Portugal Friends

What is the one thing you miss when coming to Portugal to live?  For most people it is the social life they left behind, friends who drop by or will go shopping or to a movie or even just have a chat.  In a foreign country where the local language is not native to you the difficulty in social interaction becomes even more obvious, usually because you are not yet fluent in the language.  

Portugal Friends has developed from a need for people, mostly foreigners or Portuguese people who speak English or have lived in other countries, to share their common ideas and interests and enjoy good company. Most people who are not natively Portuguese have come here to benefit from a better quality of life, and weather and enjoy the unique Portuguese hospitality, culture and beautiful country.

Currently Portugal Friends is providing a much needed social element to foreigners living here through ladies coffee mornings and other varied social events. The popularity of the coffee mornings has been so great that since starting one in Ansião in central Portugal in August of 2009, this has increased to 5 by May 2010 and the interest continues to increase. The desire to network, meet people of similar cultural backgrounds, sharing the same language, often English and interests is proving to be a boon for many people who were suffering from isolation. Currently Portugal Friends attracts people from  England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany, USA and not to forget Portugal.

Portugal Friends is being asked to further develop this social interaction by providing a platform for various events and activities. Currently Portugal Friends' activities are supported by Dot and John Norton who have co-ordinated activities and events. We hope that the website will grow to include a variety of interests for people, but we will only be led by your demand for these and the desire for people to get involved.

We hope you will enjoy our new-look website, which we hope will grow and develop with time.

Please take a moment to register to receive our updates, this means you don't have to remember to come back to the site, instead we will update you once or twice a month on news and events.

Dot & John