For those who are thinking of moving to another city in Portugal or discovering the countryside, DECO PROTESTE's interactive map helps everyone to find out the initiatives that each municipality offers.

In Portugal, 70 percent of the population lives in large cities and seven out of every 10 people live 50 km from the coast. This fact creates a great imbalance between the coast and the interior. However, there are several measures that municipalities are taking in order to attract people to the countryside.

First, to use the map, you must register on the platform to access the search results. Then, you just have to choose the district and municipality and then you can consult the advantages and incentives offered by each municipality. Among the support offered by the municipalities, there are discounts on IMI and IRS, support for housing, employment, support for the elderly and young people, support for marriage, birth and also support for studies.

Some of the measures are financial, such as a reduction in income tax (IRS), in property tax (IMI) or even measures to support the acquisition of housing (through a mortgage) or a benefit granted for each child. However, not all measures are financial. In the map, you can also see how the municipality is doing in terms of school network or measures to encourage public transport.

"The map allows us to compare municipalities (including those on the coast) because people may be undecided between one municipality and another. With this tool, they can know in which municipalities there is more support or in which kind of support people are more interested. Also, within the support, if they are looking for more financial support or even housing support or if they are looking to live in an area where the transports and schools are important or more beneficial for the lifestyle that they have", Susana Leite from DECO PROTESTE told The Portugal News.

According to Susana Leite: "This tool is already two years old, but now it can be more useful for various reasons because remote work is an increasingly present reality, which is here to stay. And, in this sense, people do not have to choose their place of residence according to where they work".

This can also be helpful for people who are moving to Portugal. "More and more foreigners are coming to Portugal. The platform can be interesting for foreigners who are moving to Portugal, who want to live in the interior. I cannot exactly say if all the measures are open to Portuguese and foreigners, but most of them are for everyone," he said.

Please, find the map at https://www.deco.proteste.pt/sustentabilidade/incentivos-para-viver-no-interior. Although the tool is only available in Portuguese, you can always use the automatic translation to read in English.

Author

Paula Martins is a fully qualified journalist, who finds writing a means of self-expression. She studied Journalism and Communication at University of Coimbra and recently Law in the Algarve. Press card: 8252

Paula Martins