Got job in Rio -Help Required

Hi All,

I have been offered a position in Rio, starting in June.

I am going to be coming over with both my wife and young child.

I have to give the company I am going to be working for an idea of where I would like to live and budget, so that they can assist in finding some accommodation for viewing.

We have looked on the internet and there are a number of areas that I think sound great, however these areas are somewhat expensive. It is very difficult to know where is good (worth the cost) and where isn't. I  wondered if someone could provide some information on the questions below

1) What area would be best to live with a young family, where my wife can get to know other expats, until she can learn the language and integrate more. Is there a particular area expats all congregate..?
2) Where is safe to have a young family..?
3) The office will be based nr City Hall, so I am thinking for commuting, that  Leblon,Ipanema,Botafogo, Flamengo....Can anyone think of other areas that may be worth looking at..? (bearing in mind this is before detailed budget considerations :-/)
4) I am unsure how much percentage of salary we need to use to budget accomodation. ie 1/2, 1/3, 1/4 etc... Obviously a lot of the places above are pricey, so could anyone advise how much it would cost to buy food for a family of three per month, just groceries...

I appreciate I am asking a lot of questions, I guess if I could get an answer to question 4, it would make it easier to know whether I should use as much as half my salary on accomodation, to find something suitable...

All help would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks

Canyon