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Agreed, Lisbon and Porto have become more expensive in the last couple of years but still way more affordable than SF/NY etc. [Sadly] while AirBnB has made it

Agreed, Lisbon and Porto have become more expensive in the last couple of years but still way more affordable than SF/NY etc. [Sadly] while AirBnB has made it easier for "tourists" to visit the cities it has accelerated the [ridiculous] house-price inflation, especially in short-term apartment/room rentals often pricing "locals" out of the market completely. Coimbra https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coimbra https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coimbra is a lovely city. It was second on our list precisely for the "intellectual vibe" (as you say). What "swayed" our decision toward Braga was: + Much Closer to the Porto international airport via Bus, Train or Uber/Taxi. So getting to London/Paris/Frankfurt/etc. is a lot easier. + More existing companies both tech and traditional e.g: Bosch & Primavera. So the MeetUps are more "practical". + Lower latency and generally faster Internet. Our plan in Braga is to "recover" abandoned buildings (which are currently empty/unused) and renovate them into amazing places to live & work for "location independent creative/technology professionals". We are morally against Landlords/investors who are simply buying up the stock of available "rental" property and jacking up the prices so locals can no longer afford them.

andrepd 8y ago
> Much Closer to the Porto international airport via Bus, Train or Uber/Taxi. It's 50mins train and 15mins uber, from Coimbra to OPO.
- nelsonic 8y ago
  Yes, the train from Coimbra to OPO is a good option. But having to use two forms of transport when there is a "Get Bus" (direct airport bus) between Braga and OPO for €8 which is basically door-to-door for us. For reference, the car journey time at the 120kph highway speed limit between OPO and Coimbra is 125 mins see: https://goo.gl/maps/xosQureNf3x https://goo.gl/maps/xosQureNf3x By comparison the journey time (by car) between Braga and OPO is 39 mins i.e. less than half. see: https://goo.gl/maps/bN8GFy2UJoq https://goo.gl/maps/bN8GFy2UJoq Trust me, we have done our homework on this. This was a major deciding factor. We still have a company in London and we need to go there frequently for in-person client meetings. Otherwise Coimbra would have been a no-brainer. Our "sister company" has just opened a Student Residence in Coimbra: https://www.studentville.pt/en/cidades/coimbra https://www.studentville.pt/en/cidades/coimbra We would have benefitted hugely from being there. Much love to our Coimbra friends! :-)

andrepd 8y ago

> Much Closer to the Porto international airport via Bus, Train or Uber/Taxi. It's 50mins train and 15mins uber, from Coimbra to OPO.

nelsonic 8y ago
Yes, the train from Coimbra to OPO is a good option. But having to use two forms of transport when there is a "Get Bus" (direct airport bus) between Braga and OPO for €8 which is basically door-to-door for us. For reference, the car journey time at the 120kph highway speed limit between OPO and Coimbra is 125 mins see: https://goo.gl/maps/xosQureNf3x https://goo.gl/maps/xosQureNf3x By comparison the journey time (by car) between Braga and OPO is 39 mins i.e. less than half. see: https://goo.gl/maps/bN8GFy2UJoq https://goo.gl/maps/bN8GFy2UJoq Trust me, we have done our homework on this. This was a major deciding factor. We still have a company in London and we need to go there frequently for in-person client meetings. Otherwise Coimbra would have been a no-brainer. Our "sister company" has just opened a Student Residence in Coimbra: https://www.studentville.pt/en/cidades/coimbra https://www.studentville.pt/en/cidades/coimbra We would have benefitted hugely from being there. Much love to our Coimbra friends! :-)