After a week in New York, where I was interviewed by CNN, U.S. News & World Report, the Canadian Business News Network, and Fox Business News on the best places to retire and to buy real estate overseas today, I’ve arrived in Algarve, Portugal, a destination that stands out in both those contexts right now.
Portugal’s Algarve, with its 300 days of sunshine a year, its glorious coastline, and its best-of-the-Old World culture, has been attracting retirees from abroad (mostly Britain) for decades. Today this region has our attention for another reason, as well—its property market is among the most undervalued in Europe and a bargain for dollar holders thanks to the U.S. dollar’s continued strength in euro-land. As we’ve been reminding you, the dollar hasn’t had this much buying power in this part of the world since 2003.
Get thee to Europe, we’ve been recommending for months. Finally, here we are, taking our own advice. We will be joined this week by scores of your fellow readers who, like us, are unable to resist what’s on offer in this part of the world today. Attendees for our first-ever Live and Invest in Portugal Conference, which kicks off here in seaside Carvoeiro this Wednesday, begin arriving tomorrow. They and we will be joined, Wednesday through Friday, by our top Portugal advisors, colleagues, experts, and expat friends, who will give us a front-row, insider’s look into current options and opportunities for living, retiring, and owning real estate in this beautiful and historic country.
This is a magical corner of Europe, offering great beaches, great food, and great golf, plus, now, easy residency and tax advantages and, again, a seriously undervalued property market.
It’s that last point that has brought Lief and me to the Algarve a few days in advance of this week’s conference. We’re considering investing in a rental property on this impressive coastline and will be shopping on our own account tomorrow and Tuesday. We’ll share details of our firsthand experiences and impressions with attendees at the conference this week and with you, as well, through our dispatches from the scene.
We’ve been looking forward to this trip for months. Stay tuned for real-time reports of our adventures and discoveries.
Kathleen Peddicord
