I think you've read a lot on several websites about the differences between district, county and parish. Well, we particularly feel the need to clarify more on this subject. We find it confusing when, for example, we are looking for property to rent. And being honest, we still have our doubts.
So... to clarify these doubts a little, and I believe many of you also have, we went deeper into our research on Lisbon, which is where we thought of living, and as we already have a sense of there, as we've already been there a few times, it stayed easier to understand and to locate us in the places we know.
In a previous article, we said that we'd like to live in Parque das Nações, but lately on our trips we've stayed in Graça. And we're falling in love with this area. We also consider Arroios. And we are curious to know Campo de Ourique as well as Cacilhas.
In a nutshell and compared to Brazil, Portugal is divided into:
But be careful, this termology of state, municipality and neighborhood that we use in Brazil is not exactly the same in Portugal, but the terms are similar.
So let's try to explain a little. Know that each region is organized by districts, each region may have more than one district depending on the population level. The most important city is the district headquarters, where it has central representation of the main public services.
Within each district are the councils, each city within the district is a council, the council has political power to manage the city. In each area of the city, there are “x” neighborhoods, villages and towns, each one is a parish, which interacts directly with the population. Parishes and councils together make the so-called “local power”.
Did you know that..?!
Lisbon is a district, is a municipality and is a parish, is the capital of a district, the city itself is a council, which has a parish called Lisbon. In other words, the small parish of Lisbon expanded, became a city, became the seat of a district and the country's capital.
When we say the name of the city, we are referring to the area of the territory referring to the municipality, where the parishes are located. Another example, Cascais is a municipality that belongs to the district of Lisbon, but has nothing to do with the city of Lisbon.
The parishes together with the municipal government, which is the municipality, manage the city. And the Parish Council is the place where we will resolve all things relevant to the public services offered by the community, such as requesting a certificate of address, finding out about school vacancies, any courses being offered and even leisure activities in the parks and squares.
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