Working as an expat in salavador bahia

04/06/23 Hi all, my name is Johns( indian working in middle east). I got a job offer from a company in bahia, brazil with a salary of 3500USD per month , wanted the help of community to know the following before moving in.

Hi, Johns. Congratulations on your job offer. Here are some answers to your questions; I'm sure that other people will be willing to chime in.

1) is it a good salary to live with the family ?

It's quite a good salary. At current exchange rates, that comes out to about R$17,500/month, which puts you in or near the top 1% of Brazilian wage earners.

2) what is the average cost of living for a family of 3 to live in bahia ?

Numbeo's numbers are usually a good starting benchmark for cost of living in Brazil. Here they are for Salvador:

https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/in/Salvador

3) Is bahia a safe place ?

Not very. You'll be earning enough to live in a good neighborhood that's pretty safe, but you'll need to take more precautions and be more alert on the street than you may be used to in your current situation.  Life in Brazil has many compensations, but you do need to be careful.

4) does ppl speak english or I have to learn Portuguese compusolsrily ?

No, Brazil is very much a monolingual country, and you and your family will have to learn Portuguese to live your best life here.  Fortunately, there are many resources available to learn. It would be worth it to your employer to help you with the cost.

5) My son is 9 years old, and I would like to know is there schools which teach English and international curriculum to suit him if we go back after few years.

Someone more familiar with education in Salvador will have to answer this.

6) Anything i need to be specific while asking my company ?

Yes, this sounds like a very good offer -- so good that you want to make sure that it isn't too good to be true.

For a job offer to be legitimate in Brazil, the employer needs to get advance approval from the Brazilian Labor Ministry, and in some cases, from the Ministry of Justice and to give you a contract before you apply for your visa. The employer then needs to provide you with a offer letter including evidence that these requirements have been met that is acceptable to the Brazilian Embassy, and that you can present to the Embassy to request a VITEM V (Work Visa) for yourself, and a VITEM XI (Family Reunion Visa), for each of your dependents.

A legitimate employer will know these requirements, and should have started working on them as soon as you agreed to the offer. On the other hand, if the employer is saying things to you like, "Come to Brazil on a tourist visa, and we'll work it all out when you're here.", this is a lie. It's not permitted to employ a foreigner in Brazil that way, and the offer is almost certainly bogus.

Best of luck to you. I hope that it's all on the level and works out for you and your family, and that you love Brazil.

Hello Johns,

As a disclaimer, I have never been to Bahai.

1) is it a good salary to live with the family ?

Yes most likely.  The bigger questions is, is it a fair salary for your work?  What do you do?

Anyhow $3500USD is about R$17500.  After Brazil income tax you'll have around R$13,000-R$13,500 I'm guessing.

According to Numbeo, a family of 4 needs about R$9,300

https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/in/Salvador

2) what is the average cost of living for a family of 3 to live in bahia ?

This is the best info I can find

https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/in/Salvador

https://youtu.be/PcazGP7ZG6k

You can type "cost of living brazil" into youtube and come up with a lot of results.  The food costs are similar in most places.  Rent costs will vary considerably based on location.

3) Is bahia a safe place ?

I don't have direct experience, but I would say it is not safe, at least relative to much of the middle east. Someone else might have more insight. It also depends on what you're comparing it to.  If you're coming from Afghanistan, then yes, Bahai is very safe.  If your coming from Dubai, then no Bahia is not safe at all...

4) does ppl speak english or I have to learn Portuguese compusolsrily ?

Portuguese is necessary for most people.  I don't speak Portuguese fluently, but I speak enough to get around town.  Having said that, I think almost everyone here will tell you that you need to speak Portuguese.

5) My son is 9 years old, and I would like to know is there schools which teach English and international curriculum to suit him if we go back after few years.

That's going to depend on where in Bahia you're going to live.

6) Anything i need to be specific while asking my company ?

Any time you take a new job, especially one that involves moving, 'yes' there's a lot you need to ask.  It all depends on the circumstances. A few questions which may need to be answered for anyone to comment further would be:

• What do you do?
• What was the offer?
• Are you certain the offer/company is legitimate? (my understanding is that usually Brazilian companies prefer to hire Brazilians, unless you have some specialized skill that is difficult to source domestically)
• Who is covering moving expenses?
• Are they offering customary Brazilian benefits (grocery purchase card, etc)?
• Are they helping with your visa?
• many other questions may come that I'm not thinking of now...

It seems highly suspicious that a company would offer you a salary of that magnitude and not even mention where it ranks nationwide. That information would be quite a recruiting tool. Add to it the fact that Bahia is one of the poorest states in Brazil (21st) makes it even more astounding.

Hi all, my name is Johns( indian working in middle east). I got a job offer from a company in bahia, brazil with a salary of 3500USD per month , wanted the help of community to know the following before moving in.

1) is it a good salary to live with the family ?) What is the average cost of living for a family of 3 to live in Bahia?
    With today's rate of exchange that would be a very good salary, anywhere in Brazil. Your family can live well on that. I budget R$5.000 a month for three people, not including rent as I own my own apartments, and live fine. My condo fee, which I just sat here to pay, is R$225. and the tax on my apartment is R$48, both per month. I own two small rental apartments, one small 1-br in downtown, dowtown SP that rents for R$1.350 + R$275 condo, and no tax, and the other apartment is about 6-hours north of SP, a 2-br, in a GREAT complex, that rents for R$1.200  with an R$225 condo fee and R$50 per month in tax.

3) Is Bahia a safe place?

    Bahia has a reputation as being unsafe with violent crime and having a reputation for scamming in all forms, perhaps more so than other areas in Brazil. I would advise living in a gated community or in a secured apartment or apartment complex. People here are generally shy to use it, but out of nowhere, people will start talking to me today, something that did not happen even five years ago. All of that said, do not expect to be using much English here and do expect t to be learning at least basic survival Portuguese.

4) Do ppl speak English, or (is) have(ing) to learn Portuguese compulsorily?

    I've been coming to and living in Brazil for fifteen years. When I first began traveling to Brazil, almost no one spoke English, anywhere. Today, while I would still call Brazil monolingual, I am in amazement at how many people today are learning English.

5) My son is 9 years old, and I would like to know i(f) there are schools (that) teach English and international curriculum to suit him if we go back after (a) few years.

    I have no kids, but I am a professor, as is my Brazilian wife. English schools are literally EVERYWHERE, but get a personal recommendation on them prior to registering.  I have traveled a lot and love Brazil, Your attitude looking toward your kids' future is wonderful, thank you.

6) Anything i need to be specific while asking my company?

    Yes, a few things. As a foreigner, getting a conventional bank account here is impossible. Be sure you understand how they will be paying you and transferring your funds here. I highly advise making an advance trip here to check everything out, housing car rental, ground transportation, etc. See if they will do that for you

Expecting support to get the feedback .

If I can be of any help, please. just ask

Regards

John's Ullas
-@Johns Ullas

Hi all, my name is Johns( indian working in middle east). I got a job offer from a company in bahia, brazil with a salary of 3500USD per month , wanted the help of community to know the following before moving in.
1) is it a good salary to live with the family ?

2) what is the average cost of living for a family of 3 to live in bahia ?

3) Is bahia a safe place ?

4) does ppl speak english or I have to learn Portuguese compusolsrily ?

5) My son is 9 years old, and I would like to know is there schools which teach English and international curriculum to suit him if we go back after few years.

6) Anything i need to be specific while asking my company ?

Expecting support to get the feedback .

Regards

John's Ullas
-@Johns Ullas

1) is it a good salary to live with the family ?

It's a decent amount for a family in Brazil.  Enough to afford housing, a car, kids in the school. Not outlandish lifestyles, thought.  Middle class, not upper middle class income.

2) what is the average cost of living for a family of 3 to live in bahia ?

IT varies, Family Size

3) Is bahia a safe place ?

Acquaintance of mine who moved to the US begs to differ. He lived in Salvador. 

4) does ppl speak english or I have to learn Portuguese compusolsrily ?

Portuguese

5) My son is 9 years old, and I would like to know is there schools which teach English and international curriculum to suit him if we go back after few years

Not sure on Bahia. Not a huge expat destination.

6) Anything i need to be specific while asking my company ?

Health Insurance, a 3 year contract at least,, Any other perks you can get.