How to build a social circle from scratch in Portugal

Some of Meetup Groups available:

Fortunefy (+7500 members)

meetup.com/pt-BR/fortunefy/
facebook.com/fortunefy/

"This group is for the lucky ones who are to meet the right people at the right time while having the best of fun. This is a pressure-free environment to meet new people and easily establish long-lasting friendships while having fun. The meeting location will depend on the number of people and will be in the city center. Most times, by the time we all feel very comfortable with each other, we'll move on to fine drinking and dancing."

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Lisbon Digital Nomads (+9300 members)

meetup.com/pt-BR/Lisbon-Digital-Nomads/
youtube.com/watch?v=fdSII2TWeMQ

This group is for digital nomads and people who are interested in the digital nomad lifestyle. If you are location independent, looking to start your journey towards it, or just generally interested in 21st century possibilities. Our very first meetup was in October 2015. We are not a business and we don't receive any money for any of the events. We are a mix of Nomads, Slowmads, Expats and Locals ourselves and we do this because we love Lisbon, because we know how important it is to have a community and because we love connecting you with your future friends and business contacts. We try to support local businesses and try to do many different types of events, sometimes business related, sometimes for volunteering and often times, just to have fun.

Every week, we organize casual meetups, co-working days, comedy nights, talks, workshops, panel discussions, open mic nights, dinners, volunteering events and a lot more.

Our members are a mix of Lisbon locals, nomads who have settled down in Lisbon, and people who are just passing through."

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Lisbon Expats-Locals (+5300 members)

meetup.com/Lisbon-Expats-Locals/
facebook.com/groups/expatsandlocalsinlisboa/

"This group is intend to welcome new expats in town to mingle with old expats and locals. Chat up with experienced expats and locals to get to know more about city life style and how to be an expats in Portugal. Anyone can join this group. We will try to explore coolest cafés, restaurants, bar and out-doors in Lisbon.

So if you are living in or close to Lisbon or just arrive in the city to checking out for future home and you would like to go to an events where people/friends socialize, this may be a good group for you. Don't be shy if you are new arrival in Lisbon. Just come by and chill-out with coolest people in Lisbon."

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High Five Friending Lisbon (+7700 members)

meetup.com/HighFiveFriending-Lisbon/

"New in town? Your friends moved away or are too busy? Looking for a special person? Or just bored? We've been in the same boat and our personal experience made us create the very special HighFive Friending Formula"

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Mindfulness in Lisbon (+2000 members)

meetup.com/Mindfulness-in-Lisbon/

"You're welcome to join us for Mindfulness meditation practice. The guided meditation sessions are open for beginners who would like to discover and learn, and meditators who would like to keep up their practice in a friendly environment. During summer we meet mostly in the park (beautiful Jardim Gulbenkian), where participation is free and open to donations. When the weather gets humid and cold, we move inside. You can also find information about other Mindfulness events taking place in other locations in Lisbon."

The sessions are guided by Lillian Ysen Biørnstad, qualified Mindfulness and MBSR teacher. You can read more about her here: knoppyogamindfulness.com/about-knopp/

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Americans in Portugal (+100 members)

meetup.com/Americans-in-Portugal/

"We are a group of professionals with an international mindset. We enjoy networking and looking to share knowledge with others to mutual benefit. Everyone is warmly welcomed to join us."

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Lisbon Portuguese-English Exchange (+6300 members)

meetup.com/Lisbon-Portuguese-English-Exchange/

"This is a group for anyone interested in practicing their English or Portuguese language skills. The main goal is to communicate and to have a good time at it. You can speak either in English or Portuguese and switch it around as you see fit. All levels are welcome!

We host weekly meetings in downtown Lisbon currently at the Largo do Intendente. Feel free to bring questions, expressions or tongue twisters to share "

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Expats Portugal Meet Up Group (+400 members)

meetup.com/Expats-Portugal/

"ExpatsPortugal.com is an online community for foreigners who live in Portugal or planning to move here. We share stories, knowledge and tips to anyone keen to get involved. We also have meetups and online seminars where you can get more information about life in Portugal as an Expat."

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Lisbon Startup Founder 101 (+4200 members)

meetup.com/Lisbon-Startup-Founder-101/

"Startup Founder 101 brings together aspiring and experienced tech entrepreneurs to discuss, meet, and collaborate to build great new startups, and to push the local startup ecosystem forward. This group hosts numerous free events throughout the year where you can learn the best practices of starting a company from people who have been there and done that. You'll have the opportunity to meet local founders and investors, exchange ideas with experts, get feedback on your idea, participate in startup workshops, and more."

Typical startup event topics include:
• Coming up with a strong startup idea
• Startup legal basics
• How to pitch your startup
• Starting a company without quitting your day job
• How to raise funding for your startup

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Lisbon Hiking Meetup (+3200 members)

meetup.com/Lisbon-Hiking-Meetup/

"Relaxed day hikes around four to five hours long, with a picnic break for lunch, on Saturdays or Sundays, around Cascais, Sintra and other parts of the Lisbon region. Transport will be organised by train, bus, or car-sharing, so that members living anywhere around Lisbon will be able to participate."

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Discovery Lisbon (+2700 members)

meetup.com/Meetup-Musiciens-Lisbonne/

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Rooftop Yoga Lisboa (+500 members)

meetup.com/meetup-group-VrTYMshC/

"We organise weekly outdoor Yoga classes in Lisbons Parks and on Rooftop terraces under the blue sky of Lisbon. Come and join us for a regular Yoga class or book your private or group class with healthy brunch and enjoy the fantastic view. Sign up via rooftopyogalisboa.com"

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Lisbon Culinary Adventures (+1100 members) - Events temporarily suspended since April 2020

meetup.com/Lisbon-Culinary-Adventures/

"Try out new foods from all over the world, while meeting new friends from all over the world!
We meet for dinners at restaurants featuring a different world cuisine each time - Mexican, Indian, Brazilian, Moroccan, Peruvian, Persian, etc."

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Women@Lisbon (+1200 members)

meetup.com/Women-Lisbon/

"The platform for women to connect, inspire, learn and grow together. If you are looking to meet other like-minded women, while growing personally and professionally, then join us.

We organize activities in the Lisbon area which include:
- Social gatherings to make new friends
- Workshops to help you boost your personal and professional skills
- Sessions on building your life here
- Cultural activities to explore the country

Men are also welcome to join our mixed events"

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Taste wine & make friends (+3000 members) - Events temporarily suspended since March 2020

meetup.com/drink-wine-make-friends/

"This group is made for people who like to drink a good glass of wine whilst meeting people in a relaxed environment. The goal is to organize weekly meetup events in Lisbon where people from all walks of life- expats, digital nomads and locals - can meet and hang out in an informal context. We're going to a bar but without a crawl, it's going to be conversations and not shouting, it's going to be hugs and smiles with strangers. We want to organize wine & write meetups, social wine tastings, after-work hangouts and special culinary events. The point is to meet in a cozy, chill-out environment where it's easy to get to know and talk to new people who all like a good glass of alcoholic grape juice and make the big, scary world into a small, safe place."

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Porto Internationals (+5200 members)

meetup.com/Porto-Internationals/
m.facebook.com/groups/839960832723366/

"We are a cosmopolitan cultural melting pot of people hailing from all parts of the globe with one thing in common: living in Porto...
Dinners / Nights out / Cinema sessions / Coffee and conversation / Portuguese practice / Professional networking / Museum tours / Picnics / Group trips / Sport activities / Games / and so on..."

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Oeste Region Friends

https://www.meetup.com/pt-BR/west-conne … st-region/

Ideas about: Places to meet people & make friends, Tech groups, Group language classes, Language Tandems, Volunteering,...

portugalist.com/algarve-meetups/
portugalist.com/lisbon-meetups/
portugalist.com/porto-meetups/

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Where to Meet Expats in Lisbon:
discoverwalks.com/blog/lisbon/where-to-meet-expats-in-lisbon/

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International women in Portugal:
iwpportugal.org/

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Expats events in Portugal:
beportugal.com/expat-events-in-portugal/

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InternationsOrg site:
You can choose the "Language/Country of Origin" at the bottom of the page

internations.org/lisbon-expats/americans
internations.org/lisbon-expats/british
(...)

OTHER NATIONALITIES IN LISBON
Americans in Lisbon
Argentinians in Lisbon
Australians in Lisbon
Austrians in Lisbon
Belgians in Lisbon
Brazilians in Lisbon
Brits in Lisbon
Bulgarians in Lisbon
Canadians in Lisbon
Chinese in Lisbon
Danes in Lisbon
Dutch in Lisbon
French in Lisbon
Germans in Lisbon
Greeks in Lisbon
Indians in Lisbon
Irish in Lisbon
Italians in Lisbon
Mozambicans in Lisbon
Norwegians in Lisbon
Poles in Lisbon

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internations.org/porto-expats/americans
internations.org/porto-expats/british
(...)

OTHER NATIONALITIES IN PORTO:
Americans in Porto
Argentinians in Porto
Australians in Porto
Austrians in Porto
Brazilians in Porto
Brits in Porto
Canadians in Porto
Chinese in Porto
Dutch in Porto
French in Porto
Germans in Porto
Indians in Porto
Irish in Porto
Italians in Porto
Poles in Porto
Russians in Porto
Spaniards in Porto
Swedes in Porto
Swiss in Porto
Turks in Porto

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internations.org/cascais-expats/americans
internations.org/cascais-expats/british
(...)

OTHER NATIONALITIES IN CASCAIS
Americans in Cascais
Argentinians in Cascais
Australians in Cascais
Austrians in Cascais
Brazilians in Cascais
Brits in Cascais
Canadians in Cascais
Chinese in Cascais
Dutch in Cascais
French in Cascais
Germans in Cascais
Indians in Cascais
Irish in Cascais
Italians in Cascais
Poles in Cascais
Russians in Cascais
Spaniards in Cascais
Swedes in Cascais
Swiss in Cascais
Turks in Cascais

(...)

Wonderful !  glad to read there are so many groups you can join to build a social life once you have settled in Portugal and very cosmopolitan, which is great. At this stage, personally, I haven't made the move but planning to. First step for me, as a French person who knows little of Portugal, would be to stay there on a rental basis for at least a month or two in one selected area, I was thinking north of Lisbon around Obidos/Caldas da Reinha. But not too sure about how to go about it. The only piece of advice I have been given so far was to come to Portugal and find out for myself, which I would say is not very helpful !  Would appreciate if you had any tips about which people/groups  to contact to make enquiries apart from estate agencies.
Sorry if this isn't really a 'quick post' ...

Hi Nellarmstrong83, Welcome

I would suggest these contacts from the French community in Portugal. Here are the contacts of UFE (L'Union des Français de l'Etranger) Centre Ouest in Caldas da Rainha, maybe they can help you.

https://lepetitjournal.com/lisbonne/com … nes-265241https://www.portugalconnexions.com/comm … %89trangerhttps://francaisduportugal.wordpress.co … re-equipe/https://www.jaichoisileportugal.com/l-%C3%A9quipe

Kind Regards

My husband and I are also looking around Obidos Lagoon - probably Nadadouro.  We hope to go this year to stay in rental property for a month, whilst looking at plots of land and meeting a building company.  Then, buying the land, signing the contract with the builders and extending the rental for a further 7 months whilst our villa is being built.  That's the plan, but as we all know, plans rarely go smoothly.

This was great information! I was planning on staying a month in Algarve and studying Portuguese. I am waiting to see if Omicron will cause more issues. However, these links to various groups has been a great inspiration!

Hi and thanks for allowing to join. I'm in the very early stages of considering to move to Portugal. I would like to hear about experiences in different cities. That's how early I am in going, I haven't even decided on location. Thanks in advance. Terri

SPEAK.SOCIAL


SPEAK connects expats, migrants, refugees and locals living in the same city through a language exchange program where anyone can apply to learn a new language and culture exchange experiences while also making new friends. In this way SPEAK promotes equality and breaks prejudice:

1) The language groups are led by buddies - anyone who signs up to help others learn their language and know more about their culture. The groups run on an informal environment, are focused on everyday conversations, and are interactive with games and group activities.

2) The cultural events are organized by the community to bring everyone together and celebrate diversity. They create room for dialogue, cooperation, and friendship between participants. 

https://www.speak.social/en/https://www.facebook.com/wwwspeaksocial/
info@speak.social

Portugal:
Faro, Almada, Lisbon, Ericeira, Castelo Branco, Leiria, Coimbra, Amarante, Porto, Braga, ...

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Speak is a Portuguese startup founded with the aim of mitigating the social exclusion of migrants and refugees by providing the learning of dozens of languages. Now, the service that used to cost 29 euros is free, in order to combat social isolation in more than 20 cities around the world.

Anyone can sign up to language groups for free, through the Speak app (available on the App Store and Google Play) or website.


https://eco.sapo.pt/2022/02/04/speak-qu … e-idiomas/https://ipiaget.org/speak-oferece-curso … as-online/

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BIRDWATCHING (Observação de aves)

Meeting people with common hobbies /activities:

Algarve & Alentejo - Day trips & tours

https://www.visitalgarve.pt/en/3284/obs … -aves.aspx

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https://arochalife.com/

http://www.algarvebirdman.com/

https://www.walkalgarve.com/algarve/boo … he-algarve

https://www.algarvefun.com/algarve-tips … e-algarve/

http://www.birdwatching-algarve.com/

https://algarvesselvagem.wordpress.com/

(...)

@lfeasey Language courses I think

@Gentleman_H yes, I mentioned language already. I was looking for other suggestions, specifically for arts.

Yoga classes

Meeting people with common hobbies /activities:

Directory of the best yoga classes sorted by city in Portugal

Find yoga studios according to your needs

https://www.yogaemportugal.pt/

Facebook groups

Be part of these groups. If your participation is inspiring and worthwhile, you may find people you can identify with.

English Speaking in Portugal

https://m.facebook.com/groups/379079408809656/

Brits in Portugal

https://www.facebook.com/BritsInPortugal/

Lisbon Digital Nomads & Expats

https://www.facebook.com/groups/532696873566509/

British Expats in Portugal

https://www.facebook.com/groups/265570920476558/about/

Expats in Portugal Q&A

https://www.facebook.com/groups/893692574152551

Americans in Portugal ~ The Expats Group ~

https://www.facebook.com/groups/333297476604/

Americans & FriendsPT

https://www.facebook.com/groups/americansandfriendsPT

(...)

Join a choir

Do you like to sing? Why not join a choir? This is an example in São Brás de Alportel (Algarve).

See the Contacts section of the website for details of how to get in touch:

https://coro-amigos.com/en/

This choir has now a nucleus of 33 members from various European countries (currently Germany, Holland, Ireland, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland & the UK)

Enrol in an art course

If you like art, painting and drawing, why not try this?

Lisbon

Eg. At the National Society of Fine Arts, Lisbon (Sociedade Nacional de Belas Artes) there are drawing courses (with nude models M/F), painting courses, forography and art history courses. Anyone can enrol, regardless of age and arts qualifications, i.e., no pre requirements.

Theoretical courses

https://snba.pt/cursos/#teorico

Practical courses / drawing and painting

https://snba.pt/cursos/#pratdesenho

Theory-practice courses / photography

https://snba.pt/cursos/#pratteorico

You can sign up for a drawing lesson to see if you like it (form in this link):

https://snba.pt/

You can choose the day and time in one of the available drawing classes.

Porto

https://campodasartes.pt/

https://www.timeout.pt/porto/pt/arte/si … r-a-pintar

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After having lived in Portugal for five months only, I can say that we are pretty happy with our social lives so far. We have a padel tennis group in Cascais with 120 people, tournaments are organized on a monthly basis but you can play almost every day. We also have smaller padel groups for couples that we are friends with.

We gained some friends at the Portuguese lessons from ELC, so that helped, too. We haven't made many Portuguese friends yet, though our neighbours are super nice but they are of a different generation.

There are many expat meetings in Lisbon and Cascais as well.

We have friends in the Algarve who found it much more difficult to make friends there, especially as it gets quiet off-season.

After having lived in Portugal for five months only, I can say that we are pretty happy with our social lives so far. We have a padel tennis group in Cascais with 120 people, tournaments are organized on a monthly basis but you can play almost every day. We also have smaller padel groups for couples that we are friends with.
We have friends in the Algarve who found it much more difficult to make friends there, especially as it gets quiet off-season.
-@Jk1976

Cascais and Lisbon are excellent for expats meeting other expats. There are just so many events organized in these areas. I assume that Porto is quite similar and even the Algarve might be OK.

Meeting and socializing with "locals" is a completely different issue, because Portuguese (especially those that have never been expats themselves) are very family orientated and socialize mainly with family, close friends and maybe colleagues. And with an extended family this is probably more than sufficient. Already on the Silver Coast the situation is different with much less opportunities for going out and meeting new people.

Thus it seems that in making Cascais your home you made a good choice.

i have just arrived in caldas da reihna hoping to make new friends and long term contacts for my new start here in potugal.i am a retired widower of four years,independent means and would appreciate any help to guide me through the process of integration and establishing a new social life.i neither drink nor smoke but do enjoy good conversation.i can travel to meet anyone kind enough to assist me in my venture and look forward to the experience.     best regards to all.       jt

@John Taylor38

Hi John where are you from?

We live about 20 mins by car outside Caldas in the direction of Rio Maior. I am Irish snd my husband is British. We have been here since the Summer but dont know many folks either.

Best wishes

Roz

This is an excellent list from JohnnyPT. One thing we would add on top is when there are markets, we find there are a huge source of community! Here in Estremoz (Evora district), the antiques market I believe is the largest in Portugal, and with the fruit/veg/etc. attracts many thousands every Saturday. As you're walking through you hear all sorts of languages, and can easily strike up a conversation with visitors if your Portuguese is still a little rusty, many of which live here permanently, whether nearby or further afield.

Hi  @elizabethtPT,  Welcome

Since you're a horse lover, I suggest you visit the Alter do Chão equestrian school:

https://equestriantourism.visitalentejo … -de-alter/

They have there an interesting hotel on this theme:

https://www.vilagale.com/pt/hoteis/alen … alter-real

I also suggest you visit the annual horse fair in Colegã, near Santarém (November each year):

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.p … 17#5280838

(Post #3)

Best Regards

I have an informal WhatsApp group that is in the Silver Coast area, plus I throw a monthly meet up anyone is welcome to.