Moving un Extrema Minas Gerais

Hello Oceana_Belle,

Welcome to Expat.com!

Brazil is a country that suffers from a great deal of crime and violence, especially in the small interior towns. Police are notoriously underpaid and thus often corrupt.

Read and follow all the safety tips in "A Gringo's Survival Guide for Brazil" and you will be much better off.

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=107384

The public education system in Brazil is also very poor by North American and European standards. Public school students study 4 hour per day in 3 shifts, morning, afternoon and night classes.

Cheers,
William James Woodward - Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team

Thanks for welcoming me
Here Christine.

The place Extrema Minas Gerais is that a secluded area?.

Mr William thanks for the input i have read the link. So it is important to learn portugese language.

Oh yes, it is of the utmost importance to learn and use Portuguese. If for no other reason than just getting by in daily life. You won't find many people in Brazil who speak English fluently especially in small towns.

Cheers,
William James Woodward - Brazil Animator. Expat-blog Team

Thanks me William and ive seen some post here
How to learn portugese language. It helps a lot😃

Hello Oceana_Belle,

Although I do not know Extrema personally I do know the region very well as my husband and I have a farm in Camanducaia, MG (20 minutes from Extrema). I have known this region since 2005 and just recently moved to Brasil from the USA. My husband and I are currently living in Sao Paulo, but we will be moving permanently to our farm in September of this year.

Let me tell you a little bit about this region, as I have come to love it and think it is an absolutely amazing place to live.

Most of the towns are very simple, people living here are simple, and do not have much exposure to foreigners. Extrema is located close to Fernao Dias, a major highway, that connects Sao Paulo and Belo Horizonte. Travelling from Sao Paulo to Extrema is very easy! Extrema is a city that is rapidly growing. When I first came to this region in 2005 Extrema was small and only had a few factories. Now, the city has grown tremendously and there are MANY new factories. Bauduco, and Kopenhagen are just among the many factories that are now there. People are moving to Extrema for jobs in the factories and as a result the city has grown in the past years. As I said, I have not visited Extrema, only driven past on the highway, but it is a larger city and because it is growing there are many new enterprises appearing in the city.

I do not know about the schools in Extrema. However, about 20 minutes from Extrema there is the city of Braganca which is located in the state of Sao Paulo. Braganca is more of a univeristy city and as a result has good schools. Friends of ours send there children to the lower and high school in Braganca. Braganca also has a very good public hospital and is the hospital that my husband and I go to (1 hour and 40 minutes drive from our farm:(....)!

People in this region are not used to foreigners and as a result do not speak English or any other languages. I do not know whether you speak any portuguese already, but I would recommend that you spend some time learning the basics before moving here as it will be challenging to communicate with people. (I am not fluent in Portuguese and struggle to communicate with people).

Again, this is a beautiful region, full of mountains, nice temperatures, and touristic attractions. Close by to Extrema is Monte Verde, MG, a very popular tourist town for Paulistas. In the winter months it is crowded. There are wonderful restaurants there and many activities. There is even a farm stand every Saturday with produce from my farm...come visit:)!!!!

I hope that this information helps you. Please do not hesitate to contact me via email with more questions: [email protected]

Abraços,
Saskia

As an additional note regarding safety/violence. Although my farm is located far from the city of Camanducaia I find that this region in general is VERY safe. I have never heard of much violence occurring in the cities. I feel much safer in the rural cities (Camanducaia, Extrema, Itapepeva) then I do in Sao Paulo or the larger Brazilian cities!!!!!!

I hope this helps!