The driving force of your expatriation in Brazil

Brazil is an amazing country!!! If you are contemplating moving to Curitiba, I have being living here for the past 9 years, married to a Brazilian, Curitiba is a great place to live, very different from the rest of Brazil, highly organized and very modern and clean as well as been one of the greenest city in the country surrounded by rain forest. Curitibanos are very european in their attitude, very educated and kind, just a bit distant at first, until they get to know you a bit better. This is a melting pot of races: Italians, germans, Polish, Ukrainians, Japanese, Spanish, Portuguese and quite a few from english speaking countries. The State of Parana is one of the richest State in the country.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_qdLI7t9_4https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrHQ5YPVfh4https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdVACtbz4M8&t=74shttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRe2SaKYSjkhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXUe8Y34rp4

Have a look at this video links, I hope that I was able to help, if you need any further assistance don't hesitate in contacting  me know. My name is Erick and Iam Chilean/South African

Diksha wrote:

Hello everybody,

Moving abroad, to a destination such as Brazil, is often the result of careful consideration. It is a major life decision and one that should not be taken lightly as the implications are so diverse. We would like to know what motivated you to choose Brazil as your expatriation destination.

What was the main factor that led you to choose Brazil as your new home?

What were the other criteria that made Brazil your preferred destination?

Are you satisfied with your choice? Please, tell us why.

Did you have any other good surprises when you arrived or any disappointments?

Have your priorities changed in the current period? If so, did this play a role in your choice of destination or in the reconsideration of your whole expatriation project?

Thank you for your contribution!

Diksha,
Expat.com team

Ah, Brazil! Beautiful beaches and cities!
For me, I made a few trips to Brasil for work. During my work in Brasil, I would travel around Brasil. From Peacock Bass fishing in the Amazon to the beauty of one of the 7 World Heritage Sites, Iguacu Falls.
During my visit to Iguacu Falls, I met a travel agent who guided me around to all the sites of the rain forest and the city of Foz do Iguazu. I had a great time. We kept in touch.
A few months later my company downsized. I had a choice of a transfer or retirement package. I decided to take the retirement package. I knew I could live comfortably in Brasil.
Long story short. I returned to Foz do Iguacu and decided to marry.
I sold my home and return to Brasil
We married and I became a permeant resident. I have been in Brasil for many years!
I have no regrets. My wife and I live comfortably, made good friends.
One change was marrying into a rather large family. Never a dull moment! 

What can I say, I am Icelandic, and Icelanders with our Viking heritage, travel. I have been to close to thirty countries, and to most of those many times. For example, I have been to Shanghai over 25 times, Ukraine 10...

While no place is perfect and yes, the grass always seems greener on the other side of the fence. I have found Brazil to be a very good compromise having the best people I have known. I love political debates here among friends, they yell and scream for five minutes and then hand each other a beer as they light the churrasco. In the USA, after about 30-seconds the knives are out to slit each other's throats now. Brazil has some of the better beaches in the world, (Crimea has the best and most romantic, IMO). I have brought back to the USA numerous ocean water samples from Brazil to run in my lab and have always been pleasantly surprised, mother nature has been good to Brazil.  There are many, many places in the USA I would not let pets swim in, let alone humans. In the USA, I worked in science and Nuclear Medicine, mostly with cancer and brain studies.  When it came time for my own Ca surgery, I went to Brazil for it. The level of compassion and technology is far superior to the USA. I'm in the USA now for work, but packed and ready to go "home".

I've been living in Asunción, Paraguay. I like Paraguayans, but like all Paraguayans, I am tired of the corruption. The last straw has been the very poor air quality. There are laws against burn-offs for agriculture, but the are not enforced. So millions of people have to suffer in the smoke and extreme heat, some days hitting 109 F. So I have been looking for a change even though I've had some great times in Paraguay.

Curitiba is cooler, fresher, cleaner, greener. The middle class is larger than in Paraguay. And the cost of living (so low compared to the States) is about the same as Paraguay.  Another advantage of Curitiba is that it is not that far from the ocean, for outings. In life, I'll have to start all over again on language and friendships, but that can be an adventure too.

02/02/22

Fate definitely took a hand, or perhaps, as my mother used to say, "God spoke first."

When I was a Senior in high school, my group landed in Lisbon on my first trip to Europe.  Touring the city I was enchanted by the language people were speaking, and said to myself, "I want to learn that some day."  A little over two years later I got my chance.  The Portuguese Department at my university was very Brazil-oriented, and I became more and more fascinated with the country.  That developed into a lifelong connection.

Right after graduation, I went to Northeastern Brazil in the Peace Corps.  For the next almost three years I worked very hard, spoke very little English, and loved every minute of it.  From then on, when I was in Brazil, I always felt at home and abroad at the same time, a strange feeling, but a very pleasant one. 

Through my working years I was often back and forth to Brazil on business, always in demand as a Portuguese speaker.  I planned for that to continue casually as I approached retirement, but never really considered living here.  An unexpected email from an amazing Brazilian man abruptly changed my plans.  After chatting, we realized that we wanted to know each other better.  After meeting, we realized that we wanted to be together.  His professional interests and family obligations meant that we'd be living in Brazil, and that was fine with me.

We were married in 2017, and I've lived in Brazil ever since.  I get along well with his family, and he gets along well with mine.  I now have dual citizenship, US and Brazil.
We like to visit the US, and will often, if the world ever gets back to "normal", but Brazil is where our home is.

Cheer to all

For me. Grew up around Brazilians in Canada. My Brazilian friends are ones that got me into Informatic technology from like dawn of time. One day up and met a woman here for a visit. Never left lol. Brazil has always been part of my life. I have no issues. Friends have educated me for what seems like decades on what to do / avoid. Genuinely feels like I was born in the wrong country lol

For me ....
My dad got a BA in History from Harvard and became the Historian of DOD.
I was always the rebel, subscribed to Soviet Life magazine while he was in McNamara's office.
but I have studied history myself in depth, with a focus on technology and major economic processes, while ignoring personalities and ideologies and....wars ....
and I came to the conclusion decades ago that the USA hegemony was doomed by its own megalomania.
So I started to look for a way out.  I was three years old, the first time I picked up my little red wagon and walked away from home ....I successfully evaded the all-expenses paid vacation Uncle Sam offered to Viet Nam .....
It has taken some effort, there have been some false starts, I've tried "identifying as black", I've tried Estonia, Belize, northern Minnesota, Monaco, Nova Scotia, and Ethiopia.  Really its been one hell of a life......

Brazil has music and joy.  Brazil dances.  Brazil does not make war with anybody.
Brazil has maracuja, closest thing to ambrosia God ever invented.  Nude beaches.
And astoundingly beautiful places where no man has ever set foot, yet.
This is working, and I look back and my home is burning .....
I just keep asking if anything ever starts to get easier, it just seems to get harder and faster all the time ......

The square-root of the driving force for living here in Brazil is, most simply put, passion. It is a two-part passion that has origins in the 1970s which finally brought me to stay in 2009 for good (and I almost opted for Belize for business purposes). Brazil is an intriguing place in terms of the natural world, so different than my Wisconsin origins where I also loved diverse natural features. Brazil has also been a place where partners in my life are from. Brazilians have become family.

I'm content here in spite of some of the daily comparisons that sometimes cause irritation. But I also recognize that there has been some "devolution" back in Wisconsin which now gives rise to my ire. I came to live in a new place that was advancing (at least until the current global wave of chaos took effect) politically and socially. I left my "home" as it started to fall from the highly acclaimed "clean" politics of the past into the hands of grifters and frauds. I still have hope that "home" will recover. I often wonder what historians will call this period of great political chaos one hundred years from now. I don't think it will be a positive designation.

My path took 31 years to get to the last 13 years residing here. Along the route a lot of people and places became part of my reality, a reality that still holds great affection for the place I am from but much more intrigue for where I am. Life is linear and I'm not interested in furthering many experiences back "home."

If I were a bit younger I might try harder to attempt other places beyond Brazil (especially Portugal which was such a strong part of my educational experience) but then there are also many different places within Brazil that I've yet to experience. I've visited quite a lot here, from Chuí (RS) to Guajaramirim (RO) and most parts in between, but there are more yet to discover and maybe even to try spending extended time.

I'm from those years (way back) when the Chevrolet commercial pushed the ditty, "See the USA in your Chevrolet; America is asking you to call; Drive your Chevrolet through the USA; America's the greatest land of all" sung by Dinah Shore. I did! And America is a great place. But I feel the same way about THIS America. There is so much to see and experience and I've actively been trying to do just that but there is still so much more. I love long cross-country drives. I always laugh at those that carry that now-tame Route 66 "spirit of adventure" by posting Route 66 icons on their "mancave" walls. Anybody that wants a real R66 experience just needs to take a long drive along an overabundance of challenging Brazilian roads holding diverse sights and interesting destinations.

If I were a bit younger (and my knees tell me that I'm not) I'd hop on a motorcycle and do that trip that I had planned for back in 1981, to tour the Andean cordillera, down the Pan-American Highway, down the west coast and come back north via the middle parts (I've already done too much of the eastern coast). I'll have to be content doing that through others' experiences (vicariously) but I've still got smaller adventures on the books.

What a place we live in!!
mberigan

Awesome to read thanks for sharing

I am hoping to buy an apartment in Curitiba and was wondering if you have experience buying property there. Is it customary to make an offer below the asking price like it is here in the U.S.? The property in question has been on the market for awhile. The current tenant wanted to buy it but couldn't get a loan. I would be paying cash. Where I live, it's common to negotiate price, but each area is different. Thanks for any insight:-)

02/03/22

mooseheadlaw,

It's absolutely ok to make an offer below the asking price, especially if you're offering a cash transaction with no contingencies on a property that's been on the market for a while.  In Brazil, cash is king, even more than in Canada and the US.

Here's a thread with lots of information about purchasing property, that's probably still "alive":

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.p … 11&p=2

Thank you so much, abthree:-)

I visited Brazil for the first time when I was 18 years old. I had a Brazilian boyfriend at the time and most of my friends were Brazilian. I was born and raised in San Diego and there is a large Brazilian community. Fell in love with the country and the people. I continued to visit Brazil once or twice a year through the years. For the last 7 years I have worked exclusively online which has made me location independent. I have traveled all over the world but I always come back to Brazil. In the last two years I have been considering my options to move to Brazil. As well as no longer really feeling connected to California the cost of living is through the roof. I am going to apply for the nomad visa and start there, excited about the possibility.

mooseheadlaw,
We purchased a condo in Curitiba years ago. My sister-in-law (Attorney) help us. Yes, it is fine to offer less, We got it for $R 10.000 less than asking. Cash is king.

KellyMarieD wrote:

I visited Brazil for the first time when I was 18 years old. I had a Brazilian boyfriend at the time and most of my friends were Brazilian. I was born and raised in San Diego and there is a large Brazilian community. Fell in love with the country and the people. I continued to visit Brazil once or twice a year through the years. For the last 7 years I have worked exclusively online which has made me location independent. I have traveled all over the world but I always come back to Brazil. In the last two years I have been considering my options to move to Brazil. As well as no longer really feeling connected to California the cost of living is through the roof. I am going to apply for the nomad visa and start there, excited about the possibility.

Please let us know how this goes.
Thanks
Tex

Is your sister-in-law still practicing in Curitiba?

mooseheadlaw,
No, she has retired from Itaipu and spending time with the family.

I first "met" Brazil when I was 17 years old as a summer participant in the AFS exchange program. I stayed with a Brazilian family for 2 1/2 months in Governador Valadares, Minas Gerais.  At the time I spoke no Portuguese.  I returned home in September of that year, finished high school, and entered university the following year with no real major in mind -- but I knew I wanted into the portuguese class.  After a year of the language, I returned to Valadares and my host family where I was introduced to the profession of teaching English as a foreign language.  With the basic grammatical structures in mind, my language proficiency soared and I felt totally "em casa."

Fast forward 55 years, during which I returned to Brazil many, many times, (almost) always to Valadares and my "family" there.  (I did sneak in a personal solo trip to Manaus and a week-long river cruise as a 60th birthday present to myself.)  When the the new retirement visa (of 2019) arose, it suddenly became possible to contemplate a permanent move to my adopted home.  The pushes:  my landlord was ready to sell the rental house I inhabited; my income was soon to be limited to social security and required minimum distributions; my nearest relative, a sister who lived in town, was traveling more and more and was contemplating her own move out of the area; I had a fairly limited circle of friends who were, in any case, busy with their own careers and families; my increasing frustration with U.S. political culture .  The pulls:  I knew Valadares and knew I'd adapt well (having adapted to two years in Morocco with Peace Corps - a country I knew was more personally challenging); I felt comfortable with my language ability; and the cost of living, especially in Valadares, was well within the budget social security was providing me.  AND, Valadares has its own pickleball club, so I know I would immediately find a wide circle of friends with this common interest!

I came down in November of 2020 to confirm I wasn't crazy and found, and rented, an apartment.  I submitted my application for the visa to the Chicago consulate in December 2020/January 2021, and I was on my way by March 4th (march forth?!!!)  No regrets whatsoever. 

Thanks to all of you who've offered encouragement and tips along the way!