A couple of weeks ago I received a comment from a reader, “flyingturtle,” who confessed that she and her husband were interested in:
1. Visiting Brazil
2. Considering maybe even moving to Brazil somewhere down the line.
She asked if I could write a post about “Quality of Life/Living in Brazil.” In my response, I promised her that I would since I think the topic is a particularly rich one – dauntingly rich, in fact, for the scope of a single blog post (for this reason, I’m dividing this into a two-parter; Part 1 of which will focus on “Living in Brazil”:
There is no one way to “live in Brazil.” Like any life in any place, so much depends on circumstances; the place you choose, the moment in time, what you do, who you’re with, your needs, desires, and personality, money, and, of course, pure luck.
Speaking for myself, while on some levels my experience as a foreigner living in Brazil is similar to those of other gringo expats, there are also many aspects of my Brazilian life that I recognize as fairly atypical. In truth, I interact very peripherally with other foreigners in Brazil – (all of my relationships and friendships are with Brazilians and, apart from my career as an English-language writer, my day-to-day existence unspools in Portuguese).
However, over the years – through social situations and via the research and travel I do for Moon Brazil and Moon Rio – I have come into contact with a considerable number of estrangeiros attempting to build lives in Brazil. It’s always with a great curiosity that I press them to share their stories.
I also admit to being a voracious reader of “Brazilian Expat Blogs,” most of which are written by youngish Americans and Canadians (more so women than men) who fall in love with Brazilians (not at all a hard thing to do) and find themselves settling in Brazil with their partners (usually, but not always, in Rio and São Paulo). Some of these journals are very well written and really capture, with a lot of nuance, the pros and cons, highs and lows, challenges, frustrations, culture shocks and alegrias of building a life in Brazil, from a distinctly foreign perspective.
Four of my current favorites include:
Brazil’s recent economic boom – which has ushered in a period of new and expanding markets, countless entrepreneurial opportunities, and major demand for qualified and specialized workers that the Brazilian labor force can’t supply – has led to a record number of foreigners coming to Brazil (most of whom are employed by multinationals). It’s interesting to note that for a significant number of these expats, the move is temporary (i.e. for a few years) as opposed to permanent.
Regardless of your own personal resourcefulness and ability to go with the flow, having a strong command of Portuguese is essential.However, this is a fairly new phenomenon and I venture to say that it isn’t (yet) indicative of the reasons why most foreigners decide to live in Brazil. In my experience, far from seeking stability (financial or otherwise), the majority of gringos who take up residence in Brazil do so for reasons that are more romantic than rational. Either they fall in love with and marry a Brazilian or they fall in love with Brazil itself. Fed up with rat races, stress, cold weather (and sometimes cold people), many of the latter are inspired to construct simpler, but more satisfying lives. Many start small, mostly tourist-related businesses (usually pousadas and/or restaurants), located in Paradisiacal spots that keep their friends and family members from back home drooling with envy.This “romantic” characteristic is telling since I believe that to live happily in Brazil, one has to (to a certain degree) be open, somewhat adventurous, and both flexible and adaptable, not to mention a bit of a dreamer. Brazil is not a rational place. “Order and progress” might be the motto stitched onto Brazil’s national flag, but in reality, a certain degree of chaos reigns.
Following rules, expecting logic and confronting problems head on, is often a lot less effective than a combination of patience, wiles and charm (charm is a serious form of currency in Brazil; in many situations it goes a long way). Once you master some of these cultural codes, living in Brazil can be rewarding – and very fun. However, if your psychological makeup is such that inconsistencies and inefficiencies, not to mention bureaucracies, drive you out of your gourd, you’ll be in for some stress and frustration.
Regardless of your own personal resourcefulness and ability to go with the flow, having a strong command of Portuguese is essential. So is having at least a couple of close Brazilian friends (or better yet – a Brazilian partner). Since personal relations play a significant role in pretty much every aspect of Brazilian life – from business to bureaucracy – having someone you can trust (and who knows someone who knows someone who knows someone) to help you navigate sometimes murky waters is often fundamental.
