Moving to Brazil

I think there ain`t such thing as laid back style of life when your 24 years old . I was dreaming of the same thing 7 years ago when I was your age  . But take in consideration that life in Brazil can be really stressing some times ,especially when you have to work hard to make a living  . I`m very sorry for your loss, must be really hard for you now . But if you do come back to Brazil make yourself a good plan of what you are going to do here after settling down . Hope everything will run smooth with your return . " Boa sorte , amigo capixaba !"

Hi Gator Bait,

My first question to you would be have you ever been back to Brazil since moving to the USA? Since you grew up there you're essentially a "gringo" now, despite your citizenship and speaking fluent Portuguese.

You've grown accustomed to a country where all of the infrastructure is in place and actually WORKS like it's supposed to. What infrastructure Brazil has is old and the concept of "preventive maintenance" has never caught on here, so most of the time the infrastructure doesn't work at all. Basic sanitation is precarious at best, most cities don't have anything in the way of sewage treatment, even major cities only have secondary treatment at best. You can't drink the tap water in major cities like São Paulo, Rio and Belo Horizonte unless you have installed some kind of "in-home" water purification or filtration system. In other cities you can't drink the tap water at all. Almost all Brazilians rely on bottled water. Electricity is outrageously expensive (and rising constantly), and the distribution network is for lack of a better term "extremely fragile", power outages and brownouts are so frequent you lose count of them in short order.

You're also used to a country where you actually see at least some of the money you pay in taxes come back to you in the way of quality services. It seems that in Brazil the sole purpose of government is to collect taxes!!! Incomes are taxed on an incrimental scale from 7.5 to 27.5 percent of taxable income. Most people with decent incomes are in the highest tax bracket. Then too, everything you purchase in the way of goods (including food) or services is subject to no less than 6 (hidden) taxes built in, and any imported goods are taxed at 60 percent too. Electronics here are prohitively expensive as a result, unless you by the inferior quality national brand products. Of all those tax revenues very little comes back to the Brazilian people in the way of services. Sadly, this is a fact that the government even brags about!!!

Public security is almost non-existent anywhere in Brazil. If you're living near Vitória - ES then you can be sure that your personal safety is going to be a very big concern. The homicide rate here in Brazil is about 4 times what you are used to in the USA. Crimes against property are constantly on the rise and the average Brazilian home looks like a prison, with high barbedwire or electric circuit topped walls, barred windows, cameras and motion sensing lights. It's so depressing a sight and a constant reminder of the lack of safety.

You should also know that you need a very strong dose of patience if you're going to live here. Everything - and I do mean everything, is steeped in mountains of needless and senseless bureaucracy. It takes much longer than you can possibly imagine to do the simplest little things here as a result. You'll find yourself waiting for hours in a bank if you actually need to use a teller to conduct a transaction. Even when you don't the lineups at the ATM are also nightmarish. Opening a business here, takes on average 120 days as opposed to 30 to 60 in most countries. It also necessitates using both a lawyer and accountant to wend your way through the bureaucratic process.

You will however have a great advantage over other expats, in that you're a citizen and fluent in Portuguese, so the much higher public sector jobs, and jobs in state-owned companies will be open to you. They are completely off limits to non-Brazilians (at least at the present moment).

If you have not spent any prolonged period of time in Brazil since your childhood, I would strongly recommend that you not commit yourself to anything set in stone. Come to Brazil for 6 months to a year, rent a place, look around and see what your job prospects are, look at the housing market carefully if you intend to stay and buy a home here. See for yourself whether or not you're going to be able to re-assimilate into Brazilian society and if you're going to be satisfied with living here. You may likely find that the reality of living here is nothing at all like you have dreamed it may be. Once you've done that then you can make a truly informed decision as to whether or not Brazil is a "fit" for you and your lifestyle.

Cheers,
James      Expat-blog Experts Team

Thank you both for the replies. I have been to Brazil about 5 years ago and spent almost 6 months. If I choose to move back, I won't be living in Vitorua, but a small town where my family has lived there for generations, which makes me a step ahead since I already own a house. Personally, after being in the military and then now with my wife passing away, I am trying to find a small town where I can live as simple as possible. I guess my dream is to be alone in the woods? I live in Gainesville, FL if anyone knows it, is basically a student town, and I hate being around people But I will definitely be coming to "visit" first before making any decision.

Wise move to decide to spend some time where you're actually planning to end up living. I spent some time in the Vitória area and I can tell you that some of the surrounding area, places like Vila Velha, Jacaraipe, Nova Almeida, Serra, etc., are pretty rough. I certainly don't know if I would want to live in any of them. Then again if you have family there then it might be considerably different.

Don`t worry everything is going to be alright , this life is just a passage . Life in Brazil is great after you get used to all the difficulties . One can really find peace of mind here and the best thing here is that being alone is only a choice .
I looked for the opposite that you are looking for here , of not being alone anymore . After being born and raised in a place that nobody smiles or cares about the person next door , now being close to people that know how to celebrate this life is great , I smile all the time and cherish every moment in this place where the new century problems like depression and loneliness are mostly just for the rich class .