple of months, which would be pretty sick instead of going to a hotel at first).

On a side note, I read back over some of your old posts. Have you changed your mind about Portuguese women regarding not dating guys that are outside of their friends/social circle? Have you checked out the club scene, are women more approachable there?

The metro is such a relief from the hassle of getting around a big city. Having to wait on a train or bus is a down side of living in Oeiras. (wait for the train to Lisbon THEN get on the metro.) Again, lots of positives for Oeiras, mainly proximity to the beach. But I prefer to live in town near the metro.

Oh, Portuguese women...without looking back at the post I'd say I've learned a lot. Basically, the first week I stayed here I think there was a supermodel convention at my hotel, because I remember seeing a perfect 10 walk past me about every 20 minutes. It has regressed to the mean since then. There are plenty of beautiful women here though. Portuguese women are hard to meet, but not that hard. If you have any skills at all you will meet plenty. And there are plenty of other nationalities to go around. It's a non-issue.

That's good to know .

I'll have to think on Oeiras a little bit more then. I mean it's still over a month to go, just trying to take advantage of some of the deals you get on hotels if you book earlier (a lot of the 100$/night hotels are 60$ when you book in advance (assuming they are not lying about what their short term prices would be at that time)).

Anybody working out in Lisbon and knows of some nice gyms?

First of all figure out where you are going to live, maybe?

fwiw, my advice (~3yrs in Lisbon area, uk national):

if you want to play live: live in Estoril/Monte Estoril/Cascais - the beach is good, it's 30mins (day)/40mins (night) by train from Cais de Sodre station which is central to where you will want to go in Lisbon. Note: the dealer tables are 5/10euro blinds, 500euro min buy in.

There's lots of vacant property - far too much was built before the crash: --> negotiate absurd discounts - you have the whip hand (even if you feel very pressured by staying in a hotel etc). You shouldn't pay more than 2 months rent as a deposit on a ~6 month contract - again, negotiate since people will be desperate to let their flats.

if you don't want to play live: live in central Lisbon. Strong recommendation: try to rent a flat (or share if that's what you are looking for) in the "Bica" area. Walking around the barrio and looking for "to let" signs in the window helps - also ask locals in the shops/street/restaurants. Alternative: try to find something in the Chiado near the Carmo.

fn. don't live in Oeiras: it's neither fish nor fowl

That's precisely why I was asking. If you go to the gym 2-3 times a week it can be very helpful if it is close by. If somebody knew of a really cool gym then I could see if I also liked the area near by.

Yea, this was my impression of Portugal before hand. Thanks for the tips. I will also check out the Bica area as I don't play live with any regularity.

Be aware that the bica area and any other nightlife hub like bairro alto are going to be jamming until late in the night. Even the side streets that don't have bars have wanderers that are loud and will walk away from the crowd to take a leak. If I was a 21 yr old poker pro that might be cool, but as someone who doesn't party 7 days a week anymore I'd get tired of the noise. My friend lives in Bairro alto and likes it. If you're on the 4th floor, then it's less of an issue, but of course many of the buildings don't have elevators so it's pick your poison.

This is a good thing to think about, but what you say is not quite right imo - having lived in these areas recently.

The Barrio Alto is going to be noisy, and with noise in the side strets - and I wouldn't live there for that reason.

The Bica and the Chiado around the Carmo are not noisy at night. (The actual street with the Elevador (funicular street car) in the Bica is noisy-ish on Friday/Saturday, the side streets are not.)

But, ldo, the best thing to do is to try out the areas in which you are interested and see how they fit your tolerance. For example, is the Evidencia Sta Caterina hostel (http://www.evidenciahoteis.com/ ) out of your budget?

I guess that's reasonable. What do you want in a gym? How much is price a factor/newness/classes/pool/other facilities/length of contract?

Is this more your thing: http://designetico.org/ateneu/?page_id=28 or Fitness Hut/Holmes Place or yoga places or ???

One thing to bear in mind is that central Lisbon isn't that big, so all things being equal it isn't so hard to get to places.

The overcapacity is most evident outside Lisbon itself (all the way out to Cascais). In the city you'll probably have to hunt more and have somewhat less leverage.

If you stay at a hostel I would recommend the travelers hostel. I have a bunch of friends that work there and it's been awarded best hostel in the world a bunch of years in a row by whoever rates them. They take the guests on a bar crawl every night. Very cool people.

It's actually not a hostel, that was just a typo. I do prefer hotels over hostels, because of the added privacy/security benefits.

I'm interested in lifting weights primarily. So a good gym to me is a place with a variety of weights, for example a place that would also have kettlebells. Ideally it also shouldn't be too cramped and have a friendly atmosphere.

edit: The hotel you referred to is in my budget, will check it out.

I had some kettlebells that I ordered from Amazon UK. Not that I ever use them.. I think most gyms here probably won't have them, but I could be wrong.

Yea, I mean from my experience almost no gym I have visited so far has had them. But the "cool" gyms I was talking about would have that kinda stuff. I'd imagine it wouldn't be that hard to find a regular decent gym with standard equipment. I guess my question is somewhat specific, but it was worth a shot.
I should look for is a place where cross-fitterrs train. They would almost certainly have kettlebells there.

Well, I tried to get kettlebells here and couldn't find them but I didn't look too hard. The sport zone in vasco da gama mall has some light ones but that's it. Anyway, specific questions like that might get better answers on the expat forums. Google expat portugal and you'll find some helpful message boards.

Ok, sorry - I can't help you with that level of detail. My preconception is that kettleballs are pretty trad/old-school - not a criticism - so actually maybe the Ateneu wouldn't be a bad place to check out. But you can just sweep round the gyms in central Lisbon in maybe 2 hours - i don't think there are too many. But like SlyC says, maybe ask on the expat forums?

(Not sure it'll make me think of any more concrete suggestions, but, if you want to say where are you from and where do you currently go to the gym it might help. Feel free not to answer if you'ld prefer not )