so i want to move to brazil, but i've never been there. so i want to go to brazil to check it out first and see what it's like. it will be a reconaissance trip to get some information and see if i really do want to live there.
i have a few questions:
1. i live in nyc, where people are less social during the winter. so the best time to visit nyc is when it's warm. is it the same way in brazil? are people in brazil less social during the winter?
2. if yes to number 1, are brazilians significantly less social during winter or just a little bit?
3. in the summer, will there be a shitload of tourists in brazil that will dilute my experience of brazil?
4. i'm still doing research about brazil, so i'm not completely sure about which cities i want to go to, but so far it seems like i'm leaning towards going to visit curitiba, belo horizonte, sao paulo, and rio de janeiro. these are cities that i think might be better for living in, so that's why i'm visiting them. (although i don't really want to live in rio de janeiro because i read that you can catch dengue there in march and april, but i think i should probably still visit there because they have more jobs there.) it seems from a google search that most people say that the best time to visit these areas is december to april. also, various websites said that travel/hotel prices may be higher in summer, although the prices on hotels.com didn't really seem to be much different in march versus july.
however, it appears that all of these cities (all in the southeast and south) generally have a lot of rain (about every other day) until march. in my opinion, it seems like a waste of money to go to brazil in the summer when it will rain every other day. i would not want to leave the hotel if it was raining.
do you think it would be smart to go visit brazil for a month sometime between may and september of next year (winter time)? this will also give me more time to learn portuguese (i just started learning in august).
5. when it rains, do brazilians just stay at home? or do they still get out of the house just as much irregardless of whether it is raining or sunny?
6. i live in nyc. so i have to go to a consulate in nyc to get a visa. will the consulate let me get a visa if i fly to california in may for a family function first, and then leave straight from california to fly to brazil? or will the consulate require me to fly from nyc directly to brazil? (on the trip back, i would fly from brazil straight to nyc.)
7. do i buy my plane ticket first and then go to the consulate to get the visa, or do i go to the consulate first to get the visa and then buy the plane ticket after?
8. if i want to buy tickets for plane travel within brazil, like from curitiba to belo horizonte, can i buy those anytime (like even a month before the trip), or do i need to buy them at the same time that i buy the international flight tickets from america to brazil?
thanks