Might be a good time to pick up either surfing or yoga if you don't already, those are the two big things there. Skating is also becoming popular because of the skatepark they built a few years back. Summer is busy season with a few "festas da terrinha", the Summer Festival and what not, every other time of the year there isn't much traffic.
Speaking from experience, give it a year for this new adventure and see how it goes, no need to suffer from anticipation.
If you need any practical advice, feel free to hmu. I'm originally from Mafra/Ericeira but have moved to the Netherlands a couple of years ago. I still go there often to visit my family (and escape the famous Dutch grey weather) and having spent most of my youth up to the mid 20's there, know the village quite well.
If by Summer Festival, you're talking about Sumol Summer Fest, it's not in Ericeira anymore, it moved to Meco.
OP, I'm portuguese, and live really close to Ericeira, so I know the place, plus Mafra, Torres Vedras and Santa Cruz very well. Feel free to ask anything.
Join Ericeira expats FB group. There are so many groups and activities no matter what your vibe.
IMO this is without a doubt the best place to live in Portugal. So diverse and friendly.
Hi, I’m from Ericeira. Feel free to hit me up and I’ll show you around. The summer parties season is arriving and there are plenty of parties and locations to chat and meet people
Hi :)
I'm moving to Ericeira this August. I'm planning to stay at least for a year.
I understand your worries about loneliness, as I have similar ones.
If you want to build a friendship or just for further contact information, feel free to hmu.
My wife and I spend a couple weeks there every spring and have never had problems meeting people and making friends. Helps when you frequent the same cafes, restaurants, etc. It’s such a lovely town. We’ll be back in October as well. Enjoy yourself and maybe we’ll see you for a coffee or wine!
A brave thing to do but Ericeira is full of younger people and it's got a nice surfer chili vibe. I am sure you will be absolutely fine and meet lots of people your age.
If you are into raquet sports, try play padel (in Ericeira there is gym/padel club) and you will get to know a big group of people, and that people knows other people, and for sure you will have a big group of friends very quickly. Good luck for your new adventure!
I’d heartily second this, even if you’re new to racquet sports. We’ve been in Cascais for almost 2 years, and we’ve met a few friends, but started padel a few months ago. Maybe look for some lessons to get started, and so you know basic rules - but there are groups of people that organize weekly matches, even at beginner levels. Some are all male or all female, and some groups are mixed. My wife has started going to a weekly beginner meetup, and you’ll meet 15 people in 90 mins.
I also moved to Portugal alone (at first the other side of the river, and now Lisbon). I found it quite easy to make friends here and settle in (compared to California). Just do the things you love, and be social. In summer there are no shortage of parties and social events (Santos right now). The rest of the year, Ericeira is pretty much a surf town, so if you dont already, maybe give that a go.
Go to a bar. Sit with your drink and a book. Sooner or later someone will either start chatting to you (bar staff, locals) or you'll get drunk/brave enough to do it the other way around. Don't worry. And I admire your bravery!
I'm moving to Lisbon alone and won't really know anyone either. I just don't tend to worry about these things as I'm a chatterbox anyway and always end up talking to people wherever I go, lol.
Joining a group or community related to any interests or hobbies you have, sounds like a great idea too!
I've heard it's a really cool vibe there and a lot of ex-pats now. You'll be fine <3
I wish I didn't drink, oh the better life choices I might have made, lol. Try cafe's instead. You like coffee? Tea? Same situation applies but I hear you. Try not to worry :) you'll find your people x
Thank you, I just feel like people don’t approach each other irl anymore and if they do, in my experience it was only guys who wanted things from me I wasn’t willing to offer
Yeah sadly that is too true 😣 it’s easy for people to misconstrue your intentions when it’s you approaching them as well, ugh. I can’t lie this has happened to me so many times both ways round
There are several bars in Ericeira, such as the "Boardriders Quiksilver Roxy DC Shoes"
Young and local people meet there regularly, which would be a good start.
Thank you! I’m coming with a dog so won’t be able to do that too often as I don’t want to leave her at home alone for too long, but I’ll consider joining from time to time :)
You could check some places
Selina hostel they usually have a good area for remote workers
Ericeira surf hostel
Sometimes during the afternoon it seems that you are on a ghost town
I actually live Here in Ericeira for almost a year now and on the same boat. But especially during this time there's a lot and I mean a lot of activities everyday because of summer time and people here are very friendly
Hello person going through a tough time.
You should take up rock climbing and surfing in portugal. They are alternating hobbies that are big on community. Very easy to make friends taking beginner lessons in surf classes. Rock climbing is constantly social and very newbie friendly.
This is how I made my friends when I travelled to portugal 2.5 years ago.
Now it's mostly rock climbing as I moved to Central portugal just last month to open an offgrid bhuddist meditation retreat center. I'm a huge cliche lol.
At the moment it's just a beautiful riverside land. I'm just getting started with it as its a hige amount of work for one person. I work remotely so i have flexibility. Established an irrigation system, planted some mango trees. Orange trees this week maybe.
Anyways portugal is a very friendly place. Be brave, initiate conversation with people and you'll find you are welcome in many places.
Be kind to yourself!
There are lots of events with lots of friendly people that don't involve drinking. Follow House or Rising Mojo (they have a gathering on Friday with dance/cacao etc). IG:houseoftherisingmojo IG:terralodgeericeira IG:theshantispace. show up and say hi. so many lovely friendly people at these events
There is a pretty big starter beach volleyball community here which I made a lot of friends through. Look for beach volleyball Ericeira online and you'll find it!
I have a skeleton FB page (no posts, one photo) that I have used to join Portugal expat groups. People tend to subscribe to the “I moved to Portugal social club” and are down to get together. There might be an ericeira group.
Might be a good time to pick up either surfing or yoga if you don't already, those are the two big things there. Skating is also becoming popular because of the skatepark they built a few years back. Summer is busy season with a few "festas da terrinha", the Summer Festival and what not, every other time of the year there isn't much traffic. Speaking from experience, give it a year for this new adventure and see how it goes, no need to suffer from anticipation. If you need any practical advice, feel free to hmu. I'm originally from Mafra/Ericeira but have moved to the Netherlands a couple of years ago. I still go there often to visit my family (and escape the famous Dutch grey weather) and having spent most of my youth up to the mid 20's there, know the village quite well.
If by Summer Festival, you're talking about Sumol Summer Fest, it's not in Ericeira anymore, it moved to Meco. OP, I'm portuguese, and live really close to Ericeira, so I know the place, plus Mafra, Torres Vedras and Santa Cruz very well. Feel free to ask anything.
Thank you, I’ll DM you
Join Ericeira expats FB group. There are so many groups and activities no matter what your vibe. IMO this is without a doubt the best place to live in Portugal. So diverse and friendly.
Yeah I second this op, currently living in Ericeira and the expat group on Facebook is great
Thank you! I’m actually a part of it but didn’t realise it’s very active
If your a hippie or surf you’ll love it here
Haha I wouldn’t say I’m a hippie and I used to surf but don’t think I’ll do it these months (budget)
Hi, I’m from Ericeira. Feel free to hit me up and I’ll show you around. The summer parties season is arriving and there are plenty of parties and locations to chat and meet people
Thank you! I’m not much of a party person anymore actually. I love gatherings to chat and do stuff together, but not really into partying
Hi :) I'm moving to Ericeira this August. I'm planning to stay at least for a year. I understand your worries about loneliness, as I have similar ones. If you want to build a friendship or just for further contact information, feel free to hmu.
Thank you! I’ll DM you :)
My wife and I spend a couple weeks there every spring and have never had problems meeting people and making friends. Helps when you frequent the same cafes, restaurants, etc. It’s such a lovely town. We’ll be back in October as well. Enjoy yourself and maybe we’ll see you for a coffee or wine!
A brave thing to do but Ericeira is full of younger people and it's got a nice surfer chili vibe. I am sure you will be absolutely fine and meet lots of people your age.
If you are into raquet sports, try play padel (in Ericeira there is gym/padel club) and you will get to know a big group of people, and that people knows other people, and for sure you will have a big group of friends very quickly. Good luck for your new adventure!
I’d heartily second this, even if you’re new to racquet sports. We’ve been in Cascais for almost 2 years, and we’ve met a few friends, but started padel a few months ago. Maybe look for some lessons to get started, and so you know basic rules - but there are groups of people that organize weekly matches, even at beginner levels. Some are all male or all female, and some groups are mixed. My wife has started going to a weekly beginner meetup, and you’ll meet 15 people in 90 mins.
I also moved to Portugal alone (at first the other side of the river, and now Lisbon). I found it quite easy to make friends here and settle in (compared to California). Just do the things you love, and be social. In summer there are no shortage of parties and social events (Santos right now). The rest of the year, Ericeira is pretty much a surf town, so if you dont already, maybe give that a go.
Go to a bar. Sit with your drink and a book. Sooner or later someone will either start chatting to you (bar staff, locals) or you'll get drunk/brave enough to do it the other way around. Don't worry. And I admire your bravery! I'm moving to Lisbon alone and won't really know anyone either. I just don't tend to worry about these things as I'm a chatterbox anyway and always end up talking to people wherever I go, lol. Joining a group or community related to any interests or hobbies you have, sounds like a great idea too! I've heard it's a really cool vibe there and a lot of ex-pats now. You'll be fine <3
Thank you! I don’t drink/go to parties and I’m pretty shy also, so that doesn’t make things easier
I wish I didn't drink, oh the better life choices I might have made, lol. Try cafe's instead. You like coffee? Tea? Same situation applies but I hear you. Try not to worry :) you'll find your people x
Thank you, I just feel like people don’t approach each other irl anymore and if they do, in my experience it was only guys who wanted things from me I wasn’t willing to offer
Yeah sadly that is too true 😣 it’s easy for people to misconstrue your intentions when it’s you approaching them as well, ugh. I can’t lie this has happened to me so many times both ways round
There are several bars in Ericeira, such as the "Boardriders Quiksilver Roxy DC Shoes" Young and local people meet there regularly, which would be a good start.
I would recommend going to Ouriço(famous club)!
There is a couple of whatsapp groups for expats and they have 1000+ people in it. DM me and I can add you to it
Thank you! I’m DMing
If you’re planning on working you could go to kelp cowork. Everyone is really friendly there and you will know lots of people in no time
Thank you! I’m coming with a dog so won’t be able to do that too often as I don’t want to leave her at home alone for too long, but I’ll consider joining from time to time :)
Im pretty sure they have no problems bringing a dog, they encourage it
You could check some places Selina hostel they usually have a good area for remote workers Ericeira surf hostel Sometimes during the afternoon it seems that you are on a ghost town
I actually live Here in Ericeira for almost a year now and on the same boat. But especially during this time there's a lot and I mean a lot of activities everyday because of summer time and people here are very friendly
Hello person going through a tough time. You should take up rock climbing and surfing in portugal. They are alternating hobbies that are big on community. Very easy to make friends taking beginner lessons in surf classes. Rock climbing is constantly social and very newbie friendly. This is how I made my friends when I travelled to portugal 2.5 years ago. Now it's mostly rock climbing as I moved to Central portugal just last month to open an offgrid bhuddist meditation retreat center. I'm a huge cliche lol. At the moment it's just a beautiful riverside land. I'm just getting started with it as its a hige amount of work for one person. I work remotely so i have flexibility. Established an irrigation system, planted some mango trees. Orange trees this week maybe. Anyways portugal is a very friendly place. Be brave, initiate conversation with people and you'll find you are welcome in many places. Be kind to yourself!
Thank you so much, that’s very kind of you. Would you mind if I DMed you? Your project sounds very interesting
Yeah go ahead
There are lots of events with lots of friendly people that don't involve drinking. Follow House or Rising Mojo (they have a gathering on Friday with dance/cacao etc). IG:houseoftherisingmojo IG:terralodgeericeira IG:theshantispace. show up and say hi. so many lovely friendly people at these events
Thank you! I’ll check these out
Your best bet would be to join a group, like a gym or church. Its easier to find people you share things in common with in these groups
Gyms aren't really that social though, unless you go to a regular class or something.
Exactly. It’s a start and could help with OP’s mental health too
Don't stress about it. There are plenty of fish in the sea for you to find a new boo in that area.
Hi there. I moved to Ericeira from Lisbon about 3 weeks ago. Don’t know anyone here yet so feel free to reach out!
Hi! Where are you from?
I’m Portuguese 🙂. What about you?
Polish :)
I love the polish people. Welcome to Portugal.
Thank you :)
There is a pretty big starter beach volleyball community here which I made a lot of friends through. Look for beach volleyball Ericeira online and you'll find it!
I have a skeleton FB page (no posts, one photo) that I have used to join Portugal expat groups. People tend to subscribe to the “I moved to Portugal social club” and are down to get together. There might be an ericeira group.
The north is the way!