Expat life in Brasil

When you are not actively contributing to society. Or relying on others to sustain your lifestyle. Broke...

When you're feeling lonely and alienated from your surroundings for months on end, with few or no breaks.
When all the things you used to find charming and intriguing about Brazil have lost their luster, and all the things you used to pass off as minor annoyances have become major problems.
When you're visiting the US, and find as your return date nears, that you're dreading it rather than looking forward to it.
When you've satisfied yourself that your problem is WHERE you are, not WHO you are, because as a wise man once said, "you can only use geography to solve a geographical problem. " 😉

I married a beautiful woman from Sao Paulo, now my dilemma, I don't much care having to look over my shoulder all the time, and I don't like the dirty streets or the graffiti! I also do not like not having hot water and they tell me it's a tropical country hot water is not needed! My wife wants me to move to Brazil and I don't know how I would adapt to this situation? How do you get used to it?

Well, if you have these reservations about moving to Brazil...I wouldn't come. Stay home!

Looking over your shoulder is ridiculous. If you live in a poor neighborhood or visit bad places you can expect bad things to happen to you. Just like any other country, avoid the bad places. Examples: Detroit, Chicago, Philadelphia, most of California...I would avoid. 

Dirty streets...graffiti: refer to the last paragraph.

It is very hot here at times and there is heated shower heads for hot water. So, you do have hot water. Most of the water reservoirs are on the roof of the house being heated by the sun. Most of the time the water is very hot out of the spigot without using the heated shower heads. If you are used to getting a bath in a tub...you can forget that unless you install a spa in your house. 

How to adapt: look at the positives of a new country and stop thinking of the negatives. Brazil ia a wonderful country and have a lot of great things to offer.

While I agree there are places best avoided here in Brasil. In my 60 years I have never had concern for anything "bad" happening to me anywhere in California.....

Palm Springs is nice...LOL

LCARP I understand your new wife returned to Brasil 8 months ago unaccompanied and you are now in Sao Paulo on a visitor visa, and your wife wishes you stay.
Are you a retiree with a pension, independently wealthy or have
Some rare skill set in high demand ? Do you have excellent knowledge of the Portuguese language both written and oral.
One doesn't stand a chance of making a go of it here unless they have one of the above.
Apparently your wife prefers not to emigrate to the US. Does she have a satisfying career in Brasil  ?
My Brazilian wife has lived in and out of Brasil most of her life. She has not worked a day since i arrived in country and shows no concern about being a penniless old woman. My retirement pensions are our sole sources of income on which we currently live quite comfortably at the beach in Cabo Frio. We have to go live in the US for 36 months and apply for her naturalization so she will be eligible for Social Security Widow benefits when I am gone. Just things to think about.......

ive been here for about 2 years. coming from canada lifestyle expectations were there before coming down. living in toronto as the cost of living is retarded as well as the living conditions. as someone mentioned before. i feel safe where i live. you go to a seedy area in california for fun ? nah. crime in brazil is generally isolated to specific areas. watch the news. if your not seeking trouble it generally doesnt find you. as far as cold showers, bro please you can get places with heated water no problem. electrical or like we have in north america. depends on how much you can afford. like realistically you can get anything you want here as long as you can afford it.