riv

Portuguese is VERY VERY difficult to understand , because of the way the letter 'S' is pronounced and the fact that initial and final vowels are hardly pronounced at all ~ it is quite unlike Spanish or Italian in that respect. Just to give one example of many : the word 'obrigado' meaning ' thank you ' ( or literally ' obliged' ) looks like it has four syllables 'uh' 'bree' 'gah' 'doo' . You can pronounce it like that, and maybe you should.

But be prepared to recognize the two syllable version ' breegád' . .

You would be well advised to sign up NOW for one of the University Summer Schools in Portuguese for Foreigners. Porto, Coimbra and Lisbon Universities all run these schools , including for beginners, and they are excellent value. I know that you can sign up for the Porto one online and probably the others also. Just search ' curso para estrangeiros' for the relevant city. [ I would recommend NOT Lisbon just because it is more time consuming getting around. ]

Whilst waiting to attend your summer school you should also listen online as much as possible to one of the radio stations : my own preference is Rádio Renascença but there are others. Just find the website and you will see a button marked 'No Ar' and click on that for the live broadcast. You will probably understand little or nothing but over time you may make something out from news broadcasts ( ie because you have some idea what the international news is anyway ).

Good Luck with it ( you'll need it ).

GeniB

Hi Mochafiona... We chose Portugal because we knew it quite well in the first place, having holidayed here on and off for 30+yrs. We often holidayed in Spain as well, but found the climate to be too hot and humid for us, and the amount of insects, crawling and creeping things off putting. We also found the Spanish we came in contact with ie waiters,shopkeepers etc to be rather rude and brusque in comparison to the more gentle Portuguese
Altho we had lived for 30 yrs in the Netherlands we never considered for a second retiring there, given their attitude to foreigners ,the climate, and the rude people.
The language is certainly difficult, whilst it only took me three yrs to learn a basic Dutch. I still have barely opened my mouth here after 7 yrs. I probable would have fared a lot better had we chosen Lisbon or even Coimbra with its equivalent of BBC received Portuguese. Algarvian is a nightmare with its dialect and dropped endings to words. Barely understandable However thats my excuse, my OH ( who took latin at school ) can converse pretty well.
This is a blessed country and we wouldn't live anywhere else

Moses2013

In all fairness, even Spain has different climates and you do get insects in Portugal too. And rude people can be found in any country these days, so I don't think it's just Spain. Even in the same country, people will find other people rude and sometimes it depends on the person, age group and if you are a tourist, or actually live there. If you are working in a shop in Portugal and you are only earning €700 a month, you probably won't be jumping for joy every day, so it's hit and miss.

macliam

Maybe that says something about you? With the exception of anyone who thinks they have the slightest hint of "power", I find the average Portuguese o be a far sight more pleasant than his/her British equivalent. If you want rude, there are plenty of places to go.......

macliam

Maybe that says something about you? With the exception of anyone who thinks they have the slightest hint of "power", I find the average Portuguese to be a far sight more pleasant than his/her British equivalent. If you want rude, there are plenty of places to go.......

It depends where you start. The grammar is quite close to Spanish, but the pronunciation is quite different - and as has been said, the Portuguese share many of the same language flaws as their British equivalents, cutting words, dropping letters, etc., etc. There are a lot of nasal sounds (so French speakers have an advantage) but the most common is the "a" with a hat (tilde) followed by "o" as in não (no) and cão (dog) ..... which is pronounced like cow but with a swallowed "n" at the end. If you think that the Latin for dog is canus, you'll see that Portuguese is actually very close (and closer than Castillian). But at first, it can also sound more Eastern European than a Romance language.... You need to understand how letters are pronounced and rid yourself of "false friends" (so in the example NO AR - on air - "no" is NOT a negative and is pronounced noo) Once you get past the pronunciation and "zone in" to Portuguese, it's fine - and there is actually little variation across the country... just regional words and expressions. BUT, one thing to realise is that there are 200m Brazilians and only 10m Portuguese, so guess what you'll find all over the internet..... and although the are "similar" (like US and British English) they are different and learning Brazilian can cause you some issues. Have a look at http://practiceportuguese.com for European Portuguese on the net.

chislenko

Like here for instance, just expressing my findings, if someone is not allowed a different opinion than the majority it speaks more about their lack of tolerance than mine.

valspal

wow speaking my mind and a new thread too!

valspal

I have been thinking of moving to Spain for a very long time. I go there as often for short visits to explore where, what and how much? But lately without me actively researching or anything Portugal keeps coming up over and over again. I hear the prices have gone up because it is so popular now. Whenever i read anything its all positive and feel good. I have to go!

I will be going on me tod and approaching 60 so looking at a visit and then possibly retiring but i don't want to be that old. It has to be a good place to meet people and affordable. Just outside of the popular area with a way in i.e.
Somewhere where you can live on $1200 pm and good healthcare and affordable. I will also like to earn some extra money from my jewelry art & craft etc. Are there any single older people on here?

Great thread!

Moses2013

I suppose it depends what type of living you are looking for. Those looking for more land, or who are thinking of buying an old ruin overlooking a river, Portugal would probably offer more for their money. Generally Portugal would be considered cheaper than Spain. However, if you are looking at coastal living and want to rent an apartment in a more established area with nice promenade to walk and all amenities, many parts of Spain can be cheaper than the popular Algarve for example. Both countries can offer cheap living and it's better to compare the specific areas, rather than the two whole countries. If you are receiving pension from the US, I don't know how that will be for you in relation to healthcare etc.

macliam

No, you have a right to your opinion, but it's just contrary to mine and that of others. IME people tend to react according to the way they are treated. I have seen Brits complain loudly that the locals don't speak English, but without attempting to speak Portuguese and others who expect priority treatment because they're visitors - neither of these is likely to receive a warm reception the second time. The previous British owners of my property lived here 5 years without once speaking to their Portuguese neighbours..... I'm not saying you fit either of these caps, but circumstances dictate behaviour........

EMR

Without the help and advice from our Portuguese neighbours our time spent in Portugal would be nowhere near the enjoyable and positive experience it has become..

Sunseeker1st

We have three Portuguese 'neighbours', we are the estrangeiros in our tiny enclave. When we bought here 21 years ago, one neighbour organised builders to do our renovations. Another looked after our house whilst we were in the UK. Another inundated us with fruit but then told us to take what we wanted when we wanted it ... oranges, tangerines, lemons, apples, plums and nesperas (loquat). We speak to them all in disjointed Portuguese ... but they don't speak to each other!

As an adult I have lived in the US (20 years) and England (23 years) but have no desire to leave here.

Beautiful country, fantastic people, wonderful lifestyle.

Treat people with respect and how you expect to be treated and you will be rewarded.

007Steve

Here's mine;
https://www.algarvedailynews.com/pol...-a-brexit-deal
Spain, being essentially a federation, takes differing attitudes - especially to Brits. I never saw saw a clear Spanish Govt. stance on the large numbers of Brits who own property or lived there, yet maintained their status. Spain does not recognise the concept of dual-nationality as I understood it then and now;- You're either Spainish or not, you can't hold dual nationality. As to what will happen to those Brits after 29 March if 'no-deal' occurs is anyone's guess..... As you can see, PTs stance is clear.
I suspect there's a lot are very worried Brits - especially the ones who were supposed to register and couldn't even be bothered to do that.

AliceCaroline

The portuguese people that I have met since we moved here a year ago have been consistently friendly & helpful, and that's not just people that were being paid by us.

Little kindnesses stick in my mind. Once in a metro station in Lisbon a little old lady walked across from the other side of the large foyer to show us how to get through the ticket barrier. A cleaner in Faro airport handed me a copy of the free english language newspaper (I must have been looking bored) A waiter once chased me down the street as I'd left him a €50 instead of a €10, in a town we were holidaying in so he'd never have seen me again. I have seen some portuguese be curt with people who have been messing them about through, I don't think they bother to hide their feelings if you do annoy them.

On the other side of the coin I did find the Spanish to be quite rude when I went there on holiday.

liveaboard

I've been an 'expat' my whole life. Lived in different places.
I don't expect to ever be seen as a local; the difference is whether the locals treat foreigners as friends or as foes.
I live in a coastal village, we have a 3 month tourist season and 9 months the population is around 600 [not including sheep, goats, and cows].
Around 80% of the locals are warm to us resident foreigners, 10% are rude, and 10% neutral. Those are really good numbers.
I appreciate that the ones who don't like us are proud enough not to pretend that they do.
During my 10 years here, I have not experienced a single incidence of aggression. That's a pretty good record.
And we were able to buy some hectares with a house near the coast on our budget [with power, water, and TV/internet/phone line]. To me the point of being near the coast is not because it takes less time to get to the beach, but for the sea breeze that keeps us cool all summer.
Prices have only just started to rise, and I expect them to rise a lot over the next 10 years.
However, there is no opportunity for decently paid work out here in the rural zone.