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Brazil: Trading Places

By Mark Taylor This article is inspired by various discussions I‘ve had with people who are considering moving to Brazil, have moved, or have left. Often the moving to Brazil has been for romantic reasons, but it can also be those who want a change in their life as the world shrinks, or they have been posted here for a job. My focus in this article is mostly on the former of the three, which has a subtly but markedly different motivation. Of course the topics discussed here can be applied generally when moving to any country, not just Brazil. I‘ll add that my intention with this article is not be a killjoy, that is not to drain all the emotion and excitement out of moving to Brazil, or whatever country. The intention of this article is to try and inject some levelheadedness and a taste of reality to any move, so that if the move occurs you‘ll settle more quickly and feel happier that you made the right decision. I‘m not sure anyone can profess to being an expert on the subject of what to be careful of when moving to another country, but having actually done it gives you a definite and enormous experiential edge over those who haven‘t. That‘s compounded further by having realised it for a significant period of time. So what do you need to consider when trading places with a life in your country of origin versus a new life in Brazil? Before you move an absolutely fundamental consideration is to visit Brazil, particularly the area you‘re considering moving to as Brazil is such a vast and wide-ranging country. Aim to spend several weeks there. Even before travelling to Brazil have a think about what you enjoy in your country of origin, and how that will translate to the places and services that are offered where you want to move. That could vary from practicing certain sports, to Internet access, or even to a favourite TV programme. Impossible for me to say precisely as it will vary with the individual. Another vital aspect is often closeness to friends and family. If you move how will you feel to be distant from them for months if not years at a time, how will you be able to contact them, how often will you want to return home to see them, will you have sufficient funds to do all this? A major problem topic at least in Brazil is the aspect of employment, which I‘ve dedicated a previous article to so won‘t cover in detail here. In summary though, even in major cities like São Paulo it‘s extremely hard for foreigners to find a job, and infinitely harder to find one that will offer a Work Visa. So try as best you can to find employment with multinationals and international headhunters before leaving. Many foreigners who leave for Brazil without a job will end up in various odd jobs, and that‘s if they‘re lucky. These can be jobs like the typical English teaching. It‘s also very important to bear in mind that wages are often substantially lower in Brazil, and only the most qualified and well connected Brazilians get the best jobs and salaries, which it can be hard to match as a foreigner. Particularly when Brazilians have the added advantage of language fluency and have often studied a lot longer and have more qualifications (aside from the issue of substantiating foreign qualifications which can often take many months). As mentioned, language is a significant issue, particularly in relation to employment. Bear in mind that you will need to learn Portuguese at an advanced to fluent level to gain most employment, and perhaps more importantly to help with everything in day-to-day life and to gain independence. When moving for relationship reasons you can often end up forced together with your Brazilian partner, in a way that wouldn‘t happen if you were both in the same country. Normally relationships have some time to gather momentum, but this is difficult to achieve from long distance. Often people will end up moving without having spent a significant amount of time with their partner, which is an inevitability of this type of relationship. Once you‘ve moved you can often end up together 24/7, that is going from very little contact to a significant amount of contact, and this can make for added stress, particularly when you factor in some of the other issues. In this particular situation there are various things you can do to smooth out the bumps. Try and make sure you have some form of safety net on various levels, whether it be that you can arrange a flight home relatively quickly, you have somewhere safe to stay as an alternative if need be, as well as making friends with both other foreigners and locals to give some balance. Put simply, use your common sense and don‘t let love rule your head too much. In summary, have a good hard look while considering moving at what‘s important to you in your country of origin, whether it‘s hobbies, your career, financial stability, friends and family, and/or other items. Try and gauge what it would be like to live without these if that‘s going to be the case in Brazil, and whether it would be a significant issue. Difficult to do, but equally not a good idea to ignore. If you have a comment on Mark‘s article or would simply like to contact him then email mark@gringoes.com. Previous articles by Mark: Brazil: São Paulo‘s Pinacoteca Brazil: Don‘t Forget, You‘re in Another Country! Brazil: PCC Violence Returns to São Paulo Brazil: A Recycled City Part 5 Brazil's World Cup Defeat Party Brazil: A Recycled City Part 4 Brazil: Japanese Standard Chosen for Digital TV Brazil: NET Petition Feedback Brazil: A Recycled City Part 3 Brazil: Football Love Brazil: A Recycled City Part 2 Brazil: A Recycled City Part 1 Brazil: 100 Things To Do in São Paulo Part 3 Brazil: 100 Things To Do in São Paulo Part 2 Brazil: 100 Things To Do in São Paulo Part 1 GPS in Brazil Brazil: PCC Attacks in São Paulo Brazil: Tips on Buying or Renting an Apartment or House Brazil: A Critical Sensitivity Cleanliness is next to Brazilianiness Brazil: Manners Brazil: No Change, No Sale Brazilian TV Brazil: Ubatuba Brazil: Professional Children Brazil: We deliver... everything! Brazil: Terraço Itália Brazil: A Layman‘s Carnival Guide Brazil: Portunglish or Engluguese? Brazil: Feira Food Brazil: Bilhete Unico flexibility increases Brazil: Finding Work Brazil: U2 Ticket Chaos Brazil: Finding Work Brazil: Termites Brazil: Queues, Queues, Queues Brazil: Let‘s Go Fly a Kite! Brazil... the Film That Is Brazil: The Bus to Nowhere Brazil: Piracy Brazil: Gestures Brazil: Proclamation of the Republic Brazilian Film Review Brazilian Film Review Brazil: Finados (Day of the Dead) Interjections, exclamations and onomatopoeia in Brazilian Portuguese Brazil: Halloween Brazil says "No" to banning firearms Brazil Humour: Phone Etiquette Brazil‘s Gun Referendum Brazil: Scams Brazil: Moby Review Brazil: Keeping in touch via the Internet - Part 5 Brazil: Keeping in touch via the Internet - Part 4 Brazil: Avril Lavigne at Pacaembu Moby in Brazil Brazil: Keeping in touch via the Internet - Part 3 Brazil: Keeping in touch via the Internet - Part 2 Brazilian Film Review Brazil: Keeping in touch via the Internet - Part 1 Brazil: First season of Lost repeated on AXN

8/1/2006