Insights and advices needed

Hi exnyer,



On behalf of the entire Expat-blog Team welcome on board. I hope your experience here will be both enjoyable and informative. I'm sure you will make lots of friends here on the blog, but more importantly in Goiás. Since you're fluent in Portuguese that will go a long way towards making you an instant celeb.

I will try and answer your questions in the order given:

1.  The pay scale for most middle management jobs starts around R$7 thousand (US $3,500) so if your combined monthly income, be it pension or whatever, is more than that you should do just fine.

2.  You can imagine in a country the size of Brazil it's impossible to hold any kind of Expat-blog organized meetings. My position is volunteer and I don't have any budget from the blog so I can't do it. You can always use the blog to organize a get-together once you're there. Pick a place (convenient location) and time and post a thread. If you choose to do so please let me know and I will give you all the tips I can to help organize and if you need it, I will even get the Expat-blog Team to do a mailout for you. (please don't try this yourself with copy & paste messages - prohibited)

3.  Unless you have a permanent visa you cannot open a bank account in Brazil (Well you technically can, but try and tell the banks that). Your wife can open an account in her name since she's a Brazilian natural (Needs a CPF number). My advice is open an account at an international bank like HSBC or Citibank which also operates here. I would personally recommend HSBC since I've had no experience with Citibank. You can access funds in your US HSBC account through the ATMs at any branch of HSBC in Brazil and all of the network of ATM's which they share. You will be permitted to withdraw R$800 per day weekdays and a single R$800 on either Saturday or Sunday. HSBC branches here will also help you with larger sum electronic transfers for major purchases too. Be very careful not to make a public display of what you have in the way of income (safety reasons), just let everybody know you just a poor old retiree living on a fixed pension and you're doing your best to keep your head above water. Trust me on this one!

When you have time, if you haven't already done so you should check out my postings at the top of the first Brazil Forum page. They will give you almost all of the important information you will need to know. The High Cost of Living in SP - how to economize was written with São Paulo in mind, but it applies equally to Goiás as well so it too is a must read.

Any further information you may need or questions you might have don't hesitate to ask.

Cheers,
William James Woodward - Brazil Animator, Expat-blog