Any English speaking expats in Macaé or Rio dos Ostras - RJ

There are many english-speaking expats in Macae from the USA (Gulf of Mexico area), from Aberdeen and elsewhere in Europe due to the offshore oil and gas industry. I'm sure you won't have any trouble meeting up with them.

Hi Gene,

At the moment I am still in São Paulo. I will be making the move to Macaé on May 10th.

Although I have visited the city a few times with my wife I really haven't had much time to get to know it well. The downtown area is quite nice. I don't yet know about the ESL market, something I too will be finding out the hard way I guess.

From what I have seen of Rio dos Ostras while passing through it is a beautiful little city. Even with a car I don't know if it would make economic sense to live in RdO and drive into Macaé to give a single class. If you could schedule a couple of classes back-to-back that would help defray the costs and it would probably be ok.

Cheers,
William James Woodward - Brazil Animator, Expat-blog

Hi All,

I am making the move to Macaé in the beginning of June. My wife and our son will be leaving for Macaé tonight and I will be joining them there next month. I am looking forward to making a lot of new friends and starting this new phase in my life. For now I will be focusing on spending more time with my family, getting established there and finding something to work at a few days a week.

Cheers,
William James Woodward - Brazil Animator, Expat-blog

Good luck. I know you will share your experiences and knowledge of the new city with all of us. Many Blessings

Hi All,

Well, I'm now one step closer to going to Macaé. My wife and our son have already been there, at her mother's home, for over a week now.

The mover came yesterday to pick up our furniture in São Paulo and arrived without a helper. So, I had to help him load everything in the truck. After hiking everything down a flight of stairs needless to say my whole body is aching today.

Later today the mover is picking up another load of things for a move to Teófilo Otini - MG which will go at the same time. He will drop that off first and then go to Macaé on the return trip to São Paulo. I will be keeping my fingers crossed that everything arrives in Macaé in one piece.

I will be here in São Paulo for another few weeks because of work then I too am off to Macaé to rejoin my wife and our son. I really miss our daily routine of me and my little man making breakfast together and then the three of us sitting at the breakfast table together, chatting, laughing and generally creating a wonderful start to each day.

Cheers,
William James Woodward - Brazil Animator, Expat-blog

Well, I am glad to say that as of three weeks ago I am finally in Macaé and reunited with my family. The month being separated from them while my wife and son were already in Macaé was unbearable.

We are all settled into a nice little house near her family and a short walk from our church. Hopefully I will be getting back to teaching quickly, a few of my students in São Paulo will be continuing their classes with me via Skype and I am sure that with the update of my website and a new classified placed on another site I will soon be hearing from prospective new students here too.

Since it is my wife's hometown we have already had visits by a few of her friends and the family pops in and out at will. Soon we will have new friends from the neighborhood, church and other sources as well, so I expect that our home will be a very busy place.

I would really like to meet up with other expats living in Macaé, even though I teach English it's nice to have somebody to engage in decent conversations with a foreign point of view to go along with the fluency. If anyone is interested please message me and we can set something up.

Cheers,
William James Woodward - Brazil Animator, Expat-blog

Hi William!

My name is Derek. I'll be leaving to move to Rio das Ostras Dec 27th, 2012. I've been to Macaé a few times but love living in Rio das Ostras. I know exactly what you mean. Even though I speak the language, at times you long for another native to speak with.

I lived there(and taught English) for 3 months during 2010. It was 3 of the best months in my life (even though I broke up with my girlfriend). My current girlfriend and I plan on getting married and staying in Rio das Ostras or perhaps moving to Cabo Frio. It would be nice to meet up and share stories once I arrive.

Take care, Derek

Hi Derek,

That would be terrific, I really feel like the odd man out here in Macaé, hardly know anybody who speaks English other than my students. When you arrive PM me and I will give you my phone number so we can set up a get-together. I don't know if your future wife speaks any English, but my wife (who just turned 27) speaks very little, maybe they could get a friendship going too.

Cheers,
William James Woodward - Brazil Animator, Expat-blog

Hey William,
I'm in Rio das Ostras, the best way to find other expats in the area is : http://www.facebook.com/groups/18868891 … ts&fref=ts They like to do a lot of gatherings and what not. There's a lot of cool things to do in this area. You need to check out Sana and Arrial de cabo(sp?) two very beautiful places. If you go to Sana, be sure to brush up on your Bob Marley music eh?  Boa sorte irmao!

Hi bmxtahoe,

Thanks for the heads up on the expat group on Facebook, I certainly will check it out. Despite the fact that I've been living in Brazil for almost eleven years now I'm new to Macaé. I've been here a few times over the past years since it's my wife's hometown, but the only people I really know here are her family.

Yeah, I'm up to snuff on Bob Marley music so Sana should be right up my alley.

Muito obrigado pelas dicas, abraço meu imrão.
William James Woodward - Brazil Animator, Expat-blog

Hello William, My name is Ivaylo Petrov, I moved to Macae 2 ago after I  married for my Brazilian wife and I understand very well how you feel,I don't have English speaking friends  too  and   I look for new friends as well . I will be happy  if I can get in touch with you. Tell me if you are looking for new friends.

One never can have toooooooo many friends. I'm certainly looking for new friends here.

Cheers,
William James Woodward - Brazil Animator, Expat-blog

I live in Rio Das Ostras. I share the same view with Woodward on being able to have some descent conversation.

Where abouts in Rio das Ostras? I'm in Terra Firme. Where are you from?

If I get a chance to scoot down there one day soon I will get in touch with you via PM or phone you and we can set something up.

I am from Canada. I was born and raised in Hamiton, Ontario which at one time was the steel capital of Canada, but the steel industrie has virtually died in the country. I moved to Vancouver, British Columbia on the west coast when I was twenty-eight and lived there until coming to Brazil on Jan. 10, 2002. This January I will be celebrating the eleventh anniversary of my arrival in this wonderful country.

Cheers,
William James Woodward - Brazil Animator, Expat-blog

Hello all, American here living in Brasil, I'm looking to relocate. I'll be looking into Rio De Ostras. I'm an entrepreneur looking for my next adventure. Any americans that can give some advice?
Thanks

Hi Derek, I see your from Swedsboro. I use to live in Elmer and work in Swedsboro back in the 80s. Small world as they say.

Hi Wayne,


On behalf of the entire Expat-blog Team, welcome on board. I hope you find your experience here on the blog both enjoyable and informative.

As far as advice about Brazil, most important is to remember you need a really good dose of patience here. The bureaucracy is excessive, mindless and everything take forever as a result.

The second most important thing is to learn the Portuguese language as quickly as you can. Despite the fact that it is the 'universal language of commerce' even is business it is not widely spoken here. The average Brazilian speaks two different kinds of English - LITTLE or NONE, so you will need Portuguese just to get along in day-to-day situations.

Cheers,
William James Woodward - Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team

Wiiliam. Hello, I do understand what you say about things moving slow here. Its hard to deal with but when in Rome... I've been coming to Brasil for the past 6 years my 2 sons were born here.

I was in Marcia a few weeks ago. The ocean is very strong there.So it didn't work for my family. Looking for a more calm beach.
.
I don't speak portuguese yet. I get by with help from my wife.

Look forward to talking to you again.
Thanks

Ohh there is an american in Marica his name is Anthony,he's a realtor, lives on the beach at 33rd street look him up he knows every one.

William, I just looked at a map and I see I made a mistake. Your not in Marica. Sorry

Hey Wayne, I live in Rio das Ostras in the Terra Firme area(close to the bowling alley). Its a pretty cool place when its not packed full of tourists lol. My fiance is from Marica. That will be a pretty big change for sure. What kind of business are you looking at starting?

WaynePap wrote:

Hi Derek, I see your from Swedsboro. I use to live in Elmer and work in Swedsboro back in the 80s. Small world as they say.

Hey Wayne!  How funny is that? Most people here in JERSEY never even heard of Swedesboro! lol

My plans to moved to Rio das Ostras got delayed but not forgotten. Even though I'm not coming for Carnaval this year (very unhappy about that), I'll definitely be back next year!

Hello, Thanks for the response We are coming to Rio Das Ostras after Carnival to visit and look around. I was in the restaurant business in the States. I have noticed that the pizza here isn't very good, well compared to what I'm use to.I'm not sure what business I'll be doing. Right now I'm just trying to find a place that we like and see if there is any business opportunity may be available.

How is housing there. Is it expensive?

WaynePap wrote:

Wiiliam. Hello, I do understand what you say about things moving slow here. Its hard to deal with but when in Rome...

Actually that's one of the reasons I'm so anxious to move back there. When i lived in Brazil, one of the best things was the "moving slow" aspect. I got to really just enjoy life without running around like a madman. Here in the states, there's always something that needs to be done. When I was there... ahhh.... just peace 

WaynePap wrote:

Hello, Thanks for the response We are coming to Rio Das Ostras after Carnival to visit and look around. I was in the restaurant business in the States. I have noticed that the pizza here isn't very good, well compared to what I'm use to.I'm not sure what business I'll be doing. Right now I'm just trying to find a place that we like and see if there is any business opportunity may be available.

How is housing there. Is it expensive?

Speaking of always rushing... I have to leave now but will respond further at a later time. I just had to write back b/c you made me laugh out loud with that pizza statement. Yes, the first thing I noticed when I came to Brazil is that a "REAL PIZZA PLACE" would probably do well. I was dying for a slice of a nice NYC pizza when I was there!

In Brazil, they have a million different ways they make pizza with all types of toppings. However a just a plain good slice of pie is impossible to find! ha ha!

Hi Derek, Are you in Swedesboro now? Were you there in the 80s? My company build the cable tv service in that area back in the 80s. I'm sure it has changed a lot.

Do you like the Rio Dos Ostras area?

Your 100% right about the pizza, Just a plain slice is what I look for here and can't find. Keep in touch

Wayne

Hello, Thanks for the response We are coming to Rio Das Ostras after Carnival to visit and look around. I was in the restaurant business in the States. I have noticed that the pizza here isn't very good, well compared to what I'm use to.I'm not sure what business I'll be doing. Right now I'm just trying to find a place that we like and see if there is any business opportunity may be available.

How is housing there. Is it expensive?

Real pizza would be cool. The pizza here is pretty pathetic for sure. I find it odd that all the places just list out all the combos instead of a basic few then giving a list of toppings to customize your own. Throw in some stromboli too. I think the biggest issue would be marketing considering there are already a ton of pizza places here.

Housing... it depends on what area. Look around the relator places and newspapers to get a better idea.

I agree there are plenty of pizzerias here in Brasil. Again finding a good one is very hard. I went to one that people say is the best around Rio. They have 13 around this area. It was very bad I couldn't finish it and my kid didn't even like it.

But as my wife(brasilian) explains that is what brasilians like.

I plan on that when we visit next week. Well, after carnaval

Hi Wayne,

If you are interested in checking out the prices of real estate (either to buy or rent) you should check the following sites:

www.lugarcerto.com.br   or    www.bomnegocio.com

They both will let you search by state/city/neighborhood, you can search rentals or sales by number of bedrooms, price range and a lot of other factors. Almost all of the listings have photos so you can see what you're getting.

Good luck and let me know when you get to R d O, I will try and scoot down there to meet you.

Cheers,
William James Woodward - Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team

PS - Regarding pizza it's almost impossible to find anywhere in Brazil that sells pizza by the slice, except some padarias in major cities like Sampa and Rio.

Thanks William I'll check those sites out and get back to you when we get to town

Wayne

WaynePap wrote:

Hi Derek, Are you in Swedesboro now? Were you there in the 80s? My company build the cable tv service in that area back in the 80s. I'm sure it has changed a lot.

Do you like the Rio Dos Ostras area?

No kidding? I'll have to tell my family. They all live around here (yes, I'm here in Swedesboro now). I lived in North Jersey ever since I graduated college. Moved here to be closer to family before I finally move to Brazil.

My goodness, I LOVE Rio das Ostras!  It's so peaceful there and the fact that the beach is so close is a big plus. I'm actually delaying my return b/c I want to have enough money to open my business there as well. I'm in the health club biz here and want to open a nice one there. I originally planned to be an English Teacher when I was with my ex. Now I may do that "on the side" when I return.

Hey Derek.
I look forward to visiting R D O soon. I'm looking for a laid back place. But of course I'll need to be able to make a living.

When do you plan on returning?

WaynePap wrote:

I agree there are plenty of pizzerias here in Brasil. Again finding a good one is very hard. I went to one that people say is the best around Rio. They have 13 around this area. It was very bad I couldn't finish it and my kid didn't even like it.

But as my wife(brasilian) explains that is what brasilians like.

It's nice to see we all agree on the bad tasting pizza in Brasil (lol). I lived for years in the Ironbound, Newark area ... home to many Brazilians & Portuguese. Even though there's "good" pizza places all around in NJ, in Newark it's the same thing as in Brasil. This place called "Brazilian Pizza" advertises a bunch of different toppings but when you get right down to it... the actual pizza itself isn't very tasty.

First time my ex-wife (Brazilian) said she made good pizza I got excited. After I saw (then tasted)the first piece, my excitement quickly waned :-(

All the pizza I have tasted here doesn't have any sauce. I made Calzones and Strombolis here the other day for my wife's family and they weren't crazy about them. They don't like sauce but they put ketchup on pizza.