I am about to move to Portugal, my big problem is I am self-employed and the rules in Portugal on VAT seem more severe.
I teach English and have a good income, however if I have to charge VAT this will knock things dramatically.
I intend to rent at the start. Is residency easy to achieve in Spain?

If you are trying to choose between the two southern countries, I’d say choose spain https://rove.me/to/spain, without a doubt. I mean, have you seen Spanish art? And Spanish language is more universally known, if you are from US- it’s basically your second language.