CULTURE, SUN, PEACE AND QUALITY OF LIFE
Portugal is one of Europe’s oldest countries, with a unique cultural, architectural and natural heritage, recognized by UNESCO in multiple categories.
Its’ history has been influenced by longstanding, cultural and commercial ties with Europe, the Americas – namely Brazil, Asia-Pacific rim, China, Africa and the Middle East.
The Portuguese were the first global traders and are a welcoming and open-minded people, always happy to learn and share experiences with other peoples and cultures. The country has been blessed with amazing weather, having over 300 days of sunshine per year with mild winters and hot, dry summers.
Portugal is an established democracy with strong rule of law, absence of terrorism and very low crime rates, ranked the third most peaceful country in the world by the Global Peace Index out of 163 countries (GPI 2019).
Lisbon, the second oldest city in Europe, has unsurpassed quality of living and has become a vibrant European Capital, winning multiple tourism awards and the hearts and minds of the millions of visitors it receives every year. For this reason, it is distinguished every year as one of the best quality of life cities in the world to live in
EDUCATION, INFRASTRUCTURE, SERVICES AND GEOGRAPHY
Portugal has a world class education system comprised by both private schools and public schools, where education is free up to 12th grade and higher education has symbolic tuition fees and only applicable for those whose net household income is above a certain bracket.
There is also a large network of excellent private and international schools, operating on paid tuition and fees. It has a world class infrastructure, with one of Europe’s three best motorway networks (OECD), a modern port and logistics network, state-of-the-art telecommunications network and one of the best digital public services in the world (UN E Government Survey 2018).
The transport network is modern and diverse, allowing people to travel by train or bus regularly throughout the country and cities of the continent with connections throughout Europe. Portugal is a strategic meeting point between three continents – Europe, Africa and America – with international airports, from north to south of the country and islands, with regular connections to major cities in the world. Major European capitals are all between 2 to 3 hours away by air.
INVESTING IN PORTUGAL
In recent years, Portugal’s Real Estate market has offered tremendous investment opportunities, with high added value scope, which have attracted a very diverse group of investors from all over the world.
With the current positive indicators of solid economic growth and the continued rise in demand for properties and leases with ROI and Cap Rates amongst the best in Europe in recent years. International exposure, programs that encourage foreign investment, such as the Portuguese Golden Visa (a “de facto” Schengen residency visa program), and the excellent performance of tourism, technological innovation industries, amongst others, make Portugal one of the most attractive countries to invest in today.