Lisbon : Karaoke, comedy and competitions.

Life in Lisbon is loud. And busy. There’s no escaping the constant stream of people. In all this time, I’ve only been late to work once - and it wasn’t even my fault; the metro went on strike.

The city is bursting with life. If your budget allows, there’s literally something to do every single night. I’ve been living here for a few months now, yet I’m still discovering new corners and neighborhoods. One weekend I went to the beach in Sesimbra - it’s over an hour away, but absolutely worth it. No jellyfish, unlike Carcavelos Beach. I’ve also been to Comedy Night twice, an event organized by my company. Admission is free for employees, and we even get two drink vouchers - more than enough for a good night out. The best part? It takes place on my very own street.

During my first six weeks in Lisbon, I hardly went out at all. Occasionally I’d have a quiet drink with colleagues after work, but that was about it. That changed when I got invited to a free dance class at a local bar. It turned out they also hosted karaoke every Saturday after the lesson, followed by a DJ. Since discovering that place - where something fun happens almost every night, from live music to DJ sets - I’ve been going there regularly. Karaoke nights are always a highlight: no matter what song you sing, there’s always applause. And it’s nice to keep seeing the same familiar faces.

Then there was my plan to finally see a football match. There’s a stadium right next to my office, beside the metro station. In September, a Belgian colleague and I went to attend a Champions League game between Sporting Lisbon and Kairat Almaty. We had seats high up in the corner with a great view. Sporting won 4–1 so we got plenty of action.

About a month later, I decided to organize a night out to watch Portugal vs. Hungary, a 2026 World Cup qualifier. In the end, there were nine of us - but organizing it was chaos. At first, everything went smoothly: everyone paid on time and I had all the tickets printed. But on the day itself, two people dropped out and had to resell their tickets. Their replacements wanted digital versions, came separately, and arrived later… In the end, we went in three different groups. Two of them ran into each other, but I was still a bit disappointed that the plan changed so last-minute. Lesson learned: next time, I’ll organize something like that for a maximum of four people I can really count on.

The match itself was amazing. We sat behind one of the goals with another great view. Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice, and Roberto Martínez - one of my favorite coaches - was there, of course. Hungary scored first, right in front of us, which stung a bit. Then Ronaldo answered with two beautiful goals on the other side. After halftime, we were hoping for another one on our end, but it never came. When João Félix came on, I was sure it would end 3–1, but it stayed tense until the very end. The final score was 2–2, still a fantastic experience, and all for just €44.

Between all those outings, of course, there’s work. For five weeks straight I worked 42 hours a week, but in October I get to take things a bit easier. In September I spent three nights down south, and another five in October - I had to visit my boyfriend, of course. He’s got other plans now and doesn’t want to stay in Portugal much longer. He even asked if I’d move with him - but he wants to go somewhere cold, and I really can’t stand the cold, or the rain.

For now, my life is here, in Lisbon. Of course, everything can change at any moment - it’s happened before. But that’s life. You can’t plan it, and that’s exactly why you have to make the most of every moment, and remind the people you love that you love them. Photo: me and my colleague Patrick during Portugal - Hungary, October 14th 2025