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I live in Torres Vedras, and its small town near to the famous beach Area Called Santa Cruz. you people may visit and i am sure that you are going to enjoy

Hi there.
I reply in English since this way it might reach out to more people than in Portugese or Dutch which is my native language.
I´m here for 29 years now and despite of being 100% integrated into the Portugese society there is a tremendous number of subjects that does not meet the modern European society. Although i don´t have the same experience with other countries in the south like Spain and Greece i´m quit sure that many things are quit the same.
But, sticking with Portugal, through the years i´ve learned that the once that rule the country, the once that make up the "law" isn´t the goverment. Not at all. The Goverment does however legalize whatever rule the...big companies make up. Yes, it´s the big companies that "rule" the country and it seems that it always has been like that, after Salazar disapeared. (old president who ruled Portugal with an iron fist)
And so big companies with tens of thousands thousand employees, don´t want to pay much, don´t want to give good conditions and whatever politic party goes against them is easy discarted. So the once that do agree (almost forced if they want a political carreer) just say yes to whatever these big companies say and want in order to get political funding. Basically portugal won´t grow much and we´ve seen it the last year when 140.000 young, bright people left the country. Even emigrants left by the thousands. So, portugal will continue being the wast of Europe with extreme low base salaries and will never ever get on European levels except with prices of daily necessary needs. These are on European levels for years. So portugese stay poor...forever while big companies get rich and impose the rules that suits them best.
Basically (and believe me i have more) that´s what i hate most about portugal, the break on economical wellfare for the Portugese.

What seduced me the most....
Well, portugal (forgetting the goverment and all) has a lot to offer IF you come here for holidays or to live, as long as you´re not economical dependant. Portugal is surely one of the nicest countries to live in, where you can find all kinds of aspects to love, like mountains and sea. Mostly sunny, speciallt in the south where tens of thousands of foreigners live.
It has nice foods, nice wines, nice people, nice nature and a general nice climat.

Great struggling is must to live in portugal every one gets a better knowledge wen visit knows the value of life

Hi                                             
Portugal is the peaceful and beautiful country. Here is secure life so I like portugal.

I agree!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's peaceful so far, but just wait for the 5,000 immigrants that are coming. Things will change for sure!

I like the fact that it is fairly cheap to live here.

i love the people, ever so friendly and will try to help in any way they can ; the easy way of life;
the sun;  the sea...
did i forget anything good about portugal?

I'm in Porto, and I'm constantly photographing the incredible street art here. The Porto Hash Harriers are great. Tons of great events. Beautiful music, kind humans.

Oops Eileen Vicente, are you not an immigrant too!

I like the way Portuguese people rave on about what's wrong with Portugal and how terrible it is and how wonderful it must be in the UK, or USA, or Switzerland etc etc. I don't argue any more .  Last time I was back in the UK I took a photograph of the price list in a cafe. I just show it to them. More than ten Euros for two coffees and a cake. Soon calms them down!

In my estimation, the Portuguese think they are the best. I'm a spoiled ex-pat native New Yorker. When I grew up it WAS so great to live there. I don't like Portugal. In my experience the people are only surface friendly, and they are generally rude! Furthermore,I don't like the, the language, or the food. It is safer than most countries are these days, and it can be quite beautiful in various places. I don't like living in Oporto.

I'm an expat Brit, so I'm happy to spend ages saying good morning, shaking hands, making small talk and worrying about things like having saucers under cups and eating chicken legs with a knife and fork. As a result the vast majority of Portuguese people I meet -even in central Lisbon- are unfailingly polite. It is a sort of competition to see who can say "sorry" or "excuse me" the most times. Straight talking New York directness can be perceived as rudeness in this game.

I so disagree with you to the max!!!!!!

surface friendly people are everywhere...still, emphatically (hope this is the right word!) say, that the portuguese people are in general friendly people...they may not be surface friendly, but they  really care, trust me i know...

Sadly, not from my experience in Oporto. I find the Portuguese to be rude and at time surface friendly, and that's all. I'm married to a Portuguese man, and I have lived here for 10 miserable years!