delia3551

so I'm thinking of moving to Portugal but I don't speak the language or drive, I have 4 children ages from 6 to 15 and a dog, ive been looking and I just don't know where would be the right place for us,

would like to be in walking distance to a town, with good links to other places and a strong ex-pat community, and jobs would be good too,

TIA

gedscottish

You were doing well till you mentioned "jobs".

Somewhere in Algarve for expats but certainly not for jobs. A kid at 15 and you think it's a good time to make the move? Plan on sending them to Portuguese speaking schools or private English school?

AliceCaroline

Can't decide if you have posted this with Sarcasm?

scrubbedexpat099

What is your profession?

dmu

Hi, whatever reason you want to move, is there a particular reason for thinking of moving to Portugal, where you don't speak the language, have no job to go to and have 4 children's welfare to think of, rather than to somewhere else in the UK where you would speak English, they would continue the schooling they're used to, you'd have support and receive benefits? Or Eire, where there wouldn't be any problem of language at least, if UK benefits aren't exportable?
This is the advice that would be given on the France forum, anyway, if a person (in the singular) asks about moving to France without speaking the language, with no job lined up, with 4 children dependent on them.
You've done well to ask on the Forum, as you don't seem to be aware of the practical aspects of living in a European country, esp. concerning schooling and healthcare coverage.
Give some more info on your situation (source of income? a partner not included in the "I"?.....), but be prepared for more negative opinions!

Knoxy_UK

Think of them less as negative, more as balancing both sides of the thought process.

If I was going to jump, I'd keep a registered address in the uk, so that benefits like CHB and tax credits continue for a while. Remember your EHIC card deals with emergency health cover. (You can always fly home if you need other medical help)

Whilst it will be a huge shock to land in a country and not talk a language.... You'll soon learn it.

Learn Portuguese™ by Greg Vick
https://appsto.re/gb/-uP6E.i Is a nice fun app

macliam

This is Brazilian, not continental Portuguese (as are most apps, etc). Limited use in Portugal, as the vocabulary and pronunciation are very different.

Knoxy_UK

Damn!

So I'm now fluent in Brazilian colours 😡

dmu

With all due respect, how long did it take you yourself to learn "Portuguese" Portuguese, and did you have 4 children around while doing so?
IMHO Portuguese is difficult to learn at the best of times, and frustrating when you discover it's Brazilian and not much use in continental Portugal.

P.S. Our posts crossed. Do you say "você" for example, to everyone?

Knoxy_UK

Hi

I don't speak Portuguese, I've been in the country 3 times. However I don't see language as a concrete barrier. IMO The only barrier is having the reason to learn a language. I just remind myself that a baby learns to talk, and we all learn new words now and then. It's probably just the accent that's going to be hard.

Anyhow, this thread is about supporting Tia and her choices, not about how hard the language is.

(I think having 4 children will make learning Portuguese easier)

Paul

dmu

We'll agree to differ, but "TIA" hasn't come back since her first post and we can't tell whether our advice, positive or negative, has been taken onboard.

toots sweet

Having spent time in both Portugal and Brazil,if you learn Brazilian or Portuguese the basics are the same and both will be understood by both sides. A few words may be different,but generally it is the same language with a different accent.Like UK and US speakers.

AliceCaroline

I like your optimism about how easy it is to learn a second language as an adult.
I still live in the UK, but about two years ago I started to play on language games, like Talk Now Portuguese, then listen to Earworms Rapid Portuguese, I then moved onto having 1 to 1 SKYPE lessons.

My teacher says I'm doing well (though she could say that to all her students) yet even though I understand verb conjugation ect, and can read a little, there is no way I could hold a full conversation. If I stream a Portuguese radio station I can't follow the conversation, if you can only understand the odd word it makes no sense.
They say to hold a basic conversation you need to know at least 3000 words in that language, that takes time.

I have 14 months to go before we can move over and I shall keep working on it - but it is NOT easy.

AliceCaroline

There are free learning European Portuguese language sites out there....

Learn Portuguese language - online games

macliam

Actually, you might be correct .... Brown in Portuguese is Castanho, in Brazilian it's Marrom. Just one of the vocab differences. However, since "obscure" words like bus are completely different, it depends whether you want to be understood or not.