They came to Portugal

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Madonna recently moved to Portugal
Recently the ´Queen of Pop’, Madonna, moved to Portugal.  There was a lot of talk about her buying in Sintra but she did end up in Lisbon.  Where John Malcovich lives, as do Michael Fessbender and Monica Belucci, among other famous people.

Harrison Ford
When I first moved to Portugal 29 years ago I bought a book called ‘They came to Portugal’. It was a book on the famous people who came to Portugal a long time ago.   The Spaniards, the Moors, famous authors and philosophers, foreign kings and alike.  It was intriguing, as what we know about history is that it was the Portuguese who travelled the world and went everywhere, conquering lands and colonizing.

During the Second World War, Portugal became a safe territory for thousands of refugees and exiles – among them the monarchy from Spain,
John Malcovich
Italy, Luxembourg, Romania, Austria, Hungary and Denmark.   Throughout her modern history, Portugal has also been the haven for artists of all sorts – writers, painters, people in the movie industry. Lord Byron, H C Andersen, Richard Strauss,  Ian Fleming, Orson Welles, Bonnie Taylor, Cliff Richards, Christian Louboutin and Harrison Ford, to name a few.  In the last few years, the possibility that the Golden Visa provides, has also brought many wealthy non-EU citizens to Portugal: an investment of half a million euros gives you a Portuguese residence permit and all of its rights and obligations.

Michael Fessbender
But why have all of these and other people decided to come to Portugal?

In Madonna’s case, it seems it was because his son David got in to the Benfica football school.  But generally speaking, there are many popular reasons for moving to Portugal.  The location of Portugal is wonderful: at the edge of Europe, it is easy to come to Portugal by air and by car (the roads are excellent).  The nature of Portugal is wonderful with lots of coastline, mountains, and natural parks.  There are wonderful, lively, colourful cities, with history, good ambient, good hospitals and many international schools. Technology in Portugal is advanced, the coverage of WiFi is one of the largest in Europe and mobile network coverage is very complete. The cities are relatively safe and even the more famous people who have to worry about security feel good here, being able to blend in. Portuguese moderate climate lends itself to outdoor living and activities all year round. The Portuguese food is excellent:  fresh, often local, tasty.   A good standard of living is still less
Monica Belucci
expensive in Portugal than in many other western countries.


All of the above are important factors. Yet for me, after 29 years of living here, I would say that the number one reason that makes Portugal so special is definitely the People: pleasant, authentic, nice people who make you feel welcome in their country. Yes, there are things that bother me in Portugal, but the positives weigh a lot more in the scale of likeability of this country.  

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