Expert: Ken Rapoza Cruz - 5/8/2009

Question
Hey ken, I´m sure you get this question 1000 times a day, but I was wondering what the relative cost of living is in SP.
I am a 22 year old travelling with my friend, we are going to be teaching there and would like to know how much:
--appartment 2 bedrooms. kitchen, bathroom and living room would cost
--what is the cost of food if we buy our own vegetables and fruits and other necessities (we eat healthy but cheap)
--how much does a beer cost
--how much does a liquor drink cost
--how much does it cost to get around the city
--what is 16,48 Realis work out to in American dollars, my currency converter told me about 9, is that correct?
--do you think its possible for 1 person to live on 1648R a month?

sorry for the extensive list, but i have so many questions.
Thank you in advance for your help
Alysha :)

Answer
Hi Alysha:
Things are changing rapidly in Brazil. The real is strengthening against the dollar again, so I would advise you to budget yourself based on a 1 for 1.80 exchange. Anything over that would be a bonus. I budgeted my life 1 for 2.

A two bedroom apt would cost at least R$1,000 a month, depending on the neighborhood. Then there will be condo fee and taxes, figure at least another $200 to as much as $1,000 depending on the neighborhood and the apartment: like does it have a pool, does it have a lot of apartment or is it just 13 floors with 1 apt per floor, meaning not a lot of people?  I live in a HUGE building with over 100 apartments, so I have TWO pools (one kiddie pool), a bar, a pool, cards and table tennis room, a childrens play room, a music room, a banquet hall, a crappy gym, a sun deck, a terrace, and a children's playground. I pay R$600 for that each month, but in a building with just 13 floors with 1 apt per floor, that would cost you well over a thousand. So it depends on these factors: location, and apartment size/quality.

Beers cost between R$1 and R$5.

A Caipirinha will cost you at least R$10. In a sidewalk bar, maybe you can get one for R$5.99. At a beach bar, maybe the same, but the cachaca they use will be 51 and that will kill you!

A bus ride is R$2.30 one way. I think the metro is R$2.50, but I dont take it anymore. Cabs are around R$3.50 per kilometer.  Advice would be to live near your work, or live in neighborhoods where there are a lot of people your age and a lot of entertainment nearby, with relative closeness to the center of the city. So I would pick places like Vila Madelena, for example.

R$16.48? In dollars is about $8. Currently $1 = R$2.07.

I think in Sao Paulo, livin gon R$1,648 per monnth is impossible. You can do it maybe for 3 months if you want to rough it, and live in Butanta near the University of Sao Paulo, and maybe get a roomate. That could work. But it's a fairly bohemian existence.

You will live in the outskirts of the city. You will need a roomate. I oncne rented a shitty furnished apt in an area within walking distsance to whore houses and strip clubs, so imagine the neighborhood, and it cost me R$900...in 2005!!! Imagine now.

On that pay, you will need to find rent that is around R$600 per month...you will need a roomate for that. I dont know of anyplace that costs that cheap anywhere near the center of town. You want to be near the action or near work cuz commuting in Sao Paulo SUCKS.

Maids with no education whoh can barely read and write make around R$1,000 a month and they take busses, trains and subways to get to work. So imagine the fun...
k