Hurricane in Bahia

@alan279 I cannot really speak for what a woman would feel but I do occasionally watch rom-com movies (yes - guilty as charged).  From what I can gather from the movies is that a romantic relationship makes a woman really feel good esp. when everything around her is less than perfect.

IMHO, you must also be a good catch for a woman to want to latch on to you - although in this case, she was a piranha.  You probably have not found the right woman or the right woman has not found you yet.

All this is good life experience and good stories to tell....

@Pablo888 I ain’t lookin’ for a woman. Women seem to bump into me and think he’s not too dumb, but he’s not that smart.

Brazilians tend to believe that anyone from the USA is rich. In many ways (by comparison) they are correct.

That is what my first Brazilian wife told me when we were divorcing.

The best aphrodisiac in Brazil? An American passport...

She suggested getting married so quickly? That's a major red flag ❗- I wouldn't even consider discussing the idea.

    Brazilians tend to believe that anyone from the USA is rich. In many ways (by comparison) they are correct.
   

    -@KenAquarius

if you think about it from the perspective of a poor Brazilian, anyone who can afford to spend thousands of dollars on a vacation, IS rich. 

@Kurterino l try to educate my friends and family there that all is not as rosy at it seems here in the USA. l just read that the average American credit card debt is between $6,000-$8,000.  Additionally the average car loan is about $6,000. underwater. Then there are student loans,  personal loans, and on and on. Credit is just too easy and many people hang themselves

@martinsan You’re not as old as me, I’d guess.  😀

@alan279 That meager pension could be sizable for a poor Brazilian when you take into account the exchange rate.

    @Kurterino l try to educate my friends and family there that all is not as rosy at it seems here in the USA. l just read that the average American credit card debt is between $6,000-$8,000.  Additionally the average car loan is about $6,000. underwater. Then there are student loans,  personal loans, and on and on. Credit is just too easy and many people hang themselves
   

    -@KenAquarius

The average disposable income is over $40K/ yr.  However, in the US, people spend excessively and sometimes go overboard (Ken's point) and are effectively in debt. 

On average, the cautious American has squirreled enough money to have a comfortable retirement.  Now, what is a comfortable retirement?  Since I live in California, I know that I will never be able to retire there - way too expensive.  Hence the decision to retire in Brazil to stretch the existing retirement funds.

Financially, it is easier to see that an expat with an existing retirement plan is a better safety net rather than someone local who may have an even a more meager retirement plan.

Of course, there are other benefits to an expat gringo - like a passport (peter_itamaraca's point).

Since things are not solely financial or immigration related, I asked my wife who is not from my birth country why she chose me and not someone from her own country - and she was quick to say that she would not need to stay with my parents / relatives as she would most likely be somewhere else - which is exactly what happened.

@alan279 Well, we only know you by EXPAT.COM, but you do seem charming enough.

At least she did leave you with one good piece of advice. "Watch Your Spending". I "live" off of $1,394 dollars of SS each month. After building my house and buying an almost new car for the family in cash I have a monthly list of spending and try not to go below the SS # and touch my Nest Egg.

Roddie in Retirement

    @martinsan You’re not as old as me, I’d guess.  😀
   

    -@alan279

If you are a hit with women even when you are not looking for them, I am sure that age is not the impediment here...  You must have some undefinable qualities that make you stand out of the crowd. ;-)

What do I know?

@alan279 The funny thing is that this was the journey my wife and I went on, save the drinks. We both lived in the USA and I visited a Brazilian Church in MD. and during announcements I stood up and said my 2nd. mother was Brazilian from Niteroi. I guess having a Porsche 944 and working at one of the big radio stations in town didn´t hurt either.  Basically she was in line during Coffee Hour and she promised to teach me Portuguese,  I gave her my business card, she called me for a long conversation. Our first date was on Halloween of that year at the Churrascaria on the first floor of a commercial building with a group of top radio stations I would later work for.

We kinda knew early on and then it was just process.

(fyi, The Immigration part happened because she moved to the USA working for Brazilian Diplomats, so when I met her all that was already being done. The funny thing is that I met my loyal Begal, Simba the same way. He came up with Brazilian Diplomats, my wife took care of him while the Diplomats looked for a house. The Diplomat's neighbors did not want him in the neighborhood, I did and almost 10 years later the rest is history).

The interesting thing is now she is pretty rich with a lot of property with three houses on them and lots for more. Her Sorvette Shop was named the best in our area and tonite she is hosting a Baby Shower on her property.

Me, I am watching the Lions play the Cowboys while I twiddle my thumbs waiting for my Permanent Residency Visa by Spouse get approved.

You never know you may luck out next time.

Roddie in Retirement

@roddiesho I can live in Ilhéus on $1,000 a month. A simple life. No travel. No new iPhone every year. Not a lot of octopus. No expensive girlfriend.

@Pablo888 My ex-wives have told me that I have no redeeming qualities. 🙁

@roddiesho Maybe I was lucky that she left after two months? 🤔

@alan279   LOVE is indeed a 4 letter word. 😂😂

@alan279 WoW, I'm impressed. Either they Love You or Hate You, that's hard to pull off.

Roddie in Retirement

    @Pablo888 My ex-wives have told me that I have no redeeming qualities. 🙁
    -@alan279

My story is even more boring than Roddie's.  I met my first girlfriend in college and we married after graduation.  I was the nerd type and far from the athletic and popular friend of mine.

In the Monopoly of Life, I have gone past Go only once and I have not had the discussion that you had...

You have the benefit of experience.  May be you should write a book....

Happy New Year!

I read a murder mystery yesterday. There were two crazy killers that weren’t introduced until the very end of the novel. There was no way to figure out whodunnit. A rather unsatisfying read.

But it jogged a memory.

WhatsApp, October 2

Alan: Hey, Fred, My beautiful neighbor wants to spend more time with me. She’s not some crazy person, is she? Why would she be interested in an old man like me?

Fred: For American citizenship.

Alan: She has a business and property and family here, and doesn’t speak English. And I have no money.

I almost married the woman. I’m thinking my first instinct was pretty good. Then the hurricane hit me. 😵‍💫

Today’s episode of ”As the Baiana Whirls”.

She arrives in front of her construction project across the street from me just before dawn with a girlfriend. They unload tables and chairs into the enclosed but unfinished ground floor..

Then her family arrive. They look at the ocean for five minutes and leave. I wonder what she told them about losing her husband before the wedding. And then  I wonder if it was a family conspiracy, as in the novel I just read. 🤔

    @alan279 That meager pension could be sizable for a poor Brazilian when you take into account the exchange rate.
   

    -@john8670

She isn’t poor.

@alan279 Is my signature on a loan document of any value in Brazil? I have essentially no assets and a meager pension.

Could a Black Widow marry me, obtain a life insurance policy on me and then kill me for the insurance proceeds?

I wonder the same. In case of an expat without assets, pension or anything under Brazilian jurisdictions, how easy would it be for the partner to have access to it after divorce?

I was told, in Brazil, there isn't much social weight attached to saying someone is your "namorado" or "namorada". That these terms are taken quite lightly, and the relationship might not be seen as "serious". Not sure what is the norm here, but taking into account of such commitment, better to play it safe. Things can go crazy really quickly.

@roddiesho 😲🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥... I'm loving the history from your life

@alan279 I want to hear more episodes 😮😮🥲... Thanks for sharing your experiences,  I'm learning much....My brother has had troublesome experiences, for example his new Brazilian girlfriend calling his child's mother saying "I'm pregnant with his baby,  he doesn't want to be with you"..... And then goes to hide his passport😵‍💫

Oh, no, she is going to the police! An Uber driver asked her if she had stolen money from an old man. 🤔

@alan279 Coincidentally, a week ago an Uber driver asked me if I was the husband of the fisherwoman. I told him she left with my money. 

@martinsan I was legally married to a Brazilian woman some years ago. Two lawyers told her that I had no assets or income in Brazil and advised her to go back to the US and file for divorce there.

01/01/24       @martinsan You’re not as old as me, I’d guess.  😀        -@alan279If you are a hit with women even when you are not looking for them, I am sure that age is not the impediment here...  You must have some undefinable qualities that make you stand out of the crowd. ;-)What do I know?        -@Pablo888

Age IS much less an impediment for single women (and single gay men, too) here than it is in the US.  But that probably goes for a lot of parts of the world.  The youth obsession in the US is extreme, and seems to keep getting worse all the time.

Age IS much less an impediment for single women (and single gay men, too) here than it is in the US.  But that probably goes for a lot of parts of the world.  The youth obsession in the US is extreme, and seems to keep getting worse all the time.
   

    -@abthree

My seventh wife was 32 years younger than me. We didn’t experience any discrimination in the US. That was 15+ years ago.

@alan279

7th wife? Are you a glutton for punishment...?!!

    01/02/24 Age IS much less an impediment for single women (and single gay men, too) here than it is in the US.  But that probably goes for a lot of parts of the world.  The youth obsession in the US is extreme, and seems to keep getting worse all the time.        -@abthree

My seventh wife was 32 years younger than me. We didn’t experience any discrimination in the US. That was 15+ years ago.
   

    -@alan279

You beat Henry VIII by one.  How are you doing on body count?

My seventh wife ....
    -@alan279

One way to explain your financial condition mathematically to any potential 8th wife is that she will get at maximum (1/2) power of 8 which is 1/256 of the original amount.

Just as an illustration, if you originally had $1000, the 8th wife will get at best $3.90.

I know that this model is very simplistic but numbers have a way of bringing reality back into focus.

Re: your friend in his dream house - is he aiming to become the new Hugh Hefner?  I believe that original Hugh started with a nice house, young bananas, and publication too.

    @Pablo888 I ain’t lookin’ for a woman. Women seem to bump into me and think he’s not too dumb, but he’s not that smart.
   

    -@alan279

Don't sell yourself short.  Your thumbnail looks good.

Besides, hell bent to marriage women in the Northeast part of the country dig fairy skinned dudes.   They associate them with good prospect and good genes.,   

Besides, you wander around, all by yourself, you are bound to get attention. They see you as a stray dog, with stable income, you are fair game.. And I bet you don't mind the extra attention.  As for me, I am curt, I can send them in their way in a heartbeat.

Out in the South, you would not draw that much attention. Fairy skinned dudes are aplenty. 

And Northeastern types are often horny as dogs.  Women can't keep them on the leach.  And by the way, they are stereotypically horney too.

    @alan279
7th wife? Are you a glutton for punishment...?!!
   

    -@Peter Itamaraca

Seventh wife by her count.

        01/02/24 Age IS much less an impediment for single women (and single gay men, too) here than it is in the US.  But that probably goes for a lot of parts of the world.  The youth obsession in the US is extreme, and seems to keep getting worse all the time.        -@abthreeMy seventh wife was 32 years younger than me. We didn’t experience any discrimination in the US. That was 15+ years ago.        -@alan279

You beat Henry VIII by one.  How are you doing on body count?
   

    -@abthree

I’m still standing.

        @Pablo888 I ain’t lookin’ for a woman. Women seem to bump into me and think he’s not too dumb, but he’s not that smart.         -@alan279

Don't sell yourself short.  Your thumbnail looks good.

Besides, hell bent to marriage women in the Northeast part of the country dig fairy skinned dudes.   They associate them with good prospect and good genes.,   

Besides, you wander around, all by yourself, you are bound to get attention. They see you as a stray dog, with stable income, you are fair game.. And I bet you don't mind the extra attention.  As for me, I am curt, I can send them in their way in a heartbeat.

Out in the South, you would not draw that much attention. Fairy skinned dudes are aplenty. 

And Northeastern types are often horny as dogs.  Women can't keep them on the leach.  And by the way, they are stereotypically horney too.
   

    -@sprealestatebroker

I’ve lived alone for years. Women would ask if I was married. I told them that I have seven ex-wives and don’t want another.