Skip to content
SettleMetric

CITY / CITYVerified city comparison

BordeauxvsLisbon.

Lisbon is stronger on 7 of 8 headline facts; Bordeaux on 1. Cost of living (single, excl. rent): Bordeaux $1,816/mo, Lisbon $1,166/mo. Freelancer tax burden: Bordeaux 34.1%, Lisbon 30%. Climate comfort: Bordeaux 8/12 mo, Lisbon 10/12 mo.

VerifiedUpdated

14 compared criteria · 30 sources · country-level facts are clearly inherited

fr / pt · SettleMetric

01

The key differences

The key numbers head-to-head — the stronger side is marked. The overall score stays decoration; what matters is which facts fit you.

Headline result

Lisbon leads on 7 of 8

Bordeaux

1

Lisbon

7

01Cost of living (single, excl. rent)
Bordeaux
$1,816/mo

INSEE — La consommation des ménages en 2024 (Insee Première 2056, dépense de consommation finale par fonction COICOP)

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Dec 31, 2024
Verified
Jul 14, 2026
Method
INSEE national-accounts household final consumption by COICOP, 2024. Functions sum to €1,543.8B on-territory; subtract housing rentals (actual €77.0B + imputed €220.7B = €297.7B) → €1,246.1B non-rent. Per-capita on the household basis (to match peers): ÷ 31.377M households (Jan 2024) ÷ avg size 2.14 ÷ 12 = €1,546/capita/mo (2024). CPI-uplift mid-2024→mid-2026 ×1.030 = €1,593/mo. ×1.1399 USD/EUR = $1,816/mo. Per-capita basis to match Czechia/Spain/Austria; a lone single-person household spends materially more.
Lisbonstronger
$1,166/mo

INE — Household Budget Survey 2022/2023 (Inquérito às Despesas das Famílias), single-person households, CPI-uplifted

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Jun 30, 2026
Verified
Jul 4, 2026
Method
INE 2022/2023 single-person (<65) household average spending €18,121/year = €1,510/month (incl. housing); CPI-uplifted to mid-2026 (×≈1.072 over 2024–2026 HICP) → €1,618/month; the rent/imputed-rent portion of the COICOP-2018 housing division (41.7% of the basket) removed while keeping utilities, then summed by category and converted at 1.1399 USD/EUR (ECB 2026-07-02) → ≈ $1,166/month excluding rent. Cross-checked against Eurostat comparative price level for household consumption (Portugal 2024 = 85.0, EU27=100 — ~15% below the EU average).
Notes
National average; Lisbon runs higher. Derived by summing the itemized cost-breakdown categories; see cost-breakdown for the split.
02Freelancer tax burden
Bordeaux
34.1%

SettleMetric tax engine over official 2026 rules (URSSAF micro-social, impots.gouv.fr barème, Service-Public)

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Jan 1, 2026
Verified
Jul 14, 2026
Method
Best eligible scheme at €60,000 turnover, single (1 part) = micro-entrepreneur (micro-BNC, scheme fr-micro-bnc): micro-social 25.6% = 15,360; CFP 0.2% = 120; income tax on 66% of turnover (34% allowance) = 39,600 → 11%/30% bands = 4,984. Levies 20,464 → 34.1%. The versement libératoire (28% flat) is blocked at €60k by the RFR cap; a SASU all-dividend chain runs ≈43.7%.
Lisbonstronger
30%

SettleMetric tax engine over official 2026 rules (Autoridade Tributária + Segurança Social)

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Jan 1, 2026
Verified
Jul 4, 2026
Method
Best eligible scheme pt-ifici-20 (IFICI 20% flat, NHR successor) at €60,000 revenue: social security 21.4%×70%×60,000 = €8,988; category-B simplified taxable income 0.75×60,000 = €45,000; IFICI IRS 20%×45,000 = €9,000; total €17,988 → 29.98% ≈ 30.0%. IFICI requires being a new resident (not resident in Portugal in the prior 5 years) in an eligible activity (IT/ICT qualifies) — realistic for an incoming remote worker. Without IFICI the same profile under the simplified 0.75 regime (progressive IRS) is ~34.4%.
03Homicide rate
Bordeaux
1.28/100k

Eurostat — police-recorded intentional homicide (crim_off_cat, ICCS0101, unit P_HTHAB)

Open data

Data as of
Dec 31, 2024
Verified
Jul 14, 2026
Notes
Police-recorded intentional homicide, 2024 (value 1.28; 2023 was 1.30). Dataset last updated by Eurostat 2026-04-29; cross-checked against decoding the full crim_off_cat matrix. Moderate by European standards — above the safest EU states (Austria 0.85) but well below the global average.
Lisbonstronger
0.68/100k

Eurostat — police-recorded intentional homicide (ICCS 0101)

Open data

Data as of
Dec 31, 2024
Verified
Jul 4, 2026
Notes
Police-recorded intentional homicides per 100,000 inhabitants, 2024 (Eurostat crim_off_cat). Portugal has trended down since 2013 (1.37) to 0.68 in 2024 — among the lowest in the EU.
04Climate comfort
Bordeaux
8/12 mo

SettleMetric computation over climate-normals (WMO 1991–2020, Bordeaux-Mérignac 07510)

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Dec 31, 2020
Verified
Sep 24, 2026
Method
Months whose mean daily maximum is between 15 and 28 °C and whose precipitation is under 150 mm: Mar (15.5 °C), Apr (18.0), May (21.7), Jun (25.0), Jul (27.1), Aug (27.6), Sep (24.2), Oct (19.6) = 8. November (14.1), December (11.0), January (10.5) and February (12.0) are excluded as too cold; no month is too hot. The precipitation test excludes nothing: the wettest month is November at 114.5 mm.
Notes
March qualifies by 0.5 °C, and August stays 0.4 °C under the ceiling.
Lisbonstronger
10/12 mo

SettleMetric computation over climate-normals (IPMA Lisboa/Instituto Geofísico 1991-2020)

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Dec 31, 2020
Verified
Jul 4, 2026
Method
Months with mean daily max 15–28°C and precipitation < 150mm: Jan (15.1°C, 103.8mm), Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Sep, Oct, Nov (18.1°C, 133.9mm), Dec = 10. Only Jul (TX 28.2°C) and Aug (TX 28.8°C) miss, exceeding the 28°C max cap; no month exceeds the 150mm precipitation cap.
05Internet speed
Bordeauxstronger
51 Mbps

M-Lab NDT country aggregates for France

Open data

Data as of
Dec 31, 2023
Verified
Jul 14, 2026
Method
Median of the 344 daily country-median download values for FR in 2023 (~10.47M download tests; daily medians ranged 24.9–61.1 Mbps). M-Lab NDT is single-stream and reads well below Ookla-style or advertised figures (French fibre commonly markets 300–1000+ Mbps) — comparable only within this criterion. 2023 is the latest full year in M-Lab's public stats API.
Notes
France has extensive FTTH fibre coverage; the M-Lab single-stream median understates real-world line speeds and is used only for cross-country comparability on one consistent method.
Lisbon
40 Mbps

M-Lab NDT country aggregates for Portugal

Open data

Data as of
Dec 31, 2024
Verified
Jul 4, 2026
Method
M-Lab NDT daily country medians for Portugal cluster at ≈ 39–42 Mbps (2024). Recorded as 40 Mbps. WebFetch truncates the JSON to ~mid-January, so the full-year median should be re-aggregated from the M-Lab BigQuery dataset next cycle.
Notes
M-Lab NDT is single-stream and reads well below Ookla-style figures (Portuguese fibre retail speeds are far higher) — comparable only within this criterion. Value should be re-verified against the full 2024/2025 M-Lab aggregate.
06English proficiency
Bordeaux
Moderate

EF EPI 2025 — France (score 539, rank 38/123, Moderate band)

Research

Data as of
Nov 1, 2025
Verified
Jul 14, 2026
Notes
Own band informed by EF EPI 2025 (attribution: EF Education First): France score 539, global rank 38, 'Moderate' band (EF cutoffs: Moderate 500–549), up 11 places and +15 points vs 2024. English is workable in Paris tech/expat circles and tourism-facing Côte d'Azur, but French is essential for administration, most workplaces, and daily life — France sits below the very-high Northern-European tier.
Lisbonstronger
Very high

EF EPI 2025 — Portugal rank 6/123, score 612 (Very High band)

Research

Data as of
Nov 1, 2025
Verified
Jul 4, 2026
Notes
Own band informed by EF EPI (attribution: EF Education First). Portugal ranks 6th of 123 countries (score 612, 'Very High'). English is broadly workable in cities, tourism, tech and services; less consistent in local government/administration.
07Private healthcare cost
Bordeaux
$821/yr

Curated from French mutuelle comparateur data (goodassur 48,082-quote July 2026 dataset; Selectra tariff study)

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Jul 1, 2026
Verified
Jul 14, 2026
Method
France has universal public health cover (Assurance Maladie, ~70% reimbursement) topped up by a COMPLEMENTARY private 'mutuelle santé' — supplementary, not full-replacement. Mutuelle pricing is age-banded, not health-rated. Market data (goodassur, 48,082 individual quotes, July 2026): age 25–34 avg €68.98/mo, 35–44 avg €90.68/mo; a mid-market intermediate plan for a healthy 35-year-old ≈ €60/mo = €720/yr → $821/yr at 1.1399. Range ≈ €35/mo ($479/yr) to ≈ €90/mo ($1,231/yr).
Notes
A supplementary top-up on the mandatory public system, not a full private replacement policy (like Austria's Sonderklasse). ~95%+ of residents carry a mutuelle; employees usually get a subsidised group contract (employer pays ≥50%), so this individually-purchased premium is the situation of a freelancer/self-employed person. Mid-market monthly range ≈ €50–70.
Lisbonstronger
$650/yr

Médis / Multicare / AdvanceCare / Allianz comprehensive (with-hospitalization) plans — market midpoint; insurers quote on request

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Jul 4, 2026
Verified
Jul 4, 2026
Method
Comprehensive private plans that include inpatient/hospital cover (outpatient + hospitalization) for a healthy 35-year-old run ≈ €35–60/month across the main Portuguese insurers (Médis, Multicare, AdvanceCare/AdvanceCare-network, Allianz, Generali Tranquilidade). Midpoint ≈ €47.5/month ≈ €570/year ≈ $650 at 1.1399 USD/EUR (range ≈ $547–$752). Premiums are quoted on request, so this is a curated market midpoint, not a public engine quote.
Notes
Residents are covered by the public SNS; private insurance is optional/supplementary. Cheaper outpatient-only plans start ≈ €10–20/month but exclude hospitalization — this figure is the with-inpatient comprehensive tier, chosen for cross-country comparability. Insurers repriced ~+10% for 2026.
08Air quality (PM2.5)
Bordeaux
7.9 µg/m³

European Environment Agency — Air Quality Statistics (E1a validated), Bordeaux stations FR31045 "Bordeaux_GAUTIER" and FR31002 "TALENCE"

Open data

Data as of
Dec 31, 2024
Verified
Sep 24, 2026
Method
Mean of the validated (E1a, verification flag 1) 2024 annual PM2.5 means at the two stations the EEA assigns to Bordeaux, queried from the EEA statistics service on 2026-09-24: FR31045 "Bordeaux_GAUTIER" (urban traffic, 1.6 km from the Hôtel de Ville) 7.528 µg/m³ at 96.49% coverage; FR31002 "TALENCE" (urban background, 4.2 km from the Hôtel de Ville) 8.181 µg/m³ at 93.39% coverage. (7.528 + 8.181) / 2 = 7.85. The WHO Ambient Air Quality Database v8.0 (2026) gives Bordeaux 7.855 µg/m³ for 2024 at 94% coverage — exactly these two stations' mean; its row counts six stations because the count covers all three pollutants it reports.
Notes
TWO STATIONS, and half the figure is a traffic site: Gautier is an urban traffic station, yet it read lower in 2024 than the Talence background station, which stands in the neighbouring commune of Talence. The EEA held no validated 2025 PM2.5 statistics for France on 2026-09-24. The WHO series for Bordeaux reads 9.63 (2020), 10.27 (2021), 15.33 (2022, on 57% coverage) and 9.42 (2023). About 1.6 times the WHO 2021 guideline of 5 µg/m³, and under the EU limit of 10 that applies from 2030.
Lisbonstronger
7.6 µg/m³

WHO Ambient Air Quality Database 2026 (v8.0), Lisboa Greater City/PRT — original data European Environment Agency, Air Quality Statistics

Open data

Data as of
Dec 31, 2024
Verified
Aug 28, 2026
Method
Row Lisboa Greater City/PRT, year 2024, of the WHO Ambient Air Quality Database v8.0 (2026), read from the published spreadsheet on 2026-08-28: pm25_concentration = 7.604 µg/m³ at 84% temporal coverage over 17 stations (eleven urban background, four urban traffic, one urban industrial and one suburban industrial), reference "European Environmental Agency", WHO footprint population 1,872,036. Reference year 2024 — the latest year this database carries a full-year PM2.5 figure for this city, and the year already used by the other European cities in this dataset. Identity checked against the row's own station centroid, which lies 2.6 km from this city's recorded coordinates — the file contains near-miss names such as "Playa Del Ingles/ESP" and "Porto Empedocle/ITA", so the check is not a formality.
Notes
Two caveats. Coverage is 84%, below the EU's 90% data-quality objective, so the year is not quality-assured to the standard the other Portuguese figure here meets — but 2023, at 96% coverage, reads 7.26 µg/m³, within 0.35 of this value, so the sub-threshold year is not distorting anything. And the row is the Urban Audit "greater city": WHO gives its population as 1,872,036 against the 658,236 municipal figure recorded on this page, so it covers Greater Lisbon across 17 stations, not the municipality alone. Preceding years in the same series: 2021 8.50 (89%), 2022 7.36 (95%), 2023 7.26 (96%).

02

Which city fits your plan?

Each lens weighs only the facts that matter to that plan, and names the side it favours.

Remote IT / freelancer

Contract or freelance in tech, billing clients abroad.

Lisbon fits better — 3 of 5

01Freelancer tax burden
Bordeaux
34.1%

SettleMetric tax engine over official 2026 rules (URSSAF micro-social, impots.gouv.fr barème, Service-Public)

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Jan 1, 2026
Verified
Jul 14, 2026
Method
Best eligible scheme at €60,000 turnover, single (1 part) = micro-entrepreneur (micro-BNC, scheme fr-micro-bnc): micro-social 25.6% = 15,360; CFP 0.2% = 120; income tax on 66% of turnover (34% allowance) = 39,600 → 11%/30% bands = 4,984. Levies 20,464 → 34.1%. The versement libératoire (28% flat) is blocked at €60k by the RFR cap; a SASU all-dividend chain runs ≈43.7%.
Lisbonstronger
30%

SettleMetric tax engine over official 2026 rules (Autoridade Tributária + Segurança Social)

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Jan 1, 2026
Verified
Jul 4, 2026
Method
Best eligible scheme pt-ifici-20 (IFICI 20% flat, NHR successor) at €60,000 revenue: social security 21.4%×70%×60,000 = €8,988; category-B simplified taxable income 0.75×60,000 = €45,000; IFICI IRS 20%×45,000 = €9,000; total €17,988 → 29.98% ≈ 30.0%. IFICI requires being a new resident (not resident in Portugal in the prior 5 years) in an eligible activity (IT/ICT qualifies) — realistic for an incoming remote worker. Without IFICI the same profile under the simplified 0.75 regime (progressive IRS) is ~34.4%.
02Internet speed
Bordeauxstronger
51 Mbps

M-Lab NDT country aggregates for France

Open data

Data as of
Dec 31, 2023
Verified
Jul 14, 2026
Method
Median of the 344 daily country-median download values for FR in 2023 (~10.47M download tests; daily medians ranged 24.9–61.1 Mbps). M-Lab NDT is single-stream and reads well below Ookla-style or advertised figures (French fibre commonly markets 300–1000+ Mbps) — comparable only within this criterion. 2023 is the latest full year in M-Lab's public stats API.
Notes
France has extensive FTTH fibre coverage; the M-Lab single-stream median understates real-world line speeds and is used only for cross-country comparability on one consistent method.
Lisbon
40 Mbps

M-Lab NDT country aggregates for Portugal

Open data

Data as of
Dec 31, 2024
Verified
Jul 4, 2026
Method
M-Lab NDT daily country medians for Portugal cluster at ≈ 39–42 Mbps (2024). Recorded as 40 Mbps. WebFetch truncates the JSON to ~mid-January, so the full-year median should be re-aggregated from the M-Lab BigQuery dataset next cycle.
Notes
M-Lab NDT is single-stream and reads well below Ookla-style figures (Portuguese fibre retail speeds are far higher) — comparable only within this criterion. Value should be re-verified against the full 2024/2025 M-Lab aggregate.
03English proficiency
Bordeaux
Moderate

EF EPI 2025 — France (score 539, rank 38/123, Moderate band)

Research

Data as of
Nov 1, 2025
Verified
Jul 14, 2026
Notes
Own band informed by EF EPI 2025 (attribution: EF Education First): France score 539, global rank 38, 'Moderate' band (EF cutoffs: Moderate 500–549), up 11 places and +15 points vs 2024. English is workable in Paris tech/expat circles and tourism-facing Côte d'Azur, but French is essential for administration, most workplaces, and daily life — France sits below the very-high Northern-European tier.
Lisbonstronger
Very high

EF EPI 2025 — Portugal rank 6/123, score 612 (Very High band)

Research

Data as of
Nov 1, 2025
Verified
Jul 4, 2026
Notes
Own band informed by EF EPI (attribution: EF Education First). Portugal ranks 6th of 123 countries (score 612, 'Very High'). English is broadly workable in cities, tourism, tech and services; less consistent in local government/administration.
04Cost of living (single, excl. rent)
Bordeaux
$1,816/mo

INSEE — La consommation des ménages en 2024 (Insee Première 2056, dépense de consommation finale par fonction COICOP)

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Dec 31, 2024
Verified
Jul 14, 2026
Method
INSEE national-accounts household final consumption by COICOP, 2024. Functions sum to €1,543.8B on-territory; subtract housing rentals (actual €77.0B + imputed €220.7B = €297.7B) → €1,246.1B non-rent. Per-capita on the household basis (to match peers): ÷ 31.377M households (Jan 2024) ÷ avg size 2.14 ÷ 12 = €1,546/capita/mo (2024). CPI-uplift mid-2024→mid-2026 ×1.030 = €1,593/mo. ×1.1399 USD/EUR = $1,816/mo. Per-capita basis to match Czechia/Spain/Austria; a lone single-person household spends materially more.
Lisbonstronger
$1,166/mo

INE — Household Budget Survey 2022/2023 (Inquérito às Despesas das Famílias), single-person households, CPI-uplifted

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Jun 30, 2026
Verified
Jul 4, 2026
Method
INE 2022/2023 single-person (<65) household average spending €18,121/year = €1,510/month (incl. housing); CPI-uplifted to mid-2026 (×≈1.072 over 2024–2026 HICP) → €1,618/month; the rent/imputed-rent portion of the COICOP-2018 housing division (41.7% of the basket) removed while keeping utilities, then summed by category and converted at 1.1399 USD/EUR (ECB 2026-07-02) → ≈ $1,166/month excluding rent. Cross-checked against Eurostat comparative price level for household consumption (Portugal 2024 = 85.0, EU27=100 — ~15% below the EU average).
Notes
National average; Lisbon runs higher. Derived by summing the itemized cost-breakdown categories; see cost-breakdown for the split.
05Domestic delivery quality
Bordeauxstronger
Excellent

La Poste / Colissimo (Pickup) and Mondial Relay network figures

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Jan 1, 2025
Verified
Jul 14, 2026
Method
France has one of Europe's densest out-of-home parcel networks. Colissimo/Pickup: 26,000+ pickup points (≈17,500 relay points + ≈6,500 automatic lockers, incl. ≈4,500 24/7 Pickup Station lockers). Mondial Relay: ≈17,000 points (≈9,000 lockers + ≈8,000 relais). Plus Relais Colis, Chronopost, DPD, and La Poste home delivery ~6 days/week, with nationwide next-day/2-day standard options → 'excellent'.
Lisbon
Good

CTT Correios de Portugal — express delivery times, coverage and Collectt/Locky network (official service pages)

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Dec 31, 2025
Verified
Jul 4, 2026
Method
National operator CTT offers next-day ('Expresso Para Amanhã') and 2-day express nationwide, with the Collectt pickup network (CTT shops + Payshop agents + Locky 24/7 parcel lockers) and real-time tracking. Private carriers DPD, GLS, DHL, UPS, Chronopost and Seur operate nationwide. Rated 'good' — 1–3 day delivery is the norm and lockers exist in cities, but locker density and universal next-day are below the best-in-class (e.g. Poland's InPost).

Family

Relocating with a partner and school-age children.

Lisbon fits better — 5 of 5

01International schools
Bordeaux
1

CIS (Council of International Schools) membership directory — Bordeaux International School

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Sep 24, 2026
Verified
Sep 24, 2026
Method
Accreditor-verified: Bordeaux International School, 252 rue Judaïque, about 1.4 km west of the Hôtel de Ville, is listed in the CIS membership directory, read on 2026-09-24, as an active member with the status "Accredited" and with IGCSE and A Level among its programmes. It is the only Bordeaux school in the directory.
Notes
VERIFIED FLOOR. No Bordeaux school has an IB profile in the Internet Archive, and ibo.org answered our requests with a Cloudflare challenge. The Accredited European Schools list has no Bordeaux entry. The school says it has been a Cambridge International centre since 1991; Cambridge's school finder renders only in a browser, so that, and any other Cambridge-registered school, could not be checked there.
Lisbonstronger
11

IB / Cambridge / AEFE / German Auslandsschulwesen accreditor evidence for the Lisbon metro (curated union)

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Jul 4, 2026
Verified
Jul 4, 2026
Method
Curated count of internationally-accredited schools in the Lisbon metro (Lisboa, Cascais, Sintra, Oeiras). Directly verified against their accreditor networks: Lycée Français Charles Lepierre (AEFE directly-managed establishment, aefe.gouv.fr) and Deutsche Schule Lissabon (German Auslandsschule under ZfA/Auswärtiges Amt, auslandsschulwesen.de). IB World Schools identified in the metro by name from IB 'by country' data and corroborating sources: St. Julian's (Carcavelos), St. Dominic's International (São Domingos de Rana), Carlucci/CAISL (Sintra), United Lisbon International, TASIS Portugal (Sintra), International Sharing School–Taguspark (Oeiras), Oeiras International School, PaRK International, plus The Lisboan (Cambridge + IB). Count = 11 named, accreditor-attributable schools.
Notes
±3 uncertainty. The live IB World Schools finder and the Cambridge 'Find a Cambridge school' registry both returned HTTP 403 to automated fetch this cycle, so individual IB/Cambridge authorizations were confirmed from official-adjacent sources rather than each read directly against the accreditor's live registry; AEFE and the German school were verified directly. Portugal has ~16 IB World Schools in total, most clustered in the Lisbon metro, so the true metro count of all-accreditor international schools is likely somewhat higher than 11 (aggregator guides list 30+ 'international' schools, but many lack a recognised accreditor). Re-verify each authorization against the IB and Cambridge registries from a browser next cycle.
02Homicide rate
Bordeaux
1.28/100k

Eurostat — police-recorded intentional homicide (crim_off_cat, ICCS0101, unit P_HTHAB)

Open data

Data as of
Dec 31, 2024
Verified
Jul 14, 2026
Notes
Police-recorded intentional homicide, 2024 (value 1.28; 2023 was 1.30). Dataset last updated by Eurostat 2026-04-29; cross-checked against decoding the full crim_off_cat matrix. Moderate by European standards — above the safest EU states (Austria 0.85) but well below the global average.
Lisbonstronger
0.68/100k

Eurostat — police-recorded intentional homicide (ICCS 0101)

Open data

Data as of
Dec 31, 2024
Verified
Jul 4, 2026
Notes
Police-recorded intentional homicides per 100,000 inhabitants, 2024 (Eurostat crim_off_cat). Portugal has trended down since 2013 (1.37) to 0.68 in 2024 — among the lowest in the EU.
03Private healthcare cost
Bordeaux
$821/yr

Curated from French mutuelle comparateur data (goodassur 48,082-quote July 2026 dataset; Selectra tariff study)

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Jul 1, 2026
Verified
Jul 14, 2026
Method
France has universal public health cover (Assurance Maladie, ~70% reimbursement) topped up by a COMPLEMENTARY private 'mutuelle santé' — supplementary, not full-replacement. Mutuelle pricing is age-banded, not health-rated. Market data (goodassur, 48,082 individual quotes, July 2026): age 25–34 avg €68.98/mo, 35–44 avg €90.68/mo; a mid-market intermediate plan for a healthy 35-year-old ≈ €60/mo = €720/yr → $821/yr at 1.1399. Range ≈ €35/mo ($479/yr) to ≈ €90/mo ($1,231/yr).
Notes
A supplementary top-up on the mandatory public system, not a full private replacement policy (like Austria's Sonderklasse). ~95%+ of residents carry a mutuelle; employees usually get a subsidised group contract (employer pays ≥50%), so this individually-purchased premium is the situation of a freelancer/self-employed person. Mid-market monthly range ≈ €50–70.
Lisbonstronger
$650/yr

Médis / Multicare / AdvanceCare / Allianz comprehensive (with-hospitalization) plans — market midpoint; insurers quote on request

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Jul 4, 2026
Verified
Jul 4, 2026
Method
Comprehensive private plans that include inpatient/hospital cover (outpatient + hospitalization) for a healthy 35-year-old run ≈ €35–60/month across the main Portuguese insurers (Médis, Multicare, AdvanceCare/AdvanceCare-network, Allianz, Generali Tranquilidade). Midpoint ≈ €47.5/month ≈ €570/year ≈ $650 at 1.1399 USD/EUR (range ≈ $547–$752). Premiums are quoted on request, so this is a curated market midpoint, not a public engine quote.
Notes
Residents are covered by the public SNS; private insurance is optional/supplementary. Cheaper outpatient-only plans start ≈ €10–20/month but exclude hospitalization — this figure is the with-inpatient comprehensive tier, chosen for cross-country comparability. Insurers repriced ~+10% for 2026.
04Air quality (PM2.5)
Bordeaux
7.9 µg/m³

European Environment Agency — Air Quality Statistics (E1a validated), Bordeaux stations FR31045 "Bordeaux_GAUTIER" and FR31002 "TALENCE"

Open data

Data as of
Dec 31, 2024
Verified
Sep 24, 2026
Method
Mean of the validated (E1a, verification flag 1) 2024 annual PM2.5 means at the two stations the EEA assigns to Bordeaux, queried from the EEA statistics service on 2026-09-24: FR31045 "Bordeaux_GAUTIER" (urban traffic, 1.6 km from the Hôtel de Ville) 7.528 µg/m³ at 96.49% coverage; FR31002 "TALENCE" (urban background, 4.2 km from the Hôtel de Ville) 8.181 µg/m³ at 93.39% coverage. (7.528 + 8.181) / 2 = 7.85. The WHO Ambient Air Quality Database v8.0 (2026) gives Bordeaux 7.855 µg/m³ for 2024 at 94% coverage — exactly these two stations' mean; its row counts six stations because the count covers all three pollutants it reports.
Notes
TWO STATIONS, and half the figure is a traffic site: Gautier is an urban traffic station, yet it read lower in 2024 than the Talence background station, which stands in the neighbouring commune of Talence. The EEA held no validated 2025 PM2.5 statistics for France on 2026-09-24. The WHO series for Bordeaux reads 9.63 (2020), 10.27 (2021), 15.33 (2022, on 57% coverage) and 9.42 (2023). About 1.6 times the WHO 2021 guideline of 5 µg/m³, and under the EU limit of 10 that applies from 2030.
Lisbonstronger
7.6 µg/m³

WHO Ambient Air Quality Database 2026 (v8.0), Lisboa Greater City/PRT — original data European Environment Agency, Air Quality Statistics

Open data

Data as of
Dec 31, 2024
Verified
Aug 28, 2026
Method
Row Lisboa Greater City/PRT, year 2024, of the WHO Ambient Air Quality Database v8.0 (2026), read from the published spreadsheet on 2026-08-28: pm25_concentration = 7.604 µg/m³ at 84% temporal coverage over 17 stations (eleven urban background, four urban traffic, one urban industrial and one suburban industrial), reference "European Environmental Agency", WHO footprint population 1,872,036. Reference year 2024 — the latest year this database carries a full-year PM2.5 figure for this city, and the year already used by the other European cities in this dataset. Identity checked against the row's own station centroid, which lies 2.6 km from this city's recorded coordinates — the file contains near-miss names such as "Playa Del Ingles/ESP" and "Porto Empedocle/ITA", so the check is not a formality.
Notes
Two caveats. Coverage is 84%, below the EU's 90% data-quality objective, so the year is not quality-assured to the standard the other Portuguese figure here meets — but 2023, at 96% coverage, reads 7.26 µg/m³, within 0.35 of this value, so the sub-threshold year is not distorting anything. And the row is the Urban Audit "greater city": WHO gives its population as 1,872,036 against the 658,236 municipal figure recorded on this page, so it covers Greater Lisbon across 17 stations, not the municipality alone. Preceding years in the same series: 2021 8.50 (89%), 2022 7.36 (95%), 2023 7.26 (96%).
05English proficiency
Bordeaux
Moderate

EF EPI 2025 — France (score 539, rank 38/123, Moderate band)

Research

Data as of
Nov 1, 2025
Verified
Jul 14, 2026
Notes
Own band informed by EF EPI 2025 (attribution: EF Education First): France score 539, global rank 38, 'Moderate' band (EF cutoffs: Moderate 500–549), up 11 places and +15 points vs 2024. English is workable in Paris tech/expat circles and tourism-facing Côte d'Azur, but French is essential for administration, most workplaces, and daily life — France sits below the very-high Northern-European tier.
Lisbonstronger
Very high

EF EPI 2025 — Portugal rank 6/123, score 612 (Very High band)

Research

Data as of
Nov 1, 2025
Verified
Jul 4, 2026
Notes
Own band informed by EF EPI (attribution: EF Education First). Portugal ranks 6th of 123 countries (score 612, 'Very High'). English is broadly workable in cities, tourism, tech and services; less consistent in local government/administration.

Money & crypto

Optimising tax, banking and crypto rules.

Lisbon fits better — 2 of 3

01Crypto regulation
Bordeaux
Legal regulated

impots.gouv.fr — Plus-values sur cessions d'actifs numériques (cryptomonnaies); AMF/MiCA CASP regime

Official source

Data as of
Jan 1, 2026
Verified
Jul 14, 2026
Notes
Legal and regulated. Capital gains on digital assets for private/occasional investors are taxed at the flat PFU — 31.4% from 1 Jan 2026 (12.8% income tax + 18.6% social levies; the social part rose from 17.2% when the 2026 Social Security law lifted CSG on capital income 9.2%→10.6%), with the option to elect the progressive scale instead (since 2023). Total annual disposals ≤ €305 are exempt. Crypto-asset service providers authorise as CASPs under the EU MiCA regulation (the former AMF 'PSAN' regime from the 2019 PACTE law), with the AMF as competent authority.
Lisbonstronger
Legal friendly

Autoridade Tributária — Criptoativos: conceito fiscal e tributação (folheto informativo)

Official source

Data as of
Jan 1, 2026
Verified
Jul 4, 2026
Notes
Legal for individuals; regulated under EU MiCA/CARF. Since Law 24-D/2022: capital gains on crypto held ≥365 days are tax-EXEMPT (declared in Anexo G1); gains on assets held <365 days are taxed at a 28% autonomous rate (Category G, option to aggregate); crypto-to-crypto swaps are deferred (not taxed at the swap). Frequent/professional trading may be reclassified as Category B (general rates). Classified legal-friendly for the explicit long-term-holding exemption; short-term gains are still fully taxed.
02Financial control level
Bordeaux
Low

Service-Public / economie.gouv.fr — Paiement en espèces (plafond); Code monétaire et financier art. D112-3

Official source

Data as of
Sep 1, 2015
Verified
Jul 14, 2026
Method
Composite: France uses the euro, fully convertible, with EU free movement of capital and NO exchange/capital controls. The main constraint is a cash-payment cap — a French tax resident may pay at most €1,000 in cash to a professional (since Sept 2015; non-resident tourists up to €15,000); cash between private individuals is unlimited (written proof required above €1,500). The EU Anti-Money-Laundering Regulation adds an EU-wide €10,000 cash cap from 2027. Non-resident banking is available with standard KYC. These are ordinary AML measures, not capital controls → 'low'.
Lisbon
Low

ASAE — cash-payment limits (Art. 63.º-E Lei Geral Tributária); euro-area free movement of capital

Official source

Data as of
Jul 4, 2026
Verified
Jul 4, 2026
Method
Composite: euro-area member, no currency or capital controls, EUR fully convertible; free movement of capital guaranteed by the EU Treaty (Art. 63 TFEU). Non-resident bank accounts routinely available. Standard EU CRS/DAC reporting via banks; no FBAR-style personal foreign-account self-declaration for individuals. Cash-payment limit €2,999.99 for residents (natural persons) and €9,999.99 for non-residents not acting as merchants (Art. 63.º-E LGT) — a limit on cash, not on bank money movement. Rated 'low' state control over personal money flows.
03Freelancer tax burden
Bordeaux
34.1%

SettleMetric tax engine over official 2026 rules (URSSAF micro-social, impots.gouv.fr barème, Service-Public)

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Jan 1, 2026
Verified
Jul 14, 2026
Method
Best eligible scheme at €60,000 turnover, single (1 part) = micro-entrepreneur (micro-BNC, scheme fr-micro-bnc): micro-social 25.6% = 15,360; CFP 0.2% = 120; income tax on 66% of turnover (34% allowance) = 39,600 → 11%/30% bands = 4,984. Levies 20,464 → 34.1%. The versement libératoire (28% flat) is blocked at €60k by the RFR cap; a SASU all-dividend chain runs ≈43.7%.
Lisbonstronger
30%

SettleMetric tax engine over official 2026 rules (Autoridade Tributária + Segurança Social)

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Jan 1, 2026
Verified
Jul 4, 2026
Method
Best eligible scheme pt-ifici-20 (IFICI 20% flat, NHR successor) at €60,000 revenue: social security 21.4%×70%×60,000 = €8,988; category-B simplified taxable income 0.75×60,000 = €45,000; IFICI IRS 20%×45,000 = €9,000; total €17,988 → 29.98% ≈ 30.0%. IFICI requires being a new resident (not resident in Portugal in the prior 5 years) in an eligible activity (IT/ICT qualifies) — realistic for an incoming remote worker. Without IFICI the same profile under the simplified 0.75 regime (progressive IRS) is ~34.4%.

Calm lifestyle

Prioritising safety, air, and an easy daily life.

Lisbon fits better — 4 of 4

01Homicide rate
Bordeaux
1.28/100k

Eurostat — police-recorded intentional homicide (crim_off_cat, ICCS0101, unit P_HTHAB)

Open data

Data as of
Dec 31, 2024
Verified
Jul 14, 2026
Notes
Police-recorded intentional homicide, 2024 (value 1.28; 2023 was 1.30). Dataset last updated by Eurostat 2026-04-29; cross-checked against decoding the full crim_off_cat matrix. Moderate by European standards — above the safest EU states (Austria 0.85) but well below the global average.
Lisbonstronger
0.68/100k

Eurostat — police-recorded intentional homicide (ICCS 0101)

Open data

Data as of
Dec 31, 2024
Verified
Jul 4, 2026
Notes
Police-recorded intentional homicides per 100,000 inhabitants, 2024 (Eurostat crim_off_cat). Portugal has trended down since 2013 (1.37) to 0.68 in 2024 — among the lowest in the EU.
02Air quality (PM2.5)
Bordeaux
7.9 µg/m³

European Environment Agency — Air Quality Statistics (E1a validated), Bordeaux stations FR31045 "Bordeaux_GAUTIER" and FR31002 "TALENCE"

Open data

Data as of
Dec 31, 2024
Verified
Sep 24, 2026
Method
Mean of the validated (E1a, verification flag 1) 2024 annual PM2.5 means at the two stations the EEA assigns to Bordeaux, queried from the EEA statistics service on 2026-09-24: FR31045 "Bordeaux_GAUTIER" (urban traffic, 1.6 km from the Hôtel de Ville) 7.528 µg/m³ at 96.49% coverage; FR31002 "TALENCE" (urban background, 4.2 km from the Hôtel de Ville) 8.181 µg/m³ at 93.39% coverage. (7.528 + 8.181) / 2 = 7.85. The WHO Ambient Air Quality Database v8.0 (2026) gives Bordeaux 7.855 µg/m³ for 2024 at 94% coverage — exactly these two stations' mean; its row counts six stations because the count covers all three pollutants it reports.
Notes
TWO STATIONS, and half the figure is a traffic site: Gautier is an urban traffic station, yet it read lower in 2024 than the Talence background station, which stands in the neighbouring commune of Talence. The EEA held no validated 2025 PM2.5 statistics for France on 2026-09-24. The WHO series for Bordeaux reads 9.63 (2020), 10.27 (2021), 15.33 (2022, on 57% coverage) and 9.42 (2023). About 1.6 times the WHO 2021 guideline of 5 µg/m³, and under the EU limit of 10 that applies from 2030.
Lisbonstronger
7.6 µg/m³

WHO Ambient Air Quality Database 2026 (v8.0), Lisboa Greater City/PRT — original data European Environment Agency, Air Quality Statistics

Open data

Data as of
Dec 31, 2024
Verified
Aug 28, 2026
Method
Row Lisboa Greater City/PRT, year 2024, of the WHO Ambient Air Quality Database v8.0 (2026), read from the published spreadsheet on 2026-08-28: pm25_concentration = 7.604 µg/m³ at 84% temporal coverage over 17 stations (eleven urban background, four urban traffic, one urban industrial and one suburban industrial), reference "European Environmental Agency", WHO footprint population 1,872,036. Reference year 2024 — the latest year this database carries a full-year PM2.5 figure for this city, and the year already used by the other European cities in this dataset. Identity checked against the row's own station centroid, which lies 2.6 km from this city's recorded coordinates — the file contains near-miss names such as "Playa Del Ingles/ESP" and "Porto Empedocle/ITA", so the check is not a formality.
Notes
Two caveats. Coverage is 84%, below the EU's 90% data-quality objective, so the year is not quality-assured to the standard the other Portuguese figure here meets — but 2023, at 96% coverage, reads 7.26 µg/m³, within 0.35 of this value, so the sub-threshold year is not distorting anything. And the row is the Urban Audit "greater city": WHO gives its population as 1,872,036 against the 658,236 municipal figure recorded on this page, so it covers Greater Lisbon across 17 stations, not the municipality alone. Preceding years in the same series: 2021 8.50 (89%), 2022 7.36 (95%), 2023 7.26 (96%).
03Cost of living (single, excl. rent)
Bordeaux
$1,816/mo

INSEE — La consommation des ménages en 2024 (Insee Première 2056, dépense de consommation finale par fonction COICOP)

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Dec 31, 2024
Verified
Jul 14, 2026
Method
INSEE national-accounts household final consumption by COICOP, 2024. Functions sum to €1,543.8B on-territory; subtract housing rentals (actual €77.0B + imputed €220.7B = €297.7B) → €1,246.1B non-rent. Per-capita on the household basis (to match peers): ÷ 31.377M households (Jan 2024) ÷ avg size 2.14 ÷ 12 = €1,546/capita/mo (2024). CPI-uplift mid-2024→mid-2026 ×1.030 = €1,593/mo. ×1.1399 USD/EUR = $1,816/mo. Per-capita basis to match Czechia/Spain/Austria; a lone single-person household spends materially more.
Lisbonstronger
$1,166/mo

INE — Household Budget Survey 2022/2023 (Inquérito às Despesas das Famílias), single-person households, CPI-uplifted

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Jun 30, 2026
Verified
Jul 4, 2026
Method
INE 2022/2023 single-person (<65) household average spending €18,121/year = €1,510/month (incl. housing); CPI-uplifted to mid-2026 (×≈1.072 over 2024–2026 HICP) → €1,618/month; the rent/imputed-rent portion of the COICOP-2018 housing division (41.7% of the basket) removed while keeping utilities, then summed by category and converted at 1.1399 USD/EUR (ECB 2026-07-02) → ≈ $1,166/month excluding rent. Cross-checked against Eurostat comparative price level for household consumption (Portugal 2024 = 85.0, EU27=100 — ~15% below the EU average).
Notes
National average; Lisbon runs higher. Derived by summing the itemized cost-breakdown categories; see cost-breakdown for the split.
04Climate comfort
Bordeaux
8/12 mo

SettleMetric computation over climate-normals (WMO 1991–2020, Bordeaux-Mérignac 07510)

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Dec 31, 2020
Verified
Sep 24, 2026
Method
Months whose mean daily maximum is between 15 and 28 °C and whose precipitation is under 150 mm: Mar (15.5 °C), Apr (18.0), May (21.7), Jun (25.0), Jul (27.1), Aug (27.6), Sep (24.2), Oct (19.6) = 8. November (14.1), December (11.0), January (10.5) and February (12.0) are excluded as too cold; no month is too hot. The precipitation test excludes nothing: the wettest month is November at 114.5 mm.
Notes
March qualifies by 0.5 °C, and August stays 0.4 °C under the ceiling.
Lisbonstronger
10/12 mo

SettleMetric computation over climate-normals (IPMA Lisboa/Instituto Geofísico 1991-2020)

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Dec 31, 2020
Verified
Jul 4, 2026
Method
Months with mean daily max 15–28°C and precipitation < 150mm: Jan (15.1°C, 103.8mm), Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Sep, Oct, Nov (18.1°C, 133.9mm), Dec = 10. Only Jul (TX 28.2°C) and Aug (TX 28.8°C) miss, exceeding the 28°C max cap; no month exceeds the 150mm precipitation cap.

03

The full comparison

Open any fact to see what it measures, how fresh it is and the complete source trail for both cities.

01

Taxes

1 verified fact
01+−Freelancer tax burden% effective burden at €60k/year self-employed profileBordeaux34.1Lisbonstronger30

What this measures

Effective total burden (income tax + mandatory social and health contributions) for a solo IT freelancer with €60,000/year revenue and 10% deductible expenses, using the most favourable eligible scheme in the country's tax-schemes data. Computed by the SettleMetric tax engine; recorded as a curated value with the winning scheme id in method.

Lower is better· % effective burden at €60k/year self-employed profile· re-verified every 365 days

Bordeaux

SettleMetric tax engine over official 2026 rules (URSSAF micro-social, impots.gouv.fr barème, Service-Public)

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Jan 1, 2026
Verified
Jul 14, 2026
Method
Best eligible scheme at €60,000 turnover, single (1 part) = micro-entrepreneur (micro-BNC, scheme fr-micro-bnc): micro-social 25.6% = 15,360; CFP 0.2% = 120; income tax on 66% of turnover (34% allowance) = 39,600 → 11%/30% bands = 4,984. Levies 20,464 → 34.1%. The versement libératoire (28% flat) is blocked at €60k by the RFR cap; a SASU all-dividend chain runs ≈43.7%.

Lisbon

SettleMetric tax engine over official 2026 rules (Autoridade Tributária + Segurança Social)

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Jan 1, 2026
Verified
Jul 4, 2026
Method
Best eligible scheme pt-ifici-20 (IFICI 20% flat, NHR successor) at €60,000 revenue: social security 21.4%×70%×60,000 = €8,988; category-B simplified taxable income 0.75×60,000 = €45,000; IFICI IRS 20%×45,000 = €9,000; total €17,988 → 29.98% ≈ 30.0%. IFICI requires being a new resident (not resident in Portugal in the prior 5 years) in an eligible activity (IT/ICT qualifies) — realistic for an incoming remote worker. Without IFICI the same profile under the simplified 0.75 regime (progressive IRS) is ~34.4%.

02

Legalization

1 verified fact
01+−Remote-work legalization easeBordeauxLong stay pathLisbonstrongerDedicated nomad visa

What this measures

Best available legalization route for a location-independent earner with a median (non-EU, non-US) passport, classified from this country's legalization-paths data: dedicated digital-nomad visa; general freelance/self-employment permit; realistic long-stay path (e.g. renewable temporary residence); only short visa-free/tourist stays; effectively none.

Rated by category· re-verified every 180 days

Bordeaux

France-Visas — official visa wizard (no dedicated remote-work/digital-nomad visa; self-employment via Passeport Talent / profession libérale)

Official source

Data as of
Jul 14, 2026
Verified
Jul 14, 2026
Notes
France has no dedicated digital-nomad or remote-work visa. The long-stay visitor visa (VLS-TS visiteur) forbids any professional activity, so it does not fit an actively-earning remote worker. Non-EU self-employed freelancers use the 'entrepreneur/profession libérale' long-stay visa or the Passeport Talent (for qualifying founders/investors/highly-skilled). EU/EEA/Swiss citizens work and freelance freely with no permit. Classified 'long-stay-path'.

Lisbon

AIMA — residence authorization for remote professional activity (Nómadas Digitais, Art. 88.º/1 Law 23/2007)

Official source

Data as of
Jul 4, 2026
Verified
Jul 4, 2026
Notes
Portugal has a dedicated digital-nomad route (D8): a residence visa for remote professional activity carried out for entities outside Portugal (in force since 2022, Law 18/2022), leading to a 2-year residence permit renewable for 3 years and to permanent residence/citizenship after 5 years. A temporary-stay variant (under 1 year) also exists. Income requirement 4× the national minimum wage (4 × €920 = €3,680/month in 2026).

03

Cost of living

1 verified fact
01+−Cost of living (single, excl. rent)USD/month, single person, excluding rentBordeaux1,816Lisbonstronger1,166

What this measures

Monthly cost of a defined single-person basket (food, transport, utilities, mobile+internet, modest leisure) excluding rent, curated from national statistics office price data and large local retailers' published prices, converted to USD at the ECB rate recorded in fx-rates. The method field of each value itemizes the basket inputs.

Lower is better· USD/month, single person, excluding rent· re-verified every 365 days

Bordeaux

INSEE — La consommation des ménages en 2024 (Insee Première 2056, dépense de consommation finale par fonction COICOP)

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Dec 31, 2024
Verified
Jul 14, 2026
Method
INSEE national-accounts household final consumption by COICOP, 2024. Functions sum to €1,543.8B on-territory; subtract housing rentals (actual €77.0B + imputed €220.7B = €297.7B) → €1,246.1B non-rent. Per-capita on the household basis (to match peers): ÷ 31.377M households (Jan 2024) ÷ avg size 2.14 ÷ 12 = €1,546/capita/mo (2024). CPI-uplift mid-2024→mid-2026 ×1.030 = €1,593/mo. ×1.1399 USD/EUR = $1,816/mo. Per-capita basis to match Czechia/Spain/Austria; a lone single-person household spends materially more.

Lisbon

INE — Household Budget Survey 2022/2023 (Inquérito às Despesas das Famílias), single-person households, CPI-uplifted

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Jun 30, 2026
Verified
Jul 4, 2026
Method
INE 2022/2023 single-person (<65) household average spending €18,121/year = €1,510/month (incl. housing); CPI-uplifted to mid-2026 (×≈1.072 over 2024–2026 HICP) → €1,618/month; the rent/imputed-rent portion of the COICOP-2018 housing division (41.7% of the basket) removed while keeping utilities, then summed by category and converted at 1.1399 USD/EUR (ECB 2026-07-02) → ≈ $1,166/month excluding rent. Cross-checked against Eurostat comparative price level for household consumption (Portugal 2024 = 85.0, EU27=100 — ~15% below the EU average).
Notes
National average; Lisbon runs higher. Derived by summing the itemized cost-breakdown categories; see cost-breakdown for the split.

Monthly spending by category (excl. rent)

Bordeaux

INSEE — La consommation des ménages en 2024 (Insee Première 2056, COICOP functional breakdown)

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Dec 31, 2024
Verified
Jul 14, 2026
Method
Each INSEE 2024 COICOP function (€B/yr) → per-capita USD/mo by ÷ 31.377M households ÷ 2.14 ÷ 12 then ×1.030 CPI uplift ×1.1399 FX. Housing (04) shown net of rent (actual + imputed rents excluded). Items sum ≈ $1,814 ≈ the $1,816 headline. Health is households' out-of-pocket/non-reimbursed only — France's universal Assurance Maladie plus near-universal mutuelles cover most care, so this line is structurally low.
Lisbon

INE — Household Budget Survey 2022/2023 (COICOP-2018 structure), CPI-uplifted

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Jun 30, 2026
Verified
Jul 4, 2026
Method
INE 2022/2023 COICOP-2018 expenditure shares (food 13.0%, transport 11.3%, restaurants & accommodation 8.3%, furnishings 4.4%, health 4.2%, information & communication 3.8%, personal care/misc 3.4%, recreation 2.9%, alcohol/tobacco 1.7%, clothing 1.2%; housing 41.7% split into ~9% utilities/upkeep kept and rent excluded) applied to the CPI-uplifted single-person monthly total (€1,618) and converted at 1.1399 USD/EUR. Categories sum to the ~$1,166/mo excl-rent aggregate. National average.
Notes
Structure is the all-household COICOP-2018 split (INE does not publish a full single-person COICOP table); applied to the single-person total as a transparent approximation. Housing utilities are kept; rent/imputed rent is excluded per the cost-of-living definition.
01Food & non-alcoholic beverages
Bordeaux
$273
Lisboncheaper
$240
02Transport
Bordeaux
$283
Lisboncheaper
$208
03Recreation, sport & culture
Bordeaux
$158
Lisboncheaper
$53
04Restaurants & hotels
Bordeaux
$191
Lisbon
—
05Housing (water, energy, maintenance — excl. rent)
Bordeaux
$185
Lisbon
—
06Insurance & financial services
Bordeaux
$182
Lisbon
—
07Utilities (electricity, gas, water) & upkeep
Bordeaux
—
Lisbon
$166
08Restaurants & eating out
Bordeaux
—
Lisbon
$153
09Information & communication
Bordeaux
$80
Lisboncheaper
$70
10Other goods & services (personal care, social protection, misc.)
Bordeaux
$138
Lisbon
—
11Clothing & footwear
Bordeaux
$65
Lisboncheaper
$22
12Health (out-of-pocket & non-reimbursed)
Bordeaux
$85
Lisbon
—
13Furnishings & household equipment
Bordeaux
$84
Lisbon
—
14Household goods & equipment
Bordeaux
—
Lisbon
$81
15Health (out-of-pocket)
Bordeaux
—
Lisbon
$77
16Alcoholic beverages & tobacco
Bordeaux
$74
Lisbon
—
17Personal care & misc goods
Bordeaux
—
Lisbon
$63
18Alcohol & tobacco
Bordeaux
—
Lisbon
$31
19Education
Bordeaux
$16
Lisbon
—
Total (excl. rent)
Bordeaux$1,814/mo
Lisbon$1,164/mo

04

Housing

0 verified facts

Rent by apartment type

Asking rent, central price with outside-centre in parentheses ($/mo).

Bordeaux

ANIL — 'Carte des loyers' 2025 (estimates from Groupe SeLoger and leboncoin listings), commune of Bordeaux, split by the rent zones of the Observatoire local des loyers de l'agglomération bordelaise (2024 results)

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Sep 30, 2025
Verified
Sep 24, 2026
Method
« Estimations ANIL, à partir des données du Groupe SeLoger et de leboncoin »: the 2025 edition of the ministry's rent map, published on data.gouv.fr on 11 December 2025 and read on 2026-09-24, models Bordeaux as a single commune — asking rent per m² per month, charges included, for an unfurnished flat let in the third quarter of 2025: €18.538 for 1–2-room flats (reference 37 m², 56,919 listings) and €14.605 for 3 rooms or more (72 m², 28,156). It has no finer geography, so the split comes from the Observatoire local des loyers de l'agglomération bordelaise (2024 results, https://www.data.gouv.fr/datasets/resultats-des-observatoires-locaux-des-loyers-par-agglomeration), which divides the area into five rent zones. Zone 1, a single contiguous zone that contains the Hôtel de Ville, has a median of €15.0/m² for flats; zones 2, 3 and 4, which cover the rest of the commune, have €14.1, €12.7 and €12.2. Weighting zones 1–4 by the number of Bordeaux IRIS districts in each (25, 25, 26 and 12) gives a commune mean of €13.683, so the centre multiplier is 15.0 / 13.683 = 1.0963 and the outside one (zones 2–4, €13.160) is 0.9618. Centre: €20.323/m² for 1–2 rooms and €16.010 for 3 or more; outside €17.830 and €14.047. Studio and 1br take the 1–2-room rate, 2br and 3br the 3-room-plus rate, times the floor areas used for Paris and Nice (studio 30, 1br 40, 2br 60, 3br 85 m²), converted at the ECB reference rate in data/fx-rates.json (EUR 1 = USD 1.1534, 2026-08-13): studio $703 / $617, 1br $938 / $823, 2br $1,108 / $972, 3br $1,570 / $1,377.
Notes
DERIVED SPLIT. The level is the rent map's modelled asking rent (charges included, unfurnished, Q3 2025); only the ratio between the centre and the rest comes from the observatory, whose medians describe rents in the private rental stock at 1 January 2024 — a different basis, used here only for proportions. The zones are rent-level zones, not districts, and zones 1–4 also take in parts of Le Bouscat, Talence, Mérignac, Pessac and Bègles; weighting by IRIS count assumes each IRIS holds a similar number of rented flats. Bordeaux is under rent control (encadrement des loyers, per service-public.gouv.fr on 2026-09-24); asking rents are not adjusted for it. Studios read low because the 1–2-room rate is modelled on a 37 m² flat.
Lisbon

idealista — Lisboa city asking rent €/m² (May 2026), derived by dwelling size and central/outside multiplier

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
May 31, 2026
Verified
Jul 4, 2026
Method
Base: idealista Lisboa city-wide asking rent €21.8/m² (May 2026). Applied typical dwelling sizes (studio 35 m², 1BR 55 m², 2BR 80 m², 3BR 110 m²) and a central/outside multiplier (central historic/central parishes ×1.15, outer parishes ×0.85), converted at 1.1399 USD/EUR (ECB 2026-07-02). E.g. 1BR center = 55×21.8×1.15×1.1399 ≈ $1,572.
Notes
ALL cells are DERIVED — idealista's public report gives only a single city-wide €/m² for Lisboa, not a room-count × district matrix (idealista's granular per-district report pages returned HTTP 403 on fetch). Both the dwelling sizes and the ±15% central/outside spread are transparent assumptions, not observed values; treat the matrix as indicative and re-derive from a directly fetched idealista Lisboa district report next cycle. Only the city-wide €21.8/m² base is directly observed.
01Studio
Bordeauxcheaper
$703$617 outside
Lisbon
$1,000$739 outside
021-bedroom
Bordeauxcheaper
$938$823 outside
Lisbon
$1,572$1,162 outside
032-bedroom
Bordeauxcheaper
$1,108$972 outside
Lisbon
$2,286$1,690 outside
043-bedroom
Bordeauxcheaper
$1,570$1,377 outside
Lisbon
$3,144$2,323 outside

05

Safety

1 verified fact
01+−Homicide rateintentional homicides per 100,000/yearBordeaux1.3Lisbonstronger0.7

What this measures

Intentional homicide victims per 100,000 population, latest available year. Country level: UNODC national series. City level: official municipal/police statistics where published; otherwise null (country value shown as country-level).

Lower is better· intentional homicides per 100,000/year· re-verified every 730 days

Bordeaux

Eurostat — police-recorded intentional homicide (crim_off_cat, ICCS0101, unit P_HTHAB)

Open data

Data as of
Dec 31, 2024
Verified
Jul 14, 2026
Notes
Police-recorded intentional homicide, 2024 (value 1.28; 2023 was 1.30). Dataset last updated by Eurostat 2026-04-29; cross-checked against decoding the full crim_off_cat matrix. Moderate by European standards — above the safest EU states (Austria 0.85) but well below the global average.

Lisbon

Eurostat — police-recorded intentional homicide (ICCS 0101)

Open data

Data as of
Dec 31, 2024
Verified
Jul 4, 2026
Notes
Police-recorded intentional homicides per 100,000 inhabitants, 2024 (Eurostat crim_off_cat). Portugal has trended down since 2013 (1.37) to 0.68 in 2024 — among the lowest in the EU.

06

Climate

2 verified facts
01+−Climate comfortpleasant months/yearBordeaux8Lisbonstronger10

What this measures

Number of months whose 1991–2020 climate normals satisfy: mean daily maximum between 15°C and 28°C and monthly precipitation under 150mm. Computed from the city's climate-normals indicator; the raw normals are stored alongside so users can judge by their own taste.

Higher is better· pleasant months/year· re-verified every 3650 days

Bordeaux

SettleMetric computation over climate-normals (WMO 1991–2020, Bordeaux-Mérignac 07510)

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Dec 31, 2020
Verified
Sep 24, 2026
Method
Months whose mean daily maximum is between 15 and 28 °C and whose precipitation is under 150 mm: Mar (15.5 °C), Apr (18.0), May (21.7), Jun (25.0), Jul (27.1), Aug (27.6), Sep (24.2), Oct (19.6) = 8. November (14.1), December (11.0), January (10.5) and February (12.0) are excluded as too cold; no month is too hot. The precipitation test excludes nothing: the wettest month is November at 114.5 mm.
Notes
March qualifies by 0.5 °C, and August stays 0.4 °C under the ceiling.

Lisbon

SettleMetric computation over climate-normals (IPMA Lisboa/Instituto Geofísico 1991-2020)

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Dec 31, 2020
Verified
Jul 4, 2026
Method
Months with mean daily max 15–28°C and precipitation < 150mm: Jan (15.1°C, 103.8mm), Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Sep, Oct, Nov (18.1°C, 133.9mm), Dec = 10. Only Jul (TX 28.2°C) and Aug (TX 28.8°C) miss, exceeding the 28°C max cap; no month exceeds the 150mm precipitation cap.
02+−Air quality (PM2.5)µg/m³, annual mean PM2.5Bordeaux7.9Lisbonstronger7.6

What this measures

Annual mean fine-particulate (PM2.5) concentration for the city, latest available year. Anchors follow the WHO 2021 guideline (5 µg/m³ → 10) through the EU limit value territory (25 µg/m³ → 2). Preferred source: European Environment Agency city-level air quality data; outside Europe: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database or the national monitoring network.

Lower is better· µg/m³, annual mean PM2.5· re-verified every 730 days

Bordeaux

European Environment Agency — Air Quality Statistics (E1a validated), Bordeaux stations FR31045 "Bordeaux_GAUTIER" and FR31002 "TALENCE"

Open data

Data as of
Dec 31, 2024
Verified
Sep 24, 2026
Method
Mean of the validated (E1a, verification flag 1) 2024 annual PM2.5 means at the two stations the EEA assigns to Bordeaux, queried from the EEA statistics service on 2026-09-24: FR31045 "Bordeaux_GAUTIER" (urban traffic, 1.6 km from the Hôtel de Ville) 7.528 µg/m³ at 96.49% coverage; FR31002 "TALENCE" (urban background, 4.2 km from the Hôtel de Ville) 8.181 µg/m³ at 93.39% coverage. (7.528 + 8.181) / 2 = 7.85. The WHO Ambient Air Quality Database v8.0 (2026) gives Bordeaux 7.855 µg/m³ for 2024 at 94% coverage — exactly these two stations' mean; its row counts six stations because the count covers all three pollutants it reports.
Notes
TWO STATIONS, and half the figure is a traffic site: Gautier is an urban traffic station, yet it read lower in 2024 than the Talence background station, which stands in the neighbouring commune of Talence. The EEA held no validated 2025 PM2.5 statistics for France on 2026-09-24. The WHO series for Bordeaux reads 9.63 (2020), 10.27 (2021), 15.33 (2022, on 57% coverage) and 9.42 (2023). About 1.6 times the WHO 2021 guideline of 5 µg/m³, and under the EU limit of 10 that applies from 2030.

Lisbon

WHO Ambient Air Quality Database 2026 (v8.0), Lisboa Greater City/PRT — original data European Environment Agency, Air Quality Statistics

Open data

Data as of
Dec 31, 2024
Verified
Aug 28, 2026
Method
Row Lisboa Greater City/PRT, year 2024, of the WHO Ambient Air Quality Database v8.0 (2026), read from the published spreadsheet on 2026-08-28: pm25_concentration = 7.604 µg/m³ at 84% temporal coverage over 17 stations (eleven urban background, four urban traffic, one urban industrial and one suburban industrial), reference "European Environmental Agency", WHO footprint population 1,872,036. Reference year 2024 — the latest year this database carries a full-year PM2.5 figure for this city, and the year already used by the other European cities in this dataset. Identity checked against the row's own station centroid, which lies 2.6 km from this city's recorded coordinates — the file contains near-miss names such as "Playa Del Ingles/ESP" and "Porto Empedocle/ITA", so the check is not a formality.
Notes
Two caveats. Coverage is 84%, below the EU's 90% data-quality objective, so the year is not quality-assured to the standard the other Portuguese figure here meets — but 2023, at 96% coverage, reads 7.26 µg/m³, within 0.35 of this value, so the sub-threshold year is not distorting anything. And the row is the Urban Audit "greater city": WHO gives its population as 1,872,036 against the 658,236 municipal figure recorded on this page, so it covers Greater Lisbon across 17 stations, not the municipality alone. Preceding years in the same series: 2021 8.50 (89%), 2022 7.36 (95%), 2023 7.26 (96%).

07

Healthcare

1 verified fact
01+−Private healthcare costUSD/year, comprehensive private insurance premium, healthy 35-year-oldBordeaux821Lisbonstronger650

What this measures

Median of at least three publicly quoted annual premiums for comprehensive private medical insurance (outpatient + inpatient, ~$100k coverage, small deductible) for a healthy 35-year-old resident foreigner, from local and international insurers. Method field lists the insurers quoted.

Lower is better· USD/year, comprehensive private insurance premium, healthy 35-year-old· re-verified every 365 days

Bordeaux

Curated from French mutuelle comparateur data (goodassur 48,082-quote July 2026 dataset; Selectra tariff study)

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Jul 1, 2026
Verified
Jul 14, 2026
Method
France has universal public health cover (Assurance Maladie, ~70% reimbursement) topped up by a COMPLEMENTARY private 'mutuelle santé' — supplementary, not full-replacement. Mutuelle pricing is age-banded, not health-rated. Market data (goodassur, 48,082 individual quotes, July 2026): age 25–34 avg €68.98/mo, 35–44 avg €90.68/mo; a mid-market intermediate plan for a healthy 35-year-old ≈ €60/mo = €720/yr → $821/yr at 1.1399. Range ≈ €35/mo ($479/yr) to ≈ €90/mo ($1,231/yr).
Notes
A supplementary top-up on the mandatory public system, not a full private replacement policy (like Austria's Sonderklasse). ~95%+ of residents carry a mutuelle; employees usually get a subsidised group contract (employer pays ≥50%), so this individually-purchased premium is the situation of a freelancer/self-employed person. Mid-market monthly range ≈ €50–70.

Lisbon

Médis / Multicare / AdvanceCare / Allianz comprehensive (with-hospitalization) plans — market midpoint; insurers quote on request

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Jul 4, 2026
Verified
Jul 4, 2026
Method
Comprehensive private plans that include inpatient/hospital cover (outpatient + hospitalization) for a healthy 35-year-old run ≈ €35–60/month across the main Portuguese insurers (Médis, Multicare, AdvanceCare/AdvanceCare-network, Allianz, Generali Tranquilidade). Midpoint ≈ €47.5/month ≈ €570/year ≈ $650 at 1.1399 USD/EUR (range ≈ $547–$752). Premiums are quoted on request, so this is a curated market midpoint, not a public engine quote.
Notes
Residents are covered by the public SNS; private insurance is optional/supplementary. Cheaper outpatient-only plans start ≈ €10–20/month but exclude hospitalization — this figure is the with-inpatient comprehensive tier, chosen for cross-country comparability. Insurers repriced ~+10% for 2026.

08

Money & crypto

2 verified facts
01+−Crypto regulationBordeauxLegal regulatedLisbonstrongerLegal friendly

What this measures

Own classification of the legal status of holding, trading and cashing out cryptocurrency for individuals: legal-friendly (legal with clear, favourable rules or explicit tax exemptions), legal-regulated (legal under standard licensing/AML and taxation), restricted (partial bans: payments or banking access prohibited), banned (holding/trading prohibited). Classified from national regulators' and central banks' official positions.

Rated by category· re-verified every 180 days

Bordeaux

impots.gouv.fr — Plus-values sur cessions d'actifs numériques (cryptomonnaies); AMF/MiCA CASP regime

Official source

Data as of
Jan 1, 2026
Verified
Jul 14, 2026
Notes
Legal and regulated. Capital gains on digital assets for private/occasional investors are taxed at the flat PFU — 31.4% from 1 Jan 2026 (12.8% income tax + 18.6% social levies; the social part rose from 17.2% when the 2026 Social Security law lifted CSG on capital income 9.2%→10.6%), with the option to elect the progressive scale instead (since 2023). Total annual disposals ≤ €305 are exempt. Crypto-asset service providers authorise as CASPs under the EU MiCA regulation (the former AMF 'PSAN' regime from the 2019 PACTE law), with the AMF as competent authority.

Lisbon

Autoridade Tributária — Criptoativos: conceito fiscal e tributação (folheto informativo)

Official source

Data as of
Jan 1, 2026
Verified
Jul 4, 2026
Notes
Legal for individuals; regulated under EU MiCA/CARF. Since Law 24-D/2022: capital gains on crypto held ≥365 days are tax-EXEMPT (declared in Anexo G1); gains on assets held <365 days are taxed at a 28% autonomous rate (Category G, option to aggregate); crypto-to-crypto swaps are deferred (not taxed at the swap). Frequent/professional trading may be reclassified as Category B (general rates). Classified legal-friendly for the explicit long-term-holding exemption; short-term gains are still fully taxed.
02+−Financial control levelBordeauxLowLisbonLow

What this measures

Own composite of state control over personal money flows: currency/capital controls (IMF AREAER), restrictions on foreign accounts and transfers, mandatory income declaration scope for residents, cash payment limits, banking access for foreigners. Low = free movement of personal funds and easy non-resident banking; very-high = strict capital controls and pervasive reporting. Method field on each value lists the inputs used.

Rated by category· re-verified every 365 days

Bordeaux

Service-Public / economie.gouv.fr — Paiement en espèces (plafond); Code monétaire et financier art. D112-3

Official source

Data as of
Sep 1, 2015
Verified
Jul 14, 2026
Method
Composite: France uses the euro, fully convertible, with EU free movement of capital and NO exchange/capital controls. The main constraint is a cash-payment cap — a French tax resident may pay at most €1,000 in cash to a professional (since Sept 2015; non-resident tourists up to €15,000); cash between private individuals is unlimited (written proof required above €1,500). The EU Anti-Money-Laundering Regulation adds an EU-wide €10,000 cash cap from 2027. Non-resident banking is available with standard KYC. These are ordinary AML measures, not capital controls → 'low'.

Lisbon

ASAE — cash-payment limits (Art. 63.º-E Lei Geral Tributária); euro-area free movement of capital

Official source

Data as of
Jul 4, 2026
Verified
Jul 4, 2026
Method
Composite: euro-area member, no currency or capital controls, EUR fully convertible; free movement of capital guaranteed by the EU Treaty (Art. 63 TFEU). Non-resident bank accounts routinely available. Standard EU CRS/DAC reporting via banks; no FBAR-style personal foreign-account self-declaration for individuals. Cash-payment limit €2,999.99 for residents (natural persons) and €9,999.99 for non-residents not acting as merchants (Art. 63.º-E LGT) — a limit on cash, not on bank money movement. Rated 'low' state control over personal money flows.

09

Infrastructure

3 verified facts
01+−Domestic delivery qualityBordeauxstrongerExcellentLisbonGood

What this measures

Quality of in-country parcel delivery. excellent = nationwide next-day widely available, dense parcel-locker network, real-time tracking standard; good = 1–3 day delivery, lockers in major cities; basic = reliable but slow (3–7 days), mostly to-door or post-office pickup; poor = unreliable delivery, street addresses often unusable, informal workarounds common. Classified from official service/coverage data of the national postal operator and the two largest private carriers; inputs itemized in each value's method field.

Rated by category· re-verified every 730 days

Bordeaux

La Poste / Colissimo (Pickup) and Mondial Relay network figures

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Jan 1, 2025
Verified
Jul 14, 2026
Method
France has one of Europe's densest out-of-home parcel networks. Colissimo/Pickup: 26,000+ pickup points (≈17,500 relay points + ≈6,500 automatic lockers, incl. ≈4,500 24/7 Pickup Station lockers). Mondial Relay: ≈17,000 points (≈9,000 lockers + ≈8,000 relais). Plus Relais Colis, Chronopost, DPD, and La Poste home delivery ~6 days/week, with nationwide next-day/2-day standard options → 'excellent'.

Lisbon

CTT Correios de Portugal — express delivery times, coverage and Collectt/Locky network (official service pages)

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Dec 31, 2025
Verified
Jul 4, 2026
Method
National operator CTT offers next-day ('Expresso Para Amanhã') and 2-day express nationwide, with the Collectt pickup network (CTT shops + Payshop agents + Locky 24/7 parcel lockers) and real-time tracking. Private carriers DPD, GLS, DHL, UPS, Chronopost and Seur operate nationwide. Rated 'good' — 1–3 day delivery is the norm and lockers exist in cities, but locker density and universal next-day are below the best-in-class (e.g. Poland's InPost).
02+−International delivery easeBordeauxMinor frictionLisbonMinor friction

What this measures

Ease of receiving goods from abroad. seamless = major international carriers deliver door-to-door, meaningful duty-free de-minimis threshold, customs clearance predictable in days; minor-friction = carriers present but low de-minimis, extra paperwork or routine delays; significant-friction = frequent customs holds, high brokerage fees, some marketplaces refuse to ship; unreliable = parcels regularly lost or blocked, informal import channels dominate. De-minimis thresholds and clearance rules from the national customs authority (official source, cite the regulation); carrier presence from carriers' official pages.

Rated by category· re-verified every 365 days

Bordeaux

EU single market (free movement of goods) + European Commission removal of the €150 duty-free import threshold (from 1 July 2026)

Official source

Data as of
Jul 1, 2026
Verified
Jul 14, 2026
Notes
Intra-EU shipping is frictionless (single market — most European cross-border parcels arrive like domestic ones). For non-EU imports the EU removed the €150 duty-free threshold and from 1 July 2026 applies a temporary flat customs duty per item on ≤€150 consignments (VAT already collected at checkout via IOSS since 2021). Predictable but no longer duty-free — the same EU regime as other member states.

Lisbon

European Commission — removal of the €150 customs duty exemption / temporary flat fee on low-value imports

Official source

Data as of
Jul 1, 2026
Verified
Jul 4, 2026
Notes
Intra-EU shipping is frictionless (single market, all major carriers). Non-EU imports: the €150 duty-free threshold was removed on 2026-07-01 — a temporary flat €3/item duty applies to ≤€150 consignments (until the 2028 EU Customs reform); import VAT has applied from €0 since 2021 (IOSS collects it at checkout). Predictable but no longer duty-free — hence minor-friction.
03+−Internet speedMbps, median fixed downloadBordeauxstronger51.4Lisbon40

What this measures

Median fixed-broadband download speed over the trailing 6 months from M-Lab NDT open data (CC0), aggregated at country or city level. Not comparable with Ookla figures (different test methodology) — do not mix sources within this criterion.

Higher is better· Mbps, median fixed download· re-verified every 365 days

Bordeaux

M-Lab NDT country aggregates for France

Open data

Data as of
Dec 31, 2023
Verified
Jul 14, 2026
Method
Median of the 344 daily country-median download values for FR in 2023 (~10.47M download tests; daily medians ranged 24.9–61.1 Mbps). M-Lab NDT is single-stream and reads well below Ookla-style or advertised figures (French fibre commonly markets 300–1000+ Mbps) — comparable only within this criterion. 2023 is the latest full year in M-Lab's public stats API.
Notes
France has extensive FTTH fibre coverage; the M-Lab single-stream median understates real-world line speeds and is used only for cross-country comparability on one consistent method.

Lisbon

M-Lab NDT country aggregates for Portugal

Open data

Data as of
Dec 31, 2024
Verified
Jul 4, 2026
Method
M-Lab NDT daily country medians for Portugal cluster at ≈ 39–42 Mbps (2024). Recorded as 40 Mbps. WebFetch truncates the JSON to ~mid-January, so the full-year median should be re-aggregated from the M-Lab BigQuery dataset next cycle.
Notes
M-Lab NDT is single-stream and reads well below Ookla-style figures (Portuguese fibre retail speeds are far higher) — comparable only within this criterion. Value should be re-verified against the full 2024/2025 M-Lab aggregate.

10

Language

1 verified fact
01+−English proficiencyBordeauxModerateLisbonstrongerVery high

What this measures

Own banding of how far English gets a resident in daily life (government offices, healthcare, housing, services). Informed by EF EPI band (research source, cited with attribution, not republished) plus official language status and service-sector realities. Values are our bands, not EF scores.

Rated by category· re-verified every 730 days

Bordeaux

EF EPI 2025 — France (score 539, rank 38/123, Moderate band)

Research

Data as of
Nov 1, 2025
Verified
Jul 14, 2026
Notes
Own band informed by EF EPI 2025 (attribution: EF Education First): France score 539, global rank 38, 'Moderate' band (EF cutoffs: Moderate 500–549), up 11 places and +15 points vs 2024. English is workable in Paris tech/expat circles and tourism-facing Côte d'Azur, but French is essential for administration, most workplaces, and daily life — France sits below the very-high Northern-European tier.

Lisbon

EF EPI 2025 — Portugal rank 6/123, score 612 (Very High band)

Research

Data as of
Nov 1, 2025
Verified
Jul 4, 2026
Notes
Own band informed by EF EPI (attribution: EF Education First). Portugal ranks 6th of 123 countries (score 612, 'Very High'). English is broadly workable in cities, tourism, tech and services; less consistent in local government/administration.

11

Education

1 verified fact
01+−International schoolsaccredited international schools, countBordeaux1Lisbonstronger11

What this measures

Count of international schools in the metro area accredited by or member of IB, CIS, COBIS, or an equivalent national-curriculum-abroad body (verified against the accreditor's public registry, not aggregator sites).

Higher is better· accredited international schools, count· re-verified every 730 days

Bordeaux

CIS (Council of International Schools) membership directory — Bordeaux International School

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Sep 24, 2026
Verified
Sep 24, 2026
Method
Accreditor-verified: Bordeaux International School, 252 rue Judaïque, about 1.4 km west of the Hôtel de Ville, is listed in the CIS membership directory, read on 2026-09-24, as an active member with the status "Accredited" and with IGCSE and A Level among its programmes. It is the only Bordeaux school in the directory.
Notes
VERIFIED FLOOR. No Bordeaux school has an IB profile in the Internet Archive, and ibo.org answered our requests with a Cloudflare challenge. The Accredited European Schools list has no Bordeaux entry. The school says it has been a Cambridge International centre since 1991; Cambridge's school finder renders only in a browser, so that, and any other Cambridge-registered school, could not be checked there.

Lisbon

IB / Cambridge / AEFE / German Auslandsschulwesen accreditor evidence for the Lisbon metro (curated union)

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of
Jul 4, 2026
Verified
Jul 4, 2026
Method
Curated count of internationally-accredited schools in the Lisbon metro (Lisboa, Cascais, Sintra, Oeiras). Directly verified against their accreditor networks: Lycée Français Charles Lepierre (AEFE directly-managed establishment, aefe.gouv.fr) and Deutsche Schule Lissabon (German Auslandsschule under ZfA/Auswärtiges Amt, auslandsschulwesen.de). IB World Schools identified in the metro by name from IB 'by country' data and corroborating sources: St. Julian's (Carcavelos), St. Dominic's International (São Domingos de Rana), Carlucci/CAISL (Sintra), United Lisbon International, TASIS Portugal (Sintra), International Sharing School–Taguspark (Oeiras), Oeiras International School, PaRK International, plus The Lisboan (Cambridge + IB). Count = 11 named, accreditor-attributable schools.
Notes
±3 uncertainty. The live IB World Schools finder and the Cambridge 'Find a Cambridge school' registry both returned HTTP 403 to automated fetch this cycle, so individual IB/Cambridge authorizations were confirmed from official-adjacent sources rather than each read directly against the accreditor's live registry; AEFE and the German school were verified directly. Portugal has ~16 IB World Schools in total, most clustered in the Lisbon metro, so the true metro count of all-accreditor international schools is likely somewhat higher than 11 (aggregator guides list 30+ 'international' schools, but many lack a recognised accreditor). Re-verify each authorization against the IB and Cambridge registries from a browser next cycle.