{"id":862218,"date":"2025-01-11T12:07:00","date_gmt":"2025-01-11T10:07:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tourism.com.de\/?p=862218"},"modified":"2025-02-28T19:50:34","modified_gmt":"2025-02-28T17:50:34","slug":"life-in-brazil-through-the-eyes-of-an-expat-personal-experience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tourism.com.de\/en\/life-in-brazil-through-the-eyes-of-an-expat-personal-experience\/","title":{"rendered":"\ud83c\udde7\ud83c\uddf7 Life in Brazil through the eyes of an expat: personal experience"},"content":{"rendered":"

Football, coffee, TV series and carnival. These four words are a typical set of associations with Brazil, which is so distant but at the same time close to us. In the age of globalization<\/a>, you can find “your people” even on such a distant continent. Alina has been living there for six months and is ready to tell you why the largest country in South America is attractive and at the same time dangerous, and why it is better to travel there by plane.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Our move to Brazil took place because of work. My husband and I flew to Sao Paulo<\/a> in December. It was like a jump from winter to summer. Since our city is located in the south, even in the hottest month – December – the temperature is very<\/a> comfortable – 30, 35 degrees maximum. But, interestingly, unlike the usual heat, when I didn\u2019t want to do anything, here it\u2019s the opposite – a surge of energy! By the way, in comparison with the northern part of Brazil, we are lucky – there, when leaving the plane, you can immediately unscrew your T-shirt. So much humidity. Now that we are in winter, the thermometer stays at 27-29 degrees. It's funny to hear locals complain about the cold.<\/p>\n

\"\ud83c\udde7\ud83c\uddf7<\/a><\/p>\n

True, in the evening it becomes really noticeably chilly. Due to the short daylight hours – at any time of the year it does not exceed 12 hours – at 18:00 it can already be very dark outside, and since there is no heating in the apartments, it is also cold. For example<\/a>, now we sleep under several blankets at once.<\/p>\n

For a tourist, there is definitely no better time to go to Brazil. You just need to keep in mind that in conventional December, when it is summer here, it is equally warm both in the south and in the north. In addition, in resort villages there are more places for recreation, bars, and restaurants.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2014 Tell us about the city in which you live.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2014 Sao Paulo is the most populous city in Brazil. About 24 million people live here. A metropolis, the center of business, culture and economy throughout Latin America. This city is not exactly about tourism<\/a>. Shopping<\/a>, excellent service – yes, but if you want the colorfulness of Brazil, you should choose other states.<\/p>\n

Sao Paulo is very green. Despite the abundance of high-rise buildings (a kind of unique Brazilian New York<\/a>), it\u2019s nice that the city government cares about the environment, caring for parks and constantly planting new plants. It even comes to the point that when planning the construction of a building, the trees in this place are not cut down, but dug up! Then they are simply transplanted to another place.<\/p>\n

\"\ud83c\udde7\ud83c\uddf7<\/a><\/p>\n

Advertising is prohibited in Sao Paulo. It's hard to believe, but there is not a single banner with an announcement in the city. Local advertisers have found a way out. During busy traffic, when the traffic lights turn red for cars, they stand at the crossing and unfold their advertisement in their hands. Green – they are gone!<\/p>\n

Sao Paulo is considered the business capital of Brazil. But in many areas, if you look up, you will see a real web of wires. Not to say that this is a hindrance, but walking under a wire that is shorting is not very pleasant.<\/p>\n

\u2014 What about the favelas?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2014 There are them in Sao Paulo too. True, I only saw them while passing through. I used to have a prejudice that all poor people from favelas were dangerous. Of course this is not true. There are poor people who will never take what belongs to others, but there is another category. Tourists are better off staying in more expensive areas. But this still will not protect you 100% from robbers – the streets are not guarded 24\/7. It's just luck.\u00a0<\/p>\n

– It\u2019s so unusual to hear the word robbers…<\/strong><\/p>\n

– What can I say – a couple of days ago I saw a real chase! Just like in the movies! The robber was riding a motorcycle, and two policemen were rushing after him. You don't have to watch TV series in Brazil! Here they are life itself. My husband and I try not to go out in the evenings, not to travel by public transport<\/a>. Despite the fact that the local metro and buses are very comfortable, there can be robbers there. Walking onto a bus, pulling out a gun and threatening them with it until passengers hand over their bags is a very real phenomenon. Local taxis<\/a> and Uber are the most suitable means of transportation.<\/p>\n

\"\ud83c\udde7\ud83c\uddf7<\/a><\/p>\n

Here you can\u2019t just go out and go for a walk. A thief can, for example<\/a>, snatch a bag on a bike at speed. So if my husband and I want to go for a walk somewhere, we go to the park. Of course, you shouldn\u2019t live 24\/7 with the thought that you might get robbed. Many of my friends travel freely by public transport and feel great. Maybe I need a little more time to get used to it.<\/p>\n

Concluding the topic with the robbers, it is worth mentioning what a disservice they did to the people. If a person becomes ill on the street, there is a chance that they will not help him. There have been cases where scammers pretended to be like this. People approached, and accomplices ran out from around the corner and robbed the person.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2014 How to get<\/a> to Brazil?<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you have a visa, then it, of course, makes the journey much easier: there are more options for how to get there faster and more comfortably.<\/p>\n

Don't be afraid of the flight: it's long, but very comfortable. Personally, I like flying over the ocean for 14 hours even more. They fed you, gave you something to drink – beauty!\u00a0<\/p>\n

Visitors from some countries can stay in Brazil for 90 days without a visa. At the same time, you can stay in the country for the same period, but you will need to go through a commission and fill out documents. By the way, no vaccinations are needed. They can only be done if you plan to visit the Amazon.<\/p>\n

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