Best usages and practices in Brazil

Shahab khan775 wrote:

Hello Priscilla.
Whats up girl. How you doing? I am doing great in fact very well.  what can be better i loooooove Brazil. Though i was raised in California Los Angeles. Man i can proudly say Sao Paulo is wayyyyy better. Well as a profession i am a certified private native English language teacher. And oh man i love my job because since i been in Brazil my profession has just grown like a human in a mother's tummy. I have so many categories. I am a translator professor and working on to be an interpreter. Besides the fact Brazilians are the best people i've ever met in my life. I mean they are my top priority. All my student's are like family to me. Man i am telling you we treat each other the best. Like going out for lunches, to clubs gatherings i mean you name it we do it all together and the best. And that's how i even learned my portuguese.
If you need and other info comments or any services in regards to of my profession please feel free and ask. I am here to assist and help you and your team. Well priscilla got to go now. Time for another student. Well hope we keep talking.

Thank you.
Shahab Khan.

Shahab, this isn't really a thread where you're supposed to self-advertise dude. Also, you wrote your post as if  you were sending her a chat or email message.

Also, the original post was asking for tips and tricks that have helped you live in Brazil more easily.  Things like:
I would recommend having your bank send you a backup or secondary bank/credit card in case your primary gets cloned. If all your banking is in the US, like mine, and your card is cloned, you won't have access to funds without having a backup or secondary card.

If you're from North America or Mexico, get a Skype account and pay the just about 7 bucks and get the Unlimited North American calling package. You can call friends and family back home as much as you want.

Most people already know this, but Whatsapp allows you to make phone and video calls to and from anywhere in the world with a data plan and/or WiFi connection for your phone. A cellular phone and email account are required.

In São Paulo, getting a rechargable/refillable public transit card will make getting around with or without your own vehicle much easier. The Bilhete Unico requires that you get your photo taken and have a CPF to order. The Bilhete Unico also gives you multiple bus rides in a 3-4 hour period and reduces the cost of the subway after riding a bus. The other card (I don't remember the name) available in São Paulo that gets you around even to some of the other cities in the area I'm not sure about. Most of the buses in São Paulo that accept it are more expensive.

In São Paulo, the public transit system is very good. Other areas, like where I'm at currently, are worse.  Buses come only every 20-30 minutes in some areas of the city. Check with the locals or the transit company (-ies)'s site for further info. Whenever possible, use both the transit system site and Google to get directions to go places you're not familiar with.  Depending solely on local and/or the transit workers can get you lost.

And yes Shahab, this is THAT Mike from Gabriel's rebublica.

CraigF wrote:

Some useful tips,

Buy health insurance here in Brazil, it will make your life really good. If you need to go to the emergency room, you will be seen right away. There is little to no waiting for insurance card holders. I think the hospitals are better here and more accommodating. In the last year we have had 3 emergency room visits with our kids, from stitches to croup. Plus the normal yearly checkups with regular doctor and they are very thorough with testing here. 

Negotiate almost everything! Most things are a little overinflated, because Brazilians expects to do this. Also, ask if you can get a little off with paying in cash. They also do split payments here which is kind of weird to me, where you purchase an item and they automatically withdrawal a portion of what you owe for 3 or more months out of your bank account. Really good for large purchases.

Most pharmacies deliver, which comes in handy with sick kids or that late night my guts are killing me experience. It makes total sense to keep sick people away from others. You can even WhatsApp your orders in. Another delivery is beer, you run out and your trying to decide who can drive to get more. No need, WhatsApp them the order. Most will deliver ice, charcoal and other normal things you find at a beer distributor.

Craig

Hey Craig,

What have you found out about international insurance? Am I better of buying Brazil-only here? I'm really wanting something for just in case when I'm visiting my family.

That payment splitting isn't actually like that. When you purchase something "parcelado" you still have to have the item's full value available in/on your account/card. What happens is they block the full amount of your purchase and then actually withdraw the agreed upon monthly payment amount each month from your account and decrease the amount that's blocked by that month. It's useless and asinine to me.

Most pharmacies in your area might deliver, but not here. Major cities and major chains, yes. But smaller chains or one-off stores and stores in smaller areas don't.