living in Brazil

[FIRE2016]

Andy R's experience is much in line what I wrote in my earlier post.

If you think about Brazil because of costs of living, then forget about it, you are better off in the US. Many Brazilians go to the US for vacation because it is cheaper for them - and they just love Disney .

It was mentioned in one of the earlier posts that costs of living are good for those who earn in US dollars. Sorry to say but those times are over. Unless you have an expat contract with great conditions local salaries (white collar) are often better paid than in the US.

Medical treatment is top, if you have good insurance and live near one of the centers like São Paulo, Rio, Belo Horizonte, Curitiba. Albert Einstein and some other in São Paulo, (Sirio-Libanes) are some of the world's best hospitals.

Most of the danger areas and also homicides are happening inside the slums, often between the gangs and drug dealers. Nevertheless I agree that one should know where to go in the big cities and talking Portuguese helps of course a lot. But well - I would also not recommend to walk around LA downtown during the night, even speaking some basic English.

 

[boatfishandnature]

I currently live and plan to (soon) retire in Brazil. The above posts are all excellent, I am always impressed by the solid knowledge of our fellow members! A quick recap

- For the kind of lifestyle that most of us would want to lead, Brazil is a bit more expensive than the U.S., In these comparisons, it is important to compare apples with apples, so one should compare Sao Paulo cost of living with NYC, not a mid-sized city in the midwest.
- Very friendly people, a choice of different climates, some really nice seaside areas.
- Medical care is top notch, if you have insurance and live near one of the main cities
- Security is a concern in many locations but you can live very safely if you take some basic precautions and are willing to spend a bit of money on security.

The way DW and I reconciled all of this was to pick carefully our retirement location - Ilhabela, an offshore island about 3-4h from São Paulo. This location is
1. Safe - the fact that you need to take a ferry to get there helps
2. Not only a beautiful island with great nautical infrastructure, but 85% of the island is a State Park, covered in original Atlantic rainforest. Nice climate, too, since it has a few 4000 ft peaks and a nice breeze most days. Great place for sailing, fishing, etc.
3. Only 2.5h from Brazil's main international airport, so, convenient for travel
4. Proximity to Sao Paulo allows one to easily access top notch health care facilities (as well as shopping facilities and cultural events).

There are a few other locations like this in Brazil... Buzios (northern Rio state), a few places near Florianopolis (Santa Catarina State, further South).