Moving belongings to Brazil

When I retired in 2016 I had my final military move to Brazil. It was cheaper for them to move me here than it was across the country to my home of record. I ended up paying nothing out of pocket.

Do not ship anything with an engine including a weedwacker to a car. It will be taxed 100% and the hassle is beyond worth it. We brought nothing with a gas engine because of this.

Bring everything else! Good luck!

Thanks Craig! I will do just that. I am not sure if I have the option for the military to move me to Bahia because I retired in February 2015. But I definitely appreciate the information on not bringing anything motorized with me. Between Uber and the bus it seems cheaper to travel without a car.

As I get closer I may ask more questions.

Thanks for answering!

Ok, I bought a car here. Buy a used one and with the power of the dollar it wasn't that expensive. Taxes each year are manageable too.

In general upon retirement, a PCS move should be done within a year. You can extend it every year five times totalling 6 years. Depending on the branch of service, the time frame can be different and everytime, a transportation officer should sign it. I´m afraid in your case it already expired if you did not file an extension...

You can also just bring the bare minimum since baggage transport nowadays is very expensive. You can consult a consolidator if you wish just to find out the costs involved. Otherwise, you can buy
everything here.

There are 2 strength of voltages in Brazil, 110v and 220. So it depends on what city
you´ll live in. If you bring your US appliances and live in a 220-volt city, you´ll need a transformer. If you´re bringing your slow cooker or rice cooker, you need a transformer of at least 1,000 watts.

Best option would be a bivolt appliance if you can find one. My 21.5'' Apple iMac computer works well
as it is bivolt.

You can buy your car here as import taxes are too much. You can buy certified "almost new" cars at dealerships. If you drive stick, they´re cheaper. Clothes are expensive with poor quality. If you find good quality you´ll pay an arm and a leg. So make sure you buy your boy lots of clothes before you come.

You might be sorry if you don´t buy a car because it will restrict your movement. Just be careful when you drive here, because Brazilians drive very fast despite the road conditions and heavy traffic.
It is the title holder of car accidents compared worldwide. And they love to honk their horns!

Good luck!

robal