How do I meet people in Lisbon as a digital nomad?

Lisbon has one of the densest remote worker scenes in Europe, so the work is choosing, not finding.

The weekly anchor

Lisbon Digital Nomads, Thursdays at 19:30. About 25,850 members on Meetup, rated 4.6 from 9,681 ratings, run by volunteers with no membership fee. The Thursday venue rotates and is announced ahead on the group page, and the same group runs coworking sessions, talks, workshops and comedy nights.

The other regular routes

1. Language exchanges. Evening exchanges run in Lisbon most days of the week. They are the easiest way to meet Portuguese people rather than only other foreigners.
2. Couchsurfing hangouts. More travellers than residents, useful in your first weeks.
3. InterNations and startup events. An older and more professional crowd, better for work contacts.
4. Facebook groups. Search for the Lisbon expat and digital nomad groups before you land. They are noisy, but flat listings, second hand furniture and last minute plans all move through them.

Coworking as the reliable route

A membership does more social work than any single event, because you see the same faces every day. Day passes start at 10 euros at Heden, including VAT, and 25 euros plus VAT at Second Home; monthly memberships run from 99 euros at Heden to 325 plus VAT at the top of the market. Try three spaces on day passes before you commit, because the community varies far more than the desks do. Prices by space are in our coworking and internet guide.

Meeting Portuguese people

This takes deliberate effort. The routes that work are language exchanges, sport (surf, padel, running clubs and futsal all have open groups), neighbourhood associations and volunteering. A free Português Língua de Acolhimento course also puts you in a room with residents from many countries every week.

A two week plan

Week one: a coworking day pass on Monday, a language exchange midweek, the Thursday meetup. Week two: repeat, and say yes to one thing someone invites you to.

For where the scene lives day to day, see our Lisbon page.