Rio de Janeiro - Travellers Advice
You will find the Rio has lots to offer. From the famous beaches of Ipanema and Copacabana, even to the world’s largest urban forest and the flourishing and bright Florestra da Tijuca.
Geography and Climate: Rio de Janeiro is thought of as being one of the world’s most spectacular cities, a cidade maravilhosa. Rio is located in between the South Atlantic surf and the wonderful mountains of the Costa Verde, it is a city that is blessed with having a beautiful setting.
In order to have room for over seven million people that call Rio home, the city has had to grow upwards where it can’t grow outwards.
One of the most populated districts in the world is Copacabana. Its name also means that favelas, or shanty towns are on the hillsides all over the city. And many can be found only several hundred metres from the stylish apartment blocks. You can see a clear division between the people with the money and the people with very little.
The city is split up into four zones. You have the Centro that is the key business area and Rio’s busy port; zona norte, this is the industrial and residential suburb; zona sul is the stylish and trendy area; and the fast growing zona oeste, this was a beach front residential area, but now it is an area that most of the businesses are relocating to and that the speed of the new development is quicker than ever.
Summer is Brazil , is from December to March with the temperatures in Rio being around the 35 to 40C mark, but they can go higher. Even thought many homes have air-conditioning, it is only in the bedrooms. The schools, offices, hotels and public buildings have air-conditioning throughout.
Winter is from June to September and has weather resembling a good English summer. The temperatures hardly go below the mid-teens and 20C, which is thought of as being cold. The intense heat goes from the sun, this is the time when the locals start to wrap up warm, with woolly tights and anoraks. The only people that go into the pool are the foreigners.
People, Religion and Language: the people are known as cariocas, and they are in all different shapes, sizes and colours. People with any racial background all fit is very easily. There is a lot of variety in Brazilian surnames, which gives a clue as to the extensive origins of the country’s population. Until you get the cariocas behind the wheel of a vehicle, they are some of the friendliest, kind and most generous people.
You tend to notice the fact that people here take pride in there body. Therefore clothing is kept to a minimal and cosmetic surgery is a big affair. A good game to play on the beach is “Spot the Silicone”. The people here love the beach and it is at the heart of being a carioca. If the beach is hot, there is blue sky and cold beer, then life is worth living.
Brazil is the world’s biggest Roman Catholic country. But there are now an increasing number of modern, evangelistic Protestant churches as well. You can an English speaking Anglican Church in Rio , along with some other churches that have service conducted in English.
It was only ten years ago, whereby only a small number of Brazilians could speak any English. Now it is more likely to find that in large shops or restaurants in Rio that one member of staff will know a little English. But, it is a good idea to have an understanding of Portuguese if you are planning on a long term stay and survival in Rio .
Getting around: Finding your way around Rio , can be an annoying affair. The traffic, in particular in rush hours can be dreadful. If you are planning on driving in Rio , it is not for the faint hearted, it maybe alright if it weren’t for the fact that there is one of the main thoroughfares called Avenida Ayrton Senna.
In Brazil the road surfaces are in poor condition and the fact that the Brazilians are normally neither considerate nor patient. Other forms of transport include a metro system. This unfortunately only serves a limited area, running from the north from Copacabana to the centre of the city.
There are many makes of car which are obtainable in Rio and they are also a bit cheaper than in the UK . Under the new type of British licence, you can drive in Brazil , but you will need an authorised translation renewed every year. If you still hold the old type of British licence then you would also need to have an International Driving Permit and a translation of the licence.
There are some people in Brazil that employ motoristas, to take them everywhere, likewise many others drive themselves.
Due to the fact that Brazil is a massive and diverse country, the more convenient method of travelling in between the cities by air, but this can be expensive. Which means that the other way is on passenger train travel by this is almost non-existent. And there is, if you have time to spare the good inter-city bus services.
For weekends away and days out, there are around Rio some beautiful places to visit. There are lovely places like, Angra, Parati and Buzios along the coast that offer secluded beaches, history and schooner trips.
Further inland, there are still the remains of Brazil ’s royal heritage in Petropolis . The small towns in the mountains provide a welcome rest bite from the summer heat along with lots of outdoor activities.
North of Rio, in the State of Minas Gerais is the old grand gold mining towns that are also merit a visit. Splendid Ouro Preto and Diamantina both have world heritage listing.
Housing: In either the zona sul or zona oeste is where many of the expatriates in Rio and most Brazilians live in the “closed condominiums”. They are gated communities with 24 hour security. Both of the areas have an array of apartments available for sale or rent with stunning views at a premium.
If you are looking for a house that has a garden, then you would have to go to the new suburbs of Barra da Tijuca and Recreio in zona oeste. This is one of the few places in Rio that has space.
There are some families that have a full-time maid that would be living with them or not. With the salary equating to between GBP 150 and GBP 200 per month.
Education: Brazil has some good fee-paying schools in Rio . They are both Brazilian in origin and international. There are sites in zona sul and zona oeste for the British school that takes children aged 3-18. Also there is an American School , a small International School and many bilingual kindergartens.
Despite the fact that the British and the American schools follow the curriculum of their native countries and teach in English, the majority of their pupils are Brazilian. Daily Portuguese lessons are needed for the expatriate pupils, who also need to get used to eating rice and black beans for lunch.
Depending on where you live and which school your child attends, there is a door-to-door school bus services that are available to most schools. This can make your life a lot easier.
In general, Brazilians do love their children, but it would appear that not bringing them up. Most of the professional and affluent Brazilians pass over the daily lives of their children to an array of domestic helpers, like nannies, maids and chauffeurs or a combination of all three. And it is normal that you will have 24 hour a day childcare on hand.
In Brazil , the school parents’ day is precisely that, whereby you go to school to talk to the teachers and the children remain at home. When it comes to the arrival and pick-up times, the school yard is full with the nannies dressed in white, with the chauffeurs waiting in the car keeping the air-conditioning on. It can be hard for the expatriate parent to meet the local parents, for this even happens at other children’s events, like birthday parties.
It is a common thing for children in Brazil to be welcomed in many places. You can also see young children eating out with their parents late in the evening too and often with the nanny as well.
It is a whole different affair when it comes to children’s birthday parties in Rio . For it is very common as well for the young children to have generous, long and noisy parties that go on into the evening. For the parties the parents would invite everyone that they know, with many parents spending more on one child’s birthday party than what their maid will earn in a year.
Health: There are some very good doctors and hospital facilities in Rio , unfortunately they come at a price. This means that it is a must to have health insurance. It is normal in the private sector for the doctor to ask when is it suitable for you to make an appointment, and to apologise if one is not immediately available. Rio also has a very good and free emergency treatment in public hospitals.
There a public hospital in Rio that has highly skilled emergency teams with a reputation for being the best trauma hospitals in South America . Following an accident, you would be better off being taken to there than a private hospital in the first place. In Rio , as many of the expatriates are having babies, the babies will automatically receive Brazilian nationality.
Economy and Taxation: Rio is one of Brazil ’s important sea ports, with many industries including an increasing oil and gas sector. This is based in the city and tourism also helps to bring in lots of money. Now that the days of hyperinflation have gone for along time now, there are still some Brazilians that are cautious about the future. This means that they are a bit apprehensive about entering long-term financial arrangements, like mortgages.
The tax system in Brazil is very complex. If you are planning on living and working in Brazil then it is advisable to get some expert advice on their particular situation.
Also something that is good to know is, that the Brazilian government taxes worldwide income. As an example a rental income from a house in the UK is liable. But, it may be possible to claim tax deductions for payments to private health and education.
Security: Brazil has got a bad reputation for crime and violence abroad. In the favelas, it where most of the nastiest violence is and it is shocking. In the city there are some areas that foreigners need to take care to stay clear of, this also includes all favelas.
Due to the fact the street crime is a problem, as in all the big cities. However, there are ways that you can minimise the risks. If you do the following it will help. Dress to blend in with the locals, and don’t attract attention to yourself and keep your eyes open at all times. If you have a mobile keep it to yourself. If you must wear jewellery stick to junk jewellery and a cheap watch. Also carry small amounts of money only.
Entertainment: Rio has lots of things to keep you entertained. Rio is a popular tourist destination and has the world famous Sugar Loaf and Corcovado with Cristo Redentor – the statue of Christ is all you could ever hope they would be. From both the views are amazing.
There is no shortage of lovely buildings, churches and museums, as Rio was the capital of Brazil . There are some cinemas, with many film soundtracks in English, with Portuguese subtitles although the children’s films are likely to be dubbed.
Rio also has theatres. The most famous one in Rio called Teatro Municipal. They offer you plays, concerts and ballets. There are samba shows to give a flavour of the Carnival also runs year-round. Then not forgetting the Carnival itself.
As far as sports goes there is nearly everything available. There are lots of good sports clubs, providing high quality facilities and teaching to both adults and children. Now you can probably understand Brazil ’s triumphs on the football field. On the beach, you have got your volleyball and surfing of all kinds is popular.
You can go hiking and walking on the trails that are in the centre of the city. For the more extreme and adventurous you can parachute and hang glide from some of the many mountains.
Rio also has a lot of great restaurants. They serve all different types of gastronomy and normally eating out is not expensive. Customary Brazilian food appears a lot on most of the menus, it can be the feijao (black beans), rice, pork fillet and kale that is associated with the Minas Gerais, or even dishes based on sea food and manioc from the north east of the country.
Churrascarias – is different barbecued meats that are brought to your table, until you cannot eat any mopre, this is a popular delicacy. Also widely available are Italian food of all kinds. The only notable absence is Indian food - even curry powder is impossible to get.
There are still many of the Brazilians that have their main meal at lunchtime, this means long lunch hours and that is also on the weekdays too. You will also be taken back by the wide variety in Brazilian desserts. Some of them are sweet and based on doce de leite, a sort of caramel derived from condensed milk.
Brazilian wine could be better, but they do make a good bottle of bubbly. It is reasonable, sensibly priced imported wine is also hugely available.
The beer is Brazil is very good, in particular at a barraca on the beach when the sun is going down behind the mountains. The national drink of Brazil is Caipirinha, it is made from crushed limes and sugar cane rum, very addictive. |
