Where to live for 3 months in Portugal

Without a special visa, you cannot stay more than 90 days in the Schengen Zone. That doesn't mean you can't stay in Portugal for 90 days and then move on to another country, but the other country can't be in the Schengen Zone.

The place to start would be by reading guidebooks and narrowing down the parts of the country that interest you. That, and websites - pretty much every village, town, and city all over Europe has a pretty comprehensive one. There are also expat websites that offer a lot of information.

You will get better advice if you provide more details about your interests, skills, budget, limitations, and so on. Which three months of the year? What are you looking for?

I would recomend Southwest coast, as a nice spot to settle for 3 month. But this area is quite car dependent.
My recommended start search points could be:
Porto Covo, Zambujeira do Mar, Aljezur.

In Aljezur you will find a wide international community living there. Maybe it's a good start point.
The 3 suggestions are summer spots, so if your 3 months are in summer period consider higher prices and crowded places.
Never the less beauty is a constant in these places.

In this area you will find, with some local advice, almost wood desert beaches incredibly beauty.

Hope it helps starting the search

The expat sites are especially helpful. Thanks!

"...beauty is a constant in these places." Yes, this is a helpful starting point. Thank you! My "year abroad" is a ways off, so dates are not firm; but I hope to do Christmas and the New Year in Ireland, so I'm thinking spring in Portugal...cooler weather and fewer tourists would be good. I am glad to hear your perspective.

Thank you!
Interests: People, music, art, being, photography, history, daily routines, coffee, food, a little drink, water, sky, gardens, a little bit of solitude
Skills: no foreign language
Budget: modest, enough
Months: Feb/Mar/Apr or Mar/Apr/May
Needs: Clean, "safe," easy access to wifi, not isolated, maybe some access to group activities such as classes (fitness, cooking, photography, local interests...)

*Excellent choice.
Spring time is the most gratifying period in Portugal, everything is at its top beautyness.
The weather is warm not to hot.
Amazing period, that would be my choice too.

=)

*

OK, In response to your stated interests, I suggest the Lisbon area. There are dozens of good museums, a good music scene, good public transportation, access to many group activities, and a wonderful range of photographic opportunities. Also, language will not be a big problem.
I would suggest either an apartment in Cascais, an apartment on the west side of the commuter train line from Lisbon to Cascais, or an apartment in the center of Lisbon within easy walking distance of the train station (Cais do Sodre). Cascais is a safe, pleasant town on the west end of extended Lisbon. There is an active English speaking ex-pat community and you can get by quite well with English. Some may say that Cascais is touristy, but the Portuguese people I know like living there or visiting, and consider Cascais to be a Portuguese town that gets tourists rather than a tourist town. Having said that, you will not see many tourists in the spring. The non-Portuguese people that you will meet in the spring are likely to live in the area and be employed by a multi-national company or an embassy.
From Cascais, it is easy to visit Sintra or Lisbon on public transportation.

That is very affirming. The expat sites led me to Cascais yesterday. It sounds/looks like just what I'm looking for, for all of the reasons you listed and more, including plenty of rental opps. It's at the top of the short list. Thank you, Captnvic.