LISBON LIVING
Assignment written for The London School of Journalism
Photo credit to Devonne Coll
Here I am, a fresh-faced freelancer who has finally worked up the courage to quit my job and go it alone. But I don’t want to go it alone in my flat in London, where’s the fun in that? The whole world is my oyster, and yet it seems like my oyster should be Lisbon. Countless freelancers have been raving about it: the thriving digital nomad scene, the constant sunshine, and a culture engrained with history and art. Sounding too good to be true, I thought I’d better see what the hype is about and spend a couple of weeks working there. If all else fails, at least I can eat my bodyweight in pastel de nata?
And that’s how I found myself sitting outside my Airbnb in Lisbon, laptop propped on a suitcase, narrowly avoiding a passing tram, whilst taking a client video call. “Desculpe!” I hear later, as the property owner rushes towards me with the key I needed an hour ago. But on entering my new home, and throwing open the windows overlooking Praca do Comercio, all is forgiven. Bathed in deliciously golden July sunshine, the square is buzzing. With people enjoying the restaurants, to skaters gliding across the black and white cobbles, to people catching up along the glittering nearby river. With such a beautiful setting, it seems incomprehensible that the rent is half the amount of my London studio flat.
I quickly head to meet friends in Bairro Alto, a bustling neighbourhood of bars and restaurants. We comb the snaking streets for beers, local liqueur ginjinha and plates of Petiscos and end up in a cavernous bar listening to a haunting Fado singer, lulling us away. I’m already starting to understand the appeal of this city.
After a few days working from home, I decide to find a coworking spot. I’ve been recommended to try ‘Dear Breakfast’, notorious for strong coffee and even stronger wifi. I set off confidently on foot, forgetting this is the ‘city of seven hills.’ After an hour of hiking up cobbled streets, I slump into the cafe, sweating profusely. I can’t deny the atmosphere and diverse crowd is unlike anywhere I’ve seen before, quickly making friends with a Costa Rican yoga instructor and a German tech founder. As if the hills weren’t difficult enough to walk up, walking down them in the torrential rain spelled a recipe for disaster. After falling, I succumb to jumping into a Tuk Tuk for the journey home. As it bombs downhill I hold on for dear life, fearing Lisbon has got the better of me today.
Giving myself a day off to recover, I join a walking tour. Though still fearing the hills, I’m happily distracted by the beauty of the city. From ceramic tiled buildings, to Gothic influenced architecture, to numerous lookout points across the myriad of irregularly shaped terracotta roofs. Despite spending the day tasting pastel de natas from every bakery in the city, we have dinner at a local favourite restaurant, Ponto Final. Surviving a gruelling two hour wait to be seated, we are treated to fresh codfish, sardines, and seafood, washed down with Portuguese wine, whilst admiring the sunset over the River Tagus.
As my time in Lisbon draws to an end, I feel as though the city has welcomed me with open arms. The ease of working here as a freelancer, alongside the (mostly) great weather, abundance of creativity and of course the friendliness of the locals, has sparked a level of joy and inspiration in me. Lisbon, I will be back imminently, albeit it with better walking shoes!