Golden age pensioners in Portugal it has come to an end. THE house prices and end of tax exemption privileges forcing Italians to flee a country long favored as a destination to enjoy their retirement years. This is claimed by a Portuguese weekly expresso, after ten years, things change significantly. But what are the most popular destinations now? Let’s find out together.
To the Portuguese weekly Espresso, Michele De Benedictis, 50, from Milan, owner of “Gastronomia Italiana”, a restaurant in the center of Rua Frederico Arouca, one of the busiest shopping streets in Cascais, explained: “Recently I see that there are fewer and fewer Italians. retirees arrive. And it seems normal to me: prices, especially for houses, are crazy. Rents have more than doubled from 10 years ago when I moved here. At that time I was paying 600 euros per month for a beautiful house of 100 m2 with a sea view. Today, the same house is for rent on Airbnb for 200 or 300 euros a day.”
Pensioners in Portugal, what is changing
In recent years, thousands of Italian retirees attracted by tax exemptions have decided to move to Portugal. But now things are changing. With the government of António Costa, which decided to give end of tax benefits for so-called unusual residents as rising housing costsapparently i Italian pensioners are no longer interested in Portugal and are looking for other tax-advantaged destinations, such asAlbania. But other countries are also showing interest, e.g Slovakia, Greece and also San Marino. So called tax nomads they are looking for new destinations with only one certainty: not to stay in Italy, where taxes are considered too high.
Pensioners abroad, the most desirable countries
Always in the Portuguese weekly Espresso, Maddalena Di Santo, owner of the “Transfersi in Portugal” agency based in Faro, said that many fear that from this year it will not be possible to move to Portugal with the benefits that existed until recently, and that those who are already in Portugal trying to understand which country is the best to go to when the 10 years of tax breaks are over. And he explained that the most popular destinations are currently San Marino, Slovakia, Hungary, Albania, Greece and Cyprus. Everywhere but Italy.