COST OF LIVING: Dec 2010

Tags

Brazil, COST LIVING:, cost of living, cost of things, estimate, monthly budget

Estimated Monthly Budget

Updated: 2 Dec 10

One US Dollar equals—–> 1.70 Reais US$ = Apt, 3-bedroom, unfurnished, rented 1200 $705.88 Apt Condo fees and IPTU (tax) 550 $323.53 Electricity 165 $97.06 Drinking water 15 $8.82 Propane gas 30 $17.65 Telephone – minimum fee 45 $26.47 ISP & Broadband Connection (10MB) 90 $52.88 Cable Television (with movie option) 95 $55.88 Food 650 $382.35 TOTAL: R$ 2,839.90 $ 1,670.53

SINGLE ITEMS: Haircut, male 20.00 $11.76 Marlboro, Soft Pack 3.80 $2.24 Liter of gasoline 2.56 $1.51 $5.69 US gal Liter of ethanol 1.69 $0.99 $3.76 US gal Minimum Salary 510.00 $300.00 Newsweek Intl Edition 12.90 $7.59 Bacon, Sadia ( 250g) 10.48 $6.16 $2.80 p/lb Beef, ground (1kg) 14.00 $8.24 $3.74 p/lb Beer, Draft (Chope) 3.20 $1.88 Beer, 12-Pack Bavaria 12.24 $7.20 Chicken, whole, chilled (1kg) 4.49 $2.64 $1.20 p/lb Chicken Wings 1kg 7.89 $4.64 $2.11 p/lb Coke-Cola, can, 350 ml 1.59 $0.94 Corn Flakes, box, Kellog (200g) 5.08 $2.99 Eggs, white, dz 3.59 $2.11 Hot Dogs, Sadia (500g) 5.59 $3.29 $1.49 p/lb Milk, l liter, carton 1.99 $1.17 $1.24 qt Onions (1kg) 1.38 $0.81 $0.37 p/lb Oranges, Pera (1kg) 1.98 $1.16 $0.53 p/lb Potatoes (kg) 2.50 $1.47 $0.67 p/lb Rice, sack, 5 kgs 11.90 $7.00 $0.64 p/lb Tomatoes (kg) 3.50 $2.06 $0.94 p/lb Watermelon (kg) 0.99 $0.58 $0.26 p/lb Vodka, Stolichnaya 1 L 59.93 $35.25 Whisky, Chivas Regal 12 yrs 1 L 105.93 $62.31 Whisky, Johnny Walker Red 1 L 69.90 $41.12

CLB – Rio de Janeiro

Tags

bars, beaches, Brazil, CARNIVAL:, COST LIVING:, expats, Ipanema, Leblon, Lifestyle, rio de janeiro.

Photo from Three Best Beaches

Rio de Janeiro is expensive, but it has beaches!

It is for those who:

- don’t want to be the top of their class.

- want to ponder the world’s problems while drinking beer.

- want to watch the crazy locals and feel like you have found "your tribe".

São Paulo is New York City (I actually think it is more like Chicago), while Rio de Janeiro is Miami.

You won’t need US$6,000 month to live here (nice if you can get it, but there are other factors in play here) because:

You won’t need a suit.
People in Rio who wear suits look out of place. They look like Europeans wearing cowboy hats, Western women wearing the Vietnamese Ao Dai. In São Paulo yes, Rio no. The only suits you see in Rio are downtown (centro) or maybe a few scattered around the city, which is due to bank branches and the occasional upscale business/shop. But, in general suits are out.

You won’t need a fancy apartment.
You will always be on the beach, at a party or in some bar/restaurant drinking beer or caiparinhas. Think of the apartment as your overnight R&R location destination. Your apartment should also be your Bloody Mary base! Wake Up, Fuel Up, Get Fired Up.

You won’t need a car, thus no driver.
The best area to live in is Leblon/Ipanema. It has everything you need. Everyone delivers; even the drug dealers; so I read!

Leblon and Ipanema Beaches

Summary:

• Rent one/two-bedroom apartment (unfurnished) will run you US$800 to US$2,000
• If you are being transferred by your company, you will be placed in even better housing than the above. Usually in closed condos in the Barra, the newest area of Rio.
• Other areas that are pleasant and less expensive, but not in the beach area are: Laranjeiras, Flamengo and Gloria. The Ipanema.com link has detailed info.
• You can live ok, not great, on US$3,000 per month. If you have kids then add another US$1,500
• The farther North you go in Brazil or into the interior, the less expensive it is. But the farther you get away from the beaches the less you feel like you are in Brazil.
• But again, if you have to earn a living in Brazil to pay your way, then stay home unless your are coming as a short-term tourist.

LINKS:

1. Ipanema.com – Very Informative for Tourist
2. Gringo-Rio.com – More Depth With Good Overview Info – Best Bars in Rio
3. Apartments for Rent: CraigList’s all for short-term tourist.
4. Brazilian Classifieds – ZapImoveis: Portuguese.

COST LIVING: São Paulo

Tags

Brazil, BRAZIL-WORKING:, COST LIVING:, Living in Sao Paulo, moving to Brazil, Sao Paulo

Photo: http://www.fotosedm.hpg.ig.com.br/

UPDATED: Sept 2012

I wouldn’t want to live in São Paulo unless I had a lot of money.

But, if I had a lot of money, why live in São Paulo?

What is a lot of money?

For me, in São Paulo, that would be a minimum of US$6,000 per month. Would that put me into the class of a rich Paulistano? No, but at least it would allow me to live with a minimum of stress and avoid the chaos for which the city is rightfully known. It would allow me to:

- have a nice three-bedroom apartment (rented, unfurnished) in a good neighborhood
- have a driver
- take three trips to the Northeast of Brazil p/year.
- one trip abroad p/year
- go out for dinner twice a week
- good medical plan

But if I moved to the Northeast, I wouldn’t need:

- the driver
- take three trips to the NE
- good medical plan ( no stress, nice beach, calm lifestyle)

Who Goes to São Paulo:

• gringo executives sent by their company. (company pays all so don’t worry)
•  guys married to Brazilian gals from São Paulo. Should have married a woman from the NE.
•  others who didn’t do their homework.

Summary:

São Paulo is expensive. However, it attracts young, professional Brazilians seeking the fast – lane of life. But if you are reading this, you most likely are NOT a young, Brazilian professional. Thus yours is a different goal.

You know, it is not so much the Cost of Living in Brazil (CLB) that is the problem, but rather your inability to earn a living because you don’t speak Portuguese, have a permanent visa; nor, the contacts to make it as a gringo. If you are an entrepreneur and have the capital to invest, then São Paulo (Brazil) becomes a more viable option. Two million Brazilians or more have left Brazil to work abroad, so don’t come to Brazil looking for a job. If you have money to invest and nerves of steel, “come on down”!

UPDATES:

8 July 08

• AMSOC – The American Society of São Paulo
• The American Society of Rio de Janeiro

18 Feburary 08

• Go to this link. Person living in São Paulo comments (with numbers) on the Cost of Living in São Paulo

LINKS:

• Cost of Living for Cities Worldwide
• Another site for Cost of Living in São Paulo (and other cities in Brazil). 
• The Guardian – Blog by blog guide to … São Paul
• Wikipedia – São Paulo 
• Buy Apartments in São Paulo (and other cities) – Portuguese

COST OF LIVING: Dec 2007

Tags

Brazil, cost, COST LIVING:, Cost of Living in Brazil, expenses, living

Based on the stats page of the Blog, there is interest in learning what the Cost of Living is in Brazil.

What I have added here is a general reference….very general! In cities such as São Paulo, Rio, Belo Horizonte the cost of living will be higher – double or more.   There could be places in the NE in the interior that perhaps would/could be half what is noted in the graphic. (click image to enlarge)

The problem isn’t so much the cost of living, but the ability to earn the money to pay it!

When I first came to Brazil in 1964, I earned about US$50 a month as a Peace Corps Volunteer. That allowed me to rent a room, usually included meals, paid for laundry, travel to the capital and covered my pool hall bill. Every town in the interior had a bar with a pool table. Like A&W drive-ins in the States back in the 50s and 60s. It was were all the guys met….no girls entered or very rarely. The bars were opened faced to the street; not like the dark, smelling of cigarette smoke ones in the US or Europe.

For a single person living in a small town in the interior, I lived ok. Today to do the same, I would guess you would need US$400, but you must remember we were backed up by the US Government…health care was covered, vacation pay and big brother there to step in if you became a homeless gringo.

UPDATES:

4 Feb 09

Go to Feb 09 Cost of Living post

30 May 08

The US$ continues to weaken against the Brazilian Real. Click here to check May index.

17 Feb 08

We are talking after taxes here. Taxes are confusing and complicated here. If you are on a straight salary, perhaps less so. If you own your company or are self-employed, I would suggest that an account help you with your first filing.

6 Jan 08

As the graph shows, a married couple will need at least US$2,000 per month to live what most would consider a ‘normal’ life. But on this, you would not be able to save much. I’ve read the 85% of Brazilians have no cash reserve. You would be part of the 85%.

Too really live comfortably here you will need US$3,000 to 5,000 per month depending on the city unless you live in the interior in a city of 200,000 or so, in which, case I would “guess” you would need 30% less.