What sort of work do most expats do?

spanishpete wrote:

most of the brazilian i see working in the building industry, seam to work hard at making the work harder, where i work at making the work easy,
theres 20,000 people that live in Iguaba grande, i am the only one that seams to use a cement mixer when making cement or concrete, i let my tools do the work,

I had a foreman as an electrician who said it right: Work smarter,not harder.

AndreaJonas wrote:

Steve, LMAO, You have to be South African broer.  Only a fellow South African will recognise kak.

I'm an American and I understood it.

I`m retired. I do watch the way people work and I see where it can be done easier. I think alot of it is cultural.  We bought an American style mop. Our maid and sometimes even my wife still wrap the cloth around the broom to mop the floor.

Jim

My wife and her daughter use the squeegee. I pointed out a "real" mop to her at a McDonald's one day and asked her why more people don't use them. She asked me what it was.

Here's what I do:
http://www.racingjunk.com/news/author/mike-aguilar/

Mops are not common in Brazil, they use that squeegee....not sure why
I've discussed it with a few people, no one really knew

Also interesting thing is nobody does dishes in hot water here.....I've never seen a kitchen sink with hot water in Brazil?

Hi
Most Brazilians think and do on the real cheap,                                                                     
so cheap squeegees "a rag on a brush",
cheap hot water, "thats really cold"

My ex had a water heater at her kitchen sink, but she never used it. Not sure it was even hooked up in fact.

Spanishpete, I like your story and it inspires me to Keep Calm and Don't Stop Looking for work and new ideas to re-invent my American (USA) way of doing things.  I am in Sao Paulo in the Guaianazes part of the city.  I did try my Auto Mechanic skills I had in Belgium before coming to live in Brazil when I worked on a US Army base in Brussels -- but only on a 3-day trial basis and they paid me for the 3 days.  But the Auto Garage Boss wanted someone who could remove an Automatic Transmission from the car but I had no training in the type of car repair.  I have tried a lot of online work like Appen out of Austrailia and that only lasted 1.5 months.  But the pay was good about $10 USD per day.  I still have an account with Humantic.com but you can sit all day on the computer and make maybe $4 to $6 USD per day.  It's a call review type work.  Listening to peoples calls and answering questions after the call.  Sometimes you get the wrong answer and the penalize you double of what you were supposed to get for the call -- 2 Cents USD.  So I do that sometimes when I am really bored.  But I had experience in the US Air Force for 7 years too as an Administrator of an office.  You can't fly planes unless the paperwork is done first. So I am been a few places like Iceland and Alaska and Belgium too.

Mechanic and all they wanted was someone that could remove an automatic? Damn. I can do that in my sleep with the right tools.

Late to the party, but I am considering relocating to South America in 2022. My shortlist includes Brazil, Argentina and Mexico (Central America). I have 13 years experience working as an expat in Mozambique which has Portuguese as its official language, so my language skills for Brazil are quite competent. In Maputo (capital of Mozambique) I created various opportunities always catering for the niche expat and upper income markets. I taught music (piano & singing) and creative (design, art & drama) lessons for up to $50 (US) an hour. My students were expat children and expats themselves. I would also organise unique school excursions for the international schools such as island field trips. I also did sub-teaching for various international schools (American, British, Portuguese and Scandinavian) for various academic, creative and language classes (without a formal qualification). Added to this I ran my own eventing. PR and exclusive catering company with my main clients being multinational companies & luxury brands, expats, socialites and diplomats. I did many catering functions for various embassies and high commissions (one of my specialties as I am well-versed in international cuisines) including the US, Dutch, Portuguese, French embassies and the Canadian & British High Commission. This seems to be a niche I would like to approach in Brazil. Is this viable. I have a relatively good networking base, as I was the country ambassador for Internations in Mozambique for several years and know a few diplomats in Brazil. Any advice?

Have you been to Brazil? I would check it out and try to come to a conclusion. You will probably limit yourself as to areas because of where expats live, but with Portugues, in hand, you need to find  areas of high incomes and the desire to have young ones learn music and such
Hopefully, 2022 will be fine ????

oh all right....
I served my government 30 years as a computer scientist with the Office of Coast survey during the critical years when ocean navigation was switching over from paper charts to digital navigation.  There is now a piece of my code on every ship on the high seas, worldwide.
Upon "retiring" I backed into (without exactly planning to do so) a property management business/charity focussed on people from disadvantaged circumstances.  How it actually makes money while serving a desperate need, is a bit complicated to explain.   There's now about 20 people who affectionately call me "Godfather".   I also dabble in performing music, making visual art, and designing, building and repairing fine wood furniture.  I'm also an extremely successful investor/trader.

One day I should put up my heels and take a rest.  I should but I probably won't.  We are closing soon on the ranch in Bahia but I will probably start growing coffee or goats or maybe just build a nice pousada or upscale tourist trap.  My girlfriend is the same way, she's been making masks during the pandemic, she used to run a luncheon counter (churrasquina), and lately she's been wholesaling women's underwear to open a shop.  I always wanted to get into women'
s underwear .....

Hi there TexanBrazil. I havent been to Brazil, but Mozambique has a very similar culture and I have dealt extensively with expats. They are always looking for something for their children to do for afternoon activities. I had a long waiting list. Also with regarding connecting with upper income clients, I plan to either settle in Brasilia (due to the concentration of the diplomatic community) or Rio (which also has several consulates as well as multinational brands). I have strong networking skills and start through organisations such as Internations. But yes, hopefully 2022 will be a better year with regards to Covid-19, as I have seen how it has decimated Brazil in particular. Any input from you with regards to this?

MetaMorpheus,

Obtaining residency and authorization to work in Brazil is close to impossible for someone who doesn't have a Brazilian family member, an employment contract with a Brazilian company, or isn't bringing a significant amount of foreign money with him/her to invest in a business.  What's your plan?

Meta
That's great. but you may find BR somewhat different. You may need to be in a large city to find 1) expats and 2) people with disposable income for music lessons.
The government does pay better than most jobs in BR, but not a big difference. I would include Sao Paulo. It is Brasil's finacial hub.
Again location and culture wise it is hard to compare Rio with Brasilia.
You really need to see the climates and culture of each city.
Smaller cities do have many expats money, but it difficult to find enough clients to make a decent living.
Again take a peek first and get to know the areas.  From weather to the way of life I find very diffrent in regions of Brasil.

Read abthree's reply. I did not even go into immigration. That is your first plan to attack to be able to work,

I have researched all the different opportunities to start up a business in Brazil, had a chat with some of my Brazilian friends in both Brasilia and Rio (some of whom have also lived in Mozambique for a time), as well as some diplomatic friends from several missions. Where necessary they will assist to start up a legal entity as I would be doing business with the diplomatic community where legal registration and documentation is a prerequisite. I also have a fair sum of money to invest. However I am considering several cities in South America with Rio and Buenos Aires (I have spent time here and speak the language and have contacts here as well) top of my list. I will be spending a month in each city on reconnaissance to enable an informed, definite decision.  My main concerns, to be honest, are Covid-19 in Brazil and safety in both locations.

Ola Abthree,

I just saw you are located in Manaus, which has been one of my childhood cherished dreams to visit. I am an avid aquarist and one of my goals is to visit Manaus, especially Barcelos to catch some of my own fish on expedition and of course the annual ornamental fish festival.

On another topic, did your marriage to a Brazilian secure your citizenship?

Fique bem!

Meta,

Brazil is quite different comparing to Mozambique. I've never been to Mozambique, but I watch a lot of videos (news, documentaries, vlogs etc.) on YouTube about Angola & Mozambique. State of Bahia is similar to Angola & Mozambique in terms of culture.

I have a lot of friends from West Africa (Togo, Benin, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso) and all of them are saying that if you are (American and) white, it's quite easy to do business in Africa, simply because people trust you more (without even knowing you well). Again, it's not my opinion, it is the opinion of local people who were born in West Africa and live in California.

There are many Brazilians of European (Portuguese, Italian, German) and Middle Eastern (Arabs, Jewish) descent especially in Rio de Janeiro & Sao Paulo.

My first wife is Italian Brazilian, her grandparents immigrated from Sicily in 1920s and half of her aunts and uncles live in Italy.

White (skin) color in Mozambique is a business "advantage" but in Brazil it is not.

Competition in Brazil is huge, people from around the World are coming to live in Brazil.

Anyway, I wish you a luck in your endeavors.

Thanks Cali!

The advice and heads up is being taken seriously.

I think (or certainly have experienced) that the following are key requirements for success anywhere:

1) To be professional
2) To present yourself and your product/service as uniquely as possible
3) To thoroughly research your market (niche is preferable) and more importantly, your competition
4)To acknowledge challenges and look for creative, viable solutions to lessen or negate them
5) To be confident, backed up experience and attainable goals
6) To start small, but thoroughly
7) Word Of Mouth is key and excellent networking skills are essential
8) Be in the right place at the right time
9) To deliver your product/service timeously
10) To go the extra mile

This is not a comprehensive list, but I think a good start.

Hopefully (and with a lot of hard work and effort) these will stand me in good stead wherever I try to settle down.

Fique bem!

MetaMorpheus wrote:

Ola Abthree,

I just saw you are located in Manaus, which has been one of my childhood cherished dreams to visit. I am an avid aquarist and one of my goals is to visit Manaus, especially Barcelos to catch some of my own fish on expedition and of course the annual ornamental fish festival.

On another topic, did your marriage to a Brazilian secure your citizenship?

Fique bem!

I love Manaus.   I hope that you have the chance to get to know it, once we're covid-free.

Brazil is fairly generous with permanent residency for foreigners who have Brazilian spouses, children, or parents.  You can apply on arrival, are approved if you qualify and your papers are in order, and receive your ID card in anywhere from a few weeks to a few months.  A permanent resident has all the rights of a Brazilian citizen, except the rights to vote, have a Brazilian passport, hold office, or compete for a civil service job.  A permanent resident can work legally,  own real estate,  and enroll in SUS, the national health care plan.  Permanent residents can also be out of the country for extended periods:  as long as they're not gone for two years or more at a stretch,  they don't lose their status.

Citizenship is more complicated.   After one year of continuous residence in Brazil (for family members of Brazilians; residency periods are longer for others), a permanent resident may apply for naturalization.   This requires a naturalization petition that explains all absences from Brazil since issue of the candidate's resident ID card, refreshing all of the documentation originally presented to obtain permanent residency, passing a comprehensive examination in written and spoken Portuguese - the CelpeBras,  an initial interview with the Federal Police,  and a home visit from the Federal Police.  My naturalization process took nine months, start to finish.

If by chance you're a Mozambican citizen, the Federal Police can waive the CelpeBras requirement.