New Here?

I am a fortunate blogger in that I frequently hear from my readers. I love receiving your comments and emails. In fact, I have made many friends through this blog! I don't know that I would have had the motivation to keep it up if it weren't for the feedback I receive on a daily basis. Especially now that I am a mom, and not just an expat princess with unlimited time on my hands...

I do make a point of responding to all emails I receive, but these days it just takes a bit longer than usual, especially with the travel schedule I've had.

Lately I have received a number of inquiries from new readers requesting practical information on moving to Rio. If you fit into this category, please review my archives, which can be found on the bottom right hand side of the page, as there are hundreds of articles on topics such as househunting in Rio, sourcing furniture, cost of living, etc. which you will hopefully find helpful. The categories Finding a Home in Rio and Making the Move: What to Know Before You Come will probably help you most. When you scroll to the bottom of the list of posts on the topic, be sure to hit next, as the articles go all the way back to March of 2008, which is when I moved here.

ALSO - if you have specific questions on information you cannot find on my site that you think should be included, please let me know! I am planning a poll of Rio expats to help would-be Rio expats, and so your questions could help shape the survey, or inspire a future post. Chances are, if it is something you are wondering about, others are too!

Comments

[Lela]

Okay so I guess I'm a new reader, I'm actually European but my mom moved to the US because she was a single parent who needed move options with her career so we moved to NYC.
I've been with my Brasilian fiance for almost 5 years. He wants to move to Rio de Janeiro and so do I. The thing is, everyone I know my family, friends, co-workers and even my boyfriend admits that it can be VERY dangerous living there. See I'm an upper middle class gal in US standards so if I move to Brazil I don't want to get kidnapped or killed just because my mom & I worked our asses off and became successful. So is Brasil really that dangerous? I mean like you dont even post up actual photos of yourself like the other blogs so is that because you know it exists there? I mean a lot of the time my boyfriend won't even admit that Brasil has it's flaws but when I brought this up (about the kidnapping & stuff) he actually admitted it.

I am very scared of that considering that I want to live there for a couple years, less or more. So what you suggest? Is it true? What's your opinion? Have you ever felt like you were endangered? Does it feel safe in Rio? This is the number reason why I read your blog, in hopes that you'll be blunt about the safety. & I'm not talking about the ghettos I'm talking about I saw Supla (a famous Punk Rock Rebel) with my boyfriend last weekend & that's when my boyfriend came out and said "Supla cannot walk on the street like this in Brasil because some dangerous crazy people would kidnap him and threaten his family that they will kill him unless they are paid a ridiculous amount of money." There is even a documentary on this and it's by Jason Kohn it's called Manda Bala / Send a Bullet. I've seen it and now I'm having second thoughts about moving there.

[Daily Rio Life]

Lela, as the post states there is a bunch of information in the archives you'd probably find interesting. Some of the safety related things are in current affairs or brazil in the international media sections.

Statistically, Brazil is dangerous, but it depends greatly on where you live. For example, in the most recent data I've seen, New Orleans has a worse murder rate than Rio, which has a murder rate similar to that of Detroit.

If you are the type to flaunt your wealth, it will be more dangerous for you.

If you have any specific questions, let me know.

[Mark James Chappell]

I am a writer who has just moved to Brasil in August of 2009 with my Brasilian wife of 18 years. We planned on moving here when I retired from my day job. A window opened so we jumped through.

There are a few climate differences since we lived in the San Francisco Bay area for all of our married life. I just can't sleep while being eaten by mosquitos. Heat will take a while to get used to but all in all I love Rio de Janeiro.

I suppose I miss the conversations in my native tongue from time to time. I like talking to strangers or "estrangeros".

Our move included some S.N.A.F.U. freight forwarding for our household goods with an international mover, rental agreements and leases, and compras "shopping to get some good things for our new home." It is beginning to be a home and as my wife told me, "We have only been here for 90 days and look what we have accomplished.

I would like to meet other North Americans and possibly have something of a social club/book swap get together with people of similar pasts. Interested?

Mark james Chappell: North American writer in Rio