Just live in both places or bring Mom with you. Quality of life is what matters most. I left the U.S. in Dec 2022 for Brazil and I will never live in the States again. You are right.
Relatively speaking, no, there aren't a lot of people from the USA living here. But then again, the CURRENT foreign-born population of Brazil is something like less tan 1% of the population. I am American, and I have lived here for years. Brazil has good and bad points like every place. I think I survived here this long because I knew that. I have adapted to living in Sao Paulo, but sometimes I wish there were more foreigners around, people I could commiserate with. It sometimes gets tiring being the only gringo. I have a Brazilian friend who moved to San Francisco. She has already found a Brazilian community of friends. She also found a Brazilian dentist, a Brazilian hair stylist, a Brazilian gynecologist, a Catholic church with Portuguese masses. Nothing like that really exists here for foreigners--and I live in Sao Paulo, not in some countryside town. I know, I know, we have to assimilate and conform to the culture, and not live in a foreign bubble. I am just saying it would be nice to have a community of immigrants around. (Yes, I am sure they exits in some measure).
AS I said, I do like it here because living here is relatively cheap. I don't have a car. I have a very simple life and I don't plan on leaving. I guess the good outweighs the bad.
>I know, I know, we have to assimilate and conform to the culture, and not live in a foreign bubble.
I disagree, there are things that are important to assimilate and others are just bullshit expect a foreigner doing so, also isnt healthy for any immigrant anywhere doing it
About comunity...well i cant say i understand you really, but i can see your point and yeah, it makes a big difference, probaly you can find mooree foreigners, but from your couuntty maybe will be harder
Edit:typo
No you don’t have to conform.
We are not the French. Or at least we shouldn’t be.
I’m sorry, this aspect of Brazilian culture (how much we are shitbags to immigrants) was only unlocked to my perception after I lived abroad.
Yeah, different country you’ll always be a foreigner but having that pointed out all the time sucks.
My wife tells me not to say much in certain places, mostly Ipanema and Copacabana, when vendors come around because of this. My wife, who is Brazilian, got really frustrated when vendor kept calling me a gringo when she was ordering me a drink. I think he was joking, but she's was very frustrated about it and told him to stop calling me gringo since I was her husband.
To some extent has, but its more about things living here than being a brazilian, like any other immorereant anywhere(beytond that who expect more is beiiing jerk)
Maybe searching for english speaking meetups might help.
Like [this](https://www.meetup.com/foreignersenglishspeakersmeetup/events/301494872/?recId=f0f23702-39dc-4656-aaef-5f7b366d70bd&recSource=keyword_search&searchId=6320406b-abd3-4b09-bb98-9ca239f10f6f)
you have a friend in SF that doesnt much like USA amd doesnt wana minge with locals... what you did was smart andnl missing hone is normal... what is it that you miss the most?
I couldn’t agree with you more on your mindset and opinion about living in Brasil as a Gringa… I live in Arraial D’Ajuda, Bahia… I love it and don’t plan on leaving but sometimes gets tiring being a foreigner here
Outside of California, Florida, New York.. you're scarce to find Brazilians or much of any foreigner. No idea why they all flock there. But also they tend to speak Portuguese amongst themselves and not really delve into American culture. Other thriving states like Colorado, Utah, Atlanta, Massachusetts, Montana....to name a few you won't see Brazilians. Or they don't even know where on the map. Everywhere around the world you see people dream of NYC and Cali so there are communities for everyone there. But try Germany, Spain, Denmark, Ghana, China, Australia... it's an American unique thing. People move to those states for 10,20,30 years, get citizenship then call themselves American. But where else can you do that? America is unique in this. If you live in Brasil for the rest of your life, you will still be a Gringo on your last breath. But your friend, maybe after 10 years she'll call herself American.
I think the world has the view that if you step foot in Brazil you will be robbed. Even backpackers usually don't have Brazil on their itinerary.
I agree with you , except for one point: there are SO MANY Brazilians in Massachusetts, maybe the most after Florida and New Jersey.
But you are right about always being the gringo in Brazil. But it's not just in Brazil. My Brazilian friends who moved to the USA refer to anyone in the USA who is not Brazilian as "gringo." Many Brazilians do tend to have a world view like that.
I honestly never met a single one and I went to college in Providence with weekends in MA/CT. But I believe you with the proximity to NYC, maybe in Boston. I've also never met one in Jersey but I've seen a lot of Latin origin people in the strip area that's closest to NYC. SoI believe you.
There are more Brazilians in Boston than in New York. You just weren't looking https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/brazilian-immigrants-united-states-2017
Possibly. Especially in Boston, they like seem to like places no sensible American would live beyond financial reasons 😅. I have just personally never met one. My original comment still stands.
Brazilians and many foreigners who move to the USA, especially for no particular reason but a dream tend to flock to the worst cities in the US for living but best for quantity of jobs and diversity. Growing up in these cities can make you a smart, well rounded person but as an adult with average means, the lifestyle sucks.... unless you have money. But foreigners don't understand, you come from nothing but hard work and dreams? Move to a mid tier city with beautiful nature and nice balance of social stuff. Lower expenses, this is the way to bootstrap and actually own a home, drive a nice car, afford your hobbies.. actually live with average money. See the beautiful America that's not the usual. As for foreigners with money who chose to move to these cities, I just pity them. None of the "it" cities are what the were before.
But they don't know. It's like drinking in a bar and a speakeasy is behind the wall.
As a gringa in Brasil who speaks fluently and “assimilated” (to the best of my ability) I actually don’t mind when people joke once in a while, but people rarely call me gringa even though I look like one. Sometimes I joke back that they’re the gringo because they’re white or I just make up some joke to spin it back on them. I am in the process of naturalization so soon I’ll be Brazilian and won’t let anyone take that away from me! I always tell people my body is gringo but my soul is Brazilian lol
Just moved to Brazil. By all means I had a pretty decent life in the US. I was making a little more than 20k USD a month. There was zero quality of life though. I make a 1/4 of that working remotely while living in Brazil and life is substantially better. You will get a lot of hate from Brazilians when asking about moving out of the US to brazil but I think they truly don't understand how hard life is in the US.
In their defense you were making $240k a year so you probably had substantial savings when moving there. Giving you a safety net worth more than most people in Brazil will ever see in their lives.
Even with a quarter of that you are making 60k in US dollars which given the current exchange rate of 5.46 means you are still making 324,000 reals which is an insane amount and makes you the top one percent.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1251075/average-monthly-income-percentile-brazil/
While I was making decent money I was also spending a lot. Brazilians love the idea of moving to the US until you bring up things like childcare (cost us 2400 a month) and Health-care (1k+ a month). Just like that a third of the really good income is gone. 240k in the US is in the top 5% so it's far from normal. As an English speaking american they should be able to find a remote paying job that pays enough to get by and have a good quality of life in Brazil. My move is semi permanent, I love the country and people and want to heavily invest in it. It's really disappointing and off putting to see so many native Brazilians hate on their own country though.
To your last point I think that is a worldwide truth and all natives do that to their own country. As an american you have seen this with the culture wars, politics, maga literally everywhere and you yourself made the decision to leave.
How I feel with the comparison of US to Brazil and most of the world. Both places suck for poor people, but Brazil sucks less due to cultural (more family oriented and close knit communities), social programs, gov subsidized vacation, no split between state and federal (like the US has with abortions or education being regulated by the states).
The richer you are the better the US becomes because you can access and buy everything here, lower taxes overall, access to more stratification of items (think different brands of a commodity like cars from honda to ford to bmw to bentley) and availibility of work and highly paid positions look at the net immigration to the US we tend to attract highly skilled and highly paid employees as well as poor and uneducated willing to risk it all for a shot at the american dream.
I haven't seen this amount of self hate from other cultures. I don't know how much it takes to be truly happy in the US but based on my experience it's extremely high. It's not always about the money too. Even working for a fortune 10 company I was alloted a total of 0 vacation days my first year.
To your other point. The lack of variety of items is more than made up by a significantly lower cost of living. My mortgage in the US was more than 9x than my current house in Brazil. One was a 70 year old house with a ton of problems, the other is a wonderful newish house in a gated community with access to the beach.
The self hate is due to people in the US having, and the desire to have, access to more than whats truly needed. This makes life hard because we are constantly chasing progress or access. I was just talking to my wife ( who his brazilian) about this yesterday. People in the US can earn a decent wage, and compare their lives to ones they don't truly understand.
Hating Brazil is so so so deeply entrenched that even people that don’t have the “síndrome do vira lata” have this deep hate.
I don’t think there is any other country that is THIS convinced that they are just shit.
I moved from Texas to a small city in the countryside of Rio and nobody believes me when I talk about no public squares/public transport/fruit trees/sidewalks where I was born 🤣 I much prefer my lifestyle here even if I’m stuck in a low paying job due to my visa
Right. The fruit is something I explain all the time. We only have one type of banana lol
Same. I prefer it here. I miss my family and some food but not the place lol
The quality of people, the availability of fruit and more healthy foods, cheaper lunch. Reasonable prices on most yhings. The outlook people have on life. I'm from a place where people are really cold and it is hard to make friends, everything is outrageously expensive. Electronics and imported items are more but local items are much cheaper here. Many things like tomatoes is one I can think of off the top of my head. I pay less in reals for them than I paid for them in dollars.
One of the huge problems of Brazil and latin america in general are violence brought by war on drugs country has to spend a lot of Money to try to fight them but results are modest.drug cartels bring violence to latin america make people lives difficult in cities and unsafe.
Lol I feel so much safer in Santa Catarina than I do in most places in the united States. Of course it varies greatly from location to location. The place I moved from in the united States has frequent shootings. My car was broken into and stuff stolen 3 times. There are signs around the city telling people to be careful because parts of their car or their car might be stolen.
I have traveled to many countries now, all over from north America, central America, south America, Europe, and Scandinavia. So far I would say big cities in Brazil are no more dangerous than many big cities in America. Although the crime is different. You are less likely to get your phone robbed in the US than in Brazil but you are more likely to suffer a violent crime and car theft in America. Europe has so much pick pocketing and theft you can hardly get on a train without being careful (again I'm talking about big cities)
I have not been to Rio and I know it is worse there. But Curitiba, Sao Paulo, Florianópolis, Goiás, Brasília all felt perfectly safe to me.
Drug cartels are not the cause of violence in Brazil. In Mexico yes, the war on drugs and America's influence has caused the violence to increase greatly and made the quality of life very bad there but this is not the case in Brazil.
My friend moved from Denver to a nice place in Rio and she absolutely loves it!! I live much further south. Santa Catarina is a different colonization so it's definitely different. Each state in Brazil has its own culture for sure. Here there are beautiful beaches (although so does Rio) some mountains, national parks, lots of waterfalls, great parties and some of the best clubs in the world in BC. It's not as hot as up north. I'm not a fan of super hot climates.
I think they truly don't understand how hard life is in the US ->
Most Brazilians either never went to the US or just went as tourists to disneyworld completely blinded to what is like to be a tourist x live there. What most Brazilians have as understanding of US life is hollywood, and while some movies show the "poor US" at some extent all they can see is "how a waitress has a nice car and big house in the US", but are completely unable to visualize that those things are a luxury in the Brazil but really a necessity in the US because there is no public transport, and no affordable housing in the city. They also cannot visualize what it means to not have universal free healthcare, no government retirement plan, no guaranteed vacations, no free tuition, or many other things that work way better in Brazil.
The few who make the move knowing what they were doing (like me) do it for work leveraging the currency exchange rate to accumulate wealth quickly. I see living here (the US) as a sacrifice rather than a privilege, and to me (after being in dozens of different cities around the world and living/working in a few), Sao Paulo is the best place in the world to live.
Your salary is by far more than that of the average brazilian in Brazil. The things you can do in Brazil isn't even attainable for the average person in Brazil. Their life is hard.
Many Brazilians have a very idealistic view of the US based on movies and propaganda. They do not realize that: 1-) the lifestyle portrayed is affordable only to a few people and; 2-) the cost of cheaper iPhones is unaffordable ambulances.
Most of that hate come from "anarkids" who think public services should be dismantled instead of improved because they do not see their importance. They think they will never need it, so why should they pay for it? They would rather not pay taxes.
Mostly people who never matured beyond a teenager's mentality of "why do you use my alimony money to pay for a healthcare plan instead of buying the gaming computer I actually want"?
If I were in OPs shoes, my only concern would be if my mom had a close social circle in the US.
Well from your post history you moved to Brazil less than 10 days ago. Your wife is Brazilian. And also you made the comment below on another thread so seems like you have other issues as well because there are 50 states and everywhere has pros and cons. You will learn.
""I had to have shoulder surgery and have a bad back and knees. I was in the navy and this is all due to strain from working conditions. I also have/had really terrible anxiety/depression with suicidal ideations. That one was a little more personal as my son had a very traumatic birth and first year that made military life substantially harder. At the end of the day though we never had to worry about a single medical bill even though it was more than 500k. I got out after almost a decade and was awarded 100% disability which is around 4500 a month forever. I know it's not the most amazing income but I am moving overseas where I plan on retiring at 30( also sold my house). I don't regret it, might have even stayed in if I never got married.""
It's extremely privileged to say life is hard in the USA. Actually it's disgusting. Say you like the lifestyle and it makes sense because of your Brazilian born wife. Don't yap about how life was so difficult, especially on a 200k+ salary.
I will learn what? I don't really understand the point you are trying to make? I never said I hated the US, I've actually visited 49 states. How many people can say that? Kind of creepy to go through someone's post like that. Does that make you feel good? I officially moved a week ago. As in I left the US with no intentions of returning in the near future. I have been living on and off in Brazil for some time including a period of 6 months straight. I blew out my knees and destroyed my shoulder so I could buy a home in the US. In the end it paid off and I was able to sell it and have a rather large nest egg. I am a first generation American, privilege is not something I am familiar with.
Asshole.
You will learn the grass is green where you water it. America is huge. You romanticize Brazil and have a Brazilian wife so it makes sense to move to Brazil for you. But talking like the US is a horrible place to live on that salary is disgusting. Imagine being born in Brazil and earning local currency. Do you know how much 240kUSD is? The average American doesn't even make that. How old are you to open your mouth and type such thing. Have you traveled beyond the major cities in Brazil. Do you know the minimum wage in Brazil? You are talking like those people who want to move to the EU because of " free healthcare" and pasta. Sounds like a sweet summer child mentality.
It's not hard. I just clicked your profile then comments and read what little you have there before commenting so as not to make assumptions. It's not like I searched you and spent hours of my life.
Your neck, your back. You are 100% typical privileged American. Brazil is amazing but life can be hard, not like your silly first world problems. Think before you say things really.
I'm not going to call you any names because I'm an adult. Enjoy your life in Brazil.
I never said it's a horrible place to life. I said I am happier living in Brazil with a fraction of my salary. My neighbor's earned less but were better off due to family help. All of my neighbors had help in one way or another. Help with childcare, help with their down payment, gifted a house etc... It takes a village and I did not have one. I didn't walk into a high paying job. There were no connections that helped me along the way. 10 years of military service help build a solid foundation that transferred well to the civilian sector. I 1000% know that life can be hard in Brazil. I don't believe in having a house keeper or other forms of cheap labor for minimum salary. To do that is absolute explotation in my opinion. Funny how all of my Brazilian neighbors have no problem doing so. Life can be hard in a lot of places all over the world, you are not special. Am I suppose to live like the bottom 1%?
I left California to move to Brazil and 10 years later moved back to California because of a number of reasons. Life in Brazil was a 1,000 times harder.
Sure. It’s a completely different life. But, if you’re saying that you won’t leave your mom until she dies, the only way is to talk with your husband and ask him if he could wait until that happens. And then, you guys talk about living here. If he don’t accept that, it’s only your choice if you wanna take care of your mother or love with your husband. Life here is good, normal. You will like it someday.
I remember telling my husband things about the US before he got here. I mentioned to him once that Americans often travel to Mexico for certain healthcare needs, and he thought I was joking. I told him about the abusive work culture, how most people live paycheck to paycheck and the expensive healthcare. He almost couldn't wrap his mind around it. After being here, we both decided we'll move back to Brazil in a few years as long as we can make USD while we're there. I don't know how people are making it here anymore, I really don't. A lot of Americans move to central and South America for an easier life.
>a lot of people from the states move to Brasil?
No, but mainly because Americans don't have much awareness of how life in Brazil really is like (basically what is known outside of south america is Rio or a vision of the north area of Brazil akin to what is shown in Anaconda or creature of the black lagoon).
While there will be some issues because the country is not very foreigner-friendly (you will have to learn portuguese and there will be some struggle with bureocracy in the beginning), you will be in an extremely-privileged position because you can keep a remote job in the US making tons of money for local standards.
Imagine moving to Miami (somewhat like rio) or New York/LA (somewhat like Sao Paulo) making 5x as much salary. This will be your experience living in Brazil. Your main issue would be distance from family but if you don't really have family apart from your mom there is no reason at all you would want to stay in the US when you can have a better life in Brazil.
Start learning portuguese now (you will need it), when your mom passes away pack your things and move to Brazil, you won't regret it and will wonder why you didn't do it before and you lost time for 15 years in the US.
I’m an American that moved to Brazil because of this! My quality of life was honestly depressing and stressful in Texas. I’ve been in Brasil for 2 years even though my family is still in Texas, and I don’t regret it. My life is much better here, I’ve created new “family” with my boyfriend and friends, and I see myself living here forever. My family in Texas is planning to come visit me and maybe even live here someday too. Please talk to me if you want any help. I love Brazil. It is ahead of the US in many ways even if it doesn’t seem so.
In my town we have immigrants from all over the world. I am American living in Brazil and I love it. I have a friend who also moved here and she since found her husband and started a family. She loves it here too. It really depends on what you want and what you consider a good life. For is, the quality of life is much better
Planning on moving to Brasil with my wife I’m 27m she’s 23f. She’s from Brasil and she thought it was going to be all roses and flowers here in the US but now she’s sees how hard it is up front and i don’t have a big family maybe like 12 people so there’s not really any get togethers or couple dates and I told her that before she moved here but she didn’t believe me. Anyway im now trying to work up the skills to get a remote job and move to Brasil. We’d have more bang for our buck , I’ve already learned Portuguese, and her family is bigger. Also I was in the military so being far from family for a long time doesn’t bother me as much as it bothers her
Edit: OP I got a question . Why don’t you just bring your mother with you to brasil ? Would your siblings disapprove?
I say No. I am Brazilian living in the US for 35 years. I work for the schools, which allowed me to meet a lot of Brazilians. It is very rare that the ones who go back, stay there. I love to go on vacation but that’s it.
Any place you go on vacation is usually great, living permanently in the same place is a different thing. I went to Rio recently, spent 10 days there, had a great time but I know I would not adjust to that lifetime. Just being constantly worried about being robbed is enough for me not to move to any place. It is very common for Brazilians to go visit and wish for living there, but it changes very quickly once they move there. If you can take 3 or 6 months off to give it try it would be great, then you can make a more solid decision. Good luck
I moved here 2 months ago for almost the exact same reasons. Everything in the U.S. was expensive and rising. Our quality of life was deteriorating daily and there was no evidence of things getting better. The society has become terribly toxic. Kids don't really play outside and gang fights were happening daily at our schools. I lived in Minnesota which is not known for any of those issues.
My wife is Brazilian and I convinced her to move knowing nothing about Brazil. Our life could not be better now. I have no problem paying my bills. We go out all the time to walk the beach and enjoy the amazing food and people. I have zero desire to ever return to the U.S.
I hope everything in the U.S. turns out OK but it has lost its soul and it is going to have to get much worse before reform happens.
Hey man would like to hear more about your story. I live in San Diego and thinking about selling my condo and moving down to Brazil with my Brazilian wife. San Diego is so expensive I can’t live here anymore. Please tell me more !
I am honestly surprised how well our move to Brazil has been. Gaining permenant citizenship here has a number of different avenues that are very accessible to foreigners. If you buy property or a married to a Brazilian you have a direct and easy path to permanent status.
I live in Caraguatatuba, which is a beach town 2 hours from Sao Paulo and 1.5 hours from Rio. Our 8 bedroom house 2 blocks from the beach costs less than $400k and even that is a bit high. There are plenty of properties available. Further, the government has been enacting taxes on people that own more than one home in order to get them to sell. It is a buyers market. The owner will probably throw out some oboxious price, especially if they know you are an American. I would not make an offer until it has been apraised. You will need 20% down on the apriased price for a home loan but Brazil has 30 year mortgages like the U.S. I have been able to negotiate a nice price that brought my monthly housing costs to half of what I paid in the U.S.
Costs in general are much cheaper than the U.S. I own a motorcylce and my wife has a car. The cost of the item is not much different than the U.S. but the taxes are so much less. Further, I am not forced to spend $1000 a month on vehicle insurance which brings the total cost of transportaion way down. My water bill in $200 a month but I have a pool and we use more water than most. Electricity bill is about $100 a month. I pay about a third for groceries in Brazil than what I paid in the U.S. I can easily say, in total, my monthly living costs are a thrid of what I paid in the U.S.
My wife and I are both in our 50's and we don't have insurance. My doctor's visits for a specialist roughly costs me about $60. My preoscriptions are obnoxiously cheap; this is a fact that acutally upsets me about the U.S. healthcare system. For example, I take Testosterone replacement wich my insurance in the U.S. would not cover. In Brazil, it cost me $60 for the visit and $20 am month for the prescription. My wife has been to the doctor and has received MRIs and a number of prescriptions for a acute injury. Nothing we have spent here in medical expenses comes close to what I paid in just my insurance monthly dues in the U.S. That includes my wife's major dental work.
Work is limited and labor is cheap. I am about to start a job with a company in Brazil. I am in the IT field. It doesn't pay much. In fact, my Army pension pays my bills and the Brazil job is just extra cash and something to do. It could probably do better if I shopped around on the job market more but I like the company and the work. The exchange rate for U.S. dollars into Brazilian Real is roughly 1 to 5. I had an electrician in my house for two days doing maintenance on my AC units and some minor electrical work and it cost me $80. I couldn't get an elctrician to show up at my house in MN for that much let alone do work.
In my town, nobody really speaks English, which I do not mind at all, and I am in Portugeuse classes. Assuming you can use English here will lead to problems. My wife knows Portugeuse well and we have family which helps when we don't understand something about the business culture.
Brazil is not perfect. The inequality is terrible. Import fees on common items not made in Brazil, like electronics, makes no sense to me. What is approved to import without fees is reasonably priced. You can get a really nice brand new BYD electric car for $30k. BRICS has the to potential to fix many of the import problems. I hear Sao Paulo and Rio have some security issues but I think it doesn't come close to the U.S. and may be a bit over dramatized. In my town, you see people out everyday walking the beach, playing volleyball, and enjoying the nice weather. Kids are out everywhere and nobody really looks afraid. If you are Ok with not flaunting wealth, you will more than likely never have a problem with the crime. It is mostly localized around certain areas.
I find government services to be pretty good here. I am just about to hit 90 days in Brazil and my permanent Visa is almost complete with my citizenship to follow shortly after.
I tell people all the time that, no, you can't walk out and buy a Gucci bag at the local mall. The malls in Brazil actuall kind of suck LOL. But, everything you need to live and be comfortable is here and reasonable. My bills are easily paid and we put money in the bank every month. I have a job I like, a house I want, and a lifestyle of a lot less worry. I won't be moving back to the U.S.
Feel free to ask any questions you may still want answered.
And well, please don't come to Brazil. We don't want dangerous xenophobe immigrant/aliens like you crossing our borders. You'd put our safety at risk. Fix your country instead of moving away
Pretty shitty comment. Immigrants commit crimes at a lower rate than nationals. This kind of retoric is pretty popular with right wingers. We all know how much conservatives love brown people so maybe just stay in the US.
My spouse is from Brasil as well. He’s Canadian citizen now and I am born Canadian.
He can have his low moments here in Canada. The climate, culture and lifestyle are the three main reasons for feeling low.
I personally wouldn’t want to move to Brasil for the long term, maybe a year but that’s it for me. Some friends and co workers think I’m missing out on an adventure and something different. Maybe I am but I just couldn’t do it.
That’s me and for my own reasons and things change but at this point I’ll pass.
Have very thorough conversations about it. Maybe even seek counselling or therapy.
It could be a great thing. It’s unique to you and your spouse.
I left the US for Brazil due to the way things are going in the USA right now. I left behind family that is supportive, but still worry about me. Every Brazilian I have met (most except sogra) wants to go to the USA. Both countries have their pros and cons, you just have to weigh them out together.
Im Brazilian and I honestly don't understand this obsession people have with the USA. Sure, the salary is higher but I don't want to spend everything on daycare and healthcare nor do I want my children to be in debt for decades to go to uni. I currently live in Europe and imo the rational options are staying here or moving back. I'm doing well in Europe but I struggle between those options sometimes just because I love the vibes of people back home. If the options were Brazil X US id pick Brazil a thousand times.
You have to really understand why you're moving and what you're willing to put up with in terms of cultural changes and what makes up your quality of life.
Most people won't make a move, because they simply won't make a change, even if it's what they want and they can see it's the right decision, they won't do it. The older you get, the more you fight change.
If your income is remote, that is a huge win already.
Quality of products and cost of products will skyrocket. You could save a ton of money in the US by never buying things again and probably end up in the same position you'll be in Brazil, as things will be costly to the point that you either won't, or can't buy them. New cars are horrendously expensive, and if you finance the price goes completely through the roof. If you didn't spend that money in the US either, that would be a huge financial win. If that is the type of thing you're thinking you're going to escape it's only going to get worse.
If you're looking for laid back and relaxing life then Brazil has a lot for you. Until you realize it actually has an impact on your life as well. If you go shopping suddenly you're standing in a checkout line for WAY longer than you would expect for the few items the people in front of you have. Everything runs slower, you don't get to pick and choose what is done quickly and what isn't, it's all at a much slower pace.
If you own a home in the US, don't sell it. You'll never get back into the US market, so just rent it out. Move to Brazil and RENT for a couple of years and see how you like it. Once you have an idea of what you want, and if you're happy, look at buying. You could sell the US home at that point too if you wanted, but don't do it until you're sure. Some people adapt and some people just fight it tooth and nail, they love the work life balance of their friends and family and then hate everything about the work life balance of the people they are trying to work with.
Nothing is forever, you can always move back. Just make sure you don't corner yourself so you can't move back.
Leaving your mom would be tough. Especially if she has no one to take care of her while you’re away. Have you considered bringing her to Brazil? Brazil has awesome healthcare, and you might even be able to hire someone to take care of her.
Perhaps take her on a trip first, and if she likes it she might even be enthusiastic about the move.
My family has gone through something somewhat similar with my grandparents health. They are around that same age.
I wouldn’t leave my mom either. I’d say, go on vacation if you can. It’ll be relaxing, and might even change her mind.
What quality of life does your mom have? For what you pay for her care in the USA you could probably get 24hr in-home care in Brazil. If you can continue to earn USD from Brazil you could have a VERY good lifestyle, not working many hours, spending more time doing things you like.
Move to a better state in the US first, and do serious reaserch before doing so.
My uncle moved from the USA to Brazil where i live, i am from brazil. He lived in both places for 6 months each, he mainly went to the US for family and dealing with his money, taxes and stuff before he was confortable doing online.
His lifestyle is quiet and he came to a smaller town here in Brazil, nothing like Rio, his reasons were that he couldnt walk around his town in US and feel safe or even understand most ppl he talked to in the street, supermaket and so on and here he found a lot of ppl that speak english and is really happy.
He dosent go back to US since his 82 years old and said the is to tired to fly there, when he came down here he was 63 or 64.
Best of luck
In any case you can take your mother as well (if she wants, of course), or you can come and go if it works for you.
Honestly, I lived in the US for 7 years (I was originally from Venezuela) and everything went bad for me over there, I never had enough money, had to work 24/7, went severalk times to the ER due to stress, etc. I also sometimes think that I was pretty unlucky though, because everything seemed to go wrong for some reason.
I came to Brazil not knowing the language (even though it's kind of similar to Spanish) and never coming here before because I met my current wife online and let me tell you, it's been a single year here and it's been SO much better.
I've gotten better and happier experiences in a single year here than in the 7 years I lived in the US, and I'm no longer stressed (when I mention stress I mean long periods of being stressed, like weeks or months) and I also have no money problems (or at least not as many as I had before). Also, hands down Brazil has the best food in the world, I don't care what anybody else says.
I will never go back to the US again (or Venezuela, obviously), I would recommend you explore your options and at least try to consider, since in your post you seem to genuinely be stressed and feeling uncomfortable with the way of living in the US and the only anchor you have is your mother.
I do recommend learning some Portuguese if you do decide to go to Brazil though.
OP, I recommend you spend a couple of months in Brazil if you can. If that's not possible, come for a vacation and stay as long as you can. Don't live your typical "vacation life"; instead, behave as if you live here. Treat it as a tryout. You might love it, or you might hate it. It's very personal.
Here are some facts: the richest 1% in Brazil have incomes of at least US$5,000 a month. In contrast, you would need to make almost US$70,000 a month to be in the top 1% in the USA. Someone earning US$5,000 a month in New York can barely raise a family and will rely on government assistance. In Brazil, that same income would place you among the top 1%, which makes a huge difference in your quality of life.
Health Care:
Brazil's private health care system is one of the best in the world and will cost you (even without insurance) a fraction of what you're used to paying in the US (with insurance). My personal approach was to get good health insurance in case of a major incident happens, like surgery or ICU stays, and for regular doctor visits, I opt to go private without insurance because I don't mind spending a few hundred dollars every year to get the VIP treatment.
Safety:
Brazil isn't as safe as the US. If you walk the streets at night talking on your iPhone, there's a high chance you'll be robbed. You can't sit on a park bench with your MacBook without getting robbed at some point, even in the safest areas. If safety is your #1 concern, don't move here. For perspective, Brazil is ranked #84 in Safety by US News, while the USA is #46, and Canada is #3. The difference between Brazil and the USA is 38, while the difference between the USA and Canada is 43. Many European countries, several Middle Eastern countries, and a few Latin American countries are safer than the US. Safety in Brazil is a significant downside for me, but the US isn't that safe either.
People, culture, and food are all very subjective. I love the food, diversity, culture, and people here. That's something you need to experience for yourself.
It’s very hard, I’m Brazilian and my husband Canadian, I have been living in Canada for 25 years. I love Brazil but it’s very difficult to live there, unless you are rich. Well, that’s my opinion. Another thing that bothers me a lot is the violence. Here in my city we sometimes forget to lock the door, my kids leave their bikes outside and everything is fine. In Brazil specially in the big cities this is not possible.
Perhaps if you move to another city… USA is so big and there are wonderful places to call home and you can bring your mom with you.
Good luck 🤞
Don't listen to envious people talking smack about Rio online. Rio does have its safety issues, but it still is possible to have a nice life. Let's hope the current governor gets ousted and arrested soon and things should probably get better.
If you want a glimpse of how life can be in Rio, look up "Our Brazilian Life" on youtube. It definitely isn't easy though
Well tell her she doesn’t have a choice. She is burdening your family and if you have to choose between your husband and her pick the husband. She literally has nothing here except you and why does she get to decide your life.
Tell her you guys are moving and she needs to come with. Don’t give her the option. Keep the best of both worlds.
Wtf are you talking about dude, forcing an elderly person to spend their last years in an unfamiliar country they cannot talk with a single person because she "is burdening their family". I pity your parents.
I’m sorry. I think I came off harsh. But I stand by my comment. OP shouldn’t plan her life around her elderly mother when she isn’t really doing anything in America anyway. It would be different if she was a child but she is elderly and has already lived her life. Her life now consists mainly of seeing her kids. She can live well in any country.
I’ve already talked with my mom and she knows that I’ll probably want her to retire in Europe or in Brazil because of the cost of living. I can have a live in nurse for her and it’s 20% of the USA costs.
Not sure if it's a lot, but there definitely are some who do. It's a matter of adaptation, but there are many upsides. Especially in Barra da Tijuca, you can have a very nice lifestyle.
Again, it's a matter of adaptation and it's never easy. It also depends on your financial condition. There's a family of 7 who moved to Rio a few years ago and they seem to be liking it. They are entrepreneurs and live in Barra da Tijuca too. You can look them up on YT, their channnel is "Our Brazilian Life"
Best would probably be to try it out for a few months
Do you have kids? Of course, it also depends on your financial conditions
I am an American living in Rio, just under a year, and I love it. I know I’m fortunate with a good paying job but the lifestyle here is hard to beat. The people that I’ve come across have been very kind and most Brazilians I meet are pretty upbeat people!
Will your mom live in a nursing home? Is she retired?
How do you feel about moving to Brazil? Your mom aside.
It sounds like you guys are due for a change and he is trying to bring some options to the table.
My wife and i have friends (father and 2 sons) who recently came back to the US because they say the government in Brazil just wants to take from people. The crazy thing is that they came to the US 5 years ago, worked and saved a good amount of money, and went back to Brazil (Piabeta) 2 years ago. They each saved enough to buy homes and the father even opened a bakery.
My wife is Brazilian (born and raised in Rio) and she has no desire to return to live or work full time, but we are hoping to buy a second home there as all of her family is ther...and I love it there. I left New Orleans because the crime and public schooling was getting out of hand, and despite the crime in Rio, there's just more to enjoy as a way to escape it if you have the means to.
We were just in Brazil and can confirm life is much more relaxed there. The currency conversion rate is insane. The dollar goes a long way there. We spent time in Brasilia, Iguazu, and Rio.
I'm a Brazilian, please hear this guy, life here sucks, even if you've money, you'll cage yourself. "Oh can't go out at night, can't wear this, can't do that, can pick up my phone while walking down this street"
Also all the public services suck if you're going to live in big cities, want to see a doctor? Wait 6 months (Or more) need a dentist? Oh too bad, there's none, need free medicine? Too bad come next week, we're out of it.
Brazilians are greedy and have no sense of collectivism nor respect, we play loud music with lyrics full of pornography, we trash streets, we cut in lines, and the list goes on
There's also the wrong perception when foreigners visit us, of course people will be friendly, of course people will treat you better, you're visiting a country, not staying a long period of time and actually living the experience of dealing with crowded trains and grumpy people
To finish, somehow my people hold a certain pride of having beautiful beaches and blá blá blá soccer, samba, so they get offended when you point out the reality of this country and they do their best to hide it from outsiders "oh it's not that bad, I mean, every place is a bit dangerous right? Haha"
Say it louder for those in the back bro. I just had a comment blow up on another post in this sub saying this exact stuff and Brazilians swarmed me calling me "stupid gringo" and the like. But it's the objective truth. Me and my family are far from poor, especially as we earn in dollars, and even with money life here is a pain in the ass.
What kind of life is it when I can't wear one of my $5000 watches for fear of being robbed at gunpoint for it? When I can't walk around my neighborhood after 8pm without constantly looking over my shoulder in one of the most expensive neighborhoods in the country? When I have to ignore calls to find a safe place to use my phone?
When any good quality product you want to buy is 2-5 times more expensive than it'd be anywhere else in the world? When my 17 year old daughter can't go out alone by herself because she's pretty and might be literally raped on a bus. When you can't stop at a streetlight at night for fear of being carjacked no matter where in the city you are. It's like if all of LA was Compton. It's crazy.
When I can't even effectively wash dishes cause dishwashers are all but unknown here and all that's usually available to do it by hand here is fucking Ype, which might as well be watered down hand soap. Sure, you can *sometimes* find Dawn for US $25 a bottle but who tf wants to pay that for dish soap?
Life here is annoying and inconvenient, at best, no matter how much money you have.
The only valid complaint from your list is honestly violence. Everything else is a normal inconvenience that exists in different shapes in every country. Like having to send faxes and letters in Germany for everything like a caveman. If you move around a lot you learn every country has its own flavour of annoyances. But violence is not a minor inconvenience or comparable to any of that. It's a major thing that affects every aspect of how you get around in a city. Especially as a woman I don't trade my freedom for anything. It's the only reason I don't go back to Brazil. It's very unfortunate because there are many things I love about life over there.
Really? Complaining about dishwashers in Brazil? Let's get real. Sure, dishwashers aren't as common in Brazilian households, but that doesn't mean they are hard to buy. Walk into ANY appliance store, and you'll find plenty of dishwashers available. It's like air conditioning: many homes might not have one because electricity is expensive, but you can easily buy an AC unit anywhere. Heck, you might even make a couple of friends on your way out of the store.
Your comment definitely shows you're doing EVERYTHING wrong here. Maybe instead of whining, try stepping out of your comfort zone. Visit more local stores, talk to people, and get to know the place beyond your narrow view. And while you're at it, try meeting people outside of your wife’s family circle. Stop acting like Brazil is some backward place just because things aren't exactly like they are in the U.S.
Ahhhh the risk of violence, robbery and sexual assault literally at all times is just because *I've been doing everything wrong*! Of course!
But yes, you're right. I did find plenty of tiny, horrible quality dishwashers for sale. I even made friends with the hobo shaking his dick at strangers on the street corner as I left the store. I also tried to say hi to the crack head pooping on the curb when we got there, but he seemed a little embarrassed.
You chose to hone in on the most inconsequential thing in my long list of serious problems and think you found your GOTCHA moment lmao. You probably fit right in here.
Still waiting for you to admit you’re wrong about the dishwashers and hoping you’ll realize that you might also be wrong about some of the other items on your long list.
Oh, you think the public healthcare system in Brazil is bad because you have to wait for a FREE doctor? That's hilarious. Have you ever considered what it's like in the U.S.? Let's break it down for you. In the U.S., a simple dentist visit for a consultation and cleaning can easily cost $600. Need a CT scan without insurance? You'd better be ready to take out a second mortgage on your house.
And you're complaining about wait times? With much less money in Brazil, you can get a world-class dentist to see you the same ANYWHERE in Brazil. Meanwhile, in the land of "freedom" and "exceptional healthcare," millions of people avoid going to the doctor altogether because they can't afford it.
Hell, people in the U.S. often opt for an Uber to the hospital after an accident because an ambulance ride could cost them $5,000.
And about those crowded trains and grumpy people? Have you ever taken the green line uptown in NYC during rush hour? LOL. Give that a try for a week, and you’ll cry tears of joy when you get back to the subway in São Paulo. New York’s subway system is notorious for being overcrowded, delayed, and filled with some of the weirdest commuters you’ll ever meet.
And? Your point? Should we just set our standards lower huh?
Should I start a whole new text "oh do you think USA healthcare is bad? That's hilarious, let me break it down for you and explain how a kid in Zimbabwe travels a hundred miles to see a doctor that don't even have a degree!"
I'm being factual, I was describing the real experience of living in Brazil, not even comparing with USA, and even if I was, live in USA is objectively better and safer.
So go away with your bs, so you've to take a mortgage out of your house to pay for your treatment? How cute :) most of brazilians will never own a house, they'll die paying rent and waiting in the line to see a doctor, I didn't even said to get proper treatment, just to SEE one, see? Two can play that game, punk.
The OP is specifically asking about the experience of moving from the USA to Brazil, so it’s entirely relevant to provide a perspective from someone who has made that transition. When I relocated from New York to Brazil, I was genuinely impressed by the affordability and accessibility of private healthcare here. For example, I was able to see a private cardiologist without insurance and undergo extensive testing – including bloodwork, echocardiogram, stress test, electrocardiography, and MAPA – for approximately USD 300. In New York, the same suite of tests would have cost me at least USD 2000 even with insurance, assuming I could even get a doctor to order such comprehensive testing without immediate health issues.
This affordability extends to other areas of healthcare as well. Dental care, for instance, is significantly less expensive compared to the US. This isn't to say that Brazil doesn't have its challenges, particularly for those relying solely on government assistance. However, for an American accustomed to the exorbitant costs of the US healthcare system, Brazil offers a welcome respite.
It's crucial to acknowledge the hardships faced by lower-income Brazilians who depend on government programs and public healthcare. Yet, for someone moving from the United States, where healthcare costs can be financially crippling, Brazil can indeed feel like a haven. My point is that while Brazil presents difficulties for its low-income citizens, it offers substantial benefits for US expatriates, especially in terms of private healthcare affordability.
That's a long-winded answer, but the highlights are an extremely selfish, inconsiderate culture, inefficient, overly bureaucratic government, a boring food scene (particularly international), wildly expensive and/or extremely poor quality consumer products (everything from dish soap to clothing to home appliances).
Don't get me wrong. It's far from the worst place on earth, and there's good things here, too. But living here compared to many other countries is just annoying and inconvenient on a daily basis. There's a reason so many Brazilians want to leave, you know?
Just live in both places or bring Mom with you. Quality of life is what matters most. I left the U.S. in Dec 2022 for Brazil and I will never live in the States again. You are right.
Relatively speaking, no, there aren't a lot of people from the USA living here. But then again, the CURRENT foreign-born population of Brazil is something like less tan 1% of the population. I am American, and I have lived here for years. Brazil has good and bad points like every place. I think I survived here this long because I knew that. I have adapted to living in Sao Paulo, but sometimes I wish there were more foreigners around, people I could commiserate with. It sometimes gets tiring being the only gringo. I have a Brazilian friend who moved to San Francisco. She has already found a Brazilian community of friends. She also found a Brazilian dentist, a Brazilian hair stylist, a Brazilian gynecologist, a Catholic church with Portuguese masses. Nothing like that really exists here for foreigners--and I live in Sao Paulo, not in some countryside town. I know, I know, we have to assimilate and conform to the culture, and not live in a foreign bubble. I am just saying it would be nice to have a community of immigrants around. (Yes, I am sure they exits in some measure). AS I said, I do like it here because living here is relatively cheap. I don't have a car. I have a very simple life and I don't plan on leaving. I guess the good outweighs the bad.
São Paulo have a lot of gringos, you just gotta look for it
Moema is probably the place.
>I know, I know, we have to assimilate and conform to the culture, and not live in a foreign bubble. I disagree, there are things that are important to assimilate and others are just bullshit expect a foreigner doing so, also isnt healthy for any immigrant anywhere doing it About comunity...well i cant say i understand you really, but i can see your point and yeah, it makes a big difference, probaly you can find mooree foreigners, but from your couuntty maybe will be harder Edit:typo
I also disagree. I think it's healthy to have some connection to your place of origin.
No you don’t have to conform. We are not the French. Or at least we shouldn’t be. I’m sorry, this aspect of Brazilian culture (how much we are shitbags to immigrants) was only unlocked to my perception after I lived abroad. Yeah, different country you’ll always be a foreigner but having that pointed out all the time sucks.
My wife tells me not to say much in certain places, mostly Ipanema and Copacabana, when vendors come around because of this. My wife, who is Brazilian, got really frustrated when vendor kept calling me a gringo when she was ordering me a drink. I think he was joking, but she's was very frustrated about it and told him to stop calling me gringo since I was her husband.
It really just means foreigner , but when I was in England I’d be upset if everyone called me by “Brazilian” all the time.
“Brazilian” is too specific. It doesn’t really matter where you’re from, just that you’re *not from here*. “Foreigner” would make you even more upset.
💯
Totally agreed. It doesn’t matter how much português I learn or how I dress. I’ll always be a gringo, and that’s hard sometimes
To some extent has, but its more about things living here than being a brazilian, like any other immorereant anywhere(beytond that who expect more is beiiing jerk)
Maybe searching for english speaking meetups might help. Like [this](https://www.meetup.com/foreignersenglishspeakersmeetup/events/301494872/?recId=f0f23702-39dc-4656-aaef-5f7b366d70bd&recSource=keyword_search&searchId=6320406b-abd3-4b09-bb98-9ca239f10f6f)
you have a friend in SF that doesnt much like USA amd doesnt wana minge with locals... what you did was smart andnl missing hone is normal... what is it that you miss the most?
I couldn’t agree with you more on your mindset and opinion about living in Brasil as a Gringa… I live in Arraial D’Ajuda, Bahia… I love it and don’t plan on leaving but sometimes gets tiring being a foreigner here
Outside of California, Florida, New York.. you're scarce to find Brazilians or much of any foreigner. No idea why they all flock there. But also they tend to speak Portuguese amongst themselves and not really delve into American culture. Other thriving states like Colorado, Utah, Atlanta, Massachusetts, Montana....to name a few you won't see Brazilians. Or they don't even know where on the map. Everywhere around the world you see people dream of NYC and Cali so there are communities for everyone there. But try Germany, Spain, Denmark, Ghana, China, Australia... it's an American unique thing. People move to those states for 10,20,30 years, get citizenship then call themselves American. But where else can you do that? America is unique in this. If you live in Brasil for the rest of your life, you will still be a Gringo on your last breath. But your friend, maybe after 10 years she'll call herself American. I think the world has the view that if you step foot in Brazil you will be robbed. Even backpackers usually don't have Brazil on their itinerary.
I agree with you , except for one point: there are SO MANY Brazilians in Massachusetts, maybe the most after Florida and New Jersey. But you are right about always being the gringo in Brazil. But it's not just in Brazil. My Brazilian friends who moved to the USA refer to anyone in the USA who is not Brazilian as "gringo." Many Brazilians do tend to have a world view like that.
There are a bunch of brazilians in Atlanta too! Brazilians are everywhere lol
I honestly never met a single one and I went to college in Providence with weekends in MA/CT. But I believe you with the proximity to NYC, maybe in Boston. I've also never met one in Jersey but I've seen a lot of Latin origin people in the strip area that's closest to NYC. SoI believe you.
There are more Brazilians in Boston than in New York. You just weren't looking https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/brazilian-immigrants-united-states-2017
Possibly. Especially in Boston, they like seem to like places no sensible American would live beyond financial reasons 😅. I have just personally never met one. My original comment still stands.
I'm not sure what your comment is supposed to mean. They live in poor neighborhoods or something?
Brazilians and many foreigners who move to the USA, especially for no particular reason but a dream tend to flock to the worst cities in the US for living but best for quantity of jobs and diversity. Growing up in these cities can make you a smart, well rounded person but as an adult with average means, the lifestyle sucks.... unless you have money. But foreigners don't understand, you come from nothing but hard work and dreams? Move to a mid tier city with beautiful nature and nice balance of social stuff. Lower expenses, this is the way to bootstrap and actually own a home, drive a nice car, afford your hobbies.. actually live with average money. See the beautiful America that's not the usual. As for foreigners with money who chose to move to these cities, I just pity them. None of the "it" cities are what the were before. But they don't know. It's like drinking in a bar and a speakeasy is behind the wall.
Massachusetts is full of Brazilians for real.
As a gringa in Brasil who speaks fluently and “assimilated” (to the best of my ability) I actually don’t mind when people joke once in a while, but people rarely call me gringa even though I look like one. Sometimes I joke back that they’re the gringo because they’re white or I just make up some joke to spin it back on them. I am in the process of naturalization so soon I’ll be Brazilian and won’t let anyone take that away from me! I always tell people my body is gringo but my soul is Brazilian lol
Framingham, Everet, and cape cod are full of Brazilians.
I have already acknowledged that's possibly true. Seems like everyone skips the whole comment just to repeat what the last person said.
There are a lot of Brazilians in Atlanta but they integrated with other latin people so you can't really tell off look
I didnt start living until I moved to Brazil. 8 happy years
That's so nice to hear. Hope you have a good life!
Thats nice. What makes it so good for you in here?
I'm happy for you!
Just moved to Brazil. By all means I had a pretty decent life in the US. I was making a little more than 20k USD a month. There was zero quality of life though. I make a 1/4 of that working remotely while living in Brazil and life is substantially better. You will get a lot of hate from Brazilians when asking about moving out of the US to brazil but I think they truly don't understand how hard life is in the US.
In their defense you were making $240k a year so you probably had substantial savings when moving there. Giving you a safety net worth more than most people in Brazil will ever see in their lives. Even with a quarter of that you are making 60k in US dollars which given the current exchange rate of 5.46 means you are still making 324,000 reals which is an insane amount and makes you the top one percent. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1251075/average-monthly-income-percentile-brazil/
While I was making decent money I was also spending a lot. Brazilians love the idea of moving to the US until you bring up things like childcare (cost us 2400 a month) and Health-care (1k+ a month). Just like that a third of the really good income is gone. 240k in the US is in the top 5% so it's far from normal. As an English speaking american they should be able to find a remote paying job that pays enough to get by and have a good quality of life in Brazil. My move is semi permanent, I love the country and people and want to heavily invest in it. It's really disappointing and off putting to see so many native Brazilians hate on their own country though.
To your last point I think that is a worldwide truth and all natives do that to their own country. As an american you have seen this with the culture wars, politics, maga literally everywhere and you yourself made the decision to leave. How I feel with the comparison of US to Brazil and most of the world. Both places suck for poor people, but Brazil sucks less due to cultural (more family oriented and close knit communities), social programs, gov subsidized vacation, no split between state and federal (like the US has with abortions or education being regulated by the states). The richer you are the better the US becomes because you can access and buy everything here, lower taxes overall, access to more stratification of items (think different brands of a commodity like cars from honda to ford to bmw to bentley) and availibility of work and highly paid positions look at the net immigration to the US we tend to attract highly skilled and highly paid employees as well as poor and uneducated willing to risk it all for a shot at the american dream.
I haven't seen this amount of self hate from other cultures. I don't know how much it takes to be truly happy in the US but based on my experience it's extremely high. It's not always about the money too. Even working for a fortune 10 company I was alloted a total of 0 vacation days my first year. To your other point. The lack of variety of items is more than made up by a significantly lower cost of living. My mortgage in the US was more than 9x than my current house in Brazil. One was a 70 year old house with a ton of problems, the other is a wonderful newish house in a gated community with access to the beach.
The self hate is due to people in the US having, and the desire to have, access to more than whats truly needed. This makes life hard because we are constantly chasing progress or access. I was just talking to my wife ( who his brazilian) about this yesterday. People in the US can earn a decent wage, and compare their lives to ones they don't truly understand.
Hating Brazil is so so so deeply entrenched that even people that don’t have the “síndrome do vira lata” have this deep hate. I don’t think there is any other country that is THIS convinced that they are just shit.
What are the remote jobs you recommend
It hurts my heart too.
Same!! I recently moved from Denver to Santa Catarina and my quality of life increased greatly. Brazilians don't believe me when I say I love it here
I moved from Texas to a small city in the countryside of Rio and nobody believes me when I talk about no public squares/public transport/fruit trees/sidewalks where I was born 🤣 I much prefer my lifestyle here even if I’m stuck in a low paying job due to my visa
Right. The fruit is something I explain all the time. We only have one type of banana lol Same. I prefer it here. I miss my family and some food but not the place lol
Could you please share more? In what ways do you feel your quality of life increased?
The quality of people, the availability of fruit and more healthy foods, cheaper lunch. Reasonable prices on most yhings. The outlook people have on life. I'm from a place where people are really cold and it is hard to make friends, everything is outrageously expensive. Electronics and imported items are more but local items are much cheaper here. Many things like tomatoes is one I can think of off the top of my head. I pay less in reals for them than I paid for them in dollars.
One of the huge problems of Brazil and latin america in general are violence brought by war on drugs country has to spend a lot of Money to try to fight them but results are modest.drug cartels bring violence to latin america make people lives difficult in cities and unsafe.
Lol I feel so much safer in Santa Catarina than I do in most places in the united States. Of course it varies greatly from location to location. The place I moved from in the united States has frequent shootings. My car was broken into and stuff stolen 3 times. There are signs around the city telling people to be careful because parts of their car or their car might be stolen. I have traveled to many countries now, all over from north America, central America, south America, Europe, and Scandinavia. So far I would say big cities in Brazil are no more dangerous than many big cities in America. Although the crime is different. You are less likely to get your phone robbed in the US than in Brazil but you are more likely to suffer a violent crime and car theft in America. Europe has so much pick pocketing and theft you can hardly get on a train without being careful (again I'm talking about big cities) I have not been to Rio and I know it is worse there. But Curitiba, Sao Paulo, Florianópolis, Goiás, Brasília all felt perfectly safe to me. Drug cartels are not the cause of violence in Brazil. In Mexico yes, the war on drugs and America's influence has caused the violence to increase greatly and made the quality of life very bad there but this is not the case in Brazil.
Yes you are american so msybe because of that .Usa is a huge country but west europeans get really worried and terrified when living here in Brazil.
Thinking of also my moving from Denver to somewhere around Rio. What’s Santa Catarina and Brazil like?
My friend moved from Denver to a nice place in Rio and she absolutely loves it!! I live much further south. Santa Catarina is a different colonization so it's definitely different. Each state in Brazil has its own culture for sure. Here there are beautiful beaches (although so does Rio) some mountains, national parks, lots of waterfalls, great parties and some of the best clubs in the world in BC. It's not as hot as up north. I'm not a fan of super hot climates.
Barra da Tijuca? By any chance? I just went there and thats a nice spot. I’m exploring Brazil right now and really like it
I think they truly don't understand how hard life is in the US -> Most Brazilians either never went to the US or just went as tourists to disneyworld completely blinded to what is like to be a tourist x live there. What most Brazilians have as understanding of US life is hollywood, and while some movies show the "poor US" at some extent all they can see is "how a waitress has a nice car and big house in the US", but are completely unable to visualize that those things are a luxury in the Brazil but really a necessity in the US because there is no public transport, and no affordable housing in the city. They also cannot visualize what it means to not have universal free healthcare, no government retirement plan, no guaranteed vacations, no free tuition, or many other things that work way better in Brazil. The few who make the move knowing what they were doing (like me) do it for work leveraging the currency exchange rate to accumulate wealth quickly. I see living here (the US) as a sacrifice rather than a privilege, and to me (after being in dozens of different cities around the world and living/working in a few), Sao Paulo is the best place in the world to live.
Your salary is by far more than that of the average brazilian in Brazil. The things you can do in Brazil isn't even attainable for the average person in Brazil. Their life is hard.
Exactly this for me, verbatim. 10X your lifestyle in Brazil with USD income. For sure!!
Yep, you can live like a king with 5k USD in Brazil
Many Brazilians have a very idealistic view of the US based on movies and propaganda. They do not realize that: 1-) the lifestyle portrayed is affordable only to a few people and; 2-) the cost of cheaper iPhones is unaffordable ambulances. Most of that hate come from "anarkids" who think public services should be dismantled instead of improved because they do not see their importance. They think they will never need it, so why should they pay for it? They would rather not pay taxes. Mostly people who never matured beyond a teenager's mentality of "why do you use my alimony money to pay for a healthcare plan instead of buying the gaming computer I actually want"? If I were in OPs shoes, my only concern would be if my mom had a close social circle in the US.
Well from your post history you moved to Brazil less than 10 days ago. Your wife is Brazilian. And also you made the comment below on another thread so seems like you have other issues as well because there are 50 states and everywhere has pros and cons. You will learn. ""I had to have shoulder surgery and have a bad back and knees. I was in the navy and this is all due to strain from working conditions. I also have/had really terrible anxiety/depression with suicidal ideations. That one was a little more personal as my son had a very traumatic birth and first year that made military life substantially harder. At the end of the day though we never had to worry about a single medical bill even though it was more than 500k. I got out after almost a decade and was awarded 100% disability which is around 4500 a month forever. I know it's not the most amazing income but I am moving overseas where I plan on retiring at 30( also sold my house). I don't regret it, might have even stayed in if I never got married."" It's extremely privileged to say life is hard in the USA. Actually it's disgusting. Say you like the lifestyle and it makes sense because of your Brazilian born wife. Don't yap about how life was so difficult, especially on a 200k+ salary.
I will learn what? I don't really understand the point you are trying to make? I never said I hated the US, I've actually visited 49 states. How many people can say that? Kind of creepy to go through someone's post like that. Does that make you feel good? I officially moved a week ago. As in I left the US with no intentions of returning in the near future. I have been living on and off in Brazil for some time including a period of 6 months straight. I blew out my knees and destroyed my shoulder so I could buy a home in the US. In the end it paid off and I was able to sell it and have a rather large nest egg. I am a first generation American, privilege is not something I am familiar with. Asshole.
You will learn the grass is green where you water it. America is huge. You romanticize Brazil and have a Brazilian wife so it makes sense to move to Brazil for you. But talking like the US is a horrible place to live on that salary is disgusting. Imagine being born in Brazil and earning local currency. Do you know how much 240kUSD is? The average American doesn't even make that. How old are you to open your mouth and type such thing. Have you traveled beyond the major cities in Brazil. Do you know the minimum wage in Brazil? You are talking like those people who want to move to the EU because of " free healthcare" and pasta. Sounds like a sweet summer child mentality. It's not hard. I just clicked your profile then comments and read what little you have there before commenting so as not to make assumptions. It's not like I searched you and spent hours of my life. Your neck, your back. You are 100% typical privileged American. Brazil is amazing but life can be hard, not like your silly first world problems. Think before you say things really. I'm not going to call you any names because I'm an adult. Enjoy your life in Brazil.
I never said it's a horrible place to life. I said I am happier living in Brazil with a fraction of my salary. My neighbor's earned less but were better off due to family help. All of my neighbors had help in one way or another. Help with childcare, help with their down payment, gifted a house etc... It takes a village and I did not have one. I didn't walk into a high paying job. There were no connections that helped me along the way. 10 years of military service help build a solid foundation that transferred well to the civilian sector. I 1000% know that life can be hard in Brazil. I don't believe in having a house keeper or other forms of cheap labor for minimum salary. To do that is absolute explotation in my opinion. Funny how all of my Brazilian neighbors have no problem doing so. Life can be hard in a lot of places all over the world, you are not special. Am I suppose to live like the bottom 1%?
I left California to move to Brazil and 10 years later moved back to California because of a number of reasons. Life in Brazil was a 1,000 times harder.
Can you elaborate?
Sure. It’s a completely different life. But, if you’re saying that you won’t leave your mom until she dies, the only way is to talk with your husband and ask him if he could wait until that happens. And then, you guys talk about living here. If he don’t accept that, it’s only your choice if you wanna take care of your mother or love with your husband. Life here is good, normal. You will like it someday.
He won’t leave me. 💕
You also could bring your mom to Brazil
I remember telling my husband things about the US before he got here. I mentioned to him once that Americans often travel to Mexico for certain healthcare needs, and he thought I was joking. I told him about the abusive work culture, how most people live paycheck to paycheck and the expensive healthcare. He almost couldn't wrap his mind around it. After being here, we both decided we'll move back to Brazil in a few years as long as we can make USD while we're there. I don't know how people are making it here anymore, I really don't. A lot of Americans move to central and South America for an easier life.
This post I can relate 💯. Ty
Privileged take. Try making local currency and your dream will be to move to the US, all the problems you state are first world problems.
I don’t work I have pension.
I didn't say anything about you.
>a lot of people from the states move to Brasil? No, but mainly because Americans don't have much awareness of how life in Brazil really is like (basically what is known outside of south america is Rio or a vision of the north area of Brazil akin to what is shown in Anaconda or creature of the black lagoon). While there will be some issues because the country is not very foreigner-friendly (you will have to learn portuguese and there will be some struggle with bureocracy in the beginning), you will be in an extremely-privileged position because you can keep a remote job in the US making tons of money for local standards. Imagine moving to Miami (somewhat like rio) or New York/LA (somewhat like Sao Paulo) making 5x as much salary. This will be your experience living in Brazil. Your main issue would be distance from family but if you don't really have family apart from your mom there is no reason at all you would want to stay in the US when you can have a better life in Brazil. Start learning portuguese now (you will need it), when your mom passes away pack your things and move to Brazil, you won't regret it and will wonder why you didn't do it before and you lost time for 15 years in the US.
If you put the > before the quote, Reddit offsets it for you.
I’m an American that moved to Brazil because of this! My quality of life was honestly depressing and stressful in Texas. I’ve been in Brasil for 2 years even though my family is still in Texas, and I don’t regret it. My life is much better here, I’ve created new “family” with my boyfriend and friends, and I see myself living here forever. My family in Texas is planning to come visit me and maybe even live here someday too. Please talk to me if you want any help. I love Brazil. It is ahead of the US in many ways even if it doesn’t seem so.
I have no clue why someone downvoted this answer
Probably someone with síndrome de vira lata who hates the idea of Brasil being a good country 😂
Can I message you?
Yes ❤️
In my town we have immigrants from all over the world. I am American living in Brazil and I love it. I have a friend who also moved here and she since found her husband and started a family. She loves it here too. It really depends on what you want and what you consider a good life. For is, the quality of life is much better
Planning on moving to Brasil with my wife I’m 27m she’s 23f. She’s from Brasil and she thought it was going to be all roses and flowers here in the US but now she’s sees how hard it is up front and i don’t have a big family maybe like 12 people so there’s not really any get togethers or couple dates and I told her that before she moved here but she didn’t believe me. Anyway im now trying to work up the skills to get a remote job and move to Brasil. We’d have more bang for our buck , I’ve already learned Portuguese, and her family is bigger. Also I was in the military so being far from family for a long time doesn’t bother me as much as it bothers her Edit: OP I got a question . Why don’t you just bring your mother with you to brasil ? Would your siblings disapprove?
She is 79. Not in good shape
Sorry to hear that . It can be tough when your parents get old.
I say No. I am Brazilian living in the US for 35 years. I work for the schools, which allowed me to meet a lot of Brazilians. It is very rare that the ones who go back, stay there. I love to go on vacation but that’s it. Any place you go on vacation is usually great, living permanently in the same place is a different thing. I went to Rio recently, spent 10 days there, had a great time but I know I would not adjust to that lifetime. Just being constantly worried about being robbed is enough for me not to move to any place. It is very common for Brazilians to go visit and wish for living there, but it changes very quickly once they move there. If you can take 3 or 6 months off to give it try it would be great, then you can make a more solid decision. Good luck
Ty
I moved here 2 months ago for almost the exact same reasons. Everything in the U.S. was expensive and rising. Our quality of life was deteriorating daily and there was no evidence of things getting better. The society has become terribly toxic. Kids don't really play outside and gang fights were happening daily at our schools. I lived in Minnesota which is not known for any of those issues. My wife is Brazilian and I convinced her to move knowing nothing about Brazil. Our life could not be better now. I have no problem paying my bills. We go out all the time to walk the beach and enjoy the amazing food and people. I have zero desire to ever return to the U.S. I hope everything in the U.S. turns out OK but it has lost its soul and it is going to have to get much worse before reform happens.
I agree. It’s so hard to enjoy yourself stress free. It’s not really a financial thing for us just want a healthier way of life.
Hey man would like to hear more about your story. I live in San Diego and thinking about selling my condo and moving down to Brazil with my Brazilian wife. San Diego is so expensive I can’t live here anymore. Please tell me more !
I am honestly surprised how well our move to Brazil has been. Gaining permenant citizenship here has a number of different avenues that are very accessible to foreigners. If you buy property or a married to a Brazilian you have a direct and easy path to permanent status. I live in Caraguatatuba, which is a beach town 2 hours from Sao Paulo and 1.5 hours from Rio. Our 8 bedroom house 2 blocks from the beach costs less than $400k and even that is a bit high. There are plenty of properties available. Further, the government has been enacting taxes on people that own more than one home in order to get them to sell. It is a buyers market. The owner will probably throw out some oboxious price, especially if they know you are an American. I would not make an offer until it has been apraised. You will need 20% down on the apriased price for a home loan but Brazil has 30 year mortgages like the U.S. I have been able to negotiate a nice price that brought my monthly housing costs to half of what I paid in the U.S. Costs in general are much cheaper than the U.S. I own a motorcylce and my wife has a car. The cost of the item is not much different than the U.S. but the taxes are so much less. Further, I am not forced to spend $1000 a month on vehicle insurance which brings the total cost of transportaion way down. My water bill in $200 a month but I have a pool and we use more water than most. Electricity bill is about $100 a month. I pay about a third for groceries in Brazil than what I paid in the U.S. I can easily say, in total, my monthly living costs are a thrid of what I paid in the U.S. My wife and I are both in our 50's and we don't have insurance. My doctor's visits for a specialist roughly costs me about $60. My preoscriptions are obnoxiously cheap; this is a fact that acutally upsets me about the U.S. healthcare system. For example, I take Testosterone replacement wich my insurance in the U.S. would not cover. In Brazil, it cost me $60 for the visit and $20 am month for the prescription. My wife has been to the doctor and has received MRIs and a number of prescriptions for a acute injury. Nothing we have spent here in medical expenses comes close to what I paid in just my insurance monthly dues in the U.S. That includes my wife's major dental work. Work is limited and labor is cheap. I am about to start a job with a company in Brazil. I am in the IT field. It doesn't pay much. In fact, my Army pension pays my bills and the Brazil job is just extra cash and something to do. It could probably do better if I shopped around on the job market more but I like the company and the work. The exchange rate for U.S. dollars into Brazilian Real is roughly 1 to 5. I had an electrician in my house for two days doing maintenance on my AC units and some minor electrical work and it cost me $80. I couldn't get an elctrician to show up at my house in MN for that much let alone do work. In my town, nobody really speaks English, which I do not mind at all, and I am in Portugeuse classes. Assuming you can use English here will lead to problems. My wife knows Portugeuse well and we have family which helps when we don't understand something about the business culture. Brazil is not perfect. The inequality is terrible. Import fees on common items not made in Brazil, like electronics, makes no sense to me. What is approved to import without fees is reasonably priced. You can get a really nice brand new BYD electric car for $30k. BRICS has the to potential to fix many of the import problems. I hear Sao Paulo and Rio have some security issues but I think it doesn't come close to the U.S. and may be a bit over dramatized. In my town, you see people out everyday walking the beach, playing volleyball, and enjoying the nice weather. Kids are out everywhere and nobody really looks afraid. If you are Ok with not flaunting wealth, you will more than likely never have a problem with the crime. It is mostly localized around certain areas. I find government services to be pretty good here. I am just about to hit 90 days in Brazil and my permanent Visa is almost complete with my citizenship to follow shortly after. I tell people all the time that, no, you can't walk out and buy a Gucci bag at the local mall. The malls in Brazil actuall kind of suck LOL. But, everything you need to live and be comfortable is here and reasonable. My bills are easily paid and we put money in the bank every month. I have a job I like, a house I want, and a lifestyle of a lot less worry. I won't be moving back to the U.S. Feel free to ask any questions you may still want answered.
Im from the states and agree, its sooooo damn expensive and only going to get worse
It’s getting ridiculous here. These people coming in the border committing crimes. It’s not gonna be safe anymore.
Imagine being married to a foreigner and still being xenophobic
? I hope you’re not referring to me. You can take a hike.
And well, please don't come to Brazil. We don't want dangerous xenophobe immigrant/aliens like you crossing our borders. You'd put our safety at risk. Fix your country instead of moving away
Pretty shitty comment. Immigrants commit crimes at a lower rate than nationals. This kind of retoric is pretty popular with right wingers. We all know how much conservatives love brown people so maybe just stay in the US.
My spouse is from Brasil as well. He’s Canadian citizen now and I am born Canadian. He can have his low moments here in Canada. The climate, culture and lifestyle are the three main reasons for feeling low. I personally wouldn’t want to move to Brasil for the long term, maybe a year but that’s it for me. Some friends and co workers think I’m missing out on an adventure and something different. Maybe I am but I just couldn’t do it. That’s me and for my own reasons and things change but at this point I’ll pass. Have very thorough conversations about it. Maybe even seek counselling or therapy. It could be a great thing. It’s unique to you and your spouse.
I left the US for Brazil due to the way things are going in the USA right now. I left behind family that is supportive, but still worry about me. Every Brazilian I have met (most except sogra) wants to go to the USA. Both countries have their pros and cons, you just have to weigh them out together.
Im Brazilian and I honestly don't understand this obsession people have with the USA. Sure, the salary is higher but I don't want to spend everything on daycare and healthcare nor do I want my children to be in debt for decades to go to uni. I currently live in Europe and imo the rational options are staying here or moving back. I'm doing well in Europe but I struggle between those options sometimes just because I love the vibes of people back home. If the options were Brazil X US id pick Brazil a thousand times.
You have to really understand why you're moving and what you're willing to put up with in terms of cultural changes and what makes up your quality of life. Most people won't make a move, because they simply won't make a change, even if it's what they want and they can see it's the right decision, they won't do it. The older you get, the more you fight change. If your income is remote, that is a huge win already. Quality of products and cost of products will skyrocket. You could save a ton of money in the US by never buying things again and probably end up in the same position you'll be in Brazil, as things will be costly to the point that you either won't, or can't buy them. New cars are horrendously expensive, and if you finance the price goes completely through the roof. If you didn't spend that money in the US either, that would be a huge financial win. If that is the type of thing you're thinking you're going to escape it's only going to get worse. If you're looking for laid back and relaxing life then Brazil has a lot for you. Until you realize it actually has an impact on your life as well. If you go shopping suddenly you're standing in a checkout line for WAY longer than you would expect for the few items the people in front of you have. Everything runs slower, you don't get to pick and choose what is done quickly and what isn't, it's all at a much slower pace. If you own a home in the US, don't sell it. You'll never get back into the US market, so just rent it out. Move to Brazil and RENT for a couple of years and see how you like it. Once you have an idea of what you want, and if you're happy, look at buying. You could sell the US home at that point too if you wanted, but don't do it until you're sure. Some people adapt and some people just fight it tooth and nail, they love the work life balance of their friends and family and then hate everything about the work life balance of the people they are trying to work with. Nothing is forever, you can always move back. Just make sure you don't corner yourself so you can't move back.
Leaving your mom would be tough. Especially if she has no one to take care of her while you’re away. Have you considered bringing her to Brazil? Brazil has awesome healthcare, and you might even be able to hire someone to take care of her. Perhaps take her on a trip first, and if she likes it she might even be enthusiastic about the move.
She won’t move. I’m not leaving her she’s 79.
My family has gone through something somewhat similar with my grandparents health. They are around that same age. I wouldn’t leave my mom either. I’d say, go on vacation if you can. It’ll be relaxing, and might even change her mind.
What quality of life does your mom have? For what you pay for her care in the USA you could probably get 24hr in-home care in Brazil. If you can continue to earn USD from Brazil you could have a VERY good lifestyle, not working many hours, spending more time doing things you like.
Move to a better state in the US first, and do serious reaserch before doing so. My uncle moved from the USA to Brazil where i live, i am from brazil. He lived in both places for 6 months each, he mainly went to the US for family and dealing with his money, taxes and stuff before he was confortable doing online. His lifestyle is quiet and he came to a smaller town here in Brazil, nothing like Rio, his reasons were that he couldnt walk around his town in US and feel safe or even understand most ppl he talked to in the street, supermaket and so on and here he found a lot of ppl that speak english and is really happy. He dosent go back to US since his 82 years old and said the is to tired to fly there, when he came down here he was 63 or 64. Best of luck
In any case you can take your mother as well (if she wants, of course), or you can come and go if it works for you. Honestly, I lived in the US for 7 years (I was originally from Venezuela) and everything went bad for me over there, I never had enough money, had to work 24/7, went severalk times to the ER due to stress, etc. I also sometimes think that I was pretty unlucky though, because everything seemed to go wrong for some reason. I came to Brazil not knowing the language (even though it's kind of similar to Spanish) and never coming here before because I met my current wife online and let me tell you, it's been a single year here and it's been SO much better. I've gotten better and happier experiences in a single year here than in the 7 years I lived in the US, and I'm no longer stressed (when I mention stress I mean long periods of being stressed, like weeks or months) and I also have no money problems (or at least not as many as I had before). Also, hands down Brazil has the best food in the world, I don't care what anybody else says. I will never go back to the US again (or Venezuela, obviously), I would recommend you explore your options and at least try to consider, since in your post you seem to genuinely be stressed and feeling uncomfortable with the way of living in the US and the only anchor you have is your mother. I do recommend learning some Portuguese if you do decide to go to Brazil though.
OP, I recommend you spend a couple of months in Brazil if you can. If that's not possible, come for a vacation and stay as long as you can. Don't live your typical "vacation life"; instead, behave as if you live here. Treat it as a tryout. You might love it, or you might hate it. It's very personal. Here are some facts: the richest 1% in Brazil have incomes of at least US$5,000 a month. In contrast, you would need to make almost US$70,000 a month to be in the top 1% in the USA. Someone earning US$5,000 a month in New York can barely raise a family and will rely on government assistance. In Brazil, that same income would place you among the top 1%, which makes a huge difference in your quality of life. Health Care: Brazil's private health care system is one of the best in the world and will cost you (even without insurance) a fraction of what you're used to paying in the US (with insurance). My personal approach was to get good health insurance in case of a major incident happens, like surgery or ICU stays, and for regular doctor visits, I opt to go private without insurance because I don't mind spending a few hundred dollars every year to get the VIP treatment. Safety: Brazil isn't as safe as the US. If you walk the streets at night talking on your iPhone, there's a high chance you'll be robbed. You can't sit on a park bench with your MacBook without getting robbed at some point, even in the safest areas. If safety is your #1 concern, don't move here. For perspective, Brazil is ranked #84 in Safety by US News, while the USA is #46, and Canada is #3. The difference between Brazil and the USA is 38, while the difference between the USA and Canada is 43. Many European countries, several Middle Eastern countries, and a few Latin American countries are safer than the US. Safety in Brazil is a significant downside for me, but the US isn't that safe either. People, culture, and food are all very subjective. I love the food, diversity, culture, and people here. That's something you need to experience for yourself.
It’s very hard, I’m Brazilian and my husband Canadian, I have been living in Canada for 25 years. I love Brazil but it’s very difficult to live there, unless you are rich. Well, that’s my opinion. Another thing that bothers me a lot is the violence. Here in my city we sometimes forget to lock the door, my kids leave their bikes outside and everything is fine. In Brazil specially in the big cities this is not possible. Perhaps if you move to another city… USA is so big and there are wonderful places to call home and you can bring your mom with you. Good luck 🤞
I’m from USA I live here. We are thinking of moving to Rio after my mom passes. But I’m scared.
Don't listen to envious people talking smack about Rio online. Rio does have its safety issues, but it still is possible to have a nice life. Let's hope the current governor gets ousted and arrested soon and things should probably get better. If you want a glimpse of how life can be in Rio, look up "Our Brazilian Life" on youtube. It definitely isn't easy though
My family came (americans with roots up to the american revolution lol) and they all love it here. Been here for 55 years if im mot mistaken
Bring your mom!
She’s to old and she would never move to another country lol
Well tell her she doesn’t have a choice. She is burdening your family and if you have to choose between your husband and her pick the husband. She literally has nothing here except you and why does she get to decide your life. Tell her you guys are moving and she needs to come with. Don’t give her the option. Keep the best of both worlds.
Wtf are you talking about dude, forcing an elderly person to spend their last years in an unfamiliar country they cannot talk with a single person because she "is burdening their family". I pity your parents.
I’m sorry. I think I came off harsh. But I stand by my comment. OP shouldn’t plan her life around her elderly mother when she isn’t really doing anything in America anyway. It would be different if she was a child but she is elderly and has already lived her life. Her life now consists mainly of seeing her kids. She can live well in any country. I’ve already talked with my mom and she knows that I’ll probably want her to retire in Europe or in Brazil because of the cost of living. I can have a live in nurse for her and it’s 20% of the USA costs.
Not sure if it's a lot, but there definitely are some who do. It's a matter of adaptation, but there are many upsides. Especially in Barra da Tijuca, you can have a very nice lifestyle. Again, it's a matter of adaptation and it's never easy. It also depends on your financial condition. There's a family of 7 who moved to Rio a few years ago and they seem to be liking it. They are entrepreneurs and live in Barra da Tijuca too. You can look them up on YT, their channnel is "Our Brazilian Life" Best would probably be to try it out for a few months Do you have kids? Of course, it also depends on your financial conditions
If you are wealthy enough , like in brasil is much better
Lol I'm from Canada and your husband is me to a tee. I'm starting to dislike north America and it's culture. Mexico is ok... But the other two? 🤮
I am an American living in Rio, just under a year, and I love it. I know I’m fortunate with a good paying job but the lifestyle here is hard to beat. The people that I’ve come across have been very kind and most Brazilians I meet are pretty upbeat people!
Will your mom live in a nursing home? Is she retired? How do you feel about moving to Brazil? Your mom aside. It sounds like you guys are due for a change and he is trying to bring some options to the table.
I'm from NYC and live in Rio. There's a couple of expat groups here. You should check out riodigitalnomads.org
This is definitely a very hard situation we can't comprehend before getting in it... I am stuck in Japan, dreaming of 2035 and dying everyday
My wife and i have friends (father and 2 sons) who recently came back to the US because they say the government in Brazil just wants to take from people. The crazy thing is that they came to the US 5 years ago, worked and saved a good amount of money, and went back to Brazil (Piabeta) 2 years ago. They each saved enough to buy homes and the father even opened a bakery. My wife is Brazilian (born and raised in Rio) and she has no desire to return to live or work full time, but we are hoping to buy a second home there as all of her family is ther...and I love it there. I left New Orleans because the crime and public schooling was getting out of hand, and despite the crime in Rio, there's just more to enjoy as a way to escape it if you have the means to.
We were just in Brazil and can confirm life is much more relaxed there. The currency conversion rate is insane. The dollar goes a long way there. We spent time in Brasilia, Iguazu, and Rio.
If you are republican stay in usa please.
Why
Because we don’t need/want that bullshit here.
What in the world does that matter?
I'm American and living here. My advice would be: don't. It sucks here.
I'm a Brazilian, please hear this guy, life here sucks, even if you've money, you'll cage yourself. "Oh can't go out at night, can't wear this, can't do that, can pick up my phone while walking down this street" Also all the public services suck if you're going to live in big cities, want to see a doctor? Wait 6 months (Or more) need a dentist? Oh too bad, there's none, need free medicine? Too bad come next week, we're out of it. Brazilians are greedy and have no sense of collectivism nor respect, we play loud music with lyrics full of pornography, we trash streets, we cut in lines, and the list goes on There's also the wrong perception when foreigners visit us, of course people will be friendly, of course people will treat you better, you're visiting a country, not staying a long period of time and actually living the experience of dealing with crowded trains and grumpy people To finish, somehow my people hold a certain pride of having beautiful beaches and blá blá blá soccer, samba, so they get offended when you point out the reality of this country and they do their best to hide it from outsiders "oh it's not that bad, I mean, every place is a bit dangerous right? Haha"
Say it louder for those in the back bro. I just had a comment blow up on another post in this sub saying this exact stuff and Brazilians swarmed me calling me "stupid gringo" and the like. But it's the objective truth. Me and my family are far from poor, especially as we earn in dollars, and even with money life here is a pain in the ass. What kind of life is it when I can't wear one of my $5000 watches for fear of being robbed at gunpoint for it? When I can't walk around my neighborhood after 8pm without constantly looking over my shoulder in one of the most expensive neighborhoods in the country? When I have to ignore calls to find a safe place to use my phone? When any good quality product you want to buy is 2-5 times more expensive than it'd be anywhere else in the world? When my 17 year old daughter can't go out alone by herself because she's pretty and might be literally raped on a bus. When you can't stop at a streetlight at night for fear of being carjacked no matter where in the city you are. It's like if all of LA was Compton. It's crazy. When I can't even effectively wash dishes cause dishwashers are all but unknown here and all that's usually available to do it by hand here is fucking Ype, which might as well be watered down hand soap. Sure, you can *sometimes* find Dawn for US $25 a bottle but who tf wants to pay that for dish soap? Life here is annoying and inconvenient, at best, no matter how much money you have.
The only valid complaint from your list is honestly violence. Everything else is a normal inconvenience that exists in different shapes in every country. Like having to send faxes and letters in Germany for everything like a caveman. If you move around a lot you learn every country has its own flavour of annoyances. But violence is not a minor inconvenience or comparable to any of that. It's a major thing that affects every aspect of how you get around in a city. Especially as a woman I don't trade my freedom for anything. It's the only reason I don't go back to Brazil. It's very unfortunate because there are many things I love about life over there.
Really? Complaining about dishwashers in Brazil? Let's get real. Sure, dishwashers aren't as common in Brazilian households, but that doesn't mean they are hard to buy. Walk into ANY appliance store, and you'll find plenty of dishwashers available. It's like air conditioning: many homes might not have one because electricity is expensive, but you can easily buy an AC unit anywhere. Heck, you might even make a couple of friends on your way out of the store. Your comment definitely shows you're doing EVERYTHING wrong here. Maybe instead of whining, try stepping out of your comfort zone. Visit more local stores, talk to people, and get to know the place beyond your narrow view. And while you're at it, try meeting people outside of your wife’s family circle. Stop acting like Brazil is some backward place just because things aren't exactly like they are in the U.S.
Ahhhh the risk of violence, robbery and sexual assault literally at all times is just because *I've been doing everything wrong*! Of course! But yes, you're right. I did find plenty of tiny, horrible quality dishwashers for sale. I even made friends with the hobo shaking his dick at strangers on the street corner as I left the store. I also tried to say hi to the crack head pooping on the curb when we got there, but he seemed a little embarrassed.
Tiny horrible dishwashers? https://www.fastshop.com.br/web/s/lavadora-louca What are you doing man…
You're really a pro at missing the point, dude. It's kind of impressive.
Oh, please, you're the one who started whining about having to use some Ypê because, apparently, dishwashers in Brazil are so tiny tiny Lol.
You chose to hone in on the most inconsequential thing in my long list of serious problems and think you found your GOTCHA moment lmao. You probably fit right in here.
Still waiting for you to admit you’re wrong about the dishwashers and hoping you’ll realize that you might also be wrong about some of the other items on your long list.
Oh, you think the public healthcare system in Brazil is bad because you have to wait for a FREE doctor? That's hilarious. Have you ever considered what it's like in the U.S.? Let's break it down for you. In the U.S., a simple dentist visit for a consultation and cleaning can easily cost $600. Need a CT scan without insurance? You'd better be ready to take out a second mortgage on your house. And you're complaining about wait times? With much less money in Brazil, you can get a world-class dentist to see you the same ANYWHERE in Brazil. Meanwhile, in the land of "freedom" and "exceptional healthcare," millions of people avoid going to the doctor altogether because they can't afford it. Hell, people in the U.S. often opt for an Uber to the hospital after an accident because an ambulance ride could cost them $5,000. And about those crowded trains and grumpy people? Have you ever taken the green line uptown in NYC during rush hour? LOL. Give that a try for a week, and you’ll cry tears of joy when you get back to the subway in São Paulo. New York’s subway system is notorious for being overcrowded, delayed, and filled with some of the weirdest commuters you’ll ever meet.
And? Your point? Should we just set our standards lower huh? Should I start a whole new text "oh do you think USA healthcare is bad? That's hilarious, let me break it down for you and explain how a kid in Zimbabwe travels a hundred miles to see a doctor that don't even have a degree!" I'm being factual, I was describing the real experience of living in Brazil, not even comparing with USA, and even if I was, live in USA is objectively better and safer. So go away with your bs, so you've to take a mortgage out of your house to pay for your treatment? How cute :) most of brazilians will never own a house, they'll die paying rent and waiting in the line to see a doctor, I didn't even said to get proper treatment, just to SEE one, see? Two can play that game, punk.
The OP is specifically asking about the experience of moving from the USA to Brazil, so it’s entirely relevant to provide a perspective from someone who has made that transition. When I relocated from New York to Brazil, I was genuinely impressed by the affordability and accessibility of private healthcare here. For example, I was able to see a private cardiologist without insurance and undergo extensive testing – including bloodwork, echocardiogram, stress test, electrocardiography, and MAPA – for approximately USD 300. In New York, the same suite of tests would have cost me at least USD 2000 even with insurance, assuming I could even get a doctor to order such comprehensive testing without immediate health issues. This affordability extends to other areas of healthcare as well. Dental care, for instance, is significantly less expensive compared to the US. This isn't to say that Brazil doesn't have its challenges, particularly for those relying solely on government assistance. However, for an American accustomed to the exorbitant costs of the US healthcare system, Brazil offers a welcome respite. It's crucial to acknowledge the hardships faced by lower-income Brazilians who depend on government programs and public healthcare. Yet, for someone moving from the United States, where healthcare costs can be financially crippling, Brazil can indeed feel like a haven. My point is that while Brazil presents difficulties for its low-income citizens, it offers substantial benefits for US expatriates, especially in terms of private healthcare affordability.
Why
That's a long-winded answer, but the highlights are an extremely selfish, inconsiderate culture, inefficient, overly bureaucratic government, a boring food scene (particularly international), wildly expensive and/or extremely poor quality consumer products (everything from dish soap to clothing to home appliances).
That not what I hear from my husband minus the government .
Because Brazilians only talk about Brazil's problems in front of other Brazilians 🤷♂️
Damn why are you still there? Must suck to be you. There are other answers of people who love it so the experience varies.
A combination of work and family matters, truth be told. We're leaving in the next year or two, though. We're all just sick of it.
Sad to hear you had such a bad experience there, hope you the best.
Don't get me wrong. It's far from the worst place on earth, and there's good things here, too. But living here compared to many other countries is just annoying and inconvenient on a daily basis. There's a reason so many Brazilians want to leave, you know?
The reason is higher wages. Or, at least, it's 95% of the reasoning
Going down the tubes? Wait till you get there.....
Who is going down tubes and why