Responding to a Ken Aquarius specific request.
it's a long and elaborate one,
Would you mind if l asked your opinion about buying a home in Brazil? I am also going to retire soon. April of 2023 to be exact. My wife is from Rio and l have been to Brazil many times since 2003. But l have not traveled a great deal for such a large country.
Do you have any recommendations for a safe clean place that doesn't require one to live on a gated community? We would like to be near a beach but not beach front per se.
Taken under consideration, for retirees, quality Health Care delivery in close range is a must. So, right out of the bat,. |I am tossing out those sunny seaside resorts on the North East ( with maybe some exception to Fortaleza, and the Rio Grande do Norte ).
And totaly forget about Rio. Unless you pla to live in the mountains, by Teresopolis.
I know in general Santa Catarina has maybe the best reputation of any state I. Brazil. What are your thoughts? Thank you in advance.
I am going to limit my recommendations based upon my domain knowledge on the State of Sao Paulo, yet risking by bets on
Curitiba, PR ( Great urbanization , clean city, Grafitti free, lots of hard to work etnicities such as Pollocks, Lithuanians, Japanese, Ukranians ). While under the State of Parana, I would definetively check Maringa, Londrina, Paranagua, Cascavel, Foz do Iguacu.
Blumenau ( Productive economy, excelent work ethic and collective mindset, besides it has become Brazil's software factory ). It is also a huge German Heritage Town. And it is reflected upon its cleaniless, its Oktober Fest, Architecture, Culinary. And Quality of Life.
Florianopolis ( if you really crave a seaside community ) is the State Capital, and a lot of Americans are headed out there. Camboriu, nice, but it is becoming expensive, all those local noveu rich and erected monstrosities gracing their coastline kind of act as spoilers to me.... i am talking buildings.
Communities outside Porto Alegre Metro Region ( if cold does not bother you), Porto Alegre is kind of derelict,but charming, they don't go
about wrecking old buildings there ). It is somewhat provincian, chauvinistic, but it has its own charm. In Rio Grande do Sul, there are better options, such as Caxias do Sul ( wine country ), Pelotas, Santa Maria ( college town ).
Sao Paulo, and I would not be the man to open doors ( unless we are talking ABC Region ), but here are my endorsements....
And you will need to get a car and drive to those places to make your own assessments.
Again, quality of life, health care, curbside, low crime rate.....
Braganca Paulista,SP - There is a good Medical School out there. if you like Sausages, well then, Braganca Paulista is your kind of town.
All kinds.
Atibaia - it has become a magnet for moneyed folks from Sao Paulo, getting away from the mayhem in Sampa. Mountain climate, pristine skies. Sleeppy town, with a cute and quaint downtown. You will be shuttling to Sao Paulo or Campinas for Doctor's appointments.
Campinas- Unicamp and PUC have cutting edge research, the Metro and the City is sprawling. The Satelite towns hold appeal. We are talkiing Holambra ( Dutch descendant enclave there btw ), Sumare, Valinhos, Vinhedo, Indaiatuba. Paulinea no, they have a Petrochemical complex there.
Americana and Santa Barbara D"Oeste. Be surprised, in Santa Barbara, the town promotes an open to all, once in a year festival, with Confederate Flags ( not to worry, Klan members do not hang out there, all of their festivities date back to actual American settlers who were invited to run farms there after the American Civil War ).
Piracicaba. Excelent College Town. The Methodist University rules out there . It's also a basketball town ( Women's team only, for comparision's sake, pretend it is Uconn ). I heard they cleaned up the River. There is also a great Agriculture and Animal Health University ( Luis de Queiros or simply ESALQ ). If your relatives need to send Junior to College, you can host them, and they save a ton of money on Tuition, while getting quality education.
Taubate. Good Medical School, and the city is well developed, yet it is quaint and quiet. While at it, check out Guaratingueta, it is hot out there, but the city claims to be grafitti free in its all old buildings. For me, it is a tell tale of a civilized place.
Sao Jose dos Campos. Modern, on the cutting edge. Best engineering school in the country ( Aviation and Space Tech ). State of Art Hospitals.
Sao Jose, Taubate, Guaratingueta, Jacarei, are all on the Paraiba Valley, wich makes a skip to the coastline a quick and quaint one, towards places like Sao Sebastiao, Ilhabela, Ubatuba, Caraguatatuba. No need to buy a house by the beach. You take your wife after Mardi Gras, you skip lines, score lower pricing on lodging, meals, and avoid mayhem. The beaches are yours to have. The Route from the Parayba Valley to the North Shore Coastline goes through the quaint and idylic Salesopolis. Stop by to grab a bite.
Also, within the Valley, there are towns worth looking into, such as Lorena, Cruzeiro, Aparecida do Norte,Cunha ( Great Water Falls ).
Sorocaba. A.K.A. Brazilian's Manchester, a manufacturing hub, and the city is making strides to be perceived as an Eco Friendly town.
Ribeirao Preto is also a famed College Town and an economic hub, they dubbed it the Brazilian California. It is hot as hell, but you are granted with one of the Best Med Schools in the Country. It's a rather large metro area.Same to be said about Sao Jose do Rio Preto.
After Sao Paulo, one of the Country's best Cancer Treatment Centers is there.
Itu - It has been a place Paulistanos bought homes to get away from the City. Also, alongside Mogi das Cruzes, a place where you can play golf. Moderately sized town.
Mogi das Cruzes in the greater Sao Paulo, affords you a quick run to the GRU Airport. Japanese descendants have made a huge influx there. Excellent University, on the rail line to Sao Paulo, and a decent Golf Course.
Coastlines.. it is hard to spot a good one when evaluating under tight criterias. Most of them, in Sao Paulo, nowadays, have issues with Crime, and Health Care tends to be substandard. Santos, is well above the crowd, but not necessarily a stunner. It has a slow pace of life. There are issues with crime. It is a Port City, just as New Orleans, Savanhah, Baltimore.
The best in terms of staying place, but removed from some infra-structure , would be by the South Shore, bordering the State of Parana, over the Ribeira Valley. Lots of Japanese retire there do devote time to some craft. It is a Natural Reserve Park, lots of Fisheries, and Tea Plantations.
ABC
My nod to Sao Caetano do Sul, a city lauded by retirees for its quality of life, health care. A couple years in town, your essential preventive care is free, and it is noteworthy. An observation of mind, the City Public Hospital when it was launched in the 40's, the town's citizens held events, raffles, to funnel money towards their public hospital. At the hospital's main hall, there is a plaque mentioning this collective undertaking.
Santo Andre comes a second and close. Santo Andre, Sao Caetano and then a distant third Sao Bernardo do Campo, are Lions Club/Rotary Club towns. The free medical exams in Santo Andre, that are not picked up by the City are footed either by the Lions or Rotary. The hoity toity on these towns, used to and still do those beneficient get togethers to raise funds that are earmarked for those ends.
If you want to stay away from the City Life, then,within Santo Andre, there is Paranapiacaba, a former British Rail Town at the edge of
the Serra do Mar Mountains.
In Santo Andre alone, in a 5 mile radius, you have about a half dozen quality full service hospitals, counting public and private ones. And then, the neighborhood health clinics, and then the Emergency Admission Buffer Clinics for Admission.
The ABC tax base revenue is solid, so no budget shortfalls to date.
Noteworthy in Sao Paulo.....
Águas de Lindóia - It is a Springs town. Very quiet and quaint.
Botucatu - I have relatives that moved there.
Campos do Jordão - During the coldest days of the winter months it swells with Tourists. They hold open air Symphony Concerts, Festivals.
Olímpia - Another Springs Town
São Roque - Right outside Sao Paulo. Used to be a place to buy berries, grapes, and some wine making.
Amparo. Sleepy and quaint. Time preserved town. Spring town
Never been to the Brazilan hinterlands, but heard great things about Goiania. A boom town fueled by Agribusiness, Manufacturing, and Local Pharmas. I would skip Brasilia. Not a great pedestrian city.
