Brazil After a Month
Well, I've now been in Brazil for a month now. I'm doing a study abroad program in Rio. To me Rio de Janeiro feels wild, almost animalistic. But it was about the only place in Brazil they were offering and I specifically wanted to go to Brazil, so that's how I ended up there. As I'm typing this I'm actually in Sao Paulo and I liked it much better than Rio. Feels more orderly. Honestly, my overall impressions is that it feels pretty similar to America. You have some differences like things tend to work a little bit less, buildings are generally more run down, public safety is worse, government has more power, private security is treated more seriously here, language, Afro-Brasilians behave different from Afro-Americans. Think those are the main differences, but if you look at the size of everything, how the airports are designed, movies, political fights, racial demographics, it's all very similar to the US.
Off the bat, for the time being, I don't believe it's better here than in the states. But what it is is cheaper and with the political system no matter which way it goes I "win." Lula wins the exchange rate goes more in my favorite and higher interest rates, with the right winning I get a half-way competent government. Who knows how the US is gonna turn out with the fucking useless Democrats being even more ridiculous electing these DSA candidates. I hate democracy. Brazil is also too quite welcoming to foreigners coming to the country and provides generous visa opportunities and legal protections. That's simply not something you find in Asia. Things are certainly more wild though, it's something you have to learn to live with.
With Rio, I can't say I've entirely liked Zona Sul. I think for me it's a combination of the decadence, the old buildings, and the beach. I guess I just don't like the beach. I am set to move into an AirBNB by the end of the month in Centro. I have to be more cautious about safety, but I think it's better there. I think another good place is Barra da Tijuca. They have newer apartments there and it's a bit separated from all the crazy. It isn't too hard to get into the core of the city by just taking an Uber to the metro. It is a little inconvenient though, but I think it makes up for the better quality of life. Centro also has a bunch of newer apartments if you're willing to live there. Also, Tijuca seems like a reasonable spot in terms of value. Copacabana and Leblon are a total trap.
Rio isn't all that cheap too. If you want your own apartment on AirBNB it's gonna run you around a 1k USD. If you want to eat out it's usually around $10. Rental laws are very complicated in Brazil, so unless you want to go with an informal contract, AirBNB is about the only game in town.
