Small city, lots of traffic?

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Esta é uma cópia do post original: Hi! As far as I can see this is a subreddit for emigrating, well I want to buy an apartment in Portugal to basically emigrate here and was invited to stay here for a week before I make the decision. (Sorry to post in English, I started my language course only 2 months ago.) Everything is nice, even perfect, huge balcony, fitting price for what is offered, I love the people here, so down to earth and friendly what I'm really missing in my home country. All is perfect for me except for one thing: The apartment is located next to the main road and basically every car driving in or out of the city drives by and it kind of makes the nice balcony less nice. The city is not big at all, 3500 inhabitants, a mountain city in the middle of the country, again perfect for me. But basically every other minute, or at certain times more a car zips by and you can hear that one car for around 10-15 seconds quite loudly because of how the street layout is made and the apartment is placed. The seller said after the summer there will be much less traffic, because now people are visiting their families, going out on vacation, etc. And my buyer agent says this happens all over Portugal. I have only been to quite resorts up until now so I ask myself: Is this true, will there really be a significant traffic decrease after the summer? Is this a thing in Portugal, even with relatively minor mountain cities with some even smaller towns in its vicinity? If yes, what kind of reduction can I count on? All my life I stayed at quite places in Germany and the Netherlands so this traffic situation really is new to me. I would really love an answer from a native. Thank you so much in advance!

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In Portugal most people use car. The public transportation isn't that great and if you are indeed living in a small "city" then public transportation will be next to none, so cars will be prevalent. The good thing is that with that small of a city, the number of cars will be on the smaller size.

What the seller told you is true, a lot of people enjoy their summer break in Portugal, visiting family, traveling through the countryside, etc.
So after August you will see a decline in movement, and way lesser cars.

Have a look at the noise insulation.

Houses in Portugal are very poor in insulation compared to Germany and Netherlands so some improvements + new windows would probably solve your noise problem.

Do not buy an apartment on the main road in and out of a city. There will be quieter streets. Is this a city with students? Lookout for the bar streets also.

In Portugal, people are very dependent on cars. They will take a car 200m to have a coffee. So even in small cities, traffic is higher than reasonable. And if there is no congestion, people drive dangerously fast. In that road of yours, maybe the traffic will decrease, but they will continue zipping away. Look for a street that mostly the residents use. Not a passageway for everyone.

r/Portugalexpats

I also want to buy an apartment in Portugal. But I think I’ll buy just a van. Btw, I’m Portuguese.

Just out of curiosity, where is the apartment located and what do you consider a price fitting what is offered?

Regarding the traffic yeah, we portuguese people really like to drive around in our cars, no matter how short the trip is. It can be an issue for the whole year, depending on the location.