Mr Broad,

There's a large selection of chocolates all at different prices!I am a long term investor with several properties in Natal .I receive rents from these and they are all of various quality which achieve different rents depending on location.These have been on longterm contracts with secure companies and individuals,so with regards rentals in P.N and other parts it is not garbage chat as there are so many available properties to rent out in P.N these receive various rentals,see above posts.G.W is not talking crap it's the reality and neither is Michael.

Didnt the DR get almost completely wiped out by a hurricane about 4 years ago?

Okay, first, hello to you all,

Here's my deal...

I'm an American living in New Orleans, La. The cost of living here is INSANE!! Yet still not as bad as other major cities like Miami, New York, Los Angelas, etc.

I'm looking to move to another part of the world for numerous reasons which I won't discuss here.

All the information I've researched talks about how Brazil is a great place to live, the cost of living is low, the property taxes are low, free mediocre healthcare including free prescriptions and bar none you can make your $$ stretch further here than 95% of the other places in the world.

Now don't debate with me that Peru is cheaper for this or for that, or Europe is cheaper than this when it comes to electrical goods, whatever... I'm talking OVERALL general cost of living. Of course some things will be more expensive, other things will be less...

I currently pay $1650 usd (approx. $1030 Reais) for a 3 br, 2.5 bath townhouse (approx 1500 sqft) in your typical suburbia-style neighborhood. Electric runs about $150-$300 usd per month depending on how much I run the AC/Heat, cook, leave lights on, do laundry, etc.

The water bill varies as well, usually between$40-$100 usd. I don't eat caviar and prime rib, but I don't eat like a poor man either. My grocery bill is usually around $300-$500 usd per month depending on how often I entertain, etc.

Gas here is around $4 usd per/ USgal and expected to climb to around $6 per gal by the end of summer. 4 years ago we were paying around $1.35 to $1.60 per US/gal. Our country is heavily dependant due to how spread out we are from the cities. Commuting 50 miles 1-way to work is certainly not uncommon. The increase in fuel has almost doubled our costs for everything from veggies to shoes because mainly we have to use semi-trucks to haul our goods.

I pay about $150 usd per month (single male w/no kids/dependants) for health insurance through my work and it's good health care but obviously not the best. On top of that I have a $25 dollar office visit charge and a $20 deductible for generic medications. It's well over $400 usd per month for a family of 4. (and that's not top notch health-care either. If you buy it as an independent person you need your spouse to work merely for the health insurance!!!)

I've read almost all of the posts in this thread and I can't believe that Brazil is "expensive" compared to many other places like the UK and the USA. I've never been to the UK but I do have friends there and they tell me many of the things in the UK are FAR more expensive than what we have in the USA.

As for some of the things several of you have mentioned in your threads, well it's rather common sense stuff. If you live in a tourist area, expect to pay tourist prices, which if you go to ANY tourist area in the USA you will likely pay 2 to 3 times what you pay at the local market. So that scenario can't really be used as a basis for a valid argument when your talking about the OVERALL cost of living.

Pick the average, not the means or extremes of a situation when comparing them.

I know for a FACT that there is probably not anyplace on Americas coastline that you can buy a 3br, 2 bth, 2000 sqft home ON THE BEACH, in decent condition for less than $400k. Maybe a few remote areas here or there with crappy, rocky beaches, but those are still less than 1% of the average at best.

I've only been to a few sites checking real estate and I've found numerous listings for decent homes on the beach for $250k or less. heck some have been around $150k. (Yes they need some TLC but what home doesn't).

Go to ANY average property on the Gulf Coast area, Florida, Alabama, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and expect to pay an extra $50k-$100k for just a view of the ocean.

Go to California and expect to pay double that for a view, 3 or 4 times that just for the lot on the ocean. In the prime locations you'll pay $550k to over $1 million just for the property. (those are the extreme high end areas obviously, like San Diego, Venice Beach, etc.)

Not to mention that many areas are now requiring that you submit plans through the city or association for the house you will be building AND it has to be worth so much or they won't let you build it. many of these which have $100 to $600usd+ monthly "association fees" just to live there and keep the properties maintained.

I'll be taking my first trip to Brazil this winter (Brazil's summer) hopefully and will do alot of checking for myself. Hopefully you all are debating the means and extremes of various situations and not the common "norm".

Thanks for all the info though, I guess I'll look harder at other places around the world to live.

Hi Labiofus, and welcome to the forum, I would like to say well done for a clear and concise summing up of the differences between various countries, you are quite right about the UK being more expensive than the USA , in a lot of things actually, but the one thing that really impressed me was that you are looking at Brazil as a place to live,as indeed I am, but a lot of people on this forum are only looking at Brazil, for rental returns, and investment, and as things are at the moment with a lack of direct flights from the UK ,particularly to the NE of brazil ie Natal,then rentals are not going to be money spinners, at least not for a few years,the point you made about paying more in touristy places is also spot on, this applies whichever country you are in, I have an apartment in Turkey,2 mins walk to the beach, and close to all the amenities, but a 5 minute car ride takes me to where the locals eat and shop, and the price difference is substantial.I look forward to reading more posts from you, as it makes a welcome change to have someone open minded, and not trying to either sell property or try to put people off buying, because they either can,t or wont see that what suits you or I may not suit them, keep up the good work Graham.

Hi Labiofus ,

Brasil is a wonderful country to live,but it is not by any means cheap !For those that live here understand that. A holiday visitor sees it with different eyes and does not live on a day to day basis here,so it may appear cheap,of course it isn't .Prices have gone way up in all areas,food,gas,cars,medical over,labour charges,taxes,condominium fees,iptu,ipva but salaries are still relatively the same!

I only read yet another newspaper article mentioning that the minimum salary is 220,00 per mth,well it's not it !It is 415,00 +72.00 previdencia social ,omnibus daily,salarios partial = approx:700,00 per mth over 13 mths.If I were to follow what the papers say you could end up in trouble

If you are single then it's not too expensive,whereas if you have a family then the kid's need private schooling,medical cover ,transport,ex-curr etc,etc.

Anyway,Brasil love foreign people and the money that they bring with them and always hope for a better future and you will be well treated by Brasilians who are warm and friendly and be able to see for yourself with your eyes wide open and not closed as some others on this forum.

Happy trip .

Thanks Graham,

what areas are you looking at?

Honestly, I've only been researching for about a week and probably won't be ready for the move until late of '09. I've found several small "hotel" properties (7 to 25 rooms) that have me intriqued because they all have room to expand into a small resturant or bar/club in addition to the hotel.

I'd love to own my own little business as a way to sustain my income while living there. I'm not wanting to make a fortune on the back of the locals or tourists, rather, expose some of the nicer qualities of my born culture to people who may otherwise never be able to experience the "good" things in America.

I'm totally undecided as to whether I want to just buy a small villa out right and enjoy myself, or do something a little more on the grand scale and own a business again. Either one requires a lot of research on my part with learning the local laws governing all the aspects of business, building expansions, remodeling, etc.

Good luck in your search...

And thanks for the heads up Dotty...No offense but I hope your wrong and from my perspective I hope I don't feel it's expensive :-) Everything is relative to where you're coming from and where you're heading :-)

hi Labiofus I have already bought in an area just north of Touros,zeninfo might appeal if you can access the website, I Do not know if you can send a private message yet, if you can I will give you some info on where and what I have bought.Graham.

Labiofus;

I'm american as well and been living in brazil for a decade. Brazil is NOT cheap. Boy would I love to have $4 a gallon gas.....gasoline here is $7 U.S. per gallon. I'm 42 years old and pay 415 reais per month for health insurance, and that's only hospitalization. The dollar is currently 1.6:1 vs. the real, so you can do the math, that's around $260 per month. A Honda Civic will cost you 70,000 reais, that's roughly $44,000 U.S. Electronics are anywhere from 2.5-5X more expensive than the U.S. and the quality is extremely inferior. Communications...extremely expensive, an international call to the U.S. costs around 1 real per minute including taxes, that's around 63 cents from a landline, cellular is another story and VERY expensive. I could go on and on, but to make a long story short, my life in Atlanta, Georgia before I moved to Brazil was cheaper and I had quality in the products and services I owned/used that in many cases isn't even available here. Brazil being "cheap" is a fallacy. You'll see for yourself.

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www.mjrdevelopments.com/ www.rosegardenbrazil.com

Just to repeat myself yet again.

I don't buy cars and electronics every month, but yes they are much more expensive. I also don't buy property every month, but that is a lot cheaper.

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Brazil Property | Pipa Brazil

Do you use the telephone? Internet? Do these services funciton normally and consistantly? Water? Electricity? Gasoline? Do you have a sewerage system? Can you drink your tap water without getting worms or even at times it causing death? Do you have to send your children to private school fore if you don't the conditions of the public schools and quality of education is abysmal? Can you depend upon your local police for security? Can you get a long-term loan to purchase large ticket items for under 12% per year? Can you get short-term loans and lines of credit in your bank accounts for under 10% per month?


These are realities of everyday life in Brazil that those that don't live here on a day-to-day basis, have families here, businesses, at times aren't aware of.

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