Very ridiculous and sounds very unbusiness minded. I think Brazilian aren't poor without no reason then. I agree in regard to internet lease. But why a tourist shoudn't be able to rent an apartment long term contract if he decide to stay for 6 monthe. Does realy brazil think tourist will stay in monthly paid apartment or hotel for 6 month, infact they don't know they are losing so many tourist because things aren't economic. Btw what the harm fro opening account, don't they want money to add to their bank's deposit. I think in very rar case most people will wire transfer to outside, and mean while there are other ways for doing that if someone needs to.
The apartment lease is more of a credit issue. As a foreigner you really have none, so you would need get a "cosigner" from n insurance comany. They call it renter's insurance there. Without a Brazilian social security number you will not be able to purchase this. But even if you worked it out with the landlord, you would still have problems hooking up electricity, phone, utilities, etc. You always have the option of renting a flat as a tourist. More expensive than apartments but it comes furnished. Regarding the bank account they are unusually strict about that stuff. They are especially strict about exchanging currency and wiring money outside of Brazil.
Does anyone know , if there is a Brazillian customs( duty) charge when taking a desktop computer to Brazil?
You have to remember, Brazil like most of Latin America (except Chile) is run by a grasping leftist political class who don't know the first thing about how to achieve progress in wealth or living standards. These are countries that can't even provide basic law and order, food and shelter for a large proportion of the population, and who confiscate foreign capital by the billions when their economically illiterate policies send them into yet another financial crisis. Don't expect their policies on attracting tourist money or foreign business to make any sense. It is not like SE Asia where the benefits of foreign investment and tourism are appreciated and broadly respected. Brazil is a great country to visit (if you don't fall victim to crime), but living there you don't get the same rights you would in the west or even the far east.
It seems you want to trade from your resident. How many LCDs you will have take with you? consider you need at least three for trading and I'm sure they think you want to sell them and you will be custom taxed for them
I did lot of research about brazil, from different travel forums and guys who been there before, and due to several reason i put BRAZIL on my ignore list. Nothing beats Thailand (for me).
I have been living in Brazil for 21 years and uhm Im to lazy to make a descent contribution to this thread right now. By the way, whats the sense of visiting 3rd world countries, is it a neo hippie thing or something that I am unaware of ?
I have been living in Brazil from 3 years and I am trading from here. First, I really think it is a good suggestion for you to check out the country and if you like it before you move here. There are a lot of stories about everything and don't believe all you hear e.g. the country may have a potential in 10 years and if you leave your car in the street it would be picked clean of parts. These are not objective views and just subjective points of view!However, violence is a everyday concern and the country is of course different from U.S and European standards. It is a 3rd world country with nearly half of the 170 million population living near starvation. I suggest you to read a Lonely Planet guide or some other country giudes before you go here. They are probably more balanced and gives you a better understanding before coming here. Anyway, some suggestions and answers to your questions. I would suggest you to stay in Rio de Janeiro. Other choices would be Salvador, Recife or Natal but of course this is a personal taste. DSL exists in all these places and expect to pay about 40 dollar per month for 256 and the double for 512. However, you will need a local tax number to sign up for the service (or use your landlord if he does it for you). A good 2 bedroom apartment in any place you can probably get for about 500 dollar per month but expect to pay the double-quadruple for a nice front beach apartment. Of course this varies for the places. You can easily get by with about 1000-1300 dollar here including living and food, gas etc as this is cheap. With 3-5 k you will live a very good life! Insurance is another issue and important for the health care, but you will def. need to bring it from the U.S. A second hand Chevrolet Vectra would cost you about 10-15000 dollar. Answers: 1. Go with taxi in the beginning. Driving in the big cities here is really boring and different in the beginning, and can be dangerous. In São Paulo, it is estimated that about 5000 hi-jackings of cars (together with the driver) is done every year. Learn and then get a car. Taxis are cheap and cost like 3-4 dollar per 10 km. 2. 3-4 star hotel or apartment hotel about 500-750 dollar per month if you stay long term and negotiate price. 3. Eaiting outside is cheap. A BigMac is about 2.5 dollar. A beer about 0.6 dollar. 4. Anytime, but depends definitely on where you are going. Brazil is HUGE. Take a look at the map and compare it to the U.S. In winter-time the temperature between south and north can be something like 40 degrees celsius. 5. I would say safe if you have experience from other 3rd world countries but tourists are easy targets and robbed and killed. This happens all the time. Dress down, don't wear expensive jewellery, watches etc and mix in with the locals in terms of clothes etc. And learn the language!!! 6. No, it is not necessary to speak Portuguese, but if you want anything else but prostitutes it is definitely a pre-req! Take care and have fun!
Spaceman and Nanatrader and all others ...thanks for your replies. Nana: I am only interested in taking my desktop box with me ( without my 4 monitors) I will buy 4 LCD's there. So I wonder . if customs will charge for the box? Nana: What the price/comfort/trading comparisions between Thailand and Brazil? Spaceman: Do you stay near the beach? You got any leads/contacts for me( for an 2 bedroom apartment) in any of the cities you mention?