Join us for an exciting Live where we’ll talk about unique experiences of living in Portugal as an LGBTQ+ resident. Portugal is renowned for its inclusivity, consistently ranking highly on the Rainbow Index and the Spartacus Gay Travel Index, thanks to its welcoming nature and progressive LGBTQ+ rights.
[Music] [Music] hello everyone and Welcome to our live event today we have a fantastic s session lined up for you and uh filled with fascinating topics about Portugal and its incredible credentials as an LGBT friendly destination now we are honored to have with us two amazing guests that and they will share tips on Portugal and investment in properties well first we have Ken seford here is a dynamic individual who wears many hats he is a diplomat and an accomplished writer and a fitness professional Ken has an impressive background having lived in various parts of the world and authored several notable Works including the rising storm a novel and the complete guide to airport exercise he’s here to share his experiences as an investor in Portugal and perhaps some insights on um how to stay fit while you’re traveling joining Ken is Barbara K she is the head of real estate at Gold Crest Portugal buyers agency um Barbara has her finger on the pulse um of the Portuguese real estate market and is here to give us the latest updates on Portugal standing as an LGBT friendly country and she will also share valuable insights into what clients are looking for in terms of properties and her recommendations on the best areas for investment um so let me explain how it works if it’s the first time you join us at our live event we will have a quick conversation um me and the guests and then later we will open the chat for questions if you are pressed for time if you have to go just jop down your comments there your question there and our team that is already online will be able to answer questions well well without further Ado let’s dive into our conversation hello Barbara hello Ken welcome hello hello good to have you here great to be here and it’s um it’s our honor honestly I think we’ll have a really really interesting live s live session today so Barbara do you mind if I with Ken no of course not okay cool so Ken you’ve traveled extensively as a diplomat and a writer um and obviously this passion for writing and commitment commitment to Fitness have led you toake to undertake two fascinating projects could you share with us a bit about your work and um and the two books that you’ve written be honor first all through those travels I um one of the best parts of it really is the food especially in Portugal as you know so to eat anything that I want and I eat all the time I love to exercise to off offset all those calories so how do I incorporate travel and exercise in all that I do and so what I’ve done over the years is I’ve developed my program for fitting in exercise anywhere I go airports definitely my favorite place to to uh to you know use the large gym as you as it were but I also can exercise on airplanes and in grocery stores uh I wrote a book about it because it’s really a passion it’s not a gimmick it’s really a lifestyle I end up working out about 4 hours a day every day um because I’m committed to eating whatever I want to eat and I just have to find the time and where I can fit in those extra moments to to build up that exercise so that’s a big passion of M my my other book we’re missing you there Ken I think there’s a problem with your audio try again we heard the other the book yes yeah are you are you able to hear me better now yes yes yes perfect the other book is just uh it has to do with LGBT issues and I’m proud to to have done that and also to participate in conversations like this because and uh so that’s a that’s a nice opportunity so yeah good okay fine um it’s um the book both books are very very interesting and uh recommend reading them obviously I did not read that was all time but I had a look at the synopses of the rising storm and um and the complete guide of airport exercising I actually um looks at the videoos so they seem quite um accessible and um and it’s very good for people that are always on the goal um and I totally understand I try to make my way to meetings walking or cycling because um you know being active is very important so Ken moving on um as a diplomat you’ve had the opportunity to visit many countries around the world I’m sure but what made the decision what made you decide to to invest in Portugal Portugal has so much to offer that and I continue to learn about the amazing advantages we had a few colleagues and friends that in the last couple years have purchased real estate in Portugal got you know got us thinking about what that might mean and so we did some research and of course we discovered that Portugal is one of the safest places to live one of the best um places to eat and travel and experience culture and a and a balance of you know modern and and also a lot of history um so the more we learn about it the more you realize Portugal has so much to offer and it’s not as expensive as other places one might be in Europe so you know based on all that we we researched we looked into options uh we talked to some amazing people at Gold Crest and it just felt overall a really tremendous opportunity um Americans and other expats around the world often you know take to social media and Facebook to talk about how great Portugal is as an investment as a place to live and visit and so upon you know reviewing those Facebook sites and websites we learned from a lot of people around the world uh just the the great advantages and so it ended up being a good fit hang on I had to unmute myself um okay good good and then um now tell me Ken how many times have you been to Portugal incredibly one time um one time okay one of many was it a long period of time it was only four days we arrived Friday um we were in love with the country we had done a lot of research on well what does it possibly mean to buy a property we were treated so well we had such good resources and information that we were able to you know put an offer on a house within a few days um thereby utilizing that 4day trip very effectively it sounds very quick not everybody you know necessarily would approach it that way but again if one research and looks into Portugal as an opportunity for travel or for Real Estate there’s so much information out there and when we looked into that it just it all clicked together yeah okay so it’s it told me that you spent four days here and in those four days it sounds very productive by the way those four days I bet you did lots of exercises but you also managed to find a property um and I believe this area where you bought your property was in the silver Coast correct it is yes correct correct what what Drew you to this area well there there’s a you know a very very popular um surfing community that likes to you know to go to that area I’m not a surfer but we do like the water we love the ocean and so you know we looked at different properties in different parts of the area we wanted to be close to the capital not too far from the airport that particular area really you know we went and visited and we were just uh taken by the views and the water the calmness the restaurants were amazing we had a couple of opportunities to eat there um it just fit us you know there’s a lot of beautiful nature lots of trees and it’s still accessible to really historic and modern parts of uh the Capital Area so that just uh it felt great and you know in terms of prices we found the prices to be very competitive um compared to other parts of of the area so okay um yeah the Surfers they tend to find the best uh Beach spots so I also I’m not a surfer but I when I’m visiting a new place I look for um Surfer beaches because they tend to be very beautiful um so tell us can about the the process of acquiring at your property um how did it work because I think it would be good for our viewers to understand U maybe it’s the first time they they are intending to invest abroad or buy a property abroad so it can be daunting if you’re not really uh familiar with the process so how how was it for you well it it was dating and we were able to learn a little bit about the process from our friends um but one thing that they didn’t do that we decided was really important was to sign up with some people experts that could give us information in real time gold Crest really helped us sort of understand what it means to buy property in Portugal the unique laws and systems and processes and also opportunities so you know that was helped for us just to have somebody um a real estate expert to talk us through take us to different properties help us understand how things work um because they don’t work the same in every country and even if people maybe have been living in Portugal there’s still a lot to learn about how you know the the the banking works and the the legalities and so that was very helpful but in addition to that we did a lot of our own research Facebook as I mentioned um offers just an abundance of different Facebook groups where expats and other people from around the world talk about best practices and lessons learned about buying in Portugal they have a lot of information um things to avoid things to look into areas that are notable um and for anybody regardless of price point or you know what their inclination is whe they want to live near the beach or near the city or in the countryside um people have a story or information to share but of course you know everyone comes in with a certain perspective and maybe even bias so that’s why having the real estate professional sort of walk us through and help us understand what’s what um was very very useful and so together with information I think a person can make an informed decision and understand sort of what’s possible and certainly no one should be expected or pushed into addision too fast I mean it was four days for us but you know others take months or years to find what’s right it’s kind of like dating you have to really shop around until it’s the right fit yeah um um yeah that was a good reference um Ken do you have any challenges that you faced uh during the process of acquisition that you wanted to share here so then um our viewers can learn and uh maybe avoid uh going down that route or is there anything unavoidable and then you just have to be prepared for that and but you found it quite challenging well I think in any system in any country there’s going to be challenges um I would say that there are great websites that showcase real estate properties I think ID edista is one of them what I learned though is that some of those websites as good as they are they don’t always have the most up-to-date information it varies sometimes a house has been removed or added um and the websites may not have reflected that so again getting as much of information sort of putting that net out there to different experts and different people who may have real information real time that’s very useful um there was in fact the property that we ultimately purchased we didn’t even find on any of the websites um funny enough and so so you know it was because we were talking to our real estate Guru um and that was able to uh you know show us this place and then we learned about it the other thing I would say is we you know the opening a bank account in Portugal for a foreigner is not always the easiest step it does take a few iterations um I would suggest to anybody do a lot of research on what banks are easiest and what the process means we did it in person which helped um but that’s not always as user friendly so I think that part is you know and bank accounts can be very important you know for transferring funds to actually pay for the property or Renovations or any other expenses so that piece um I think we we learned a lot it was a good opportunity and that’s where maybe others might spend a little bit of time doing some research yeah definitely um yeah so the main takeaways here can from what I understood is to um speak to Specialists do a lot of research and and be prepared so I I’d like to speak to a Specialists now Barbara thank you for being here uh Barbara can you can you tell us a bit about go CR and how he works because you helped Ken find this beautiful property in Eda and U I think I’ve used might um benefit from knowing what is exactly that you do yes of course so good afternoon um so here at C uh we are a buyer agent so we help clients to find the property that they are looking for in Portugal okay we work uh all over the the country um and in this case maybe I will I will um pick the case of of Ken for example to to exemplify how we work okay um I remember that when we had our first call C um you had an idea uh of where you want to to buy and at the end uh you you and end up buying in other place right so we do this search with the client okay the client comes to the gold Crest and we help them to know the the the areas okay we even make some visits to different areas to to to connect with the place to connect with the real estate that is available there and then we help you help the clients choose the properties that they like the most we help them see the the properties we negotiate so we are like the the right uh end of the clients during the process of buying a house abroad we know that is difficult it’s a process that you need to know the the ground you need to know the processes and and of course the clients need a person here and an agent to feel safe and we are very transparent like when is you place that a client and it’s not a good feed for example we say no this is not good for you look at this um so we help the clients to have the dream okay or the investment we have clients investing too and with with can this was the path so we look for properties we chose one um we negotiate property and then we help the clients with all with all the steps until the final deed and forward so um having a survey or um open a bank account for example if you need or so we help the clients with all the with all these these um steps yeah and that’s it no I know it’s a it’s a big job uh there are many details and you have to be uh make sure the client is aware of um every single step um so Barbara thank you for that introduction uh but let’s let’s go back to the theme of uh this live so uh Portugal is known for being an LGBT friendly country and um can you share with us an update on how Portugal maintains his reputation and is there any are there any recent uh developments in this regard yes so um Portugal is known as one of the best uh places in Europe to to leave as an lgbtq plus uh people so um in Portugal the law has been constructed let’s say like this since 1982 where Portugal disc criminalized homosexuality and and um different routes um until now that in 2024 that we are the Ninth Place on the rainbow map um uh of ilga that is the association the lgbtq plus Association so uh we are the Ninth Place uh on the rainbow map I even ask here our team to to share so we are um under the best countries where the the the law protects and um and um hug as the rainbow map is um basically a toour that that um um evaluat uh place around the world where lgbtq plus um um people should be feeling safe and um and the laws are beneficial um to to the community is that is that how the rainbow Map works yeah exactly yeah and it’s very interesting because we have the same punctuation for a lot of years but we have been changing the position on the on the map okay so if you see on the rone map we have 70 uh 67% of um of positivity uh and we have been changing from the 10 29 during 2020 we were in the sixth but then as you know those are changing so the we will move under the this rating uh um but now I think we are in a very good path even in March this year um we have a big um a big legislation a build that was um tent into force that legislation that prohibits and criminalizes practices to force con conversion of sexual orientation or gender identity so we feel that Portugal of course there are work to do okay okay but uh it’s a a country that is very very um friendly okay to lgbtq plus uh people and uh we we hope to getting better yeah yeah sure and it’s not only the laws it’s a it’s a welcome environment it’s a vibrant culture so everything plays together to bring uh Portugal to this position there’s also some events happening um which uh quite um um important here isn’t it like uh there is the the the the pride uh there’s also Euro Pride happening 2025 is that correct exactly so in 2025 we will have the Euro Pride event uh each year as this event is hosted in a different um City okay uh in in Europe next year which will be in Lisbon so I think this is one more step of embracing Portugal as a friendly uh country yeah all so here every just for for our clients I’m sorry and and for our viewers um it’s important to say that in Portugal is um legal to marry um the same seex sex it’s legal the same sex marriage um it’s legal to adop is legal to to to use um technology uh to assisted reproductive um regardless the orientation or marital status of women and men yeah sure and that’s something to take in consideration if you’re buying property together as well and um and all sorts and you’re relocating with child also um so movie on sorry Barbara did you want to say something no no okay so moving on um you are the head of real estate for gold Crest what trends are you seeing um in um like what your clients are looking for in terms of properties so they like specific uh types of properties that are particularly in theand um so what does what does your client want yeah so we are seeing um a lot of U of trends at the moment in the real estate market um but there are some features that the clients are are searching okay and I think they they are in line with with the the progression of our society for example we have a lot of clients that are looking for properties that are sustainable so where you can have your own uh water when you can have your own uh Garden to to have fruit trees or vegetables for example so sustainability um has been um a thing that is growing Like Houses eco-friendly houses and energy effic efficient homes for example um outdoor spaces of course as all know we all know since covid has been a thing that is growing uh preferes around the buyers and proximity to Nature okay so I think we can we can we can recognize this if any of us bought a house in the last years we know that this what is what we are searching and then we have two types of buyers we have buyers that are looking to relocate into the nature and to get in contact with the the the nature and have bright views and green views and we have clients that are looking for a viant community um to to being the center of the city center of uh neighborhoods so to have a good local amenities or Community we have also clients looking for projects to renovation project like I’m I’m moving abroad I’m moving to Portugal so I want to find a place that I want to tailor by by Chase and leave there and have my retirement house for example um and then of course we have clients that are looking for projects to invest uh for long-term rentals to touristic rentals or even to have price appreciation because in Portugal is a thing that is U happening okay um now that we’re talking about um you know the areas of Portugal and you say that some your clients like different styles uh some like nature some like uh the beach some like the hustle and bustle of the city um can you can you share with us some areas you would recommend and why and please do not forget to mention some Hidden Gem that potential investors should consider because that’s quite U we always like to drop those uh notes on our lives and I think that’s very important for viewers to know that there are areas ripe for investment here yes of course so um if you don’t know Portugal um or even if you know Lisbon is like the capital and PTO is the Second City so um these two cities are the the the gems for the investors okay not a hidden Jem but a Jem so here you can uh see that you have more price appreciation on the on the the houses the rental market is really really strong so if you’re willing to buy a property to rent out this Ben Port two is like a safe investment of course if you are more into the beach you have alar you have um K or for example um I don’t know if yes Thomas Thomas is showing us the map so of course let if you go here to to Lisbon by half an hour 40 40 minutes driving you will have KK on the left side um and studio uh there is a one of the the the most high high connected areas in in Portugal and then a little bit South you will have stal alada these are more affordable regions but beautiful landscape if we are talking about for example the bridge right because we can see cross the bridge exactly okay cool exactly um so around Lisbon uh we will have these locations a little bit north we will have the anen J that will talk in a in a few seconds but maybe uh you can see that driving from lban to puu um there are there is three hours driving so it’s very fast to to connect the the country and is always a highway in the all the the path so it’s very wherever you buy in Portugal you are really near of the airports okay so Lia Port has an airport to and alar has an airport too in faru okay so he very and with a lot of flights so it’s very easy to to connect um we also have uh of course um places in algar you have the the east coast and the west coast of algar with very different Landscapes and very different type of property so let’s say the three uh main places are puu liua and algar okay then of course we will talked about stal mad and theis there are the two islands that we have um near the the Africa coast and in the middle of the Atlantic so these are beautiful uh Island that you can find small properties um but with amazing views and and very much more affordable than you find in in Lisbon for example um if we talk about Eden Jans I think we can talk um about or example um Braga it’s a place that is is mainstream now a lot of clients are looking to to Braga it’s a little bit north than puu uh braa is the youngest City in Portugal so um you will have you will find a Vibrant Community with lots of nightlife and students and Community you have like M American community in Braga and Brazilian too so braa it’s a place to see okay and we talk braa and um the bra’s rival that is Gang that is real really near 30 minutes but is the very very beautiful city uh where where you have very good real estate um and with a A Very Fresh Air even it’s historical City then if we go down of course we can talk about the West Coast there I was I was thinking where and what his property so the West Coast where you have where you have so Surfers beach and um beautiful beaches beautiful views and near the mountains too so you will have both things at the same um at the same time and I think that’s I’ve talked a lot about regions I don’t know if you want me to talk um about anything but of course we as we did with with K we help you to understand what you are looking for and what’s the location that will deliver you the all the your intentions that was very good Barbara So thorough and um and thanks for showing uh the map of Portugal I think it’s very useful because when we talk about um the country proportions um especially with our American viewers um they may think it’s um you know too far away from each other when we talk about Lisbon and Porter and um it’s actually a short drive uh well three hours is not that short but it is short in American Standards um I think it’s also it was a a good highlight uh on the matter that there are international flights um from lesbon also from Porter and from far as well uh obviously fire is a bit reduced not as much as in Lisbon but um yeah so the country is really well connected and even in the asaurus there is a direct flight to the us as well um because it’s an island um with uh a strong connection historical connection with the United States um right so our chat is getting some questions now but before I open the chat I like to Ask Ken ask I like to ask him two questions first would you recommend Portugal as an investment and why absolutely I am absolutely thrilled to have made this decision like I said so many people I know um are making a similar decision and so it’s overall from the lgbti friendly aspects to the weather um it’s just a really awesome place to to live to visit to invest and so yeah I’m I’m very happy and recommend it good good nice and then uh my uh second question is do you have a simple exercise that you could show us now and um that you can make on the go uh whilst you’re waiting for a flight or a train absolutely one of the best things I ever did is invest in basic resist you know these are portable G items that bring anywhere and I can literally sit in my chair on conference calls or calls like these just do bicep curls or any kind of upper body movement and I do this waiting in lines in the airport or yeah movie they’re really really great opportunity just uh stay fit while also trying to multitask so I think that is a very good one I’ll certainly adopt it for meetings um how about you barara will you do that as well it’s very easy yeah with that exercise I might do it cool guys thank you so let’s go let’s answer some questions here um so there’s one who wants to buy a house with with her partner is it possible to get a mortgage uh with both revenues added up Bara yes uh it’s possible as I told uh before so the the marriage for example is is is legal in Portugal so when you apply to a mortgage you can uh of course use the the the revenues uh of both in the couple even if you’re not married if you are if you are in in um under the the same um house for example same home address uh you will be uh able to to use a mortgage together of course great thank you right so here’s your answer um I’ve got one for Ken um Ken so um you well versed in travel and exercise do you consider Lisbon to be one of Europe’s great outdoorsy cities and how so uh yes and no I I I think there is an enormous uh advantage to being near the water and running near the beach and and having that beautiful uh part of the city I I have found some of the the sidewalks in Lisbon to be a little older with a lot of cobblestone and it’s beautiful but not always as easy to run because I only spent four days there I’m sure there’s so much more to discover parks and areas but a lot of the the capital city itself um is you know historic and uh and so it doesn’t necessarily have the sort of the flat running pass if that’s what one is looking for in terms of outdoor I did notice a number of parks which were great so I think yes and no there’s so much more to discover and then once outside of the capital city uh there’s like endless um opportunities in the mountains as well um I think that was a very good answer it’ss and know especially if you are in um in in the city um Barbara can vouch for that what you what do you think it can be quite challenging uh with all the cobblestones and so on I’m a cyclist so I can speak with some Authority on that uh but you’re also very close to um cycling route that takes you like all the way close to to the town of Fatima so it’s it’s very interesting how you can get the both the difficulty and the accessibility at the same time in town yes and even in all the neighborhoods almost all the neighborhoods you will find in lisabon a place to with a park and machines Street Machines to make to make a little bit of exercise good good yeah right so Barbara since you’re here let’s give you another question uh apart from lgbtq plus Community how easy is in general to integrate in Portugal as an expert uh is English Wily spoken yes regarding the language so if we are talking about lisban puu qura or faru for example all the AL gar in fact these are places that um we are very used to receive expect so English is widely spoken of course it’s not for everyone but a lot of people talk it if we are talking about small villages in in land usually it will be harsh but it’s not impossible here in Portugal we always try to um to make the people feel welcome so if if they don’t talk English they will talk by gestures they will they will find a a way to welcome you and to and to to put you eat a lot to make you eat a lot drink a lot so it will depend on the way on the place that you that you go sure but yes also can I also contribute to that one English is the number Eighth in the um English proficiency ranking in the world Portugal ranks number eight um in front of South Africa where English is an official language of the country so just so you can see how widely spoken English is in in Portugal um so let’s see we got another one here uh but I think it depends on the country of origin so um this question will be the the last one because uh we have to finish the score um can you tell us if you have to give up your citizenship in the country if your birth uh residence uh W becoming a Portuguese resident citizen uh you are talking with me J yeah talking with you but also answering at the same time so it depends on the um yeah it depends on the birth of of of residency uh sorry of of the country of birth and of citizenship um it’s uh not because of Portugal it’s only if your country of origin requires it um I’ve got my legal team here it’s not that I know this answer by heart um but I’ve got uh them helping me here with this answer good so I think we covered everything and um thank you very much everyone thank you Ken thank you Barbara and um I hope to see you again soon and thanks for joining our live today Take Care thank you so much than thanks bye bye