Post: #1

I've been in Porto for about 2 months now, and just joined the forum. Here's my contribution to the "data sheets" (based on Neil's guidelines):



Girls: 7-8. Dark hair, strong features, although people from northern Portugal tend to be slightly less Arab-featured than from the south, a little fairer. Mediterranean, port city, so people tend to eat well (diet is mostly fish) and stay in shape. Some pics pulled from couchsurfing:
(redacted due to anti spam error)

Sight seeing: Port wine tours, obviously, in Gaia, which is across the river Douro (no port wine houses are actually based in Porto). Rem Koolhaas's Casa da Musica, Clerigos tower, the bridges from Porto to Gaia, the amazing ceramic blue azulejos on the inside/outside of nearly every building, especially Sao Bento station. The contemporary art museum, Serralves, is good, free on Sunday until 2pm. Porto is an easy base for day trips to Guimaraes, Braga, or Coimbra. It's a great city to hear Fado, as well - Restaurante Adegio do Douro, on Rua do Ouro around 223 (past the huge white bridge) has good, free Fado Tuesday nights. A glass of wine is 50 cents, you can't go wrong. Meatlovers will dig francesinha, you can get it everywhere, the best is at Cervejeria Diu, R. Boavista 663. Sardinhas and other fish dishes are good at Mercado do Bolhao, which closes pretty early (1 or 2pm). Try vinho verde. Nothing is open on Sundays. Nearby Matosinhos is a great place to learn to surf, as well, except in the summer months when the sea is pretty dead. Classes are 15 euro/class including wetsuit (the Atlantic here will send your balls straight up into your stomach) and board, or you can rent a board/suit for 15 euros/2 hours at Godzilla surf school, among others.

Lodging: Furnished rooms w/ internet can be found for as low as 150 euro/month. Check couchsurfing subgroup for this, craigslist is totally dead. Plenty of hostels for 10 euro/night, decent hotels for around 50 (no experience with either of these).

Day Game Spots: Piolho square & its cafes have a ton of people - this is right by the University, there are always tons of students, faculty, and tourists around. Down by the Ribeira, the riverside, also is a good spot with tons of passers by. If you approach people near the train station you'll look like you're trying to sell hash (note: good place to buy hash).

Nightlife spots: Piolho square actually has an incredible amount of students hanging out and drinking at night, pretty amazing how far it stretches. It's a cool spot - you have your pick of bars/cafes to grab beer at, then go hang out/wander around the squares. The galerias de paris is also a great spot - a short, one block street, with about 20 bars/clubs, if you're watching your wallet you can get draft beer for 1 euro at the little cafe at the beginning of the street and come and go as you please in the bars. Cafe au lait often has good music, and there are often live shows here on Saturday nights, though the bands aren't to my taste. If you walk up Rua de Avis, there are also a bunch of decent bars with tons of people outside by the underpass - look for "Radio", the best of the bunch. All of these areas are a short walk from one another. The Ribeira is also totally packed with bars and people are pretty social there, lots of tourists as well. For upscale nightlife, try the Foz do Douro area (not my scene). Almost all bars downtown close early, 2am on weeknights, 4am on Fri/Sat. A small rock bar that stays open a little later (4 I think on weeknights) with really good music is Pherrugem, on Travessa do Ceidofeita. Same deal applies - tons of people hanging out down the street in front of the 1 euro/beer cafe as well.

Ease of approaching: You'll find plenty of small groups in any of the outdoor places. People are pretty friendly here, and you'll likely get approached on the street by random folks who aren't even panhandlers, just to joke around with you. A good amount of people can speak English, I think, almost everyone can understand decently spoken Spanish unless they are completely trashed, but it's pretty rude to not start at least with some basic portuguese. Boa tarde/boa noite should suffice. Outdoor areas are obviously standing up, real bars are standing up, people sit down in cafe/bars at night. Girls are flaky here, not really a problem though if you close the day you meet. Since the advent of Ryan air, there are also tons of tourists here from all over Europe who are looking to hang out.

Prices: Sim card 10 euro, internet on phone 25 euro/month for 2gb, sms 10 cents/calls 30 cents per minute. Typical cheap lunch or dinner 4 euro, lunch you can find nice meals with soup, wine, a main dish and coffee for that price. Grocery store prices are pretty cheap, as wages are extremely low here and in neighboring Spain since the crisis. Beer/wine is cheap, cocktails are 4 euros or more.

Logistics: Porto itself is easily walkable, though hilly. Everything is very close. For further areas, buses are 1.75 and the pristine, reliable, remarkable metro is 1.40/ride. Don't throw away your metro ticket, you're charged 50 cents for the card and can subsequently refill.

Overall pros and cons: Supposedly, it rains half the year. Otherwise, A+, worth buying a place here. Warning, if you learn to speak Portuguese here, Brazilians will think you're a fucking tool. It's a cool language, though, sounds kindof like a Russian mispronouncing Spanish. Good for jokes and bullshitting, for sure. The portuguese speak in a flat, robotic monotone in other languages, though, I'm not sure why – tonally, they're all over the place in their own. In case you couldn't tell, I'm a language fag.

Final thoughts: I was originally planning to just stay one month, then stay the other two in Lisbon, but it's hard to tear myself away. I'll be back next year, maybe to buy an apartment when we're closer to bottom and the euro falls apart.

Post: #2

What's your guess on how much a small studio apt will be to buy (and is now?)

thx

Post: #3

(09-21-2011 02:28 PM)portofmanteau Wrote:  I've been in Porto for about 2 months now, and just joined the forum. Here's my contribution to the "data sheets" (based on Neil's guidelines):



Girls: 7-8. Dark hair, strong features, although people from northern Portugal tend to be slightly less Arab-featured than from the south, a little fairer. Mediterranean, port city, so people tend to eat well (diet is mostly fish) and stay in shape. Some pics pulled from couchsurfing:
(redacted due to anti spam error)

Sight seeing: Port wine tours, obviously, in Gaia, which is across the river Douro (no port wine houses are actually based in Porto). Rem Koolhaas's Casa da Musica, Clerigos tower, the bridges from Porto to Gaia, the amazing ceramic blue azulejos on the inside/outside of nearly every building, especially Sao Bento station. The contemporary art museum, Serralves, is good, free on Sunday until 2pm. Porto is an easy base for day trips to Guimaraes, Braga, or Coimbra. It's a great city to hear Fado, as well - Restaurante Adegio do Douro, on Rua do Ouro around 223 (past the huge white bridge) has good, free Fado Tuesday nights. A glass of wine is 50 cents, you can't go wrong. Meatlovers will dig francesinha, you can get it everywhere, the best is at Cervejeria Diu, R. Boavista 663. Sardinhas and other fish dishes are good at Mercado do Bolhao, which closes pretty early (1 or 2pm). Try vinho verde. Nothing is open on Sundays. Nearby Matosinhos is a great place to learn to surf, as well, except in the summer months when the sea is pretty dead. Classes are 15 euro/class including wetsuit (the Atlantic here will send your balls straight up into your stomach) and board, or you can rent a board/suit for 15 euros/2 hours at Godzilla surf school, among others.

Lodging: Furnished rooms w/ internet can be found for as low as 150 euro/month. Check couchsurfing subgroup for this, craigslist is totally dead. Plenty of hostels for 10 euro/night, decent hotels for around 50 (no experience with either of these).

Day Game Spots: Piolho square & its cafes have a ton of people - this is right by the University, there are always tons of students, faculty, and tourists around. Down by the Ribeira, the riverside, also is a good spot with tons of passers by. If you approach people near the train station you'll look like you're trying to sell hash (note: good place to buy hash).

Nightlife spots: Piolho square actually has an incredible amount of students hanging out and drinking at night, pretty amazing how far it stretches. It's a cool spot - you have your pick of bars/cafes to grab beer at, then go hang out/wander around the squares. The galerias de paris is also a great spot - a short, one block street, with about 20 bars/clubs, if you're watching your wallet you can get draft beer for 1 euro at the little cafe at the beginning of the street and come and go as you please in the bars. Cafe au lait often has good music, and there are often live shows here on Saturday nights, though the bands aren't to my taste. If you walk up Rua de Avis, there are also a bunch of decent bars with tons of people outside by the underpass - look for "Radio", the best of the bunch. All of these areas are a short walk from one another. The Ribeira is also totally packed with bars and people are pretty social there, lots of tourists as well. For upscale nightlife, try the Foz do Douro area (not my scene). Almost all bars downtown close early, 2am on weeknights, 4am on Fri/Sat. A small rock bar that stays open a little later (4 I think on weeknights) with really good music is Pherrugem, on Travessa do Ceidofeita. Same deal applies - tons of people hanging out down the street in front of the 1 euro/beer cafe as well.

Ease of approaching: You'll find plenty of small groups in any of the outdoor places. People are pretty friendly here, and you'll likely get approached on the street by random folks who aren't even panhandlers, just to joke around with you. A good amount of people can speak English, I think, almost everyone can understand decently spoken Spanish unless they are completely trashed, but it's pretty rude to not start at least with some basic portuguese. Boa tarde/boa noite should suffice. Outdoor areas are obviously standing up, real bars are standing up, people sit down in cafe/bars at night. Girls are flaky here, not really a problem though if you close the day you meet. Since the advent of Ryan air, there are also tons of tourists here from all over Europe who are looking to hang out.

Prices: Sim card 10 euro, internet on phone 25 euro/month for 2gb, sms 10 cents/calls 30 cents per minute. Typical cheap lunch or dinner 4 euro, lunch you can find nice meals with soup, wine, a main dish and coffee for that price. Grocery store prices are pretty cheap, as wages are extremely low here and in neighboring Spain since the crisis. Beer/wine is cheap, cocktails are 4 euros or more.

Logistics: Porto itself is easily walkable, though hilly. Everything is very close. For further areas, buses are 1.75 and the pristine, reliable, remarkable metro is 1.40/ride. Don't throw away your metro ticket, you're charged 50 cents for the card and can subsequently refill.

Overall pros and cons: Supposedly, it rains half the year. Otherwise, A+, worth buying a place here. Warning, if you learn to speak Portuguese here, Brazilians will think you're a fucking tool. It's a cool language, though, sounds kindof like a Russian mispronouncing Spanish. Good for jokes and bullshitting, for sure. The portuguese speak in a flat, robotic monotone in other languages, though, I'm not sure why – tonally, they're all over the place in their own. In case you couldn't tell, I'm a language fag.

Final thoughts: I was originally planning to just stay one month, then stay the other two in Lisbon, but it's hard to tear myself away. I'll be back next year, maybe to buy an apartment when we're closer to bottom and the euro falls apart.

Porto,

Can you be a bit more specific? I've been there a lot, but you didn't tell us how long it took you to get some ass after you open these whores. Did you prep the whores prior to going? What bars/clubs did you have the most luck? Did the economic crisis play into your favor when approaching whores? What was your budget? Help the savages out please.

Post: #4

Excellent datasheet on Porto and thanks for using my Data sheet format.

+ 1.

I out a datasheet on Asuncion' Paraguay later this week.

Ps, how many bangs in two months and what is your game level ?

Post: #5

Depends on the area and type of construction. Older places in the center & by the university can run around 1000/sqm, new construction (nicer places) a bit more, 1500 or so. Anything riverfront is a lot more, anything wrecked is a lot less. It seriously feels like half of the buildings are abandoned, so there are deals out there.

(09-21-2011 03:18 PM)iknowexactly Wrote:  What's your guess on how much a small studio apt will be to buy (and is now?)

thx

Post: #6

I have very little game. I was seeing/sleeping with two girls, brought another couple home but decided against.
One girl was a cold approach off the street, just hanging around watching a band. Another was at a couchsurfing event where no one knew anyone. Those two were both tourists here. The two portuguese girls I met through acquaintances, one at a dinner party, one at a bar, so in this case there was some social proof. I didn't get the feeling that is essential here, though.

Pusscrook - not sure what you mean about the crisis. Beer and wine are cheap here, so if you do end up buying rounds, you won't take much of a hit. However, it's not like people are desperate for a ticket out of the country, or looking for foreign sugar daddies - they're European, so if they want to go try to look for work in Germany, or whatever, they'll book a flight on Ryan air for 10 euro...

(09-21-2011 05:28 PM)Neil Skywalker Wrote:  Excellent datasheet on Porto and thanks for using my Data sheet format.

+ 1.

I out a datasheet on Asuncion' Paraguay later this week.

Ps, how many bangs in two months and what is your game level ?

Post: #7

All the girls I slept with or took home, I did so the same night of meeting them. I've never really focused on approaching, it's something I'd like to learn and just am starting to get into now, but the girls I have opened & hung out with were in those specific places I mentioned - Piolho, Galeria de Paris, la Ribeira. My Portuguese is very weak but you can get by with Portinhol - a mix of Spanish & Portuguese, and you could probably get away with English alone, I just have no desire to do so. I speak solid German, a little Russian, Italian, French, etc. so in general I love being in Europe, especially southern Europe, for the mix of languages you can fuck around in.

I'm a low roller, I think I've spent between US$1500-2000 in two months here, that's including renting a furnished room in a shared apartment, going out for lunch most days, buying fresh fish etc. for ceviche, going out and getting completely fucked 3-4 times a week, mostly port, vinho verde, beer, weed, occasional ecstasy, etc. I'm sure you could spend 3-4 times that and be hanging with a totally different crowd in Foz, it's not my scene, though.

(09-21-2011 05:25 PM)Pusscrook Wrote:  Porto,

Can you be a bit more specific? I've been there a lot, but you didn't tell us how long it took you to get some ass after you open these whores. Did you prep the whores prior to going? What bars/clubs did you have the most luck? Did the economic crisis play into your favor when approaching whores? What was your budget? Help the savages out please.

Post: #8

thanks for the sheet man.

Which club has the sluttiest / easiest girls?

Does the city have any strip clubs?

Post: #9

Nice sheet. How easy would it be to communicate for somebody who speaks conversational Brazilian Portuguese? I've heard the Portuguese they speak in Portugal is quite different. How prevalent is English among the younger crowd?

Post: #10

The quality is 7-8?? That's about as good is it gets. Are you sure about that?

Post: #11

(09-21-2011 09:13 PM)gringochileno Wrote:  Nice sheet. How easy would it be to communicate for somebody who speaks conversational Brazilian Portuguese? I've heard the Portuguese they speak in Portugal is quite different. How prevalent is English among the younger crowd?

At first, you're probably not going to understand anyone, or even parse the words. Takes a hot second to get the hang of it, as Brazilian portuguese is comparatively extremely well enunciated - they mash everything together here. However, they'll easily get pretty much everything you're saying, as long as you aren't using heavy slang.

Post: #12

(09-22-2011 03:57 AM)Luckystar Wrote:  The quality is 7-8?? That's about as good is it gets. Are you sure about that?

What warrants a 7-8 rating? Buenos Aires? I've owned a house there for the past 6 years, spent about 20 months there in that time, and in my humble opinion the girls are comparable here. This is the Mediterranean, a land conquered by the enchanted Moura (tho famously repelled by the invincible city itself), not a place to go diving for blondes.

Post: #13

(09-22-2011 03:57 AM)Luckystar Wrote:  The quality is 7-8?? That's about as good is it gets. Are you sure about that?

Looks like I can post links now - these are median girls from couchsurfing.

Post: #14

(09-22-2011 08:49 AM)portofmanteau Wrote:  

(09-21-2011 09:13 PM)gringochileno Wrote:  Nice sheet. How easy would it be to communicate for somebody who speaks conversational Brazilian Portuguese? I've heard the Portuguese they speak in Portugal is quite different. How prevalent is English among the younger crowd?

At first, you're probably not going to understand anyone, or even parse the words. Takes a hot second to get the hang of it, as Brazilian portuguese is comparatively extremely well enunciated - they mash everything together here. However, they'll easily get pretty much everything you're saying, as long as you aren't using heavy slang.

I can imagine. I did it the other way....studied European Portuguese then visited Brazil and they did not totally understand me. It seemed like only 60% of the words are really common to both Euro and Brazilian Portuguese. Once I copped a Brazilian Portuguese book and studied it, I was fine in Brazil.

Post: #15

(09-22-2011 09:33 AM)portofmanteau Wrote:  

(09-22-2011 03:57 AM)Luckystar Wrote:  The quality is 7-8?? That's about as good is it gets. Are you sure about that?

Looks like I can post links now - these are median girls from couchsurfing.

Not bad...I will have to check Porto out sometime. I've always had an affinity for Portugal.

Post: #16

(09-22-2011 11:43 AM)Luckystar Wrote:  Not bad...I will have to check Porto out sometime. I've always had an affinity for Portugal.

Should've put this in the datasheet but... As with pretty much any Mediterranean city, if you want to mingle with locals, do not go in August, maybe not even July.

Post: #17

Nice write up portofmanteau.

"It's a cool language, though, sounds kindof like a Russian mispronouncing Spanish."

Exactly. I have a hard time getting my head wrapped around Portuguese. The general consensus of the forum was Portuguese wimminz was ugly. The pic of the girl w/ the jean jacket is mad sexy. I would break my neck getting across the bar to spit game at her. I will consider Portugal in my future travel plans now. Thanks man!

Post: #18

great datasheet! I was hanging around in Porto for 2 days but felt the good vibe of the best and had quite a good impression of it.
I was there before going to Spain but am returning there for a whole week within a few days.
i plan to explore and party over there, so if anyone is in the area and want to join up feel free to send a PM

Post: #19

I spent quite a bit of time in Portugal before I got into game... its a beautiful place. Great food, weather and friendly people. I hope to go back soon.

Post: #20

(07-20-2015 10:48 PM)RIslander Wrote:  I spent quite a bit of time in Portugal before I got into game... its a beautiful place. Great food, weather and friendly people. I hope to go back soon.

Portugal is a gem in Europe that is overlooked. Costs are cheap by European standards. You won't be blown away by the talent, but there a plenty of cute girls.

Post: #21

Just on my way back from Portugal, I spent a few days in both Lisbon and Lagos in the Algarve. The people were friendly, food was good, weather and scenery were all great, however I didn't see anything over a 7 the whole trip.

Post: #22

Some info on this thread is relevant:

/thread-2081.html

Post: #23

Nice city. The women there are shockingly not good looking.

Post: #24

I always thought Italian girls were the ugliest ones in Europe until I saw Portuguese girls

But as a city, from what I've heard, it's better than most cities in Europe.

Post: #25

A few updates to Porto

Transport
Do NOT travel in the metro without a valid ticket. Porto is by far the city where I've seen the most ticket controls (bunch of guys wearing uniforms get in and start checking everybody).

Food
Expect to spend 10-15 Euros at most places.
If you move there, avoid eating pastry as a meal on a daily basis.
Wine is very cheap. If you don't like wine because you like it a bit sweeter, try vinho verde (sort of a not fully fermented wine tasting somewhere between juice and wine) or Port (quite sweet and strong).


Locals
People tend to be very friendly, if you speak Portuguese I imagine you should be able to make friends relatively easy (which can be important when it comes to meeting girls). People also seem to have a bit of local/northern pride. Slightly seperating themselves from the south (Lisbon, Algarve) when it comes to percieved work ethic, trust worthy etc.
People speak better English than they do in Spain or France.