Brazil: What It's Like and Where to Stay
Why Brazil is one of the most interesting countries in Latin America and some of the main cities to stay in
Welcome to the inaugural issue of Globe’s Guides. The way these guides are structured is that over the following weeks, we’ll cover the most interesting Flag Theory options in a given country.
The most interesting flags will vary from country to country, but we’ll generally include:
Intro (Free Post)
Residency and taxes
Companies
Banking
Immigration options
Citizenship
Based on the Twitter poll, Brazil and Portugal were tied for the first spot. As a Brazilian who wants everyone to Come to Brazil™, we’re doing Brazil first, Portugal next.
On my Twitter threads, we've already talked about many Latin American tax havens. From Panama to Paraguay, we’ve explored countries where you can live without taxes on *the* lifestyle and freedom continent.
Over the next posts of this guide, we are going to talk about a country where, although it is not possible to reduce your tax burden to zero, it is still a very interesting place for tourism, to enjoy life, do business and obtain citizenship. That country is Brazil.
While many may only know of Brazil from the stereotypes of Samba, Football, Carnaval, or the Favelas, Brazil is in reality extremely diverse, with a number of cultural influences.
Brazilian Geography 101
With 210 million inhabitants and 8,515 thousand km2, Brazil is both the largest and most populous country in all of Latin America. The country borders every single South American country, with the exception of Ecuador and Chile.
The sheer size of Brazil makes it home to tremendous opportunities, especially for those looking to scale a business inside its large local market or hire from Brazil’s enormous and cheap talent pool.
From personal experience, Brazil is a great country from which to hire VAs. They are close to Europe and North America in time zone and are hard-working, and cheap.
Combine that with Brazil’s low cost of living and that can make it a very attractive country from a flag theory standpoint.
Climate-wise, there is a lot of diversity, as Brazil has both tropical climates to the north and temperate zones to the south.
The average temperature in the North, Northeast, and Rio remains between 21 and 27 degrees Celsius every month of the year.
Those looking for a milder, sometimes cooler climate should head to São Paulo or the Southern States of Paraná, Santa Catarina, and Rio Grande do Sul. There, the average temperature drops to between 20 and 15 degrees celsius from April to October. Curitiba, in Paraná, is particularly known for being a high-quality of life city with cooler weather.
You can even reach sub-10 averages in the months of June to August in some of the colder cities like São Joaquim.
Brazil also has a large number of biomes, including but not limited to the Atlantic Rainforest along its coast and the Amazon in the northern region, Savannah, thorny scrub and desert areas mostly in the Northeast, marshes in the Center-East regions, pines and other forests in the Southeast and South, as well as grasslands in the very south.
Put shortly, in Brazil, you can find climates and landscapes for almost every taste. The only thing that is really missing is high mountain ranges (like the Andes), but otherwise, you have a lot to choose from.
For cooler (10-15 °C) winters, stay in the South-Southeast, for perma warm weather, stay in the Northeast-North.
Brazilian Demographics
The history of Brazil is quite curious. Discovered by the Portuguese in 1500, it is the only country in Latin America to have been colonized by the Portuguese.
This unique colonization background gives Brazil many distinct characteristics when compared to its neighbors - be it the Portuguese language, many Portuguese culinary inspirations, or the Portuguese-style baroque churches and buildings built all over Brazil’s old towns.
Brazil was also home to millions of native Americans who, along with the millions of Africans brought in as slaves, have influenced the shape of what would become Brazilian culture in multiple ways - from the martial art of Capoeira to the many distinct Brazilian music styles.
In the 19th and 20th centuries, Brazil also became home to millions of immigrants fleeing war, famine, and persecution in their countries. The country received millions of European (Italians, Germans, Spaniards, Germans, and Dutch, among others), Japanese, Chinese and Middle Eastern (Lebanese and Syrian) immigrants, further mixing in cultural influences in Brazilian culture.
Many Brazilian cities retain a strong connection to their migrant identities. Cities such as Maringá or São Paulo have famous Japanese parks and neighborhoods like Liberdade. Others, like Blumenau and Pomerode, pride themselves in their German roots and retain many traditions to this day, such as the Oktoberfest, Osterfest, and the Weihnachtsmarkt.
You can find many schools offering French, Italian, German, and other language lessons in such cities.
The demographic diversity of Brazil brings with it three main advantages:
A lot of variety in the dating market (here too there is something for every taste)
If you come from a foreign country, you will likely find cities where there are more connections to your culture
Everyone, be them black, white, Asian, indigenous, or mixed, can pass by as a Brazilian
The 3rd advantage is underrated IMO. There are many countries where as a foreigner, you will never really become a local, doesn’t matter how long you stay there (*cough* *cough* Asia). Even if you get a passport, people will immediately know you are not from there based on your appearance.
This does not apply to Brazil, as there is no standard Brazilian look. Anyone can be Brazilian.
Main Cities and Where to Stay in Brazil
Somewhat similar to Honduras, Brazil is also a country of “Three Capitals”. The official capital and headquarters of Brazil’s political institutions is Brasília, located exactly in the center of the country.
Home to over 4 million people in its metropolitan area and filled with modernist architecture, it is a relatively new city, planned and founded in 1960. Unless you’re a politician or dealing with them, I would not recommend this city.
The business, financial and industrial capital of the country is São Paulo, where most companies are headquartered and where Brazil’s Wall Street, “Faria Lima”, is located.
Home to over 21 million people in its metropolitan area, São Paulo is truly a global city, with all different kinds of cuisine and the busiest airport in the South American continent. This is *the* spot if you want to do business, enter the local startup scene and meet work-oriented expats.
Lastly, the touristic and cultural capital is, of course, Rio de Janeiro. The iconic images of Christ the Redeemer on top of the Corcovado, the beaches of Ipanema and Copacabana, and the Sugar Loaf all come from there.
With over 12 million people in its metropolitan area, it is the second largest city in Brazil and the place where most of the telenovelas and movies are filmed. This is the place to go if you want beach, hiking, nightlife and big city amenities at the same time.
While these are the most important cities, Brazil has 28 metropolitan areas with over a million inhabitants. From the South to the North, there are mid-to-large cities one could travel to or live in.
Many of these are beach cities - I’ll drop 3 that have been getting attention due to their high quality of life:
Florianópolis, in Santa Catarina
Vitória, in Espírito Santo
João Pessoa, in Alagoas
There are also many non-beach cities with great quality of life and way less known by tourists. These include:
Curitiba, Londrina and Maringá, in Paraná
Blumenau, Joinville and Jaraguá do Sul, in Santa Catarina
Belo Horizonte, and Uberlândia, in Minas Gerais
The cities in the interior of São Paulo state, like Campinas, Sorocaba, Ribeirão Preto, Piracicaba
Petrópolis, Teresópolis, Nova Friburgo, in Rio de Janeiro
Political Situation and Upcoming Elections
Like the rest of Latin America, Brazil suffers from an unstable political climate. The country has been ruled by right-wing president Jair Bolsonaro for the last 4 years. During this time, a number of economic reforms were passed and gun rights were increased.
At the same time, there have been growing issues with corruption surrounding Bolsonaro and his family, and overall dissatisfaction with the lack of political skill by the president.
There will be elections in October this year, and the two main names for the race are Bolsonaro and Lula. Lula is a former president of the left-wing Workers Party (PT) who was convicted for corruption, yet was cleared of his charges by the Supreme Court to be allowed to run for president again.
Should Lula win, his proposals for Brazil would further debilitate the country’s economy if implemented. There remain doubts, however, if he would be able to do much, given the bad shape the country is already in and a general understanding of the need for reform by congress.
In any case, there would be a devaluation of the Brazilian Real with Lula being elected president, which could be advantageous for those looking into some nomad seasons or living in the country with foreign income, as the country would become cheaper for foreigners.
Residency, taxes, companies, and citizenship options will be explored in the upcoming posts of this guide.
Stay toon’d…