Coming in March next year in Portugal ...

Guest9357974Guest26 May 2022 20:55:14

Hi everybody,

I am from Jordan and I live now with my wife and daughter in Germany since 2015.

I am retired since 2013. I have been working in UNESCO in Paris, France from 2004 till 2013. Before that I worked in UNESCO field Offices in Tunis and Rabat.

I am now a freelance journalist but almost with no work here in Germany. I have my retirement salary and full international health insurance.

After 8 years in Germany I am still having difficulties in learning German language which at my age of 64 ... it is not surprising. But I speak English and French besides my Arabic.

I love languages and because I have much free time I am learning Italian and Spanish because I speak also some Romanian. These are all 'romance languages'. But German is completely different.

I could not make friends here in Germany, I do not work, I barely speak German. This is why I am looking for another country where I can have a few good friends, and maybe could speak with people in English or French.

I am looking for a simple and social life and live in peace in a friendly environment ... is this too much to ask for?

I might visit Portugal in autumn this year to see how it looks like and if it is the right place for me and my wife (my daughter will stay in Germany). I heard it is not expensive and Portuguese people are friendly and speak English ... well is it so?!

See you soon

Khaled

See also

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Gentleman_H Active member

Member since 07 August 2013

Gentleman_HActive member27 May 2022 07:44:41

Olá Khaled

The weather, the people and the place are nice here. Language is not easy though. Grammar is easy for someone who knows English and French. But their pronunciation is unusual for our ears.

I am originally from Iraq but lived in England, I also did not like life their in north europe. Here in Portugal I feel home where life and people are more sociable. and I feel home honestly.

day to day life is affordable but rents in Lisboa is expensive. It is always better to start learning the language sooner. I find this book "Dialogar em português" superb to improve your hearing skills.

JohnnyPT Portugal Expert

Member since 23 May 2020

JohnnyPTPortugal Expert27 May 2022 12:51:39

5170

Olá Khaled, Welcome.

I hope you will find in Portugal what you are looking for. If you already know Romance languages, learning Portuguese is easier, indeed.

Tudo de bom para si, boa viagem no próximo outono

Best Regards

Guest9357974 Guest

Guest9357974Guest27 May 2022 14:48:08

@JohnnyPT Thank you very much Johnny, I really appreciate your encouraging welcome message!

Kind regards

Khaled

Guest9357974 Guest

Guest9357974Guest27 May 2022 15:03:30

@Gentleman_H Nice to hear that.... but I already began studying Spanish and Italian. I believe English, french, Spanish and Italian would be enough for now unless I am sure that I will stay the rest of my life in Portugal then it might deserve a try to learn Portuguese.

Have a nice day

Khaled

yasou7 Member

Member since 21 May 2022

yasou7Member27 May 2022 15:14:55

Hi Khaled

I'm English but live in Portugal for 6 months of the year. My wife and I have been learning Portuguese for 7 years now, and being older than you, have found it difficult. We can read much of it, but listening and translating is very very difficult. Johnny's idea sounds good, but I feel that you have to have some comprehension of basic words first.

Regarding the Portuguese people, they are the best, in my opinion, so much more friendly in general than the English.

All the best in your situation, Paul

Guest9357974 Guest

Guest9357974Guest27 May 2022 15:48:36

@yasou7

Hi Paul,

Well my friend, it all depends on why should one learn Portuguese in the first place?

If most people speak either English, French or Spanish one should not be worried about building contacts and having a reasonable social life ... generally speaking.

Saying that, the most important question would be : Do Portuguese people really speak English? Or you mean that one has to learn Portuguese in order to find a work :

So, for social contact English is OK ... for Work I would need to know Portuguese.

If this equation is right, then it's OK for me. I might be lucky enough to find online freelance work from home as a journalist.

I know it is not so easy as it may sounds, but life has never been easy even in your home country. So may be I could get some help from good people like you to find a freelance work !!

Kind regards

Khaled

JohnnyPT Portugal Expert

Member since 23 May 2020

JohnnyPTPortugal Expert28 May 2022 08:37:32

5170

So, for social contact English is OK ... for Work I would need to know Portuguese.

If this equation is right, then it's OK for me. I might be lucky enough to find online freelance work from home as a journalist.

- @Khaled A.H.

Job opportunities available in Portugal for english speakers

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=907675

Guest9357974 Guest

Guest9357974Guest28 May 2022 14:54:01

Hi everybody,

I have a quick question : Do Portuguese people know English? (I mean everywhere in Portugal and not only in Lisbon.)

duntov67 Member

Member since 24 October 2021

duntov67Member28 May 2022 15:03:46

#10

I believe Portugal passed a law years ago where 9 years of English had to be taught in schools. However, in dealing with older folks and if in more rural areas you may encounter a higher percentage of non-English speakers. Stick with Algarve, Porto and Lisbon and you can get by with English only if you are so inclined.

JohnnyPT Portugal Expert

Member since 23 May 2020

JohnnyPTPortugal Expert28 May 2022 17:22:09

#11

5170

Always keep in mind that Portugal has its own language. Portuguese people are non-native English speakers. It is obvious that a part of the population doesn't speak nothing at all, another part understands but speaks only a little, another part speaks reasonably well and another part speaks pretty well.

Ranking of countries and regions by English skills

https://www.ef.edu.pt/epi/

#7 Portugal of 112 countries/regions

Proficiency: Very high

Position in Europe 6 of 35

Older people or people outside urban centres have a poor understanding of English, but remarkably, most of them are willing to help and are helpful to foreigners. This is not very common in Southern European countries. Just go to Spain and you can easily see what I'm talking about... Spanish people don't even try to understand the Portuguese, ridiculous isn't it?

Jk1976 Active member

Member since 05 January 2021

Jk1976Active member30 May 2022 16:43:38

#12

Portugal is so much easier than Spain for English speakers! It's a bit like in the Netherlands: hard for foreigners to practice the language when everyone responds in English. Especially in the more international places.

bettinakozlowski Active member

Member since 13 January 2022

bettinakozlowskiActive member30 May 2022 17:00:10

#13

@Khaled A.H.

I live in the South of France and have studied Italian for about three years - in a relaxed way.

I speak Spanish, too. However, I think it’s only polite to learn the language of the country of your residence. A little bit of effort goes a long way and would surely be appreciated by the local population, who’s probably tired being addressed in English or Spanish all the time. I actually found that Italian had some special similarities to Portuguese, so… you can do it!

JohnnyPT Portugal Expert

Member since 23 May 2020

JohnnyPTPortugal Expert30 May 2022 17:23:39

#14

5170

Not to mention that in Portugal, TV programmes, movies, news, etc are not dubbed into Portuguese. Everything is broadcast in the original language, whatever it is, except some documentaries and children's programmes. In Spain everything is dubbed, maybe that's why they have so much difficulty with english...

LorieAnneC Contributor

Member since 07 October 2020

LorieAnneCContributor30 May 2022 17:28:41

#15

117

I have just started a Zoom class with 3 other students, and we meet once a week for an hour. It is fun, and the instructor has been teaching for years.

Having learned French at an early age certainly helps with the "Romance languages", of which Portugal is one.

Cdavies-01 New member

Member since 21 February 2020

Cdavies-01New member30 May 2022 19:55:10

#16

@Khaled A.H. On Madeira in Funchal everyone just wants to speak English. We have to be persistent to keep trying Portuguese.

donn25 Serial expat

Member since 31 May 2022

donn25Serial expat31 May 2022 18:59:50

#17

272

No, everyone does not speak English. I've been there only once, a couple months ago (leaving tomorrow for another visit), so I don't know everything about Portugal, but I ran into enough people who didn't speak Portuguese in retail/service functions. They don't know it, if they don't need it, and out there in the rest of the country, of course they don't need it. They're usually nice about it, and they try to do what they can. For a tourist, probably no big problem - you can laugh at the experience. Living there, I think it would get old.

Luckily I can speak a little Portuguese, and even understand people speaking through a mask, some of the time. I even translated for a diner; the restaurant owner, who knows, might have understood him if he'd thought to use more basic English - that was in Lisbon, where to be sure most restaurants etc. did speak English. I guess the rest of the time we were kind of out of the tourist mainstream, and there we sure were in restaurants where no one spoke English. Guimarães, very attractive tourist destination up north. Hotel, no English. Restaurants - fancier places could could speak English, but not pastelarias, small family restaurants, sporting goods store, groceries. Other places we passed through - Azeitão, Vieira de Leiria, Espinho, Pombal. Get on the phone for a taxi in Azeitão and try English on them.

LorieAnneC Contributor

Member since 07 October 2020

LorieAnneCContributor31 May 2022 21:18:51

#18

117

If you are moving/relocating to another country, adopt the ways of that country. Learn the language and immerse yourself in the culture... otherwise, you are just bringing your way of life and expecting the same - so why move?

Jk1976 Active member

Member since 05 January 2021

Jk1976Active member01 June 2022 13:29:40

#19

@LorieAnneC Important to note that it is easier for younger people than for those who are in their retirement age. Plus there are people who simply have no talent for learning languages.

During my seven years in Dubai I have seen very few Westerners who made the effort to learn Arabic. I made that mistake as well, but I'm definitely making an effort now with Portuguese.