# Coping with everyday life



## Portie (Feb 14, 2016)

Hi everyone,
I'm new to the forum so apologies if this question has been asked before.
We're considering a move to Portugal but at the moment we don't speak any Portuguese (although we intend to learn). My question is until you get to a level when you can hold a conversation how do you manage with everyday life such as telephones, electricity, banks etc? Are there english speaking helplines or do you need a Portuguese speaking friend to help?

Many thanks


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## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

Most helplines at least have some English speakers & for what it's worth the majority of Brits here speak very little Portuguese & even in the rural areas it's rarely an insurmountable problem.


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## mpl379 (Sep 10, 2014)

We have lived here for two years and try our hardest to speak Portuguese. We constantly find people would rather practice their English than listen to our attempts at Portuguese. Just because you know the right words doesn't mean that they listen to you! It is appreciated that you are at least trying but in all honesty we could probably still get by with just 'obrigado/a'! At least in the Algarve.


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## Centralbound (Aug 16, 2013)

I practice my telephone Portuguese with the nice people from Meo who call me so often.


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## Portie (Feb 14, 2016)

Is that because the service is bad or they are always trying to sell you something?


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## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

There's also a few fall back strategies you can use........ for example if you want something obscure such as a toillet plunger from a local builders merchant, you just go online and print a pic of what you want and just show them the picture. 

Alternatively, put a translator program on your I pad and just type in what phrase you want and show them the Portuguese translation...... Mine even has a function on it where I can 'take a picture' (for want of a better phrase) of something like a Portuguese menu & it auto-translates it for me.


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## Maggy Crawford (Sep 18, 2010)

TM reminds me of my brother-in-law, Bob, who had not been long here in Penela and wanted to buy a hot water bottle. He was presented with all sorts of gadgets, including a baby's feeding bottle, until he drew a picture. The assistant returned with the requested item which was packed in a cellophane bag and labelled "HOT WATER BOTTLE"!


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