Locallista: Finding Your People in a New City

An honest guide, from one expat to another

I moved to Portugal in March.

Like many people who arrive in a new country full of excitement, I quickly realized that one of the hardest parts was the everyday life stuff.

A reliable accountant for everyday finances
A technician I could rely on when something broke
A healthcare professional I felt comfortable talking to

Back home, these things were easy. You asked a friend, trusted their experience, and moved on. Here, every recommendation felt partial, uncertain, or outdated. One person’s “amazing” turned out to be another person’s headache.

That’s around the time I discovered Locallista.

Not through an ad.
Through people who were quietly using it and trusting it.

So, what is Locallista?

Locallista is a curated platform built for expats, designed to answer one simple but crucial question:

“Who can I trust here?”

It brings together local service providers such as accountants, relocation consultants, cleaners, technicians, teachers, designers, wellness professionals, and many more, and lists them only if they meet a high standard of quality.

What makes it different is not the number of services, though there are over 100 categories, but the way trust is built:

• Every provider is reviewed by real expats

• Reviews are mandatory, detailed, and published, good or bad

• Only professionals with a score of 8.5 or higher stay on the platform

• Visibility cannot be bought; ranking is purely performance-based

It feels less like a directory, and more like a shared notebook of hard-earned knowledge.

👉 Join Locallista

How it works, in practice

As a user, Locallista is refreshingly simple.

You sign up, search for the type of service you need, and read through real experiences from people like you, people navigating the same cultural and logistical challenges.

When you reach out to a provider, you speak to them directly. There’s no middle layer, no awkward mediation. And if you decide to work with them, there’s only one expectation afterwards:
you leave feedback.

That part is non-negotiable.
And honestly, that’s why the system works.

Locallista is free to use, but it asks for something more valuable than money: your experience. The moment users stop contributing, the platform stops being reliable. So participation isn’t optional. It’s the foundation.

Why businesses take it seriously

From the outside, Locallista might look selective. And it is.

Businesses can’t simply sign up and appear. There are limited spots per category, verified references, and a clear quality threshold. If standards drop, visibility drops or disappears entirely.

There’s no advertising, no “featured” placements, no shortcuts. Every provider in the same category plays by the same rules, with the same commission structure, paid only after they’ve been paid by the client.

It creates something rare:
a space where good work speaks louder than marketing.

Why I chose to become a Locallista Ambassador

I didn’t start using Locallista because I wanted to recommend it.
I started recommending it because I was already using it.

Over time, I noticed something subtle but important: I stopped feeling hesitant. I stopped second-guessing choices that should be simple. The mental load of “Will this work out?” got lighter.

That’s why I became a Locallista Ambassador in Lisbon, to share a tool that genuinely made my life easier as an expat.

If you’re new to Portugal, or even if you’ve been here a while but are tired of trial-and-error, this might help you too.

If you’d like to explore Locallista

You can join using my referral link below and see whether it fits your way of living here.

Até mais!