Donald Trump should have gone with his gut on this one.
In the summer before his election, the then-candidate wanted nothing to do with buying the silence of a Playboy Bunny.
Model Karen McDougal was shopping around a story of a love affair with Trump from ten years prior. But Trump was queasy about the required payoff, according to testimony on Tuesday in the former president's Manhattan hush-money trial.
"It always gets out," Trump explained of his hesitancy, according to the trial's first witness, former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker.
Trump's words — and his worries — would prove prophetic.
Not only would news of McDougal's $150,000 payoff eventually "get out," but so would the $130,000 payoff to a second sex-accuser, porn star Stormy Daniels — the very payoff behind Trump's ongoing hush-money trial.
Trump has strenuously denied having an affair with either of the women. Trump has also derided as a political "witch hunt" District Attorney Alvin Bragg's accusations that he falsified business documents to disguise the Daniels payment as "legal fees."
Bragg says the documents were falsified to hide what was actually an illegal campaign expenditure meant to keep 2016 voters from finding out about Daniels.
"I think the story should be purchased and you should buy it," Pecker told jurors, describing what he told Trump about McDougal's accusations during a June, 2016 phone call.
Pecker had been helping his friend Trump for years, he told jurors, through a so-called "catch-and-kill" strategy where dangerous stories would be purchased by the tabloid and "taken off the market" instead of published.
But Trump wanted nothing to do with the McDougal payoff, Pecker said Tuesday, his second day on the witness stand.
"He says, 'I don't buy any stories,'" Pecker testified, describing Trump's reaction to the five-woman, seven-man jury.
"He said, 'Any time you do something like this, it always gets out.'"
Trump indeed kept his fingerprints off the $150,000 in National Enquirer cash that purchased McDougal's silence, prosecutors for Bragg allege. The cash came out of Pecker's pocket.
But Trump is now on trial for a second hush-money payment that prosecutors say has Trump's fingerprints all over it — the payment to Daniels.
Trump used a middleman — his then-fixer, Trump Organization lawyer Michael Cohen — as bag man to handle the $130,000 transfer, prosecutors say.
Just 11 days before the election, Cohen transferred the money — hastily borrowed through a home-equity loan — into a shell company's bank account, and from there to Daniels' lawyer, jurors were told during opening statements.
In an election where just 80,000 votes in three swing states tipped the scales in Trump's favor, voters never heard Daniels' tale — an alleged fling at a Tahoe golf tournament in 2006, when Melania Trump was home nursing baby Barron.
Trump falsified 34 Trump Org business documents to disguise the monthly reimbursement payments to Cohen as "legal fees" paid throughout his first year in office.
In reality, the 34 documents covered up what was instead an illegal campaign expenditure, prosecutors say.
The trial is down on Wednesday. Pecker's direct testimony is scheduled to continue Thursday.
Tesla announced an update of its Model 3, pictured here on March 28, 2024, in London, England.
John Keeble/Getty Images
Tesla unveiled an upgraded version of its Model 3 Performance sedan on Tuesday.
Tesla said the new Model 3 has more power, reduced energy consumption, and improved handling.
The announcement follows a decline in sales, layoffs, and a drop in Tesla's stock.
Tesla announced a new version of its Model 3 sedan on Tuesday as the electric vehicle maker faces a decline in sales.
The upgraded Model 3 Performance, which starts at $52,990, can go from zero to 60 mph in 29 seconds and has a top speed of 163 mph, according to Tesla.
Tesla said the vehicle has more power with less energy consumption compared to the previous Model 3 Performance version. The company said it also has a new adaptive damping system that adjusts to inputs from the driver and the road in real time for better handling, among other changes.
0-60 mph in 2.9 510 hp / 741 Nm 163 mph top speed — Performance-tuned chassis Same quiet & comfortable cabin plus bespoke chassis hardware for improved stiffness and higher performance baseline.
The announcement came just before Tesla reported its quarterly earnings on Tuesday and as demand for electric vehicles, including Tesla's, has been declining.
Tesla's first-quarter earnings report revealed the company fell short of its profit and revenue estimates, but was up on gross margin. Tesla also previewed its upcoming ride-hailing service and said it plans to move up the production timeline for cheaper electric vehicles.
Tesla sold about 386,800 cars in the first quarter of 2024, about 20% less than the last quarter of 2023. The figure fell far short of Wall Street's expectations and marked the first year-over-year decline in sales for Tesla since 2020.
Shortly after the disappointing quarterlysales report, Tesla laid off more than 10% of its entire workforce earlier this month, with CEO Elon Musk citing a "duplication of roles" that occurred during the company's rapid growth.
The company issued another round of price cuts on its vehicles on Monday, with Tesla's stock down 42% year-to-date at market close on Tuesday.
The Meta CEO spoke with Eva Chen, head of Instagram's fashion partnerships, about new developments for its Ray-Ban smart glasses, and spilled more information on his viral accessory choices.
"I'm in the process of designing a long-term chain," he said in a Tuesday Instagram post.
As part of his "design process," he said he's testing out necklaces that will eventually hold an engraving of the prayer he reads to his daughters.
Zuckerberg was spotted wearing a shorter-looking chain last week, prompting memes and talk of a "glow-up." (Another popular image floating around was of the billionaire photoshopped to look like he has a beard, but the chain is definitely real.)
This new venture into fashion has drawn comparisons to current "mob chic" trends and rapper swag. But, Zuckerberg said the necklace boils down to a sentimental gesture to his children.
Either way, the move has certainly earned the Meta chief some internet cool points — although perhaps not from Instagram's Chen, who suggested the chain he was wearing in Tuesday's video should be a bit shorter.
Tesla is planning to launch a ride-hailing service.
John Keeble/Getty Images
Tesla just gave us a peek at its planned ride-hailing interface.
Elon Musk's company is emphasizing its self-driving and robotaxi businesses as EV demand softens.
Tesla hasn't said when it would launch a ride-hailing service.
Tesla on Tuesday released more details about its planned launch of an Uber-like ride-hailing service.
The service would live inside the Tesla app, which Tesla owners can already use for almost all vehicle functionality, the company said.
Tesla's Q1 earnings presentation contained screenshots illustrating a moody black-and-white interface that would allow riders to summon a supposedly driverless vehicle, set the car's interior temperature, and track its location on a 3D map.
Preview of ride-hailing interface in the Tesla app
Tesla
Tesla has placed more focus on the potential value of its self-driving software and robotaxi business as softening EV demand pinches sales and price cuts take a bite out of Tesla's mighty automotive profit margins. Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced earlier in April that the company would reveal a long-awaited robotaxi in August.
Despite pushback from safety groups and high-profile legal troubles, Tesla has pushed forward with new iterations of its driver-assist software, which it calls "Full-Self Driving" or FSD. Tesla has also said it is working on ride-hailing functionality to be available sometime in the future.
Social media users are using keyboard letters to spell out all sorts of different messages.
Fabian Sommer/picture alliance via Getty Images
A new social media trend is urging users to "look between" certain letters on their keyboard.
People are spelling out messages like "U," "WE," and "JK" in all sorts of different contexts.
Not everyone is thrilled about the trend, and some are calling it engagement bait.
If you've been on social media at all recently, chances are you've been opening your keyboard more than usual.
That's because of a new trend that is enthralling — and irritating — thousands of users on X and other similar platforms.
The trend, which urges users to "look between" certain letters on your keyboard, apparently originated with a post on 4chan in May 2021 according to a submission to Know Your Meme. That post included a picture of Yui Hirasawa, the main character of a popular anime series, along with the caption "look between t and o" on your keyboard, yielding the character's first name.
It's not clear how that post led to the trend exploding years later — but with viral memes like this, stranger things have happened.
Many of the posts start with an unlikely or outlandish detail and then tell you to look between the H and L keys, which falls on the letters "JK" — in other words, "just kidding."
cheaters will tell you they love you and then their actions tell you to look between h and l on your keyboard.
That doesn't mean the trend is popular with everyone. In fact, many people seem to have gotten annoyed by it pretty quickly.
Some online have suggested that the trend is "engagement bait," claiming that when you click the reply button to check your keyboard, it is read by the X algorithm as an engagement with the original post — even if you don't actually reply.
(It's unclear if that's actually how the algorithm actually works; X did not return a request for comment)
But unlike megadonor Robert Kraft, Cooperman said he'll continue to give to Columbia even as he trashed student demonstrators.
During a CNBC interview on Tuesday, Cooperman, a Columbia University donor, was asked about the demonstrations on its campus, which have grown heated over the past week and resulted in more than 100 arrests.
"Many of the college kids have shit for brains," he said, doubling down on comments he made last year and saying the students are "ignorant."
(He apologized for his language during the interview, saying, "I grew up in the Bronx when it was more of an accepted terminology.")
"They are advocating for the destruction of Israel," he said. "Israel is the only reliable ally the United States has in the Middle East, the only democracy in the Middle East."
Cooperman also said Israel is the only country in the Middle East that "allows gays and lesbians to practice what they want to practice." While LGBTQ+ people experience discrimination in many countries, some nations in the region — including Cyprus, Jordan, and Turkey — have not criminalized same-sex activity.
Cooperman blamed part of the unrest on people unaffiliated with Columbia who "are getting access to the school and creating this hoopla."
Shafik appeared before Congress last week and took a strong stance against antisemitism, denouncing a professor who voiced support for Hamas and another who called the October 7 terror attacks "awesome."
The same day as her remarks on Capitol Hill, a coalition of student groups — Columbia University Apartheid Divest, Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine, and Jewish Voice for Peace — set up "Gaza Solidarity Encampments" on Columbia's campus, protesting both the war in Gaza which has claimed thousands of civilian lives and demanding the university divest financially from Israel.
The groups say the protests were peaceful and within their rights.
When the students would not move as requested, Shafik requested the New York Police Department break up the protest, which led to the arrest of more than 100 protesters. Columbia and Barnard suspended students involved with the protest.
That move sparked increased tensions, with separate antisemitic demonstrators taking to the area surrounding the campus, according to videos posted on social media. Jewish leaders at the school allege that Jewish students have been targeted with hateful rhetoric by demonstrators.
On Monday, Columbia announced classes would be held virtually, and the campus has been closed to the public.
Cooperman, who attended Columbia Business School, donated $25 million to the school in 2012 and has said he's donated closer to $50 million in total.
"I try to give money to those schools that have made a difference to me in my lifetime. I don't think it's right, but I probably couldn't have gotten into Wall Street from Hunter College, where I got my undergraduate degree," he said. "I got an MBA from Columbia, and the very next day, I joined Goldman Sachs."
He said he will continue to give to the school, though he will bookmark his gifts to stay within the business school.
Kraft, the billionaire owner of the Patriots and another Columbia alum, announced he would be pulling all donations to the school "until corrective action is taken."
He did not, though, specify what he meant by "corrective action." Kraft said he'd continue to support the school's Kraft Center for Jewish Student Life, which is named after him.
Representatives for Cooperman and Kraft did not respond to requests for comment from Business Insider prior to publication.
The conversation around giving and the relationship between billionaire donors and universities has been reignited in recent weeks following protests at Columbia, Yale, and New York University.
Following the October 7 attack, tensions on college campuses erupted, prompting megadonors to criticize the responses of various university administrators. At Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania, billionaires including Apollo CEO Marc Rowan, Estée Lauder heir Ronald Lauder, and former Victoria's Secret Les Wexner pulled funding.
Eventually, the presidents of the schools, Claudine Gay and Liz Magill, respectively, stepped down.
The Lyrid meteor shower will coincide with April's "pink" supermoon tonight.
Mika Wist/500px/dzika_mrowka/Getty Images
On Tuesday, the Lyrid meteor shower happens to line up with the April full moon, AKA the "pink" moon.
But this bright supermoon could make it harder to see the Lyrids streaking through the sky.
Here are some tips to give you the best chance of seeing the Lyrid meteor shower.
The Lyrid meteor shower is in full swing this week. Every year from April 15 to April 29, dozens of shooting stars streak through the sky in this spectacular show.
The meteor shower was most active from Sunday night to Monday morning, but it will remain visible for the next week.
This supermoon isn't actually pink, but it is very bright. It's a stunning sight all on its own, but seeing it during a meteor shower is a rare astronomical opportunity.
This moon shines so bright that it could make it difficult to see the Lyrids streaking through the sky. But you might be able to see a few.
Here are some tips to give yourself the best chance of spotting some shooting stars.
Timing is key
The brief period between moonset and the sunrise is when the sky is darkest, offering the best chance of seeing the Lyrid meteor shower.
japatino/Getty Images
In the Northern Hemisphere, the best time to see the Lyrids is during the early morning hours after the moon sets and before the sun rises, according to NASA.
If you're willing to get up before dawn on Wednesday, around 5:45 a.m. ET, that would give you the best chance of seeing the Lyrids. At that time, the moon won't blot them out with its bright glow.
But if you're hoping to spot some shooting stars while the pink moon is still shining on Tuesday night, you'll want to make sure your surroundings are as dark as possible.
Get out of town
To reveal the stunning features of the night sky, you should find the darkest stargazing location possible.
Adventure_Photo/Getty Images
Light pollution can make it harder to see a meteor shower. If you can, it's best to find a viewing spot far away from city and street lights, NASA advises.
Once you've picked your spot, lie flat on your back with your feet facing east and look up at the sky with as wide a view as possible — try not to have tree branches or buildings obstructing your view.
After that, be patient. It will take about 30 minutes for your eyes to adjust to the dark, and then the meteors could begin to emerge.
But again, because of the bright "pink" supermoon, stargazers may not see as many as they hope. Nevertheless, the moon will offer a show of its own.
Karen Edwards, her husband and children at the Al Ain Oasis.
Courtesy of Karen Edwards
Karen Edwards has traveled to 93 countries, and 57 of them have been with her young children.
Edwards said that her family has had more fun exploring underrated spots than the popular ones.
Her favorites include Tanzania for its safari tours and Abu Dhabi for its vibrant festival scene.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Karen Edwards, who blogs about her family's travels around the world. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
Since 2000, I've visited 93 countries and 57 of them have been with my four children who are all under the age of 10.
I am a nurse by background, but I have been blogging about traveling with my husband and kids since 2014. I cover a lot of off-the-beaten-track destinations and write itineraries for places I've been to, explaining how they work for families with children.
Many popular family destinations tend to be overcrowded. They're usually the ones that get a lot of media exposure or are shown in viral videos on social media. In America, it'd be places like Disneyland in California or Disney World in Florida, while for Europeans, it might be some of the Spanish resort areas.
Although my family and I have visited these places, we have always come away disappointed. They often lack educational experiences, feeling like pointless affairs.
I think traveling to underrated spots makes trips feel more exclusive and you can learn more about the cultures of the countries you visit — it also keeps you away from tourist traps.
We went on a safari tour in Tanzania
Our family visited Tanzania in 2019 in collaboration with a tourism brand. We were there for 12 days.
Our flights to the country were kind of expensive; we paid about $9,000 for our then-family of four, including a stop in Zanzibar at the end of the trip for a few days. However, overall, the entire trip didn't end up costing us that much.
Edwards' husband and son with a Tanzanian woman.
Courtesy of Karen Edwards
We had some really unique experiences in Tanzania. We went to Mto Wa Mbu village, which is beneath a banana plantation, and we went on a safari tour in its Lake Manyara National Park.
Interestingly, Tanzania is one of the few places in the world where lions are known to climb trees. I remember seeing them sit in tall trees; it was quite unusual, but my kids really enjoyed how close they were to the animals.
Edwards' son looking at an elephant on a safari tour.
Courtesy of Karen Edwards
Throughout our trip, we actually felt like we were experiencing life in Tanzania. Our campsite was on a river's edge in the depths of nature. It was nice not to feel surrounded by tourists.
My kids fell in love with Abu Dhabi's culture
Many people mistakenly believe that Dubai is a country, but in reality, it's a city in the United Arab Emirates, with Abu Dhabi being its capital.
My family and I moved to Abu Dhabi in 2021 and lived there for 18 months. The city does have a lot of similarities to glitzy and glam Dubai, but you get a more down-to-earth experience.
There are amazing festivals in Abu Dhabi where they display their culture in different formats, whether that be through local food or crafts. It does feel authentic because it's usually mainly locals participating and organizing them.
Edwards' children in Al Ain.
Courtesy of Karen Edwards
The city sits at the foot of Jebel Hafeet, one of the tallest mountains in the region. Along the way up, you'll find many ancient artifacts, such as beehive huts, which have been there for thousands of years. At the top, you can watch incredible sunsets.
The city also has the Al Ain Oasis, which uses an ancient irrigation system. It has these beautiful paved pathways that look like cobbled streets.
My kids loved Abu Dhabi and are constantly asking me to go back — they really liked all the cultural celebrations.
We love Sri Lanka so much, we're building a villa there
In 2022, my family and I moved to Sri Lanka from Abu Dhabi. We thought we'd have more family time here, and it was going to be an affordable place to live.
We're building a family-friendly villa here that should be completed by August. The area where we are building has a lot of nice cafes, bars, and restaurants nearby.
The Edwards family at Galle Fort in Sri Lanka.
Courtesy of Karen Edwards
Overall, Sri Lanka is an amazing country that has so many diverse experiences. There are tea plantations, mountains, and beaches. As for wildlife, their national parks have loads of elephants and leopards.
On one occasion, we went on a safari boat tour to an isolated national park where we watched elephants swim across a lake and onto a tiny island. It was amazing.
Edwards' daughter and son on a beach in Sri Lanka.
Courtesy of Karen Edwards
The beaches in Sri Lanka are pristine. They have beautiful scenery with swaying coconut palm trees, clear water, and perfect waves. Our favorite is Kabalana Beach.
Because we're always on the beach, my children have learned how to surf. I think it's the most fun thing that we do on the weekends as a family.
The ski resorts and spas are amazing in Andorra
We visited Andorra in 2018 for about six days. It's a tiny country nestled in the Pyrenees between Spain. It's a two-hour drive from Barcelona and three hours from Toulouse, France.
The city has a unique fusion of cultures, though I think Catalonian is the strongest influence. During our trip, my family and I toured many ancient churches.
Edwards, along with her husband and daughter, at a ski resort.
Courtesy of Karen Edwards
We also went to some amazing spas and resorts in Andorra. The hotel and ski system there is really family-friendly.
During our visit to the Grandvalira ski resort, my daughter learned how to ski and my husband got to snowboard — the resort has a kindergarten at the foot of its mountain, where kids can play or ski.
A spa in Andorra.
Courtesy of Karen Edwards
Andorra also has amazing spa facilities that are suitable for families and are sectioned off for different age groups.
Our trip was in collaboration with Andorra's tourism board, but I feel like it wasn't overly expensive in comparison to some other places around the world.
I was treated like family in Macedonia
Macedonia is a Balkan country just north of Greece. I haven't been there with children, but I wouldn't have any issues taking my kids there.
It has many beautiful small villages and it's great for skiing too.
The country is also home to one of the oldest and deepest lakes in Europe named Lake Orchid, which borders Albania. There's this beautiful, small village on the lake that has charming restaurant and a lovely atmosphere for relaxing and enjoying good food.
An old church in Macedonia.
Courtesy of Karen Edwards
I visited the country in 2008, and then again in 2012 with my then-boyfriend and now-husband.
The first time I visited, I went with two girlfriends, and we were backpackers. We arrived in the middle of the night by bus and had no idea what we were doing. The bus driver just made a call, and a stranger came and picked us up in his car — I thought I was going to die.
The opposite happened. He took us back to his home with his family, and we stayed there with them for a few days. We ended up extending the trip because he and his family were so amazing.
They didn't speak a word of English, and we couldn't speak a word of their language either. We'd just gesture at each other, and they'd give us food and red wine.
I just totally fell in love with them and their country.
Palantir CEO Alex Karp said the company had more than 500 boot camps last year to attract new customers.
Fabrice Coffrini/AFP
Palantir has taken an unusual approach to sales, traditionally avoiding hiring a large salesforce.
It's been putting on boot camps to attract customers, per Bloomberg.
CEO Alex Karp has likened them to "a rock concert;" they've included perks like racetrack drives.
Palantir has shunned the traditional means of software sales for many years, and though the company has a salesforce now, it's still using a bit of an unconventional approach to drum up business.
The data mining company, cofounded by PayPal Mafia member Peter Thiel, has been holding software boot camps to recruit new customers, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.
At one such camp in Pontiac, Michigan, speakers gave presentations, attendees tried out Palantir's software for themselves, and happy hour even featured a professional driver taking attendees for rides on a racetrack outside, according to Bloomberg.
Palantir has been leaning into the events to sell its Artificial Intelligence Platform, or AIP. The company put on over 500 boot camps last year and expects to average five camps a day globally this year, according to Bloomberg.
"We can't do enough of them," CEO Alex Karp said in the company's Q4 earnings call. "We're limiting the number of people who can come. It's like a rock concert. It's like, yeah, yeah, if you know somebody, we can get you backstage."
"We're already overfilled for our AIP boot camp," he added in the earnings call. "And it's just we don't know how to deal actually with this demand."
Still, one thing Palantir is hoping for is that the people who attend the camps then go away knowing how to use its tools — and how to show others how to use them. But some analysts think they need to do more to support growth.
"Right now they need more manpower," Morningstar analyst Malik Ahmed Khan told Bloomberg. Meantime, Rishi Jaluria, managing director of software for RBC Capital Markets, pointed out that "this is very complex software."
Andrew Ibrahim moved to southern Portugal from Florida in 2023.
Courtesy of Andrew Ibrahim.
Andrew Ibrahim moved from Florida to Portugal for a better life for himself and his family.
The cost of living wasn't adding up for Ibrahim, so he got more bang for his buck in Portugal.
The inviting culture and beautiful weather are reasons why he's enjoying his decision so far.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Andrew Ibrahim, 31, who moved from Gainesville, Florida, to the most southern region of Portugal, the Algarve, in November 2023. Ibrahim still owns a business consultancy firm for property owners in Florida and also sells luxury real estate in Portugal. The conversation was edited for length and clarity.
Moving to Portugal was a decision that was basically like an early midlife crisis.
At the time, I was 30, and I said, "Thankfully, I've accomplished what I've wanted to do before I was 30, but I'm not necessarily happy day-to-day with the direction that I see that the country's going."
I wanted to be able to find a place where it would be perfect for me to raise my children — and that decision came fairly easy.
Ibrahim wanted to raise his children in a better environment than in the US.
Courtesy of Andrew Ibrahim.
I was tired of the personalities in Florida. There are a lot of social issues that I'm not in line with, and the cost of living has just skyrocketed.
And over time, and I'd say after the pandemic, it just became worse.
When I rented in South Florida, I rented a one-bedroom apartment that cost me about $2,600 a month. When I moved to Gainesville, I was able to purchase a four-bedroom property of my own, and mortgage, insurance, and taxes cost close to $3,000 a month — which was a little bit expensive for a normal middle class.
Then I moved to a much bigger, 5,900-square-foot, five-bedroom house. It was on 1.2 acres of land, which was very nice, but that was costing me close to $4,500 a month.
Thankfully, I lived a very good life, but I could have lived a 10 times better life for 50% of the cost of living in Portugal.
I can have a similar quality of life to Florida for a fraction of the price
Originally, I was born and raised in Montreal, and I moved to Florida when I was 17 years old, but I have Portuguese citizenship through my mother, who is Portuguese. So, it was fairly easy for me to get paperwork to be able to move and become a citizen.
Portugal checks the box for safety, for the potential of new businesses, and it also checks the box for me being able to provide the best future for my children and, in turn, myself.
My family has had real estate here for a few years — and it's fully paid off — so it was a little bit easy for us, but we've looked at purchasing a property for ourselves.
Faro City, Portugal.
Eve Livesey/Getty Images
For groceries, if I'm spending 200 euros (or about $213) here, I'm able to eat for close to two weeks. But if I were to spend $200 or $250 in Florida for groceries, I'd be eating for a week at best.
If I want to go to a very nice restaurant in Portugal with top quality steaks or top quality meat or fish for my wife and me, I'm spending maybe $70 with a glass of wine.
In the United States, that's not really possible.
The food options in Portugal are not as abundant as in the US. In South Florida, you have so many different options for different cultures of food. Here, you do have options, but it's not like having a Southern restaurant on every corner. Or if you want to go and eat Peruvian food or ceviche, you're going to get something similar to it, but it's not going to be as authentic as if you were in South Florida.
Public education here is free. My daughter, luckily, doesn't have to pack her own lunch — the school provides lunch. That's a cost savings for us over time.
Ibrahim and his family.
Courtesy of Andrew Ibrahim.
Health insurance is also very, very economical here. We pay about 50 euros a month; in the United States, I was paying close to $300 a month and not really getting the best healthcare that I thought the United States touts. In Portugal, the doctors are incredible. It's cheap and it's top quality service.
I'm enjoying the culture and values in Southern Portugal
The south of Portugal is, I'd say, 350 days a year of sunshine. That was a big factor because it's absolutely beautiful here. Christmas feels a little bit different because there's no snow around — and maybe I miss a little bit of hockey — but other than that, I don't miss the freezing rain, and I also don't miss having to shovel my driveway every day.
Also, it's one of the golfing capitals of Europe, so just from a demographic standpoint, there are a lot of good people that live here, and it has an incredible culture.
Southern Portugal is kind of like island living because you have so many beaches around you, so it's very similar to living in South Florida. However, there's a completely different culture that's been preserved over so many years.
Praia de Carvoeiro in the Algarve region of southern Portugal.
Brandon Rosenblum/Getty Images
The Portuguese culture is just incredible, and you're by beautiful beaches, beautiful real estate, beautiful golf courses, and it's not densely populated. It's different than living in a big city because it's quiet.
There's also the family aspect. When you go out to a park, you see families playing together. When you go to a restaurant, you see families eating together. You go to church on Sunday, and families are all together. That's something that I think has been lost over time from my experience living in Florida.
The Algarve has always been very popular amongst tourists. They've been, for many years now, really accustomed to foreigners and tourists coming to visit and purchasing property. A lot of people come from other European countries to retire here.
Generally, I'd say the Algarve is more of a melting pot of cultures. It preserves the Portuguese culture but is much more welcoming to foreign culture than the north or Lisbon.
I see a lot of Americans visiting. If you're going to a golf course in the Algarve, I'd say 90% of the people are American. You have a lot of English as well, so it's a nice mix here, but it's growing.
As much as people have said the area cooling down, I don't see it cooling down.
And based on what's happening with elections coming up in the States next year, we are seeing in the last few months that people are calling and making decisions to move. I think it is starting to pick up again.