questions about visiting brazil

Curitiba is nice, Capital of Parana State.
It does get chilly. Very social and many things to do. Easy to get around.
Batel is the business and shopping area.
Getting a visa with E-visa requires no visit to consulate. Only good for 2 years.
You can get dengue anywhere in Brasil. NW (Amazonia) and last year SP area were hit with YF.

how do i get a visa with an e-visa?

according to the brazil wikitravel page, the central west and northern regions are areas where you are more likely to catch yellow fever and malaria.  also, the wikitravel page for rio de janeiro says, "Rio is vulnerable to epidemics of dengue fever, particularly during the late summer months of February and March."   aren't you more likely to get dengue, malaraia, or yellow fever in certain areas of brazil?  or are all areas of brazil equally likely to be effected with yellow fever, malaria, or dengue?

thanks

E-Visa http://www.vfsglobal.com/Brazil-eVisa/
Yes last year Brail had an outbreak of YF. Not only Amazon, but SP, Rio and other states. Dengue is always an issue, but in other parts of the world also.
Brazil had a major push to give YF vaccine last year, so lets hope the YF is less this year.

Firstly why would you want to move here if you've never even been here?

Second forget about Dengue, it's everywhere but no one really loses sleep over it, mostly  caught in slum areas with lots of stagnent water, but it's a nation wide epidemic
You are far more likely to catch a stray bullet than Dengue in Rio

If you move here you may just have to accept one day you might catch dengue, but it's not as common as the reports would have you believe, I know few people who "caught" it but it was never actually medically  proven they really had Dengue or some other ailment - common story the doctors are never quite sure, they just say drink fluids keep the fever down and rest, if you start belleding rush to a hospital

I'd stay clear of Rio though, the city is basically at war right now

Curitiba is cold and miserable in the winter....gets right down to 10C and below
but it does seems like quite a cool city, super green with lots of forests around

South east of Brazil is warm , dry and sunny in winter but rains like crazy from December to feb with crazy heat and humidity.....

Summer time is hell around São Paulo / Rio states (Dec / Jan / Feb) expect packed beaches, no parking traffic jams etc etc, but it's also the main party time if thats what you into ......best time to travel in the SP/Rio Region is March to September (winter)

Remember winter in most parts of Brazil is almost like a summer in most Northern hemisphere countries warm and 25 C so it's not really comparable to new york

The exception is the South from Parana down which gets cold and dead in Winter

Florianopolis is a great city but the weather is pretty crappy , 1 sunny day to every 6 overcast days and a lot of wind too, but when the weather plays ball there is no better place in Brazil, safe too

But honestly not to be rude, but if you are so worried about tropical diseases maybe Brazil is not the right place for you, mosquito bites are just a way of life here I'm afraid , I have 3 weird bites on my hand
right now that itch like hell that I picked up walking past some grass just yesterday , I think they are borrachudo bites lol ....you think Mosquito is bad, wait til you experience the itch of a Borrachudo.
But seriously, don't worry about it pal, unless you going to the Amazon or something where they have Malaria, just get your yellow fever vaccine and relax.
But if you spent your time in Brazil trying not to be bitten by mosquitos you are going to Batsh*t crazy....it's impossible, especially by the coast in the South east and above, I stayed in a small town right on the Sao Paulo coast for a while and I would burn citronella, Run one of those mosquito zappers and apply a coating of repellent and I still got like 10 bites a night

On the flip side though Brazil is actually quite a healthy place, in 3 years I've just had a few colds and I got a very mild food poisoning exactly once which I think I picked up in my own home.....the hygine with food and stuff in Brazil is generally excellent.

On yellow fever:

Sanofi Pasteur is the company that makes the only dengue medicine (dengavax).  Dengvaxia was found to have a problem, and is now recommended only for people who have already had dengue.  If you have never had dengue, dengvaxia can make your symptoms worse if you catch dengue.
And guess what?  The only licensed yellow fever vaccine (YF-Vax) in the U.S. is made by the same company, Sanofi Pasteur.  Right now, YF-Vax is not available.  One website says that YF-Vax will be available at the end of 2018, but another website says it won’t be available until mid-2019.  However, Sanofi Pasteur got approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to “make another yellow fever vaccine available in the United States under an investigational new drug (IND) program.* Manufactured by Sanofi Pasteur in France, this vaccine, Stamaril, is registered and distributed in more than 70 countries.”
I feel uncomfortable taking a yellow fever vaccine from the same company that fucked up when they created the dengue vaccine.  However, I do have to give Sanofi Pasteur for being transparent enough to admit when there was a problem with their dengvaxia vaccine, and I have to say that I did not find any articles online saying that there were any problems with their YF-Vax or Stamaril vaccines.
Brazil has its own yellow fever vaccine made by a different company, the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation.
Sources:
http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/11/ … pany-warnshttps://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/news-annou … ine-accesshttps://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/05/heal … fever.htmlhttps://www.cdc.gov/travel-training/loc … 27539.htmlhttps://www.precisionvaccinations.com/y … -late-2018https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/12/trav … ation.htmlhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12201587


follow up questions:
1.    Do you think the yellow fever vaccines (YF-Vax and Stamaril) in America are safe?

2.    According to wikitravel, “Vaccination against yellow fever and taking anti-malaria medication may be necessary if you are traveling to central-western (Mato Grosso) or northern (Amazon) regions,”  which is kind of unclear because Brasilia (Distrito Federal) is in the central-western area, but it’s not in Mato Grosso.  Is it ok to visit Brasilia without taking the yellow fever vaccine?

3.    Or maybe I could forgo the yellow fever vaccine in America and then get a vaccine when/if I move to Brazil, although I don’t know if they would give me a vaccine until I become a permanent resident or citizen?

4.    Do you guys take ant-malarial medication every day or every week?  Is it safe to take every day or every week long term?

5.    Are there antibiotics in anti-malaria medication?  I hope not.

6.    I usually eat out every meal.  This girl claims that Brazilians use a lot of margarine. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ge5KX9Drx9c

7.    What kind of fats do Brazilians cook their food with at home
(olive oil, butter, margarine, canola oil, etc?)

8.    What kind of fats do Brazilians cook with at restaurants (olive oil, butter, margarine, canola oil, etc?)

9.    What kind of fats do Brazilians usually put on their bread (olive oil, butter, margarine, canola oil, etc?)

10.     “The exception is the South from Parana down which gets cold and dead in Winter”
Stevefunk, are you saying that Curitiba (and any city south of that) is “cold and dead” in the winter because people are less social in the winter, or because people vacation in warmer cities during the winter?

11.    http://www.vfsglobal.com/Brazil-eVisa/

Texanbrazil, have you personally used this site?  i just get wary when I see these sites and am not sure if they are legit or not


“Firstly why would you want to move here if you've never even been here?”

I do not like living in america.  I’m an Asian guy, and I experience racism in the US every day.  People don’t respect you, and there are a lot of negative stereotypes about Asian men.  And if you complain about it, people just tell you that you’re too sensitive.  Asian men are looked at as if they have no social value in America.  it's not cool to be an asian guy in the US.

I’ve had great experiences with Brazilians.

First I cannot view sites you are asking about.
YF is a personal issue IMO which needs to be discussed with your doctor.
Yes Brazil has a YF vaccine. I am not a doctor and know nothing as to the makers of the vaccine. The new vaccine will last longer than the old which requires a booster after 10 years.
I am sorry to hear about you feelings as to thinking all Americans do not like Asian's. Pretty strong feelings, when many study, work and live in the US. I have many friends of all race.
As to malaria there are medicines which assist. I contracted malaria many years ago. I do not take the medicine for many years now. If I have symptoms, I see a doctor because it may not be malaria.
Personally I would not move to somewhere without exploring an area of interest. Can you speak Portuguese?
There are many Asian's in Brazil as well as many other races.
You are putting too much in your head from the internet. Health issues are personal.
It is a big step. Did you move from Asia to the US? You can only answer your questions. We are expats just telling our stories and trying to help with questions which we know in Brazil.
Good luck.

i was born in the us

i just started learning portuguese in august. 

i know some spanish, so i think that will help me learn portuguese a little faster since they are similar languages

Yes it will help.

10. The weather is cold and miserable....I guess people go out in Curitiba, but from living In Floripa I can say it's dead, places shut down etc....theress certainly no going to the beach vibes, while SP and Rio beaches are great in winter

Malaria medication is bad for you, can make you feel nauseous and can't be taken long term to my knowledge but I'm not expert, most of Brazil is Malaria free, you catch that in the Amazon

GET THE YELLOW FEVER SHOT, I actually was not even allowed to leave my home country without proof of yellow fever when coming to brazil, yellow fever has been popping up everywhere and it will kill you....getting the vaccine in Brazil shouldn't be a problem, might just have to pay a few bucks as a foreigner

Forget about dengue/zika, it's really not a big deal.....honestly you're worrying way to much about it.

Food in Brazil is pretty good, I'm sure that its healthier than what you'll find in the states
most people eat lunch at kilo buffet restaurants, sometimes they have an all you can eat price too ( about $4.50 here in floripa)
options include white and brown rice, various potatoes and sweet potatoes, salads, pastas, and various vegetables. usually a choice of grilled beef , chicken and fish, maybe some roast pork, sometimes even sushi and mexican options

Popular dinners are pizza, steak , seafood dishes and stews like moqueca , sushi , various soups in winter ....I've never noticed any abnormal use of butter or margarine, but sometimes you can smell cheap oil in budget restaurants, I just avoid those when i smell that cheap vegetable oil....

What are you planning to do for work?

i guess i wasn't really being clear about why i was asking all the margarine, fat, butter questions.  in some video where i was learning portuguese, this girl said that brazilians put a lot of margarine on their bread. 

margarine sometimes has trans fat.  i'm not worried about butter or oils, but i am scared of margarine.  i don't want to get a heart attack.  and i eat out every meal.  do brazilian restaurants often use margarine to cook their food?

if so, i might have to cook when i move to brazil.

the reason why i was asking whether i can fly from nyc to california and then fly to brazil in my initial post was because i saw this on the brazil wikitravel page: "The visa process is particularly tedious for US citizens, because Brazil has a reciprocal visa policy with all countries, and special attention should be paid. There are several consulates in the country but you MUST apply to the consulate that covers your jurisdiction. "

i assume that means that i can fly from my home (nyc) to california and then go to brazil, as long as i go to the nyc consulate (not the california one), but it's unclear.

how come i can't post links (internet website addresses) on this website?

stevefunk, i'm not sure what i'll do once i move to brazil.  i would probably do any menial job i can get.  my portuguese may not be very good when i get to brazil.  i have a plan to get citizenship, but i'll post about that later.

stevefunk, do you live in brazil or south africa?  i looked at your profile.

texanbrazil, have you used that e-visa website?  i just want to make sure that the site is legit before i possibly use it.

texanbrazil, how is your portuguese?

The e-visa web site is good. The e-visa good for 2 years (subject to the length of stay each time). Cost less and no consulate visit.
Many use olive oil not butter or margarine. yes not only does Brazil use on the bread, but many countries do.
I assume you have the need to go to LA? Sure is a long way to get here.

i have a wedding in the bay area to go to in may.  it seems like a good way to maximize my days off from my job to leave straight from the bay area to go to brazil after. 

i have a months of vacation days, and my logic is that if i go to brazil, i should stay for at least a month.  what do you think?  plus, i want to scope out possible places to live.  so far, i'm thinking sao paulo, curitiba, campinas, brasilia, belo horizonte

I live in Brazil , now a Citizen, speak fluent Portuguese , I've travelled the country and lived in a few cities
I'm definately qualified to speak about life in Brazil

Menial jobs pay almost nothing in Brazil , you looking at a salary of about $250 - $400 a month( US)
Like R$1200 reais

It seems like you obviously not interested in Living at the coast by the sea?
I'd advise you check out São Jose Dos Campos , about 1 hour from São Paulo population 700 000
Similar to Campinas but a million times safer, cheap rent too.....Campinas is a Dangerous city my wife is from there.
Job opportunities are a bit more limited of course but it's a wealthy city I lived there 2 years.
Many beautiful places within 2 hours drive warm dry winter, typical tropical summer , hot humid afternoon showers.

If you want work and money arriving in Brazil as a foreigner you have to go to São Paulo really and get started teaching English.....that's what 99.9 percent of people do who come here with no big savings or passive income, build up a roster of Private students you can charge R$50 - R$100 and hour but competition is fierce and you have to be good.....I have an Irish friend doing that who got some very dodgy Jobs in Sao Paulo selling investments to expats and lets just say it ended very badly.....not for him but others involved.

I'm not sure if you have money to invest in /buy a business here but I would be weary of plunging straight into something like this  as your chances of been scammed or not understanding the complex legalities are very high when you first arrive.

It takes about 2 years to find your feet in Brazil and start to get comfortable with the language and how things work, most people are pretty lost the first year and usually survive by having a Brazilian Partner to help them or coming with a big bag of cash to live off.

In my opinion arriving in Brazil without some kind of family support (Brazilian wife , her family etc) would be very tough indeed as you're literally a nobody unless you're rich of course, not speaking Portuguese the average person in the shops or street will regard you as either a clown or a non-entity(zero value to them or society), or at worst someone to take advantage of, although this is easy to avoid by staying away from slums and dive bars.

Also don't make the mistake other gringos here make and shack up with a woman in the favela, you'll wind living in abject misery or possibly even getting yourself killed.....

Steve has said it well.
With all your worries, it will be very difficult in Brazil unless you have someone here.

"I live in Brazil , now a Citizen, speak fluent Portuguese , I've travelled the country and lived in a few cities
I'm definately qualified to speak about life in Brazil"

i hope i didn't offend you.  i was just making conversation when i asked you if you lived in south africa.

do you live in florianopolis?  you said something about floripa earlier.

i don't really care about living next to the beach.  but i don't want to live in a small town.  i would like to live in a city with over a million people.

well, if campinas is a dangerous city, then i might not even bother to check it out in my reconaissance trip to brazil.

maybe i should just zero in on curitiba, sao paulo, belo horizonte, and brasilia. 

and yes, i understand what you said about how most unskilled foreigners should live in sao paulo to find work.

i don't know anyone in brazil right now. 

i want to make a post later about how i plan to get citizenship in brazil, but first i want to email a mod or something to ask why i can't post url's.

thanks

"Menial jobs pay almost nothing in Brazil , you looking at a salary of about $250 - $400 a month( US)
Like R$1200 reais"

i just went to a website called numbeo, and it looks like the cost of living of all the cities that i'm interested in possibly living in are higher than 1200 reais

Once you have your visa, you can depart for Brazil from any US location that's convenient for you.
In planning your "reconaissance trip", be aware that both Uber and Airbnb are fairly well-established in the major Brazilian cities you intend to visit.  They could save you some money and add some convenience.
As stated above, Brazil is very difficult to navigate for someone who doesn't speak Portuguese; basic survival conversation skills should be your top priority in the months before your trip.
Also as stated, permanent residency is VERY difficult to obtain if you don't have either a Brazilian spouse/significant other, a sponsorship from a Brazilian employer approved by the Labor Ministry, or a funded investment plan guaranteed to create a certain number of jobs for Brazilians, also approved by the Labor Ministry.   If your plan for citizenship doesn't include any of those,  I'm very curious about what it does include.
*ETA*  Numbeo's cost of living estimates seem reasonable to me on a rough order of magnitude basis.  If they suggest to you that you'll need a certain income level to maintain the standard of living you want, believe them.

Not offended, just explaining that I do know the scene

I don't know Curitiba well , but it reminds me of a way safer and more vibrant Campinas
, at least the down town , I would say Curitiba is a 1000x better option than Campinas, campinas is a dying city full of yuppies in Gated communities and old people, lots of abandoned blocks of buildings and swathes of people sleeping on the streets down town , but there is money there...I never feel safe there though, and theres usually no one on the streets in residential areas....

You going to need at least R$4000 a month to have any decent standard of living in a respectable neighborhood in Brazil and thats really the minimum to be comfortable

Rent about R$1000 - R$1500  for a modest room to small apartment

If you eat out lunch and dinner everyday in cheap restaurants you looking at R$50 a day  so 50 x 30
Food =  R$1500

so thats R$3000 just on rent and food leaving you R$1000 spending money

a night out at a bar in Brazil can easy cost you R$200
Medical Plan min R$300
Electricity /gas +- R$100 - 150

not to mention transport, what ever mode you intend to use

I do have a condo in Curitiba, but have it rented for a little extra income and way more than $R1200/mo.
It does get cold. Not too far from Florianopolis. Good medical, but again private health insurance is around $R300.
30 days in Brazil will be some money. Lodging, food and transportation will add up. Other than air, buses are the next option. (Air fare is not cheap and buses maybe overnight trips or longer.
Remember it will take awhile to get any permanent type visa and a lot more time for citizenship.
Maybe focus on visiting a couple places and get an idea of life in Brazil.

Yeah For R$1200 I'm talking about a room or crappiest of Bachelors/granny flat


I pay R$1600 including condominium in a good part of Floripa for 1 bedroom nothing fancy, Paid about the same for 2 bed in Sao Jose dos Campos

abthree,

"As stated above, Brazil is very difficult to navigate for someone who doesn't speak Portuguese; basic survival conversation skills should be your top priority in the months before your trip."

this sounds like great advice.  i'm working hard on my portuguese.

texanbrazil,
"Maybe focus on visiting a couple places and get an idea of life in Brazil."

that's the plan.

stevefunk,
"If you want work and money arriving in Brazil as a foreigner you have to go to São Paulo really and get started teaching English.....that's what 99.9 percent of people do who come here with no big savings or passive income, build up a roster of Private students you can charge R$50 - R$100 and hour but competition is fierce and you have to be good.....I have an Irish friend doing that who got some very dodgy Jobs in Sao Paulo selling investments to expats and lets just say it ended very badly.....not for him but others involved. "

to be honest, teaching english doesn't sound like fun.  however, doing private teaching would be so much better than teaching in a classroom, as i am an introvert.  i worked at a school once and teaching a class is a nightmare (i did occasional substitute teaching), but one-on-one tutoring would still kind of suck, but it would be doable.

i read somewhere a long time ago that private tutoring is rough, because people often want you to show up at their house for tutoring, so taking public transportation to get from house to house eats up all your time.  is that true?

i also read somewhere (i can't remember where) that a lot of the employees at english schools in brazil are illegal immigrants and that english schools in brazil will report rival schools' teachers to immigration and have them deported.  is that true?

if i decide to be an illegal immigrant who teaches english, is this something i would legitimately have to worry about?

and is this tutoring for adults or kids?

can you just request to privately tutor adults?

adults would be preferable.

are there any other jobs that foreigners could make money doing, or is teaching english pretty much it?

"In my opinion arriving in Brazil without some kind of family support (Brazilian wife , her family etc) would be very tough indeed as you're literally a nobody unless you're rich of course, not speaking Portuguese the average person in the shops or street will regard you as either a clown or a non-entity(zero value to them or society), or at worst someone to take advantage of, although this is easy to avoid by staying away from slums and dive bars."

is a "dive bar" different than a regular bar?

"Also don't make the mistake other gringos here make and shack up with a woman in the favela, you'll wind living in abject misery or possibly even getting yourself killed....."

can you expand on this more?  what will happen if i date a woman from the favela?  i know that the favelas are dangerous, but you could just meet up with the favela girl outside of the favela.  i wouldn't even need to go in the favela to date her.

i was also under the impression that you could also safely enter the favela if you know someone from the favela who will be your guide.

"Medical Plan min R$300"

do most people pay for private medical plans?  i thought medical treatment was free in brazil?

thanks

Yes there is a Gov sponsored health care. Lines are long and if like earlier this year they ran out of medicines and many things to help people you may have issues that cannot be help right away.
Do not come thinking many things are free, keep an open mind. Brazil is different in many ways and with the election coming, who knows what is next.
May I ask why you chose Brasil?
It is a beautiful country. Inflation and public money is not in good shape.
Yes to be known as a good teacher you will need to travel to homes. My teacher comes to the house, yes we agreed to increase her payment due to cost of living, but many here can not do that due to there costs have gone up also.
I believe it has been mentioned, you really need a source of income from the states to help you until you get through all the applications and documents needed in Brazil.

Teaching English is not much fun , but often it's the only way
Teaching kids is better than adults believe me I learned that hard way, adults are constantly judging you in an English school and evaluating if you are worth their money they are paying.
I've always been legal, but these days schools are less and less willing to hire illegal foreigners...plus schools generally pay peanuts

I teach all classes online nowdays no traveling or running around .
I teach Chinese in the Morning Brazilians through afternoon and evening

Dive Bar - Plastic chairs and tables, on a street corner, drunken middle age men in beach shorts, flip flops and vests and gold chains drinking large beers - you'll know it when you see it, avoid these places at night unless you really know what you're doing

Upperclass bar - indoors , fine decor expensive beer , professional yuppie type clientele, you should be fine

Favela woman - you date one you won't just be getting involved with her , but her entire family and all their problems, you'll be seen as a source of money and opportunity and if things go south and you actually end up living in a favela or bad neighbourhood you'll have to watch your step....if you don't know how to walk the walk and talk the talk you'll be a target for the criminals who inhabit these places

Free healthcare , yes it exists and is not too bad in some states, but long waits.....you could die while needing critical treatment
I've been on both systems and the Private is great R$300 and you can see all the doctors you want straight away

Let me give you some advice , Come to Brazil, check it out, have a great holiday
But really honestly if you're from the USA , a wealthy First World Country you are nuts to move to Brazil.....it's a country with massive crime, massive inequality, expensive , terrible return on your money and taxes ....really
If I could legally move to NYC(I have been there) I'd leave tomorrow

I came here for adventure, family and because I'm from another messed up country South Africa, thought I may as well get the Brazilian passport as it's better than SA one, but honestly man .....I can't see myself living the rest of my life here at least not permanently , Brazil's a great place to explore and visit but they have a system in place here that f*cks you down at every turn and makes it really hard to progress in your life.

I just love been here cause I can travel the Americas which is impossible if you live in South Africa, but moving to Brazil in Search of a "Better Life" if you from the USA.....forget it!!!!

Also the racial thing, Brazil is racist, are you aware of Bolsonaro....there's a whole facist movement forming here at the moment
If you're asian here they call you Japa, Black you're Preto or nego ....Gringo for any foreigner, the labels are endless, it's not Malicious hateful type but it's a big part of Society here, so even though it's multicultural

texanbrazil,

"May I ask why you chose Brasil?
It is a beautiful country. Inflation and public money is not in good shape.
Yes to be known as a good teacher you will need to travel to homes. My teacher comes to the house, yes we agreed to increase her payment due to cost of living, but many here can not do that due to there costs have gone up also."


i am interested in brazil, because i've met a bunch of brazilians.  i first came into contact with brazilians when i was 17.  at the time, my dream was to be a professional MMA fighter.  this was in 2001.  i started learning brazilian jiu-jitsu.  this was before MMA was well-known, and most of the brazilian jiu-jitsu instructors were brazilians from brazil.  i had a great time, but after a while, i decided not to become a professional fighter.  i stopped training jiu-jitsu after 4 years, so i don't meet as many brazilians now, but i notice that every time i meet a brazilian, they're usually very warm and friendly.

how poor are people in brazil?  are they just poor or are they literally starving to death?

"I believe it has been mentioned, you really need a source of income from the states to help you until you get through all the applications and documents needed in Brazil."

no, nobody has mentioned this to me until now.  so you're saying that i need to set up my own business?

stevefunk,

yeah, i can teach english as long as it's one-on-one.  i won't be able to function being the teacher in a group class.

so how easy is it to get a decent job once you become a permanent resident?

once you become a permanent resident, can you get a decent job just as easily as a brazilian citizen?

how long does it usually take foreigners to become fluent in portuguese after they move to brazil?


"Dive Bar - Plastic chairs and tables, on a street corner, drunken middle age men in beach shorts, flip flops and vests and gold chains drinking large beers - you'll know it when you see it, avoid these places at night unless you really know what you're doing

Upperclass bar - indoors , fine decor expensive beer , professional yuppie type clientele, you should be fine"

so the dive bars are outside?

so i guess i'll just try to avoid the bars with plastic chairs and tables?


"I came here for adventure, family and because I'm from another messed up country South Africa, thought I may as well get the Brazilian passport as it's better than SA one, but honestly man .....I can't see myself living the rest of my life here at least not permanently , Brazil's a great place to explore and visit but they have a system in place here that f*cks you down at every turn and makes it really hard to progress in your life."

can you explain why the system f*** you at every turn and makes it hard to progress in life?

"I just love been here cause I can travel the Americas which is impossible if you live in South Africa, but moving to Brazil in Search of a "Better Life" if you from the USA.....forget it!!!!"

well, i just want to be happy.  i'm not trying to be rich or anything.  i don't like the people in america.

well, i'll come visit and see how i like it.  after all, the purpose of the trip is to scout out the cities i like and see if i will even like brazil in the first place.  so we'll see how i feel after the trip.

why did you move to brazil, instead of america?

do you have family in brazil?

how did you get citizenship?

"Also the racial thing, Brazil is racist, are you aware of Bolsonaro....there's a whole facist movement forming here at the moment
If you're asian here they call you Japa, Black you're Preto or nego ....Gringo for any foreigner, the labels are endless, it's not Malicious hateful type but it's a big part of Society here, so even though it's multicultural"

can you tell me more about racism in brazil?

someone mentioned something about bolsonaro, but i looked him up for the first time after you mentioned him.

i used to think that brazilians weren't racist, but now i'm starting to think i was wrong.  maybe everyone is racist, but in different amounts and towards different races.  i still think that brazilians are MUCH less racist to asians than americans.

i heard that it's illegal to say racist jokes in brazil.  is that true?

in america, an asian guy has a hard time even confronting racism.  in america, if you say something racist about a black person, everyone will become very uncomfortable, and think you are an a****, but if you say something racist about an asian man, everyone will laugh, and if the asian guy confronts the racist person, everyone will tell the asian guy that he is too sensitive and over-reacting.  so, it's hard for an asian man to even bring up the issue.  that's the culture in america.  there's a lot of double standards in america.

i'm still deciding whether i want to consider visiting curitiba.  i know that curitiba is safer than other cities in brazil, has good public transportation, and has a higher quality of life than other brazilian cities, but i don't know about that weather.  nyc is 6.1 degrees celsius right now (at night), and i'm not enjoying it.  it was 10 or 11 degrees celsius in the morning.  i'm from california, by the way, so i never experienced this kind of weather until i moved to nyc a few years ago.

according to wikipedia, curitiba, in july gets down to about 9.7 degrees celsius.  is that how it really feels in july, in the winter, or is it even colder with wind chill?

so i'm still deciding whether to visit curitiba or not.  if i decide not to, then i only have 3 cities to visit: brasillia, sao paulo, and belo horizonte.  then, i could hypothetically cut my trip down to two or three weeks, instead of a month.  i have 4 weeks of vacation right now, and depending on what my plan to get citizenship is when i get back to the u.s., i might need to use some of those vacation days.

is there a minimum amount of time i should stay in brazil for a vacation to make sure i get a proper experience of the country?

thanks

Ok

Here goes

Poor in Brazil - depends on the region, but generally not starving at all - but Brazil is a materialistic culture , people want the flash stuff, this leads to drugs and gangs and big slums but fairly easily avoided
In some parts of Northeast people really are starving though

Brazilians outside of Brazil are a little different to Brazilians in Brazil.....usually the ones you meet traveling are open minded and very friendly.....in Brazil at the moment a lot of people are very pissed off and negative, People will constantly ask you "why the hell did you come here" and thats the educated ones .....the ones who've never left Brazil and speak little English just want know what to make of you.
Sure you can find people to drink with, smoke dope snort cocaine or smoke cigarettes,what ever your "kick" is , there are always a few layabouts around who will be "friendly" with you as long as the drinks are flowing,  but when it comes to serious relationships and especially working ones , as others have mentioned you will not be regarded as "serio" in other words not taken seriously and that goes from been a supermarket cashier to an executive . It's really really hard to get Brazilians in Brazil to regard you as equal accept you I don't know how to explain, it's just they really have this you're the Outsider Mentality
"you're not from here, you can never understand, you obviously know nothing about brazil , probably not even how to cross the street " blah blah - In other words average  people treat you like an idiot, especially if you are new to Brazil.
Some more upperclass people with English and travel experience will be a bit more accepting, but you will still be expected to adapt and the conversation will switch to Portuguese at some point - this can be very alienating in the beginning.

Working as a permanent resident - not the same as citizen , companies still need to Justify why they hire a foreigner and your application goes straight to bottom of the pile they say, unless they can justify English , like an English teacher.
For example I have almost never seen a "gringo" working in a supermarket, shop assistant , or cashier, I once saw a Hotel receptionist from another Latin american country , and there are a few Argentinian waiters and ticket touts for tours and things in highly touristic places (Ilha grande, Morro de Sao Paulo etc)

Also to give you some idea one of my students told me his factory staff went from a team of 1000 to about 300 during the crisis of the last 3 years....it's that amount of layoff going on

Basically it's going to be very difficult to get a job without a great level of Portuguese, then you will be taken seriously - this takes 3 - 5 years
I have heard of one or two exceptions in very specialized computer programming and things like that, but it's hard to get a Job here as a foreigner, most people who approach don't even know how to deal with a foreigner let along hire them......as in they just clam up and act awkward/embarrassed.

Racism - The darker/blacker you are the harder it is to get ahead, the more likely you will live in a poor community, Also I've heard horror stories of Police picking on Black Brazilians for no reason, them been barred entry.....this various region to region , like salvador everyone is black so its a bit different, but the rich man is still white

Asians are regarded as smart, honest but also source of light hearted humour...generally referred to as Japas, for example my 5 year old niece moms friend had an asian looking baby with an Asian Brazilian and she (the little girl) sent a picture of herself pulling asian eyes to imitate the baby.....this kind of thing is just regarded as cute /funny in Brazil rather than offensive as I  imagine it would be in the states.

Why did I come to Brazil, my Wife is from here so for me it was easy, I would love to move to America but it's just about impossible for someone like me ........really need to think about the future I would like to move to Oz , New Zealand , Canada or USA if I could .....may go back to South Africa in a year or two.

I would say stay 3 weeks to a month .....I happened to be in Curitiba on the coldest day this year in June .....was about 4 Celcius in the morning , but up to about 9 during the day, nothing too bad, I think Curitiba is a nice city

But Florianopolis is a great option too, safe , open to foreigners, just a bit cloudy
Its the most "open " place I've found in Brazil

As for how the system keeps you down ---- Everything is over expensive, over taxed and over regulated , I won't go into much detail but the cost of simply buying and keeping a car licenses in Brazil is Insane
Everything in business is made complicated with excessive licenses, taxes and fee's and paperwork

And generally things are just too expensive in Brazil, Brazilian Mentality is "If I can rip you off for this thing and get as much in my pocket as possible I will" 
It's very much a me first culture

For example children's toys, some little piece of plastic, you won't believe the price, just as they know the parents want to please the kid (Kids are worshipped/spoilt in Brazil)
Sure you can say this is just simple capitalism but in Brazil it's much more extreme

Lot's of Rip off's / terrible service and sadly it's just an accepted part of the culture

It's hard to get ahead here, everything like cars phones etc costs as much as 2/3 times USA , clothes shoes etc electronics plastic ware , cleaning products(god Help you)
Toilet paper -the more you need it the higher they put the price

stevefunk,

"Sure you can find people to drink with, smoke dope snort cocaine or smoke cigarettes,what ever your "kick" is , there are always a few layabouts around who will be "friendly" with you as long as the drinks are flowing," 

actually, i don't drink or do drugs.  this will also help me save money.  i mentioned that i buy lunch and dinner every day, but besides that, i don't spend a lot of money.  i only buy stuff i need.  and when i do buy lunch and dinner, i don't go to expensive places.


"Basically it's going to be very difficult to get a job without a great level of Portuguese, then you will be taken seriously - this takes 3 - 5 years"

i have some questions about that:

1. how easy is it to get a decent job if you are a permanent resident who speaks portuguese well?

2. will a permanent resident who speaks portuguese well get a decent job just as easily as a brazilian citizen?

3. will a foreigner-turned-brazilian-citizen who speaks portuguese well get a decent job just as easily as a natural-born-brazilian citizen?

4. how easy is it to get a decent job if you have a technical degree, let's say if you are an engineer, who does not have permanent residency and does not speak portuguese well?

5. how easy is it to get a decent job if you have a technical degree, let's say if you are an engineer, who does not have permanent residency and does speak portuguese well?

6. how easy is it to get a decent job if you have a technical degree, let's say if you are an engineer, who has permanent residency and does not speak portuguese well?

7. how easy is it to get a decent job if you have a technical degree, let's say if you are an engineer, who has permanent residency and speaks portuguese well?

there's a reason i'm asking about the engineering thing, but i'll explain later when i make a post about it.  i'm guessing you may not know about technical jobs/engineering job opportunities, though, since you aren't an engineer.

8. and how easy it it for brazilian citizens to get decent jobs?

9. do you agree with texanbrazil that private english tutors are expected to travel to tutor people at their homes?

10. did you have to do a lot of paperwork/go through a lot of bureaucracy when you started your english teaching online business in brazil?

since we have been talking about racism in brazil, i'm curious - what ethnicity are you?

"Why did I come to Brazil, my Wife is from here so for me it was easy, I would love to move to America but it's just about impossible for someone like me ........really need to think about the future I would like to move to Oz , New Zealand , Canada or USA if I could .....may go back to South Africa in a year or two."

i don't know anything about policies for us immigration, but my ex-girlfriend who doesn't speak much english is a us citizen (she's from china originally).  unfortunately, i can't ask her for more details, since the breakup really broke her heart, so we just don't talk anymore after the breakup.

"I would say stay 3 weeks to a month .....I happened to be in Curitiba on the coldest day this year in June .....was about 4 Celcius in the morning , but up to about 9 during the day, nothing too bad, I think Curitiba is a nice city"

oh, that sounds terrible.  lol.


"But Florianopolis is a great option too, safe , open to foreigners, just a bit cloudy
Its the most "open " place I've found in Brazil"

i'd like to live in a city with over a million people.  it's a personal preference.  i think florianopolis has about 500,000 people.


in terms of how everything is expensive, that's why i do NOT plan to drive if i move to brazil.  i would just use public transportation.  plus, since they have so much crime, i wouldn't want to buy a car and then get it stolen.


thanks for your great responses

Sure man it's a pleasure

I may not be an Engineer but my brother in Law is as are many of my Students
Let me tell you something Engineering is the no.1 educated profession in Brazil
It's a country full of excellent engineers - really so competition will be fierce, go to any social event of about 10 educated Brazilians and there will be about 4 Engineers in the group.

Answers.

1. Quite difficult

2. No Brazilian gets preference

3. Yes I would think so .....this would be very much dependent on how well you speak and Brazilian you are , but on paper your chance is equal - one of the main reason I naturalized

4. I would say Impossible

5 Almost impossible

6. Very Very very Difficult - EVERYTHING in Brazil is in Portuguese documents, istructions meetings etc

7. This is possible I know of a few cases....but remember these are different times
Brazil was booming then and now it's layoffs and down sizing

8. Just depends - getting harder with the crisis but people find Jobs - in São Paulo
I can't stress this enough - you want to Work get a real job (or even an English job)  you HAVE to go to São Paulo

9.Homes or offices, I've had students come to me but now I teach online

10. Personally none, my wife has an ME (small company) I plan to set one up soon too
you can earn up to I think R$6000 and only pay $50 tax with this type of company and a married couple can combine it.....Last 2 years I filed tax returns and was with schools that took deductions ,so I paid no extra tax - this year however my income has jumped so I will open the ME now and just pay the R$50 back tax from each month as her accountant says I can do
I'm not sure how complex the process is but my wife says not too hard, the reason I'm waiting is I just became a citizen but can only get my voting card after election in Nov
All Brazilians must have a military registration card and voting card to do anything
Get a passport open a company etc , Permanent residence don't have to worry about this.

The greater Floripa area is much bigger than you think, the city part on the continent is massive and I would say the greater region is at least 1 million
But it's up to you .....best bet to make it is in São Paulo

Oh yeah I'm White by the way with Dark hair and Blue eyes....now Blue eyes is a big deal in Brazil because it instantly marks you as 90% chance gringo anywhere from the Southeast up.....but now that I'm in the South I'm seeing a lot more blue eyed Brazilians and definately can pass much more as a local from here if I want too- and I usually do

its funny the old RNE card is like a huge plastic orange thing, but I had a Brazilian drivers license that looks the same as any Brazilians....I'd always show the license as ID getting on buses and things in SP just to not be the "Gringo"
This wasn't because of crime though just simply wanting to blend in.

I have heard first hand accounts of thugs in dive bars in SP capital overhearing English or Gringo accents and deciding to rob them, but in the cities I lived in I always spoke english openly in public without fear....even in parts of SP capital when I was training at an English school.

as for the car .....essential in my opinion except in SP capital, don't worry about it getting stolen, most places have off street parking
we drive a 1997 Corsa that we bought off my wifes mom by basically paying the unpaid taxes for a couple of thousand Reais, it's taken us all over the country and costs little in maintenence  - personally I've found mechanic services good and cheap in Brazil once you have the car, especially if it's a common economy car

thanks for the responses about the engineers.  i decided to post a forum question about it anyway, just in case there is the odd chance that there is an engineer on this board, as he might know a little bit more about the job market in that particular field.

"as for the car .....essential in my opinion except in SP capital"

are you sure about this?  it seems like public transportation in sao paulo is pretty slow from what i've read in addition to the urban sprawl.  according to the sao paulo wikitravel, it says, "Daily use of public transport may be quite stressful to Paulistanos; many take more than 2 hours to get to work or school!"  that means a round trip of 4 hours!  that's insane.

all the other cities i was thinking about visiting (brasilia, curitiba, and belo horizonte) also have public transportation systems.  although i'm not too sure how good belo horizonte's public transportation system is.  the wikitravel website was kind of vague.  it seemed to indicate that the subway system sucks in belo horizonte, but there are lots of buses.

i read that curitiba in particular has a pretty good public transportation system.

i also read that a new car in brasil costs $50,000 american dollars.  i can buy a car for $20,000 - $25,000 in america.

thanks

It's true about the Curitiba transport, and the city has little traffic problems compared to other capitals, it was well designed. I've always driven around Curitiba without issue at all times and downtown and was always shocked how unconjested it was
The reason why a car is essential in most other cities is the transport(bus)  is slow and there are just so many more things to see and do with a car, I tried Brazil for about 2 - 3 months with no car and I can say when we got a car it enriched the experience 100 times , country drives , ease of movement etc
In Curitiba for example you could visit the center, botanical garden and another beautuful park quickly and easily with a car (actually we did just that) , by bus just going to one of those would take up most of the day walking to stops, finding the bus , waiting , following the route etc
I can't say for Curitiba buses specifically but I've done buses all over Brazil and many other countries, it's a pretty slow draining way to travel,depending where and how much you need to do  but of course possible.

For example the coastal road bus between São Sebastião and Maresias (two beautiful SP coastal towns) is a killer, boiling hot , packed to standing room only, driving the most insane winding mountain roads at high speed, Last time I took it out of necessity due to a car breakdown , both my wife and I almost vomited and my arms almost fell off from hanging on and I'm a fit 37 year old man.....literally had to sit on the sidewalk to recover for 20 min......so yeah buses you can go anywhere but if you like to explore
you need a car

São Paulo is HUGE over 50km across but you will want to stay in the central area and there the metro is excellent, I spent three weeks there travelling around all by  Metro , very easy.....Also traffic in SP is HELL , this is a known fact but it's also a status thing wealthy Brazilians would rather sit in an air conditioned SUV in traffic for an hour than deal with the public tranport, But I LOVED the SP metro, much cleaner and more modern than NYC , but the problem is the grid it covers is much smaller , you'll have to study some maps of SP and the metro system to get an idea.
Basically you want to live near the region "vila madalena sao paulo"  , this is a great area with a large expat community and plenty of nightlife, no car necessary
You need to live near your work in SP , those 4 hour round trip times , that's Public transport or Car they both just as long and it's a reality of life for many people there.
Honestly I knew people who live in Campinas or Sao Jose dos campos and take a company bus to work, depending what side of the city the company is on they actually get there quicker than those who have to cross SP......it's a horrific lifestyle though, you have to be up 5am to get on a bus and back home like 7pm or later ---not for me, but people do it for the high paying SP job and to have a nice house in Campinas.....that's the reality life for many many people.

Cars are expensive here , no joke, but you can find an old second hand General Motors Corsa for about
R$5000 - R$ 7000 , throw another R$3000 in on getting it overhauled , you'll get your car R$10 000

thats like $2500 USA , it's Brazil bro you gotta improvise a bit!
Honestly I think through family connections as I said before we spent about $1000 usa on our corsa and we've been driving it around 3 years with little incident, you just have to look after it
That's why I say, Brazil having some family connections really helps

yeah to be honest, the four hour commute time is going to put sao paulo to the bottom or second to the bottom of my list for cities to move to. 

i just want to enjoy my life.  to me, work is a just a means to get money.  it's certainly not something i enjoy or something that defines me.

do you think most people in sao paulo do a 4 hour commute, or do you think that's more of a small percentage people in sao paulo?  do you have any rough idea of a percentage of people in sao paulo who do a daily 4 hour commute?

a 2 hour round trip is ok for me (1 hour to work, 1 hour back).

the sao paolo wikitravel says:

"" The citizens of São Paulo have a reputation as hard-working and industrious or shallow money-grubbers. It is common to hear that the people in São Paulo work while the rest of Brazil relaxes; even though many say this, it is plainly wrong. It is a fact, nonetheless, that the city of Sao Paulo alone actually contributes with 15 percent of the country's gross national product (45 percent if the entire São Paulo state is taken into account).""

do you think its true that "the people in Sao Paulo work while the rest of Brazil relaxes?"

have you tried the public transportation system in belo horizonte or brasilia?  if so, what did you think about it?

james recommended belo horizonte as a good place to live.  i seem to be leaning towards it.

sao paulo has over 12 million people.  belo horizonte has over 5 million.  there should be some decent jobs in belo horizonte.

unfortunately I don't know anything about Belo Horizonte I can't say

James was sadly murdered in the bad area he chose to live in so I'm a little jaded when it comes to his advice on those things - He knew a lot about immigration at the time, but now most of that info is outdated

I would say 2- 3 hour commute is average in São Paulo

I don't hear Brazilians raving about Belo horizonte as the land of Opportunity, but I don't know much more about it

Never been to Brasilia either - can't say

The rest of Brazil relaxes while Sao Paulo works - Def some truth , Paulistanos are hard workers , you can find people in some regions a bit lazy or country backward, but of course it's always down to the individual.

2 Rules to stay safe in Brazil

Keep your mouth shut about politics and your political opinion to yourself

If you see any organized crime like drug dealing look the other way and keep walking
and keep your mouth shut

Obviously if you see a woman getting mugged or something it's a moral issue and you may choose to intervene out of personal choice.....but it's risky and may cost your life

"I would say 2- 3 hour commute is average in São Paulo"

2 hours is ok.  3 hours is bad, but manageable.  i guess sao paulo might be ok, then. 

most of the brazilians i've met outside of brazilian jiu-jitsu have been from sao paulo.

"I don't hear Brazilians raving about Belo horizonte as the land of Opportunity, but I don't know much more about it"

i'm guessing that brazilians call sao paulo the land the opportunity?

"The rest of Brazil relaxes while Sao Paulo works - Def some truth , Paulistanos are hard workers , you can find people in some regions a bit lazy or country backward, but of course it's always down to the individual."

it seems like sao paulo is materialistic.  would you say that's true?

it seems kind of like sao paulo is the nyc of brazil from what i'm reading.

nyc is the biggest city in america, and new yorkers have a reputation of being rude and abrasive.

it seems to me that the bigger the city, the less friendly people are, and sao paulo is the biggest city in brazil.  would you say that that's true?

how friendly are the people in sao paulo?

how friendly are the people in sao paulo compared to other brazilian cities?

although maybe i'm wrong, as you've implied campinas and rio de janeiro are more dangerous than sao paulo, and they are smaller cities.

i think i've read somewhere that people in different cities in brazil have different ethnicities.  is that true?


"Obviously if you see a woman getting mugged or something it's a moral issue and you may choose to intervene out of personal choice.....but it's risky and may cost your life"

are criminals in brazil usually armed?

if yes, do they usually carry guns or knives?

will criminals usually kill you if you fight back or try to stop a crime?

thanks

Sao Paulo is very Materialistic, Brazil in General is Materialistc

Street criminals could have any kind of weapon and react in any way
Organized drug gangs have machine guns and grenades

Sao Paulo def seen as land of opportunity , like New York in terms of it's financial capital but
nothing like NYC in terms of Cosmopolitan vibe, arts , culture and safety
It's just a big Brazilian city - one of the biggest cities in the world in fact
People are ok, friendly but mostly stressed career focused workaholics, but you can find every level of society there

The population make up is
South - European/ german Italian Portuguese ancestery
South East Lots of Italian and Japanese Immigrants
Rio - Lots of influence from the Slave Trade, dark skinned mixed race
Bahia - Black afro Caribbean vibe
Border regions - North and west - More indiginous type people
All with a healthy dose of Portuguese mixed in