Latest property news
Read the latest property news from all around the world from our expert writers located all over the world. Get the latest on buying, travel, emigration, retirement and much more. Whether you are buying a sunny property to spend your summers, or making a big move abroad you will find everything you need to know here.
What does the World Happiness Report 2023 reveal?
A good indication of a great place to live are contented locals with big smiles on their faces. Unsure where to find that? Start with the annual World Happiness Report, which ranks countries around the world according to how fulfilled their populations are. Here are some findings from this year’s edition.Read more...
What to do during a short stay in Madrid
Madrid has much more than just wonderful museums and tapas bars. Why not visit its parks or go to a major event in the city? It is a surprising fact that many expats living in Spain have never been to the capital city, Madrid. Some may have passed through Madrid Barajas airport (a maze not easily negotiated) but there seem to be so many who haven’t actually spent time in this wonderful, cultural world, with plenty of parks and green public areas – and enough museums and exhibitions to keep even the strongest culture vulture busy for some time. This year Madrid also hosts some amazing coRead more...
How will Brexit impact Brits buying and living in France
A week is a long time in politics, so the saying goes and never has this been truer than looking at the past week or so. The Brexit vote has come as quite a shock to many people across Europe.Read more...
The Alameda Portugal Beer Festival Arrives in July for the Second Time
A new Portugal beer festival, which attracted tens of thousands of people last year, will be repeated in Faro for the second time in July. If you think about beer in Portugal, chance are that the brands that spring to mind are Super Bock and Sagres. The latter is reasonably ubiquitous and well known across the UK, as well as in Portugal.Read more...
Lisbon to Porto: TAP Introduces a Route to Compete with the Train
It’s long been a dilemma whether it’s easier to fly between Faro and Lisbon or Porto, or take the train. Now the same dilemma exists between Lisbon and Porto, due to a new service from TAP, Portugal’s national airline. Travellers from Lisbon to Porto (and vice versa) have extra travel options since TAP, the national airline of Portugal, launched hourly flights between the two cities during peak periods.Read more...
Detailed Plans Emerge for the Algarve’s Newest Shopping Mall
The past week has delivered a flood of information about the next shopping centre to open in the Algarve – now officially named as Mar Shopping Algarve. Mar Shopping Algarve is to be the name of the huge new shopping centre in Loulé, launching next year. The new mall will be the home to the region’s long-awaited IKEA store, and will apparently be several times larger than the (already huge) Algarve Forum mall in Faro.Read more...
Tourism in Portugal: 2015 roundup
2015 was a good year for Portugal’s tourism industry and property markets According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, tourism accounts for around 15% of Portugal’s total GDP – and this figure is expected to rise by 2% per year. As such, Portugal’s tourism figures are a very important indicator of how well the country is doing.Read more...
Weather in Portugal: What’s the Winter Really Like?
If you’re thinking about embarking on life as an expat in Portugal, the weather is likely to be a contributing factor. Here are a former expat’s top tips to get to grips with the climate all year round. After spending five winters in Portugal’s Algarve, I’m spending this one in the UK. It’s therefore impossible not to nostalgically look back on what I’m missing, especially when I walk, yet again, into my freezing garden, to move all the plants and furniture back to their rightful place after they’ve all blown up one corner of the patio.Read more...
Portugal Reassures Expats in the Wake of Brexit Vote
Brits in Portugal worried about the ‘Brexit’ vote for the UK to leave the EU now have some reassurance of their status – direct from the Portuguese Prime Minister. After a long and tense wait, we now all know that the citizens of Britain have voted to leave the EU by a narrow margin.Read more...
Austerity in Portugal: Changes are Coming
Portugal’s new left wing coalition already announced earlier this year various policies to ease austerity in the country. We take a look at what’s changing, and whether the moves are sustainable.Read more...
Prices in Porto rose by 17% in 2015
Portugal’s second city has lagged behind the Algarve and Lisbon in international buyers’ affections, but could rapidly rising prices and a billion euro facelift tempt more of us north?Read more...