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Date: March, 2006
Location: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
There can be few more alluring places to go and live than Rio de
Janeiro... La cidade de Maravilha (the Marvelous city) is famous for being the
party capital of the world and draws more tourism than just about anywhere.
And thats the problem. Theres so much hype about
carnival, the girls on the beach and the national
obsession with football that its hard to really
understand whats going on. If youre going to live
here you need to get past these clichs and get to
grips with the reality of life in Rio de Janeiro.
To begin with you need to learn Portuguese. This is a good deal easier than Spanish
and there are many excellent (http://www.amerispan.com/language_schools/Brazil/Rio_de_Janeiro/3543language)
language schools in Rio. Once you begin to pick up some of the lingo then
youll be able to hit the nightlife downtown where few people speak English.
Its also an excellent way of not appearing like the usual (http://www.gringoguides.com/brazil.shtml)
gringo in Brazil When you take on step towards the Brazilians then they will take
two steps towards you! To live in Rio you need to think like a local and that
means more than just wearing skimpy swim suits to the beach.
To find an apartment you can either walk around the neighborhood you want to live
in and ask around or else you can check the classifieds in the many Rio newspapers.
To live in Ipanema youll probably pay around $200-300 a month but only $100-200
in the sleazier areas. You can live in downtown Lapa or Flamengo but you will
really need your wits about you...
In any case the most beautiful beaches are all near
the South zone of the city. Here the most beautiful
bodies in the city come to show off in the sun and
its the closest thing youre ever likely to see to
Bikini Heaven. The beaches are not so safe at night
though and never do you want to leave your belongings
without someone taking care of them.
Rio de Janeiro can be a dangerous city as the drug
traffickers battle it out with the military police in
the favelas. The latter are community slums perched on
the hilltops and supply most of the cocaine to be
found in the city. They are not safe to enter alone
but you may take a favela tour (http://www.anythinginrio.com) with a professional guide and experience
a whole other side to living in Rio de Janeiro.
Tales of mugging and violence in Rio are abundant
but generally no one here has any interest in harming
you. The Brazilians are genuinely one of the
friendliest people in the world and the street crime
that exists stems only from poverty and drug
addiction. If someone holds you up here they will only
want your money. You give it to them and they leave.
As simple as that.
The main thing is to avoid the situation in the first place. You dont walk around
with expensive jewelry or Rolex watches in the street and you dont go strolling
down dark streets at night. Youre best off taking taxis when coming back from
a night out but if you do walk then move with attitude and stay away from shadowy
doorways where someone could be hiding.
Making friends in Rio de Janeiro can take time;
its easy to meet people and strike up conversations
but the people here are famous for their fickle
nature. Ill call you! they say. But they dont even
have your phone number. Still, its easy enough to go
out and make a whole bunch of new friends for the
night.
Most people who come here may have expectations of
wild love affairs with the Brazilians who are amongst
the most beautiful people in the world. You may well
find love in Brazil but beware no one is taking you
for a ride. The prostitutes in particular can be very
machiavellian and are best avoided. There are plenty
of other girls and guys who will see a relationship
with a gringo as something exotic.
Although Rio has a fair deal of wealth theres also
stark contrasts with the poverty and it can be a
challenging place to live. Some things here meet the
standards of first world countries whilst others bear
more resemblance to the developing world. Leave your
prejudices at home and make the effort to think and
live like a local.
But maybe then youd never want to leave.
- Tom
Tom Thumb is the editor of Road Junky Travel Guides
Online (www.roadjunky.com) a resource for the
alternative traveller.
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