Relocating to South America?

I received an email from a friend of mine today interested in relocating to South America and ended up writing a long reply to it. These are just my own opinions but I figured I'd share the email with all of you.

Her email:

"Hi Chris,

I am thinking about relocating to South America in the near
future but I'm not sure where to go.Can you tell me about some of the best places?
I hear Brazil and Peru are very sexual, ia that true?
I'd like to live not far from a beach.
Could I possibly find a job in health care before I relocate? Or should I job hunt once there?
What do you know about Argentina?
Is the cost of living lower there? (south america)
I here you speak Portugese, do they speak English or more Portugese?
How do you like it over there?
I have more questions for you as I think of them ,if thats ok. Please contact me when you can. I hope your family is well."


My Reply:

Languages and Geography
I'm sure you already know, but just in case... In Brazil the language is Portuguese. Everywhere else in South America is Spanish. Argentina has the fastest Spanish that I've ever heard. Oh, and although to us Spanish and Portuguese are very similar (and the fact that they all lived right next to each other on the same continent), they still find it hard to speak one language of the other.

I've only been to Argentina (Buenos Aires) once, so I don't know much. They seem a bit more modern than Brazil, however they still have the weaker currency. This is probably due to big American companies setting up shop in Buenos Aires. The minute you go outside of Buenos Aires, you hit the real Argentina.

Brazil has very very beautiful beaches and climates. People just talk about Rio de Janeiro which is undeniably beautiful, but Rio is in the South, and the further you go North towards the equator the prettier the beaches and climate; Just like in the U.S. the further you go South toward the equator the more beautiful the beaches. For example, I really like the beaches in Salvador, a famous Brazilian city located in the NorthEast (also where I met my wife). Oh, and by the way, I wouldn't move to Rio, there's a civil war going on there between low-salaried corrupt cops, real cops, druglords with gangs, anti-drug ex-cops, pro-drug ex-cops, pliticians, etc. And more often than not, a lost bullet crosses over from that underlying excluded society into "regular" society realizing the neglected problems, yet real problems of that society.

Culture (social, sexual)

Brazil and Peru, and other countries in Latin American are quickly known to be more open, sociable folks. Having been here for a while I can tell there' s much more of an ease to conversation and a willingness for the people here to converse. There' s more physical contact as well such as kissing on each cheek (in Brazil) when greeting, hugging, etc. Sexual contact too, is less discrete but not all willy-nilly either.

There seems to be a stereotypical mixup with Brazil when it comes society here, particularly the women. It's a mixup because some of the things are true and some are not. So everyone knows there is this huge party every year called Carnaval in which there are Samba-dancers, people drinking a lot, more sex than usual, etc. Admittedly, the party is kinda
wild for those few days, but then everything is back to normal. Plus, Carnaval is celebrated differently depending on the city (Salvador carnaval is much different than that in Rio de Janeiro). Most vacationers visit Brazil for the party, then leave. Upon returning to their home-country they spread the experiences of the party and the women there. Judgment has been
put on Brazil as a whole based on a party that lasts just a few days. Kinda like a foreigner visiting the U.S. for Mardi-Gras then leaving.

The negative side of Brazilian culture I find is that they are very "espertinho." That word in some contexts means "clever," however the context in which I'm using it is "slick." Yes, they are very slick, or they "try to get over on you." Not only are Brazilians very socialable in terms of speech, but also in terms of attitude and are not afraid to try and cut corners, make a deal. In other words, they're hustlers. This tends to be a theme in any place where resources such as jobs and money are scarce. It doesn' t mean every brazilian is like this, but still holds true for the culture in general. Any brazilian you speak with will admit this is true. And for those who still deny, just ask them the meaning of "jeitinho brasileiro" ("the brazilian way"), and they'll crack, smile, then tell you the truth.

Job, government, work-society, and the Health Industry
Finding a job here is extremely difficult. Moving from say Atlanta to New York or from California to Chicago has its fair share of challenges, but moving from one city to the next in the same country for Brazilians is much, much harder. It can take months to for them to find a job and at best several weeks. If you are seriously considering moving to Brazil, it's best to have a very secure job lined-up first.

Brazil along with other South American countries are still not first-world countries. It hasn't
been that long since Brazil got out of a dictatorship as well. The society here is still kinda jacked up in terms of the rich-poor divide (no real middle-class here), overpopulated areas, lack of resources, government corruption, high import taxes, etc.

There tends to be a higher-rate of sickness and medical problems in general than in first-world societies and so the Health industry in that respect offers many opportunities. But then while actually on the job you end up suffering from the same things mentioned above. For example, because you cannot import this cool technology that makes it easier to help a patient (due to high import tax), you have to use an old-school, 30year old method to treat the patient while other people in the world enjoy the newer, simpler tools.

Overall advice:
Don't leave the U.S. under any circumstances. LOL, just kiddin'. But seriously, making a living and just living in South America is really difficult and you coming from the U.S. will probably get you blank stares of people trying to figure out why live in South American when most everyone in South America is trying to go live in the United States. If you can get through the bureaucracy and paperwork (that's another story) and don't mind living in a place without all the "goodies" and convenience of a 1st-world country, then you will at least find a nice, cozy place here in South America. The cost of living is not high at all, and there are some very nice deals in many untapped areas where you can buy or build a house close to the beach for cheap.

You should at least vacation to different places before moving there to get a feel. However, I've learned that vacationing to a place and living at that place fully integrated are two completely different experiences. Personally, I'd rather live and work based in the U.S. but have a nice vacation home in Brazil where I can spend a couple months at a time.

I hope this helps.

~= Chris =~

New Song - "Você vai andar sozinha você vai"

A few days ago, November 19, my daughter Thaísha turned 6 months young. Walking to the nurse's office to get her vaccines I made up a song in Portuguese and sang it to her. It has the same rhythm as "If you're happy and you known it clap your hands..."

"Você vai andar sozinha você vai"
(You will walk on your own, yes you will)
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=-==-=-=-==
The Chorus, denoted "[Chorus]" from here on out is:
Você vai andar sozinha você vai,
Você vai andar sozinha você vai.
=-=-=-=-=-==-=-==-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

[Chorus]

Você vai andar sozinha, (you will walk on your own)
Você vai pular da linha, (you will jump over the lines)
Você vai andar sozinha você vai. (you will walk on your own yes you will)

[Chorus]

Você vai atrás da fila, (you will go [walk] behind the line [of people])
Você vai pegar florinha, (you will pick little flowers)
Você vai andar sozinha você vai.

[Chorus]

Você vai andar sozinha,
Passará na padaria, (you will pass by the bakery)
Você vai andar sozinha você vai.

[Chorus]

Você vai andar sozinha,
Você vai tomar vacina, (you will take a vaccine)
Você vai andar sozniha você vai.

Why you should NEVER live in Brazil

A friend of mine recently asked me about how it is living in Brazil. After I responded, I decided it'd be a good idea to Blog it since it is on my mind.

I can answer this in different ways; some long, some short. I will try to give you the quick, dirty, straight version....

Postive:
1. Family is great! They miss the beach, but at least this city has other attractions. The baby girl will turn 6 months in 6 more days.

2. Work: I love working at Google Brazil. The people are awesome!! BHZ is an all engineering office mostly working on Orkut. Great staff. We speak 60/40 Portuguese/English.

3. Business opportunity here is amazing if you're an American. E.g. They lack many proven technologies here in Brazil as a whole.

4. If you're single... well just call this place icandy-land. Truly breath-taking.

Negative:
1. NEVER LIVE IN BRAZIL! The U.S. is the best damn country in the world, PERIOD! :-D

2. Electronics or anything techie is WAAAY more expensive (they lady wanted to charge me $120 USD for a D-Link wireless router which didn't even have a built-in switch)

3. Brazil is full of a LOT of beauracracy and government corruption way beyond the acceptable level of modern countries like the U.S.

4. Everything here is PAPER, PAPER, and more PAPER! They have no since of a system, only a process filled with paper which needs to be authenticated on top of authentication

5. I just got my furniture last week (God I miss my bed and TV), as Brazilian Customs held it and tried to suck $5000 USD out of me in the meantime.

6. Nothings ever on time so any apointement you have with a bank or hospital or anything is usually delayed by 2 hours and the lines here are way too long for everything

7. Imagine a system where your "credit score" is not linked to a number any business can look up, but linked to a series of signed, original paperwork, co-signers, past-paychecks, past bills, cash money, home and work address/number with contracts, and special identification documents. Anything you do, business-wise you need to present all this EVERY TIME! Even today, I can't even rent a movie without all the above information; I mean ALL of it.

8. The list goes on...

Conclusion:
Vacation here for as long as you want; It's awesome especially close to the beach like in Salvador, Brazil; But the moment you try to live here is the moment your life gets immensley complicated and set back about 100 years.