Cost of living in Brazil 2023

  10/21/23  Not sure whether there is thread on this as there should be a lot to say about that...
For expats who are deciding to move, there are several considerations:
Rent vs buy
Expenses
Income and how to treat those
What to keep in reserve for emergencies
And all those depend on location, location, location... as Brazil is huge....
I apologize if those exist,  I just cannot find them.
    -@Pablo888

Excellent question!  The Brazil Guide has some useful information, but it's kept pretty general:

https://www.expat.com/en/guide/south-america/brazil/

For more specific questions, feel free to start a thread on any of the above.

In Brazil it's very simple to figure out costs and comparables to your western style lifestyle etc. Unless you have residence or papers, you will be forced to rent airbnbs at seemingly western prices. However having legality will bring your rent down by 50%. Renting seems to be more favorable than buying at least in Sao Paulo and RIo. This will be your biggest expense. Food surprisingly is close to western prices. This was a shocker for me as it suggests that the majority of the local population can never afford food outside of rice, beans and chicken mind you. Restaurants are very close to western prices in Sao Paulo and Rio mind you, if you want quality food and not fried local garbage that is cheap.In fact Italian food appears to more expensive(especially pizza) than in the USA for example. Yet the locals eat this stuff up like there is no tomorrow. Go figure. Medical and pharmacies are much cheaper in Brazil hands down. Cars cheaper, ubers cheaper. Most important things you'll need for basic house hold items will be MORE expensive. You name it, it will be more.

Now the above is for a lifestyle in Sao Paulo or Rio, however anywhere else in the country and it's likely to be marginally cheaper. I do think it's marginally though, unless it's real estate or rent and in this case it will be substantial.

In conclusion. Brazil is expensive and the shocker here is that it is expensive even with the favorable currency in your favor. Imagine if the currency was strong like it was 10 years ago. 

One huge advantage however will be small tourist places that Brazilians go to during vacations or holidays. These places are unknown by gringos(thank God) and are extremely cheap and under the radar soo much that the prices in these places have remained low and out of reach to the rest of the world. This in my opinion is the true treasures of Brazil that still exist. No I will NOT tell you these places. Why would I do this? Just so you can go and start developing multi million USD properties and then sell them to Gringos and Bam, another Rio. Nope, not gonna happen LOL. Let the secret stay where it is. It's your job to figure what places I'm talking about.

Cheers,

Location is very important in all of this regard

1-we bought......renting, if you plan to live in one place for a long time is not the best option. Property in Brasil is cheap compared to North America. If you have $50-100K in cash you can get a very nice house or apartment literally ANYWHERE.

2-expenses are relative to income and lifestyle. In Rio I can eat a fantastic PF for R$15-20 at any number of places near my apartment in Copa. I can also overpay for fancy restaurant food if I was so inclined, but why ? My wife and I budget $1500 CAD a month  (R$6000) to live very comfortably in Rio.

3-Canada and Brasil have a tax treaty. We have income in both countries. Hire an accountant who deals with expats and knows Brasilian laws.

4-depends on your assets. At a minimum, assuming you will use SUS for health, I'd say have at least R$100K between a couple of banks to start with if you plan to stay for a while and have income.

"If you have $50-100K in cash you can get a very nice house or apartment literally ANYWHERE"

This type of misinformation does no good to anyone. Only places that will be cheap( or the prices you are talking about) are ghetto areas for houses. Apartments maybe you can buy for 100k but it's a questionable area. This is a fact. The real estate market in brazil is quite similar in price compared to western prices in nice areas  and where you can find a good upscale lifestyle. In Brazil you get what you pay for.

If you say so......

10/22/23 My experience tracks Gasparzinho 777's pretty well.  $50-100K (US) certainly won't buy you a 185 sq. m. apartment in a new highrise in Barra da Tijuca with panoramic beach views, but that's not how I read his post.  Especially if you don't demand a lot of space, you can find a comfortable house or apartment in a convenient and relatively safe, though not the wealthiest, neighborhood in most Brazilian cities for that kind of money, or close to it.

As for cost of living in general, we don't live quite as simply as Gasparzinho 777 apparently does -- I don't remember the last time I had a Prato Fixo 😉 -- but we live a very comfortable life for two on 60-70% tops of what it was costing me to maintain a similar lifestyle in the near-in Chicago suburbs in 2017.  Not keeping a car certainly helps, but we don't have one because we haven't needed one up to now.  If that changes, we'll rearrange our expenses to make it happen.

Oh, and fun fact:  Brazil very definitely is part of "the West"!

    "If you have $50-100K in cash you can get a very nice house or apartment literally ANYWHERE"
This type of misinformation does no good to anyone. Only places that will be cheap( or the prices you are talking about) are ghetto areas for houses. Apartments maybe you can buy for 100k but it's a questionable area. This is a fact. The real estate market in brazil is quite similar in price compared to western prices in nice areas  and where you can find a good upscale lifestyle. In Brazil you get what you pay for.
   

    -@expat5000

I do not agree, and can show many houses and apartments very close to, if not on, the beach away from large city centres for under $100k. And none of them are "ghetto areas". Generalising like this is misleading as it takes LOCATION out of the equation and suggests it is the same all over Brazil.

Where I live beachfront 70+sqm 3 bed apartments in low rise buildings can be bought for around $65-85k, but 2 hours away the same location might cost 3 or 4 times this price. Therefore prices quoted must be location specified...

Location is key when it comes to discerning prices. Can you live on ~1000 USD a month? Sure! Will you be willing to live in a place where you can, and live a lifestyle in accordance with that budget? Well, that's the million dollar question. It's certainly doable if you choose somewhere like one of the cities in the interior of São Paulo state.

Rough breakdown of my monthly expenses ( mostly max spend values, I usually spend less apart from fixed expenses like rent and utilities and medical plan )

Condo and condo fee - 1000 BRL ( Water and gas included )

Groceries - 1000 BRL

Transportation - 400 BRL

Electricity - 200 BRL

Fiber Internet - 100 BRL

Entertainment and eating out -1000 BRL

Health ( Unimed ) - 1000 BRL

Are there less things to do? Sure! Are there people who speak English? Few and far between!

Is it safe? You bet! I can walk around virtually everywhere after dark without worrying about getting mugged or worse. Definitely didn't have that luxury when I spent extended stays in Rio or São Paulo proper living out of matchbox sized Airbnbs. It's similar to the US dichotomy of living in a large metropolitan area versus flyover country. To me, the cost of living in Brazil is much cheaper than anywhere else I've lived ( The Caribbean, The US, The EU, Japan ), but that's just my perspective and according to my needs. YMMV depending on what you want or need to have and you'll have to spend accordingly.

@StarkHorizon Well as usual I am the outlier, but i guess someone has to be. We BUILD. My wife has a lot of land in Northeastern Brazil and so far we have built three houses on it, No Mortgage, No Condo Fees etc. We completely own the houses and the property. The biggest expense was electricity, which was over 1,000 Reis last month. (Internet is part of the electricity).

Roddie in Retirement

Roddie.........Let me guess......your electricity goes to the beer fridge and the AC ? Kkkkkkkkkkkkkk

We have two properties at present and are looking for #3.

Our 40 m2 renovated one bedroom apartment in Copacabana is four blocks back from the beach in Posto 4.......and we have a titled underground parking spot, a rarity in Copa. It's one block from a PF batalao and a metro station, right in the middle of the muvuca. I could sell it tomorrow for R$500K simply by telling our doorman.

In Canada  an equivalent apartment downtown in my city is FOUR times that price........FOUR times.

We also have another larger 2 bedroom  apartment in Itaipava, which is a high end resort town 45 min outside of Rio where the rich Carioca's go for weekends......R$500K......we're not rich BTW.

Right now we've got R$500K to spend on a beach apartment in either Buzios or Cabo Frio.......and have been looking extensively.

The average "legoland" quality house in my Canadian city is worth $650K........so, converted over, for R$2-2.5MM what can you buy in Rio and the surrounding area, or any place else ???

Heh........it's mind blowing.........we will have 3 excellent properties for $300K and back home that only gets me a crappy cardboard condo on the outskirts of a city.

@abthree

lol 50k cad gets you nothing short of a horrible living experience in the northeast. Like, some smaller nicer homes may pass for that however your neighbors are going to be absolutely awful.

If your going to live grandoise in the northeast. minimal 300k +++ for entry level living. luxurious has no literal cap on it. rich brazilians go big or go home lol

@Peter Itamaraca

You have left out where you live. Umm wonder why? Look I'm not saying the real estate isn't cheap in the other areas(you probably live in the north or arevery far away from civilization lol. but compared to other cities in the USA and/or Europe You will pay up. I.E RIO and Sao Paulo. Again facts.

@StarkHorizon

Yet another poster NOT mentioning where they live.

1000k a month ?? Where in Gods green earth is this place? A simple condo in pinheiros/Sao Paulo where I was with a brazilian for awahile was 5000k a month and was not luxury but middle class.

    @Peter Itamaraca
You have left out where you live. Umm wonder why? Look I'm not saying the real estate isn't cheap in the other areas(you probably live in the north or arevery far away from civilization lol. but compared to other cities in the USA and/or Europe You will pay up. I.E RIO and Sao Paulo. Again facts.
   

    -@expat5000

Actually I do mention where I live - the island of Itamaracá, about an hour north of Recife airport, and guess what, my name is Peter! You can research more by simply searching Itamaraca Tourism, and you should find all the info there - but please ask if you have any questions or doubts.

I cannot understand why anyone would want to live in a megacity like SP, other than for work purposes, so I wanted to compare like for like. The place I compared Itamaracá prices with was Porto de Galinhas, about an hour south of Recife airport to try and make the property price comparisons as realistic as possible...

    @StarkHorizon
Yet another poster NOT mentioning where they live.

1000k a month ?? Where in Gods green earth is this place? A simple condo in pinheiros/Sao Paulo where I was with a brazilian for awahile was 5000k a month and was not luxury but middle class.
   

    -@expat5000

You do not mention what these prices relate to, so we cannot learn from your comment? Which one: condo fees, groceries, electric, eating out, rent, etc? Also currency please!

    @abthree
lol 50k cad gets you nothing short of a horrible living experience in the northeast. Like, some smaller nicer homes may pass for that however your neighbors are going to be absolutely awful.

If your going to live grandoise in the northeast. minimal 300k +++ for entry level living. luxurious has no literal cap on it. rich brazilians go big or go home lol
   

    -@Mikeflanagan

Are you quoting CAD in both cases? 300k CAD is over 1 million reais, and that would buy you some a very nice detached house on the beach in some cities in NE Brazil, or even 2 or 3 beach apartments - or a combination of both! Certainly not entry level living. If you mean 300k reais, you can still get a nice place...

    @StarkHorizon Well as usual I am the outlier, but i guess someone has to be. We BUILD. My wife has a lot of land in Northeastern Brazil and so far we have built three houses on it, No Mortgage, No Condo Fees etc. We completely own the houses and the property. The biggest expense was electricity, which was over 1,000 Reis last month. (Internet is part of the electricity).
Roddie in Retirement-@roddiesho

Not sure about the outlier comment but I totally expect Brazil to be diverse and interesting in many ways.

I tend to prefer living in a "casainha".  As such, I am always leary of property taxes, house insurance costs, earthquake and fire insurance, and monthly recurring fees (gardening, garbage, recycling etc)...  How do you figure out the expense portion if you decide to go for living in a house that you build / have built for you?

Another question:  are utilities expensive?  If so, what would be build options that will make retirement easier / cheaper?

10/23/23       I tend to prefer living in a "casainha".  As such, I am always leary of property taxes, house insurance costs, earthquake and fire insurance, and monthly recurring fees (gardening, garbage, recycling etc)...  How do you figure out the expense portion if you decide to go for living in a house that you build / have built for you?Another question:  are utilities expensive?  If so, what would be build options that will make retirement easier / cheaper?       -@Pablo888

One of our members has been building a house in the resort town of Búzios, RJ, and has been documenting his challenges and progress here.  You may enjoy taking a look at his thread:

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=884159

Establishing clear title to land in Brazil can be tricky, especially in rural areas:  you'll definitely want competent legal advice.  If you build in a formal development, especially a gated community, performing your due diligence on the developer may be enough.

@abthree Thank you for the thread link.  Very interesting to read and understand the whole process.  It's very logical and I can see a lot of sweat / anxiety equity being poured into the project.  And the anticipation of sweet completion.

Great job.

@Peter Itamaraca

yeah its in CAD, and around here we are without the prison on the island ( Itamaraca ), so because its closer to a hub of trade goods. things get really expensive really fast. even a cursory search on olx can show you a jist of whats going on housing wise. times have changed. tastes have changed. And like I said previously, there is no cap to the basis of the rich in brazil. 1 million reais is nothing for most, I see this alot and its wild in compairson

We looked at Itamaraca at one point, all the locals said to avoid it, so we did!

    We looked at Itamaraca at one point, all the locals said to avoid it, so we did!
   

    -@Mikeflanagan

Yes - it is a still a comment I hear, particularly in Recife, but relates to a time in the late 1980s and early 90s when the prison (minor crimes) was an open establishment, and the prisoners were allowed out during the day. Then they would line the access road at weekends with the wares they had stolen from your house during the week, and sell them back to you!

It was further encouraged by the politicians who had bought all the land in the Porto de Galinhas area, and were trying to encourage the holiday home owners to invest there and leave the island - I have to say with some success....

But that is no longer the case, and I have been living here since 2007, with no problems whatsoever. Where are you?

@Mikeflanagan  " there is no cap to the basis of the rich in brazil. 1 million reais is nothing for most," I keep on Saying this. The Rich in Brazil are absolutely filthy Rich. The Divide is huge and as such they drive up the real estate prices in desirable places. I'm talking about places with excellent shopping, restaurants, infrastructure(to which much of the north lacks) and lastly entertainment. My question for many here, why would you live in a place in Brazil that doesn't offer the above I mentioned? Living next to Rodrigo(made up name to represent my case), the local guy that never wears a proper shirt of shoes or living in an area where your best restaurant is some fried fish with Suco along with a non airconditioned discotech is not my idea of a place I'd want to live. This is why It's Sao Paulo or Rio for me.  Of course I know other classy areas that I will not mention that are very nice beach like settings and are in the state of Sao paulo. Again they are there but very pricey. The North,,, please take no offense is not livable. The infrastructure is lacking.

10/23/23   @Mikeflanagan   I'm talking about places with excellent shopping, restaurants, infrastructure(to which much of the north lacks) and lastly entertainment. My question for many here, why would you live in a place in Brazil that doesn't offer the above I mentioned? ... The North,,, please take no offense is not livable. The infrastructure is lacking.         -@expat5000

I recognize the strong possibility that you're just trolling us, but I'll respond on the possibility that you mean what you say.  In that case, you seem treat your personal tastes as indisputable facts, and have trouble imagining that anyone can see the world a different way.  It sounds like you want your experience of Brazil to be a duplicate of the United States, with some people speaking Portuguese in the background for local color.  Of course Brazil will be equally expensive for you, because you want it to be the US.  After wasting a lot of money that effort is probably doomed to failure, because Brazil is very good at being Brazil -- and pretty lousy at being anything else.  The illusion can be sustained for a while but eventually it's going to fade, no matter how much money you throw away on it.  Foreigners who want to be happy in Brazil for the long term have to find ways to conform themselves to Brazil, because the one inescapable certainty is that Brazil will not conform itself to them.

-

Brazil has 26 states; I'm familiar with 15 of them, and the Federal District.  I've lived in Manaus for the past six years -- the quintessential capital of "The North".  It's true that we have no land connection to the rest of the country; that particular lack of infrastructure is an inconvenience, nothing more.  It's an eminently livable city, in every way that's important to me.  There's plenty to do, as most people would expect in a city of over 2 million, including a year-round program at the world famous Opera House.  We're surrounded by phenomenal natural wonders.  Prior to the pandemic we had direct flights to the US and to Europe; they're coming back, and they lop almost 2000 miles off the trips to the same destinations from Rio or São Paulo, and almost 1000 miles off the trip from Brasília.  The people are nice, the weather is great if you like Summer, as I do.  July was always my favorite month, and in Manaus we have twelve Julys a year, none of them as hot as the hottest July in Chicago where I used to live, none colder than a warm June there, and breezes most of the time; this is a windy city.  We get a lot of rain, but probably no more than Seattle or Portland, and it's usually a warm rain.  My husband's extended family is a pretty typical traditional Brazilian family of the "New Middle Class", although none of them is named Rodrigo.  They couldn't have thought it was a great idea for their Golden Boy to import an older American guy to marry, but they already knew that he was gay, and Brazilians like them are pros at accepting what they can't change.  They've never been anything but warm and welcoming to me.

-

We'll probably be moving soon for my husband's career.  Our favorite states, outside Amazonas (we may end up staying here, which would be fine, too), are Espírito Santo and Sergipe; unfortunately, salaries are too low in Sergipe to make that viable for us right now, but ES is definitely in the running.  We're looking hard at Paraíba and the DF, the latter mostly because of the professional opportunities.  We also like Minas Gerais and Ceará very much, and would go to Santa Catarina for the right job.  We're both familiar with Rio and São Paulo.  With two incomes, we can live anywhere we choose in Brazil, and we don't choose to live in those places.  We like our Brazil straight up, no mixer, no chaser.  Different people, different tastes.

yeah the infrastructure since current electorial items were completed earlier this year are in full force, I do feel super fortunate that the infrastructure here is on point. Power goes out. when it comes back on either a few minutes, or 2 hours is the worst I have personally seen without power, Celpe does get alot of praise here for keeping things working constantly.

I just personally love the enthusiasm when everyone cheers when the power comes back on.

@Abthree your right. the no mixer portion is why me and the wife live where we do lol. days have their ups and downs lol overall 10/10 would do again

@Abthree @Mikeflanagan I agree with both of you 100%.

It is horses for course, isn't it? I understand @expat500 has a propensity for mega city living and demeaning those that do not, but not all of us necessarily need this on our doorstep.

I can drive a realtively short distance (ie much, much closer than SP is to a beach), to everything - if I cannot find it on my doorstep.

Meantime, at the bottom of my garden, past the pool, there is just sand and sea...

A quick comment. i live in Ilhéus,  Bahia. The electricity is  reliable. Temperatures range from 65 to 85 F. I currently live in a small apartment building that is 50 meters from the beach. Every room in my apartment has an ocean view, which is unusual. I don't have air conditioning. I can walk to many stores and restaurants and bars. I watch sunsets on the bay. I can walk to the airport (IOS) in 7 minutes. There are direct flights to Sao Paulo and a few other cities from there. I haven't owned a car in ten years. Amazon and MercadoLivre deliver whatever I can't buy locally. I saw a FedEx truck here for the first time last week. I’ve thought about moving to a big city, but I’m still in Ilhéus.

@abthree

Hey don't get your feelings hurt here. I've done alot of research on Brazil and most places in Brazil just don't cut it for me long term. Again my preference. Yes I do want the standard of living that I get in the USA in Brazil. That is not a crime to want this, as it's the best way to live for me. My middle class Sao Pualo girlfirend agrees 100% with everything I say and shares the same feelings on lifestyle in regards to location and place in Brazil. In fact ALL of her family and friends(that are all from Sao Paulo} want a better lifestyle and strive for this. this is why they stay in Sao Paulo state or more south if they could. Rio is another option too.  This is not only me talking. I must stress this. However you are correct about one particular thing and I quote you  " Foreigners who want to be happy in Brazil for the long term have to find ways to conform themselves to Brazil, because the one inescapable certainty is that Brazil will not conform itself to them" This is very true from my experience and I had to learn this this hard way while living there.  Sounds like most gringos  have found that happy balance here. To my surprise they are ok with living in 3rd world conditions. Each his own. No problem. For me though, Brazil is still very expensive if you want a USA/Europe comparable to which I desire.  This was my entire argument from the very beginning.For me it comes down to this. Brazil is one amazing place but could be better imho. Again my point of view.

    @StarkHorizonYet another poster NOT mentioning where they live.1000k a month ?? Where in Gods green earth is this place? A simple condo in pinheiros/Sao Paulo where I was with a brazilian for awahile was 5000k a month and was not luxury but middle class.         -@expat5000

I live in Marília, in the interior of São Paulo in a very quiet residential development. The divide between the prices in Greater São Paulo and the interior cities is indeed, worlds apart. I wouldn't say infrastructure or shopping is lacking, for anything else that's not available locally, it's Mercado Livre or Amazon. Usually get anything in under a week, usually in a day or two with Prime. Good restaurants too. Uber is cheap. Buses are cheap. Haven't needed a car for anything. Groceries are delivered right to my condo door. I've lived in many places around the world and in semi-retirement, the slow life is hard to beat.

Hey Expat5000,

You mention that "My middle class Sao Pualo girlfirend agrees 100% with everything I say . . ."

What do your other girlfriends say?

@alan279 Oh, sounds like the perfect good life.... Is good health care convenient and accessible where you are?  If it is, I totally understand not needing anything else for a quiet life of retirement....

@Pablo888 There’s a new local hospital in Ilhéus. Fortunately I haven’t been there. I’ve heard favorable comments on the local healthcare. Survival bias, perhaps? Other people have doctors in Sao Paulo. My personal physician lives a block away. I mostly see him for coffee. My chiropractor friend tells me that I’m in pretty good shape for an old guy. Sorry, I’m not much help.

@StarkHorizon Yeah, it’s a slow life for me in Ilhéus, too. But it’s cheap. My friends and I look for cheap flights to get away from the slow life, to maintain some semblance of sanity.

@alan279 I guess that one is as old as one thinks he / she is.  Low stress life associated with easy access to anything that you need at a lower price point - this is  much better than retiring in any state in the US or even in Canada.  Loving the whole concept more and more.

Adding a thread from 2022 that had more details about taxes etc...  All very useful information for someone who is just starting my Brazil trek.

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=1012004

@StarkHorizon

Let me get this straight. You live in the interior, you get almost everything delivered to you via mercedo libre or Amazon including groceries. Do you ever leave your place? What is the point of living in Brazil if you don't experience the day to day interactions with the locals, walking etc. Must be a reason why you don't.

This may be my point from the get go on places outside Sao Paulo or Rio. Just to live Cheap, you are sacrificing the human experience day in and day out by getting things delivered mostly and it appears you stay inside alot. Correct me if I'm wrong but this is the exact thing that I saw outside of Sao Paulo and Rio. Small towns with nothing to do or offer except a cheap living. Maybe I'm the odd one here but this is very sad to hear and even imagine living in. Brazil is NOT meant to be inside and getting things delivered. Even when I was in Sao Paulo I avoided Amazon etc and actually searched throughout the city for the item I was wanting{very hard mind you}. It was the experience, the craziness, the sights, the smells and of course the people and food that made it worth it. This is why I concluded that seeing these things, required a high budget and an acceptance that the prices are no different than the USA or Europe, if you want this level of experience. The level of lifestyle that has much to offer. This you can not get in cheap areas. This I found out.

10/25/23    @StarkHorizon
Correct me if I'm wrong but this is the exact thing that I saw outside of Sao Paulo and Rio. Small towns with nothing to do or offer except a cheap living. Maybe I'm the odd one here but this is very sad to hear and even imagine living in.     

    -@expat5000

Yeah, you're wrong, and very much the "odd one here" compared to the median expat in Brazil, who's jumped into the culture with both feet and relishes the differences and the surprises.  I hope that you'll enjoy your stay, but I'll be very much surprised if you end up being a lifer with that attitude.

@expat5000 - there is a saying that goes "engage brain before putting mouth into gear".

StarkHorizon did not say that he stays in all the time, and has everything delivered to his door. He said that infrastructure and shopping where he lives is NOT lacking - but he can always fall back on Mercado Livre or Amazon if he needs something out of the ordinary. Like all of us do from time to time.

If your existence is the same price as city living in the US or Europe, that would suggest to me that you either have extremely expensive tastes in Brazil (maybe it costs you a lot for your girlfriend - I know of others who are happy with this), or you really have been in some bad cities outside of Brazil...!

There are numerous other cities in Brazil with lots to offer - as well as a cheaper cost of living compared to the US or Europe. Maybe you are blinkered in your opinion and simply think that you have found your nirvana - in which case, good luck to you.

But your experiences and opinions, I would suggest, are totally atypical for everyone else.

Mea culpa for starting that thread.

I appreciate the feedback from @expat5000 because he / she represents the upper end of the cost factor - for good personal reasons. 

What I also appreciate with all the other contributors is that they have different experiences associated with the country.

My takeaway is that Brazil is very diverse and one can easily find and like a place where one can feel comfortable.

I, for one, have benefited and enjoyed tremendously from your experience of Brazil so far.

Thank you all for your feedback so far.  Keep more coming, if possible.