Expert: Ken Rapoza Cruz - 5/16/2008

Question
Dear Ken,

I am 25 years old and my husband is 32.  We are both born and raised in the United States.  Recently my husband was offered a job in Santos Brazil.  It would be for 2-5 years.  I have read all sorts of different articles, comments, and facts about Brazil.  We are still trying to decide if we are going to take the offer.  I think it would be exciting to experience living in such a beautiful country but on the other hand it makes me very nervous because I have never done anything like this before.  I have read about the crime, but are Americans living in Brazil generally safe as long as you take general safety precautions?  We would be looking for a rental home or condo, do you have any advice of any websites to find this information?  I have looked and all I find are vacation rentals that are very expensive.  Have you been to Santos before? What areas are around Santos?  I have also heard that as long as you know basics of Portuguese you should not have too much of a problem communicating.  Is English really that uncommon?  Any advice or information you can provide me with would be greatly appreciated.  
Thank you.

Heidi

Answer
Moving to a foreign country is very stressful. Its not for everyone. You have to be a mix of crazy and daring. YOu dont have children so now is the time to do it. I moved here with children, but then again, my wife is Brazilian andmy kids are bilingual.

Look, Santos is a port city, near beautiful beaches, about a 1 hour to 2 hour drive away from the metropolis of Sao Paulo. I dont think Santos is dangerous at all, though of course this is a third world country and there are a lot of poor people around. I wouldnt drive a BMW around poor neighborhoods or on busy streets, with the top down, blasting my new MP3 player, my purse on the passenger seat with R$500 cash and wearing a $1000 watch. That I would not do. This isn't LA or Mid town manhattan.  Same on the beach, be cautious, though Sao Paulo beaches are much more safe than Rio beaches. In short, dont panic about danger. Santos is safer than Rio. Be smart.

You want to live in neighborhoods that match your social class or a bit higher. Dont try to save money on that regard because the more upscale your hood, the safer you are. That doesnt mean for you to go find a closed condo that rents for R$3,000 a month on the beach, but figure you will spend around R$2,000 a month (exchange rate is $1 = R$1.66 currently) on rent, condo fee, and real estate taxes. Whenever getting a rent quote, always ask them how much is the condo fee, how much are the IPTU taxes. You want to know the TOTAL monthly payment, otherwise they will just tell you the rent is R$1000 and forget to tell you the condo fee to manage the garden and the pool or clean the garage is another R$1,000.

You can just do a google search for "Aptos" + "Santos" at www.google.com.br adn you will find some, Im sure. If not email me here again and I will find an exact site for you. There are plenty, i fyou read portuguese and it seems you have at least the basics.

If your husband is working in Santos, I would advise you just to live in a nice tree lined hood in Santos and not in the outlining areas. Its just better -- no traffic to deal with, and you wont be so isolated. If you are not working, and you go to hte burbs, you will get bored.

English is uncommon as far as a general conversation goes..  YOU MIGHT find some people to speak English at a bank, or maybe in a doctors'office. Doubtful in a regular restaurant, unless you go to a tourist restaurant or somewhere very upscale.

Where is your husband goign to work? What industry? How much will he be making? Wiill the company be providing him with relocation support -- such as what documentst he is going to need to rent an apartment, or open a bank account? Is the company going to be his co-signer on his apartment - called a "fiador" in portuguese -- otherwise finding an apt will be hard.

If you do move, yu will need a CPF number and an RNE.  You can get a CPF, which is like a soc sec, at the consulate. An RNE, which is a green card equivalent, is at the Federal Police immigration office in Santos (or Sao Paulo...hopefully there is one in Santos).  What kind of visa would you be coming in on? Should be a working visa. What about you?

Good luck. Post a follow up.