Community & Knowledge

Expats Portugal was created by Simon Pownall in 2005 after he bought a house in Portugal and wanted to help others avoid the pitfalls. His hospitality at “The Forumcators Inn” was legendary as was his omnipotent power as our great leader on the Expats Portugal forum. Sadly Simon passed away in 2018 and his partner Emma continued managing the site until she returned to her homeland, Australia.

In 2019, the website found new owners, with Gerry Lawler (originally from Ireland) and Astrid Fernandes (originally from Australia) taking over and giving the site a new lease on life. Gerry and Astrid were keen to stay true to its original purpose – a friendly community forum and place for Portugal’s expats and potential expats to “hang out”.

In 2020, Carl Munson (originally from England) joined the team as our Expats Portugal Show and webinar host and in 2021, Sally Blackwell joined the team across administration assistance.

In 2022, Trevor & Shannon Jones (originally from the USA) joined as SEO and Social Media managers after they used the information on the site for a successful move to Portugal.

When Gerry first moved to Portugal he chose Cabanas near Tavira in East Algarve as home but then relocated to a small village just outside of Tomar in Central Portugal. There he lives a relaxed life on his small Quinta (farm).

Astrid married a Portuguese national and they live near Sintra with their two young daughters. They frequently visit their holiday home, also a Quinta in Castelo de Vide, in Alto Alentejo. Read more of Astrid’s expat journey to living in Portugal.

Carl is a very happy expat husband, father of five, and big fan of the Portuguese way of life, who’s been here since 2017. His journey began in a camper van after an unexpected job redundancy gave him and his family the push we needed to emigrate. The camper van broke down and left us stranded in beautiful San Martinho do Porto, which was the ideal introduction to the Silver Coast, to where we have recently returned – after spending time living and working in Lisbon, Central Portugal and Aveiro.

Trevor and Shannon are recent retirees. Their hobby is traveling throughout Portugal to experience the history and culture. They currently call Lisbon home and volunteer their time to assist future expats and locals.

What makes our site different?

Portugal has always had an appeal for people looking for a new country to call their home – whether it is for the relaxed lifestyle, affordable cost of living, amazing weather, beautiful coastlines and countryside or welcoming locals. But over the past few years, Portugal has seen an exceptionally strong increase in foreigners immigrating. It is now reported that out of a total population of around 10 million, more than 900,000 expats are living in Portugal.

For these people making the move or already living here, we know they are hungry for information and to find a sense of community, and often the best way to do this is from other peoples stories. We are not a “fact” based site with pages and pages of hard information, but instead a site sharing stories and wisdom from those in the know. Our promise is to:

Offer visitors a lively forum where you can read other peoples questions, ask your own or and offer your advice
Our posts and articles are written by expats for expats
Find real-life stories shared by others so you learn from personal experiences
Browse our What’s On Calendar for local and online events, webinars and meetups
Research our Business Directory for companies servicing the English speaking community in Portugal
Explore amazing properties on our Expats Portugal Real Estate section
Ask Our Expats is a great way for you to connect with foreigners already living in Portugal who are keen to share their knowledge with you

So enjoy our site, join up as a member and get involved with our online community.

English-Friendly Business Directory in Portugal

Looking for a product or service from a business that speaks your language? Browse our directory of English-speaking, expat-friendly businesses across Portugal.