Toulouse has numerous suburbs that are accessible by bus or car. Some of the advantages of living further afield are lower housing prices, more modern developments (homes in sub-divisions), and the ability to be closer to larger shopping areas. On the outskirts of Toulouse, a furnished, two...
would be unnerving. (It isn’t for me, by the way.) If so, perhaps you’d be better off in the capital, in the “second city” of Porto in the north, or in the centrally-located university town of Coimbra. Or one of those cities’ suburbs could offer the perfect balance for you...