Portugal is a great place to live and work. Any property you buy will sure to be a good investment. Since 200 the property market has steadily grown at around 10-15% annually. With properties of such a high standard and with its economy the way it is it is not hard to see why people are moving to Portugal.

Portugal is a country with a rich seafaring history and is located on the west coast of the Iberian Peninsula west of Spain. In the summer you can expect beautiful hot sunny days inland and on the coastal areas slightly cooler. Along the Algarve the coast is sheltered from north winds and has the higher summer temperatures. The Portuguese winters are very mild and pleasant without the hot weather.

The biggest appeal of buying a property in Portugal is the benign tax system which allows avoidance of the worst effects of capital gains and inheritance tax. Also the annual rate of unemployment is very low which is encouraging.

Despite the fact that Portugal is one of the smallest and least developed countries in European terms it has the fastest developing economies in the EU. One of the main reasons is because of the easy access to 360 million neighbours and the fact that the work force is young with labour costs considerably lower than those of the rest of the EU countries. The country was also given 22.8 billion Euros from the EU and part of these funds went into developing the transport system which included privatisation of the airline, building a light train track, as well as developing an airport at Porto. In 2004 the country hosted the European Football championships which brought in plenty of revenue at the time. With regards to natural resources Portugal has huge deposits of timber cork, iron, copper coal and marble.

One of the top choices regarding which city to move to is the Silver Coast. It is an up and coming area with many Brits selling up in the Algarve and moving up to the Oeste Region which is located just about Lisbon. The Algarve used to the hot spot to live but now it is over run with Brits. The attraction to The Silver Coast area is partly because it is a very Portuguese area with farming being the main source of income for the locals. You can really experience the Portuguese way of life. Because the properties are much cheaper than in the Algarve area it’s it worth investing in. The potential of significant property prises in the area is attracting people wanting to buy and live in the area as well as buying to let a holiday home. The Silver Coast stretches from Porto down to Lisbon and has some of the most spectacular beaches, amazing cliffs, beautiful country side and some great historical sites.

Moving to Portugal is always better if you’re planning on learning the language. The locals will respect you a lot more if you can show you are trying to fit into their society. It’s the same with moving to any foreign country. Apart from making every day life a lot simpler it also means you will be able to speak to the locals and really interact and get into the Portuguese way of life.