Jao Pessoa

Average property values have gone up 18 % in the last year based on two reports I have read in the last month.

Whereas Rio de Janeiro, not counting the far flung suburbs, has gone down 4 %.

FWIW......lots of good YT videos about JP. 800,000 people live there, but I imagine a lot of the property is unoccupied holiday homes. It has had a surge in popularity due to perceived safety and low cost of living, which I suspect, is about to change.

@Itoby955

Costs - compared to what? For example - JP has turned into a hotspot for investments in housing around a few different topics (retirement, beach, standard of living). That said - the boom already started and it is quickly getting more expensive (and that's where the "compared to what" is important). I'm from the interior of PB and I have heard that a square meter of apartment is double the value of what is happening in my city (also having a boom in housing). Restaurants, cinema, supermarkets - pretty much everything is more expensive than in my interior city - BUT CERTAINLY LESS EXPENSIVE than in other places.

The folks that I know that live in JP or nearby coastline areas wouldn't move for anything. They love it. When family and friends come to visit they end up loving it. It's a "love fest" - but if you watch Expat closely you'll see that there are a lot of communities here in Brazil and elsewhere where people are passionate about the places they have come to live.

Safety - If you don't watch the local news and always stay in the confines of certain parts of the larger community you'll probably never come to face some of the real statistics - but [sadly] isn't that true for many places? One has to be somewhat smart about where and when to go places but once you understand the dynamics of protecting yourself (you´ll get by with a little help from your friends) you'll feel perfectly safe in JP. I feel very safe there. My grandkids scamper about the beaches and I go for walks without concern - but I also know WHERE to do that.

Make sure to check out different parts of Brazil. There are so many fine places to live here and each offers slightly different qualities.

mberigan

Thanks for the replies. I am familiar with Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul. It was more the safety of the area as I am late 60's I have a few friends who live there but I wanted to get the opinion of others.