Thank your for sharing your experience! My husband and I are also considering moving to Portugal. One of the reasons being that in Germany, where we currently live, people are not the friendliest and happiest (this changes when you get to know them). My husband is Canadian and I also have lived in Canada for four years so we love a vibrant, happy energy. I didn’t expect the Portuguese to be “rude” or cold like you described.
Hi Katharina! I’d be happy to answer any questions you may have. This is my personal experience based on my references… Brazilians are extremely pleasant, and we tend to be more sensitive 😅 but this is also a common feeling among my friends, including Germans 😂 you can see the comment below from an American, it’s nice to have a different pov. 🤎🤎
This was really interesting to read. I've actually considered moving from the UK to Lisbon - at least for part of the year. I visited last year and completely fell in love with it. This is very insightful and covers some of the areas I'd be interested in. I'm glad that you're enjoying living there!
As someone still in the honeymoon stage (and also living in Campo de Ourique and also just changed apartments in the same neighborhood), I really enjoyed this honest breakdown of your experience so far.
Maybe it’s because we moved from the South in the U.S. but the slower pace of life hasn’t felt like much of an adjustment for us. Also public transportation is nonexistent in the U.S. outside of the major cities so Lisbon has felt like such an upgrade. I take the metro (Rato station) and the bus everywhere for the most part with an occasional Bolt. I’m so happy I no longer need a car. I guess everything really is relative depending on where you move from haha!
Hi Cody! Thank you for your comment. That’s exactly the discussion I was looking for. I was afraid to share my point of view, but that’s it.. it’s personal, and totally based on my references. I came from São Paulo, so it was hard to adjust to some parts of the slow life 😅 and I admire you using the public transport, I did for 6 months, but I got crazy on the totally non reliable schedules 😅. Happy to connect!
I'm so glad you shared your point of view! It's a reminder to me that what I'm experiencing isn't a universal experience. Also, maybe the US is just really far beyond so much of the world when it comes to public transport and walkability that my perspective is just completely skewed. But yes, would love to connect and share more about our different perspectives. My wife Ashley and I are always looking for more friends, especially in the neighborhood :)
I know, I've lived in the US for a year, and after that I valued the walkability even more. But also, the customer service is excellent! So you probably miss that here. I'd love too! I'll send you a message.
I really enjoyed your thoughtful and balanced take on life here. I always find the perspectives of Brazilians I know here to be particularly interesting because while there is no language barrier there is still a cultural difference. I find that those of us from the Americas, whether South or North, have a lot on common too.
I thought that this was a very fair presentation of life in Lisbon, and it echoes many of the same themes I have written about. One thing that I would point out, with regard to the unfriendliness of the Portuguese, as much as I hate to say it, is that many of them really resent Brazilians, the single largest group of immigrants. I wonder whether your interactions would be different if you sounded like a Portuguese person. Just a thought.
Yes, I know.. I personally never felt anything unpleasant because of being Brazilian, not so obvious, at least. I know this is real, though. But I share this feeling with many Portuguese friends also.. so I really thing it is an annoying trait of personality / culture.
Thank you for this article. My husband is Portuguese, we met abroad and moved to Lisbon in 2017. It turned for the worse pretty quickly unfortunately. The Portuguese “love” foreigner but when you are a foreigner who understands the language, it hurts. I am a corporate executive and was treated like garbage by several layers of society. Not to even mention the bureaucracy which was dehumanising. My husband, a local, also wanted to leave again at some point. I was devastated it didnt work but there are other 190 countries to go! Thank you for your post!
I feel you! And I’m sorry for your bad experience. I completely agree that who understands the language gets this deeply. Also, I’m curious… where do you live now?
I love Lisbon so much, but as a tourist. I have been there last November and it felt heartbreaking to leave. But being such a big-city type of woman, i know that as soon as the honeymoon phase is over, i'd just lose it! 😅
You know... I've always considered myself a big-city woman also, but after a while living here, I'm not sure about it anymore. Even more after visiting Copenhagen, for me the perfect balance between the easy-routine of a small city with the exciting cool things from a big city. The only reason that I'm not living there (yet) is because I haven't convinced my husband 😅
People’s notions of friendliness and politeness vary a great deal from place to place. There is nothing intuitive about manners: smiling at strangers is pleasing to Americans, puzzling to Scandinavians and annoying to Russians.
Still, it’s possible the Portuguese are frustrated by the influx of foreigners because their cities are more crowded and less affordable. For every expat who is reasonable and wishes to fit in there is at least one who is arrogant, demanding and unreasonable.
In Europe, with the exception of a few large cities, strangers will remain strangers, no matter how long they stay.
Thank your for sharing your experience! My husband and I are also considering moving to Portugal. One of the reasons being that in Germany, where we currently live, people are not the friendliest and happiest (this changes when you get to know them). My husband is Canadian and I also have lived in Canada for four years so we love a vibrant, happy energy. I didn’t expect the Portuguese to be “rude” or cold like you described.
Hi Katharina! I’d be happy to answer any questions you may have. This is my personal experience based on my references… Brazilians are extremely pleasant, and we tend to be more sensitive 😅 but this is also a common feeling among my friends, including Germans 😂 you can see the comment below from an American, it’s nice to have a different pov. 🤎🤎
This was really interesting to read. I've actually considered moving from the UK to Lisbon - at least for part of the year. I visited last year and completely fell in love with it. This is very insightful and covers some of the areas I'd be interested in. I'm glad that you're enjoying living there!
Glad to hear this, Sascha! If you want to ask anything, feel free 😊 thank you!
As someone still in the honeymoon stage (and also living in Campo de Ourique and also just changed apartments in the same neighborhood), I really enjoyed this honest breakdown of your experience so far.
Maybe it’s because we moved from the South in the U.S. but the slower pace of life hasn’t felt like much of an adjustment for us. Also public transportation is nonexistent in the U.S. outside of the major cities so Lisbon has felt like such an upgrade. I take the metro (Rato station) and the bus everywhere for the most part with an occasional Bolt. I’m so happy I no longer need a car. I guess everything really is relative depending on where you move from haha!
Hi Cody! Thank you for your comment. That’s exactly the discussion I was looking for. I was afraid to share my point of view, but that’s it.. it’s personal, and totally based on my references. I came from São Paulo, so it was hard to adjust to some parts of the slow life 😅 and I admire you using the public transport, I did for 6 months, but I got crazy on the totally non reliable schedules 😅. Happy to connect!
I'm so glad you shared your point of view! It's a reminder to me that what I'm experiencing isn't a universal experience. Also, maybe the US is just really far beyond so much of the world when it comes to public transport and walkability that my perspective is just completely skewed. But yes, would love to connect and share more about our different perspectives. My wife Ashley and I are always looking for more friends, especially in the neighborhood :)
I know, I've lived in the US for a year, and after that I valued the walkability even more. But also, the customer service is excellent! So you probably miss that here. I'd love too! I'll send you a message.
I really enjoyed your thoughtful and balanced take on life here. I always find the perspectives of Brazilians I know here to be particularly interesting because while there is no language barrier there is still a cultural difference. I find that those of us from the Americas, whether South or North, have a lot on common too.
I agree! We have a lot of influence from the US. Thank you for your comment, Megan!
I thought that this was a very fair presentation of life in Lisbon, and it echoes many of the same themes I have written about. One thing that I would point out, with regard to the unfriendliness of the Portuguese, as much as I hate to say it, is that many of them really resent Brazilians, the single largest group of immigrants. I wonder whether your interactions would be different if you sounded like a Portuguese person. Just a thought.
Yes, I know.. I personally never felt anything unpleasant because of being Brazilian, not so obvious, at least. I know this is real, though. But I share this feeling with many Portuguese friends also.. so I really thing it is an annoying trait of personality / culture.
Well, if it’s widespread, then it’s not personality, but rather culture.
Thank you for this article. My husband is Portuguese, we met abroad and moved to Lisbon in 2017. It turned for the worse pretty quickly unfortunately. The Portuguese “love” foreigner but when you are a foreigner who understands the language, it hurts. I am a corporate executive and was treated like garbage by several layers of society. Not to even mention the bureaucracy which was dehumanising. My husband, a local, also wanted to leave again at some point. I was devastated it didnt work but there are other 190 countries to go! Thank you for your post!
I feel you! And I’m sorry for your bad experience. I completely agree that who understands the language gets this deeply. Also, I’m curious… where do you live now?
Thanks for understanding. We met in Angola 10 years ago and we both came back. And both happy 😍
Amazing 😍😍😍
I love Lisbon so much, but as a tourist. I have been there last November and it felt heartbreaking to leave. But being such a big-city type of woman, i know that as soon as the honeymoon phase is over, i'd just lose it! 😅
You know... I've always considered myself a big-city woman also, but after a while living here, I'm not sure about it anymore. Even more after visiting Copenhagen, for me the perfect balance between the easy-routine of a small city with the exciting cool things from a big city. The only reason that I'm not living there (yet) is because I haven't convinced my husband 😅
People’s notions of friendliness and politeness vary a great deal from place to place. There is nothing intuitive about manners: smiling at strangers is pleasing to Americans, puzzling to Scandinavians and annoying to Russians.
Still, it’s possible the Portuguese are frustrated by the influx of foreigners because their cities are more crowded and less affordable. For every expat who is reasonable and wishes to fit in there is at least one who is arrogant, demanding and unreasonable.
In Europe, with the exception of a few large cities, strangers will remain strangers, no matter how long they stay.
lol sounds like Rhode Island!