First arrived in Dec. 1964. Served three years in the Peace Corps in Mato Grosso and Espírito Santo. After Peace Corps was working for Johnson’s Wax in Rio when I got drafted. Served two years in the US Army in Panama; Canal Zone. Upon leaving the Army, served two years in Vietnam with United States Agency for International Development. Returned to the States and taught English for five years before going to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia for five years. In 1986, returned to Brazil.
Hi, did I miss something? I thought you were living in Rio. Have you moved to Goiania? I never did make it to Brasil……the costs have scared me away. I did give up the ghost after 4 years in Buenos Aires. Sitting in Amerika at the moment with a flight to Moldova in 2 weeks. Maybe the Balkans next, maybe Ecuador. Where would you head to in these weird times? SE Asia, E Europa or South America? Cheers, Anders
Have lived in Goiania since 1986. When I first set up the Blog I focused on Brazil. Now there are tons more Blogs covering numerous cities and regions in Brazil so decided to be Brazil and more “local”.
Where would I go now? Good question. Depends where you are, age, money, and maybe a 100 other variables.
I hate cold weather so that eliminates a lot of places unless you have the money to follow the Sun.
The first question you have to ask is “How am I going to make a living?” That narrows the options down quickly.
54, retired – modestly, so the first and most important question is out of the way. But then I don’t think I could keep a straight face listening to a landlord in Rio or SP explain his price/terms. Maybe time to let the hordes have Brasil and Colombia and instead drink good cheap wine in Montenegro……
Brazil is way too expensive now in US$ terms. Unreal. Drinking cheap (good?) wine in Montenegro sounds good.
ExpatBrazil
could you be more specific? I’ll be retiring to GO this fall from the USA. Of course we will be in GO for our annual vacation next month.What should I know?
More specific about what?
Brazil is way too expensive now in US$ terms………?????????????
In $ terms, yes, I think it is expensive considering what you get for your Dollars. Expensive is relative and it depends on your economic status and where you lived before coming to Brazil, and of course, it depends on your lifestyle. I got a haircut today. Cost me US$12.75 or R$25.00. Some places here a haircut will cost you R$40. North Americans and Europeans looking for cheap places to retire aren’t coming to Brazil. I haven’t heard of any. That tells me that compared to other retirement destinations Brazil is expensive. If you already have bought a house or apartment here then your basic monthly expenses will run you from US$1500-2000. There is an expat site http://www.internations.org/users/world that has a Goiania section. Maybe you have already seen it. If not, take a look and contact others living in Goiania.
Thanks, I know that the exchange rates have gone down but, Its difficult to get a read on the effect that has on the local economy. I joined the Internations site last year and I hope to get together with some of it’s members while on vacation next month. I have followed your posts closely as a source of “real time” information, that helps me understand the way Brasil works. Thank You.
For some items, it is cheaper for me to buy them on Amazon than locally. There are Brazilians in Goiania buying apartments in Miami. Brazilians are traveling abroad because in many cases it is cheaper than traveling here. A friend of mine spend 10 days in Joao Pessoa, AL at a pousada on the beach. He had a friend who spent a couple of weeks in Orlando for the same cost. How long will the strong Real last? I don’t know, but I sure would like to see 2.40 again.