Living here as a resident versus being a tourist
I have been coming here as a tourist since 2000. I obtained permanent residency (RNE) thru marriage back in June 2017, and have physically moved here since September 1st of this year. I'm sitting on my balcony having my second coffee of the morning, it's already 27 degrees 😁 and I am listening to the birds talk to each other, as the city starts to wake up.
Over the last 24 years I have flown here 65 times, and stayed for 2 weeks to 2 months during each trip. Now that I don't have a return ticket in my app, I wanted to reflect on how things are different. So, in a rambling nonsensical order, here are the observations I have made on the differences of being a resident versus a tourist.
-I don't even care what time it is or what day it is and find myself having to check my phone to find out. I have no schedule, nor do I want one. Brasilians are on what I call "island time mon" and I wouldn't want it any other way to be honest. Sure, there are appointments occasionally to be kept, but, the majority of my week is totally unstructured. I am relaxed like I have never been before. On the first couple of years of vacations there was always things to do, lists to be crossed off, etc, now that is gone forever, and I love it.
-Now that I am fixed in my location, I've slowly formed a community of people around me that, as a tourist, you don't require nor care about. This enhances the experience of being here, and being a part of something. Walking down the street in Copa or Petropolis and meeting your barber, lawyer, the sindico from your condo, etc, and deciding to stop for a cafezinho at a table on the sidewalk and chat about the weeks events totally spontaneously for example.
-The social fabric of your location is rich and complex beyond your wildest dreams once you get to know people and you speak the language. I've gone to more places and done more things merely by being on the ground in the right place at the right time to learn about an event, for example. Things that a tourist would totally be oblivious to, or outright afraid to attend for any number of reasons. Just striking up a conversation with someone at the next table in a cafe can last for an hour and be revealing.
-The cost of living as a resident is dirt cheap compared to North America, Europe, or some places in Asia IMHO. I've been to 50 countries, so, my wallet is talking. Thing is, as a "morador" you slowly realise that you don't need a lot to exist here at a very comfortable level, realistically speaking. Tourists need to go and spend money to feel happy. So, no matter your personal financial situation, your individual satisfaction as a resident is quite high with very few physical or personal needs IMHO. If I am bored I just go for a walk of 10-15,000 steps on the beach, spend R$7 on an ice cold coconut and be thoroughly entertained for 2-3 hours as well as stay healthy.
-I don't care what I look like. I dress down like an ordinary Brasilian walking to the beach or to the favela. Tourists wear costume jewellery, watches, nice clothes, shoes, etc, in most cases. I wear a t-shirt, surf shorts, and flip flops 75% of the time and usually don't shave until the growth of my stubble is annoying me when I sleep. I don't care what anyone thinks of me, because we all sort of look the same. People here are less concerned with what you are, rather than who you are. As a resident speaking the language and looking like a local you disappear from the radar screen. Street hawkers and vendors ignore me.
I'll add more as I think of them.
By comparison an ice cold coconut sets me back about half that price, so there are even less expensive places to live in Brazil than Rio...
@kolyaS122HSU has "gone native" and, frankly, it's the only and best way to truly appreciate Brazil.
MattB in PB
@kolyaS122HSU, thank you for the words of encouragement for people who are just embarking on the journey....
Could someone also describe how the experience could be like if a younger person - say a millennial or gen-z - were to move to Brazil?
Brazil has so much potential that if you have a generation of well educated young expats turning residents, the country would get so much benefit. Or that's my thought right now - but I could be wrong.
@Peter Itamaraca
I remember R$3 coconuts on the beach in Copa........back in 2005 KKKKKKKKK
Just for context on my comments, I'm not retired, I just don't have commitments like a job to deal with. I'd imagine as things progress I could find myself without as much time, we'll see.
@Pablo888
Does Brazil have a visa program for needed highly educated/experienced people?
@Pablo888
Does Brazil have a visa program for needed highly educated/experienced people? - @alan279
@alan279, I am not sure about the visa program but I suspect that there may be opportunities for those.
Assuming that the visa is not an issue, how would those highly educated / experienced individuals even know how to network and get started?
In the US, innovators can go to SF or NYC to meet like minded people and have a great chance at starting something big - in any field.
What do young Brazilians do right after college in order to make it big in Brazil? I know that talented young Brazilians tend to go abroad as it's more lucrative to do so.
I actually hired 2 new Brazilian graduates on H1B visas for work in the US. That actually contributed to the Brazilian Brain Drain.... I would like to reverse that trend...
12/07/24 @Pablo888
Does Brazil have a visa program for needed highly educated/experienced people? - @alan279
Citizens of Mercosul countries and Portugal can immigrate to Brazil and be eligible to work. For all others, there's only the VITEM V work visa, which requires a Brazilian employer as a sponsor. There is no visa program for people who just want to come to Brazil to look for work, and if someone comes on a tourist visa and finds a Brazilian sponsor, they will almost certainly need to return to their country of origin to apply for the VITEM V after their sponsor has had their invitation cleared by the Labor Ministry.
Hi, I am not probably the best example of someone to come to live in Brazil. I speak several languages but I am not so well traveled as some of you. In Europe I know really well just Britain, Portugal and south of France. I decided to move to Brazil after ten years of lecturing at the university in my homecountry and after 1 year of scholarship in Portugal. My PhD was recognized in Brazil so I thought there would be no problem. But in fact, reality is very different than I thought in 2011. I became a "permanent student" and I earn money abroad writing academic stuff. I tried to teach here, even at Federal Institutes but it is too much to me. I am also not in favour of public transport. But I enjoy "underground". In Salvador the "underground" was introduced several years ago...that was a "big jump" forwards. In my opinion it changed all the life there. So that is the only public transport I really appreciate. I prefer beachwalk and cycling. As far as the legalization of my stay here is concerned, it was without any problem. Now I am a resident. Living abroad is a very stimulating thing. Sometimes I get suddenly aware that I speak completely different language than my mother tongue. Being a tourist is something very different (you do not have to reprogram your mind for another culture...psychologically speaking, you are still at home, watching different and new things, and spending money, of course).
I just thought of another subject as I was grocery shopping today. This was a big one for me.
How we look at money as a resident, versus being a tourist.
When you are visiting anywhere as a tourist you commonly spend whatever you want on anything that catches your interest at the moment. We have all succumbed to that I imagine from time to time, and have junk covered in dust sitting on a shelf somewhere, or credit card bills bigger than what we thought we would spend on our trip. YOLO, right ?
Regardless of how much money you have in the bank, or how much you generate every month, when you live somewhere you start to change your mindset to adapt to the local currency, and the expectations of the actual cost relative to your country. Example: today my wife and I walked two blocks to the supermarket where we like to shop and had lunch there. They have a pizzaria inside the bakery as part of their building that is pretty awesome IMHO. We decided to have lunch there......a 35cm Margarita pizza and two cans of Coke Zero........R$51 in total !!!.......it would have cost us R$75 to eat in a cheap comida a kilo........so a really good and delicious lunch that was inexpensive even by local standards.
Back in Canada that would have cost us the equivalent of R$180 +/- at a minimum.............at a "fancier" restaurant in another part of the city here at least R$100............but we're acting like locals now, so.........and we spent R$51 in total.........on holidays I would have gone to a really nice place in Copacabana where I've eaten pizza before..........R$300 IIRC was spent last time I was there.........but still, that is only $70 CAD.........which I can easily afford to pay anyways.
Interesting how you adapt without trying.
A margarita pizza at a small restaurant a couple blocks from my apartment in Ilhéus just increased in price from R$40 to R$44. Prices always increase just before summer. Good pizza, good price still. But you can’t get pizza at lunchtime in Ilhéus. Or an artisanal burger.
I notice the prices now, but I didn’t when I was first in Brazil. Everything seemed ridiculously cheap then.
@alan279 Nah! never heard of it. Contrary to my reputation as an easygoing, funny, Permanent Brazilian Resident, my extremely, very extremely life before Brazil was as the first born of an extremely prominent (I still have the picture of her holding me with one hand and her diploma with the other, that ran in the newspaper) first African American PHD graduate of the Brown University Ivy League school who passed when i was 5 years old. Brown recently named a Fellowship in her honor.
It probably would have been a mash-up of 1st. wife / 2nd. wife but I think my father would have mentioned it.
Roddie in Retirement🕵
@Alan279
This supermarket gives you 20% off any pizza if you register your CPF and email with them. So, R$51 became R$41 for the pizza plus R$10 for the two cokes. Beleza ne ?
Best thing is you have to walk thru their very large and well stocked adega to get there. Someone studied marketing........heh. Just grab a bottle of whatever wine you want and pay for it with the pizza. They even have the correct glasses for red or white. Very civilized.
@kolyaS122HSU
Very civilized. Wine is served in few restaurants in Ilhéus. But the market a block from me has a good selection of wines. The owner’s wife likes wine. 😀
Maybe the big change for me was adapting to life in a small city in Brazil.
@alan279 You'll love it. I always thought that in the USA, when I heard "Bullxxxx" It was just a word, until in my small village, I had to step over it in the park.
Roddie in Retirement🕵
A cousin in Los Angeles once asked me what are those animals munching on grass near the freeway? Cows. What are cows? Hamburger.
@roddiesho
Do you have chickens in your family compound? My mother used to wring chicken's necks until the heads were removed. Then the headless chicken bodies would run around for a few minutes spurting blood in all directions.
Do you like chicken?
Make your relocation easier with the Brazil expat guide
Accommodation in Rio de Janeiro
With an official population of about seven million people, and almost twice that number in the metro area, Rio de ...
Childcare in Brazil
As more and more women have joined the workforce in Brazil, childcare has become very important. There are a few ...
Accommodation in Brasilia
Brasilia, the country's federal capital, is home to many highly-paid government employees and foreign ...
Working in Curitiba
Curitiba attracts many foreigners, who come both for work and because Curitiba offers a high standard of living. ...
The Brazilian labour market
In recent years, Brazil suffered through an economic recession and a government austerity program. Still, Brazil ...
Using phones in Brazil
It's much easier these days to get a cell phone in Brazil, and phones and calling plans are inexpensive. ...
Marriage in Brazil
Brazil can be a romantic country, and you may want to marry here. Perhaps you even want to remain in Brazil ...
Working in Salvador de Bahia
Salvador de Bahia has long been one of Brazil's leading economic centers. The economy today is diversifying, ...
Forum topics on moving to Brazil
