I have no understanding of street smarts, have never been outside my own country, and speak no Portuguese. Am I in for a bad time visiting Brazil (Porto Alegre, Florianopolis, Sao Paulo)? I plan on staying within the touristy areas, not get drunk or do drugs, not frick around, and stay out to a reasonable time. There's not really a good reason for that to be considered unsafe is there? Or is there?
>Florianopolis
Only danger is the drivers
>Sao Paulo
Much better if you have developing country street smarts, but just stay in a decent area and you should be fine
>Porto Alegre
why?
>speak no Portuguese
You should learn enough to tell people that and say yes and no. Have google translate ready
What's bad about Porto Alegre?
>What's bad about Porto Alegre?
It's just your average somewhat sketchy Brazilian city, without much to see. Only reason to stop there is if you're taking the bus to/from Uruguay.
best city for partying
ugly males
beautiful women that make the first move whenever they see an attractive male as there are almost none over there
Since you are not getting drunk and doing drugs it is doable. Just uber at night and stay in upscale neighborhoods. Even though crime is high (specially robberies, the only crime a tourist should fear), the odds of something happening to someone who is only spending a few days is really low. The odds of being a victim of a robbery is high for those who live here. Like you'll be robbed once in 20 years.
If you are staying in upscale neighborhoods, people will be of upper classes so you'll find english speakers. I would say that 30% of 18-35 yo in those neighborhoods speak enough english to communicate with you and 5-10% speak it good enough to have a proper conversation. Older people that speak english will be hard to find though.
Just use the latin america starter pack. No israeliteelry (including watches [yes, even apple watches]), use your phone inside shops (I use it everywhere but you seem clueless) and not on the street and do not flash money. Also, do not be afraid to profile people (racially and $ wise based on their clothes). I am not telling you to be racist in acts and words (that's a serious offense here) but it does help you to avoid shit if you let all the equality speech for other places.
It's very safe. Just take ubers and and if you only go to tourist areas you will be golden. Just don't openly use a phone on a public street and go into a store if you want to use it.
I just got back from traveling around brazil for 2 months
what towns/cities/places do you recommend? where did you have the most fun or have the most memorable experiences
Most memorable was probably Pipa By Natal. They have some cool buggy tours and you can see dolphins swimming at the beach. Some of the lagoons and the cool cave by Ilha Grande. The imperial museum in Petropolis. Beach Park in Fortaleza was pretty cool. Never been to a waterpark. Pretty expensive for Brazil though.
I went to Sao Paulo, Paraty, Rio, Ilha Grande, Petropolis, Natal, Pipa, and Fortaleza.
I also didn't do any partying. I just hit tons of Museums, beaches, and shopping.
Also I should mention that rio of course has a lot of memorable stuff but I feel like that's kind of a given. It's the most touristy place in the country.
uber black for everything
always stay inside
don't let anyone take you to any place
t. brazilian
Why Uber black? Wouldn’t that make me look rich?
Nah, White and israeli/arab/asian Brazillians use that
I remember watching a YouTube video where a vlogger asks 25 Brazilians on the street in Copacabana Beach if they feel safe visiting the beach. 24 said "no".
As other anons have said, one of the very best safety tips is "put your phone away in public". You will quickly learn to judge people around you by how they look at you and react to your presence, but you can't be aware of those around you if you are continually distracted and preoccupied by your phone. Learn to distinguish predatory stares from curious stares, sly pickpocketers from aggressive groups of youth likely to choose robbery. Walk faster than the average person...that way nobody can follow you without basically running to catch up (assuming you are not a manlet and have a long stride). Don't stare at people who are staring at you, but don't be oblivious to them either and lure them into attempting a crime.
average day in brazil
jesus christ brazil will always be a SHIT HOLE and i will never step in that forsaken country
i love how people just sock the robbers.
>thief runs away
>random people 20 meters away from where the theft happened just throw punches at them for fun
I spent last summer in Rio. I felt safe during the day time but night time can be dicey. Just keep your head on a swivel and don't go into the favelas. I mean it, especially if you are new to international travel
How's the cooming in Brazil?
Checked. Not sure if being ironic but it’s fricking Brazil dude. Literally cooming on recruit difficulty. Especially if you know Portuguese. If you go during carnaval it’s basically a giant orgy in the middle of the street
It's great if you love AIDS infested prostitutes
How do you guys actually enjoy places like this? And I'm being serious as I'm going to Brazil and other countries in South America soon. I have been to many places in the world but nowhere where I was warned against basic things like walking to a bar, wearing a watch, or using a phone. That is insane to me, is that really a pleasant place to visit? Somewhere where you take Uber from restaurant back to your hotel and are too afraid to talk to anyone in real life or on Tinder because you are going to get robbed? I'm going either way, just trying to set my expectations (beach+books only or actually attempt to be social and walk).
>beach+books
Don't read books, especially at the beach. You will look distracted and aloof and be attacked/robbed
Although that might have been a joke reinforcing how dangerous and unenjoyable the place is, what I meant was, beach in the day and spend all night reading in hotel room or something (via Uber of course!).
>too afraid to talk to anyone in real life or on Tinder because you are going to get robbed?
Getting robbed by girls like that is more of a Colombia thing, it might happen occasionally in Brazil, but it's not one of the countries main industries like in Colombia
shut the frick up man, brazil is even worse than colombia
https://g1.globo.com/sp/sao-paulo/noticia/2023/03/21/policia-prende-seis-homens-envolvidos-em-golpe-do-tinder-na-zona-norte-de-sp.ghtml
https://g1.globo.com/sp/sao-paulo/noticia/2023/03/21/policia-prende-seis-homens-envolvidos-em-golpe-do-tinder-na-zona-norte-de-sp.ghtml
https://revistaforum.com.br/brasil/2023/6/13/saiba-que-golpe-do-tinder-que-usado-em-sequestros-137547.html
https://g1.globo.com/rj/rio-de-janeiro/noticia/2022/07/14/o-que-se-sabe-sobre-o-sequestro-do-juiz-americano-em-copacabana.ghtml
that's why foreigners should NEVER meet women outside of shopping malls, and they have to call UBER.
DO NOT let anyone take you anywhere, show you around: you choose where you go.
Don't take them back to your hotel as well, book another room in another hotel or motel (motel = love hotel, you can stsy there like one hour or two if you don't want to sleep there) so they don't have access to your belongings.
Ok, I didn't know it was really a thing there, but no, it's still not as bad as colombia because
1. The people were arrested in every story you linked
2. There wasn't casual drugging/poisoning by girls that were too dumb to finish high school
In colombia you only ever hear about the victims, never about anybody being caught
to be fair tourists aren't the usual targets as it's too hard to get money from abroad.
Also brazil almost doesn't have tourist as we're too fair away from money.
anyway, every foreigner should come here if he's struggling in the dating scene in his own country, brazilian women ADORE foreigners.
Meet your future wife here and then FRICK OFF back to your country with her.
> anyway, every foreigner should come here if he's struggling in the dating scene in his own country, brazilian women ADORE foreigners.
Why do they adore foreigners? Are they gold diggers? Do they want a Green Card?
>Why do they adore foreigners? Are they gold diggers? Do they want a Green Card?
lol
looks, bro
its all about looks
Depends. I guess lot of poor women might want a green card. Although most must not even know what it is. But a middle class american must be in the top 5% in Brazil, easily. So that helps. And women tend to date up, everywhere.
But novelty factor plays a big role. So being a foreigner helps dating in general, not just on long term relationships. But I mean western men and japanese and korean nowadays, not much other nationalities. And if you are tall/blonde/light eyed that helps a lot as well. It is just not that common here. Specially if you go to states with less european immigration.
Anyway, I think it is a good place for a foreigner to date; specially for those tired of asians. Don't recommend for those seeking le trad wife though. Women are pretty much like in the west.
A lot of safety advice is geared toward First World NPCs who walk about completely oblivious of their surroundings. People wear watches and look at their phones all the time in unsafe Latin American countries, but I guarantee if you start eyeing up their device like you want to rob them, you will be noticed almost instantly. It's a "spidey sense" you will develop after a few days on the street. Peripheral vision is amazing when you learn to use it - defocus your eyes.
I went to Mexico with my girlfriend and her mom and we took a cab from the hotel to a restaurant where there was a fricking guard tower containing policemen with rifles and making a perimiter which contained like two white families and then locals outside of these lines of officers j going about their business. After dinner it was a taxi right back to the hotel. My girlfriend wants to potentially move to Mexico and I'm just not understanding what is so enjoyable about that dynamic
seus bando de exagerado, brazil não é tão ruim assim
>porto alegre
>são paulo
não saia de noite
>brazil não é tão ruim assim
>não saia de noite
LMAO
anyway, here's Sao Paolo during the day
Spent 3 weeks in Rio and currently in Recife. Yes the cooming is easy with beautiful girls I pulled a really hot bubbled but 19 y o in less than a week here in Recife (i'm 30)
That being said a Girl I met in Rio got robed at gunpoint and nearly kidnapped 2 days after I left. She puled her phone at night on the street next to a club rookie mistake.
Do not wear fricking flip flops like every other brazilian, normal shoes in case you need to run or fight.
Zero israeliteelery no watch anything and have a shit back up phone that you take with you going in the street.
Advice given before of walking fast is gold also.
Turn of contactless payments on your card.
With this you are safe and if you get robed you'll be fine
Awesome, thanks for the advice
man that sounds terrible
Spent 2 days in Rio on a long connection a couple years ago. Some good advice in this thread- don't walk around with your phone out, have your wits about you, don't engage with someone who approaches you on the street. I brought 3 phones with me to the country- 1 I left in the hotel, 1 I carried with me outside, and 1 backup phone I stored in the fireproof safe that I brought with me. All 3 were stolen, as well as the safe, and when I went to purchase a phone in-country it was stolen as I walked out of the store to get to my Uber. 8 feet of sidewalk is enough for someone to see an opportunity, don't risk your life for something so trivial. Some sort of chest and/or leg armor would also be beneficial, as stabbing is an everyday part of life for these folks. I was shooting the shit with hotel security one night and the guy was telling me people time-block a stabbing into their daily schedule. It is as routine as getting a cup of coffee for many of these folks. I was sick hearing that. I asked the guy what he did to stay safe and he said chest and leg armor (he wore neck protection as well but the weather is so hot during the day that it's impractical for the average traveler), don't engage with any individual that isn't a licensed security professional, and don't leave your domicile after the sun has peaked. Suffice it to say I took his points to heart, especially after he robbed me.
That said, it was a beautiful country. My AirBnb was *fabulous* for what I paid and the context of the country- $350/night for a place with a full bathroom, I almost couldn't believe it. My host told me that most people live in little shacks on the side of the mountain with no amenities, not even functioning windows or a door, so the fact that I had both at least at the beginning of my stay was amazing. And don't even get me started on the food! So hot and spicy it makes you pass out and wake up in a different place altogether. Brazil really is the terra de boa gente.
Have you visited Ghana as well?
Lurking here and I can't help to ask:
what if you go to some middle size city like Florianopolis or somewhere below Sao Paulo, AND you stay mostly inside, ONLY going out to pursue education/business/recreation watchfully and sober, and then get the frick back into the apartment?
I mean, realistically, dressing like a nobody, looking serious and being aware of surroundings... I refuse to believe that people just jump you in the middle of the street.
Of course people who go to clubs/bars/concerts are literal morons that deserve to get mugged.
Oh, for fricks sake. I'm born and raised in São Paulo. I was robbed once. It was in broad daylight near where I live (good neighborhood). I've also roam around, took uber/cabs, walked from subway stations to/from nightclubs at late/night early morning for 10 years (18-28 y.o.) and nothing ever happened.
The problem with crime here (robbery, other crimes are irrelevant for those in middle class and tourists) is that it can happen pretty much anywhere and at anytime. 1% of the population get robbed in a year. The odds of a tourist who will spend a few weeks here getting robbed are really low. But for people who live here, yes, it is a problem. You know sooner or later you'll get mugged and pretty much all your friends/relatives got mugged once.
So, in absolute numbers it is dangerous; in relative numbers it is dangerous as well. But for those spending just some weeks? Nothing relevant.
But yes, don't wear watches and israeliteelry and take care of your phone if you do not have streetsmarts. It sucks, does not? But that's how it is in most, if not all, latin america. Low trust societies and other problems (do not want to turn into a pol thread) do that.
But you do not need to just stay locked in your apartment. I walk in my neighborhood to go to a park everyday. Walk to a subway station, got to bars/friends houses and wait for uber outside at 02:00. Really, it is bad compared to western countries but not that bad.
I'm 40 years and live in a mid size city in sao paulo state, I've been robbed twice and both times it occurred in Europe instead of Brazil
I've lived the full degen life until 36ish and had absolute zero problems, street smarts and not looking wimpy helps but I had my fair share of luck too
I visited Rio in the new years, the most dangerous time to go for robberies etc.
I had zero problems. I was mostly with brazillian girls and stayed off empty streets. My airbnb was in Copa and I'd walk to mcdonalds at 4am every night. I went to random apartments to meet prosties. I lived on the dangerous side and had zero issues. I think you get targetted if you look weak. All the people doing robberies are 90lb kids in flip flops.
This is very true. Criminals are opportunists, like all predators. Being tall and confident is intimidating to them, and having a long stride makes it very difficult to be set up for a robbery by a pack of short-shit kids. Westerners accustomed to the rule of law can feel very unsafe on lawless streets, but the "law of the jungle" respects strength and preys on weakness/carelessness. Assert yourself, frick everyone else.
I have a short question, but first: I read that the "mainstream" beaches of Brazil are unironically the touristy (underline the word, touristy) ones of Rio de Janeiro, because of security, other like minded expat bros, infrastructure, and, mainly, because they are turbolaunching the literal shit of many million macacos far away into the sea or some swamp village.
The question: to RENT a gated apartament 1-3 months, isn't RIO actually the best option? Looking forward to learn portugeese also.
Depends what you consider the best beaches. Nature wise that's far from true. Best beaches are in Angra dos Reis (the islands not the city itself) and some places in northeastern states and Santa Catarina. Ilhabela and Ubatuba could be good as well.
The best neighborhoods in Rio de Janeiro are in Zona Sul (like Ipanema and Leblon) but those are not the best beaches not even in Rio. The best are more secluded and a bit far. Copacabana, for instance, is horrible.
>isn't RIO actually the best option?
Depends of what you are looking for. It is indeed a good option. All things considered perhaps it is the best (beaches, nightlife, portuguese lessons, and all of this close by if you stay in Zona Sul).
It is a "developing" country with lots of inequality. Also it is one of the cities in Brazil with the highest wages. So if you want to live in a good place it will be expensive. If you want to spend little, you could live 90 minutes away from the touristic area in a place that lacks proper sewing systems and that is controlled de facto by drug gangs or corrupt police militias.
A good neighborhood close to everything would be Botafogo. Great nightlife, underground station, and everything in walking distance. The beach there is not good though. You would be better going to Leme/Ipanema or, if you have more time, taking the underground to jardim oceanico, the first neighborhood in Barra da Tijuca. Beach tends to be cleaner and with better people there.
I love that you catched I forgot to type the word "best" before "mainstream" and still figured out what I meant.
I want to avoid big city bustle. I guessed it would be wise to get the "good neighbourhood pack"in Rio since I would have ok-tier-beaches + services/infrastructure + lowish criminality despite the price. That being said, I am going to check the places you mentioned and try smaller places. The main thing for me is being able to walk out in a beach without being stabbed or eating a turd while swimming lmao
Also I guess avoiding big cities I am also avoiding high prices. I was once recommended by a guy from Rio Grande do Sul "Camboriú" and "Ihla de Sao Francisco do Sul" if I recall correctly. I want to go as south as possible but it turns out the rural south is also dangerous. Allegedly. Thanks man
>jardim oceanico, the first neighborhood in Barra da Tijuca
This is the best place to stay if you want to be close to Rio without being in the middle of the city. I was there in low season and it felt safe to walk around 24/7 and there's enough restaurants and stuff to be comfortable, it's about 30 mins of walk+train to get into the city from around the beach.
I've only read about those places. I've been to Balneario Camboriu. It is both good and bad for different reasons. Lots of skyscrapper that take away the nature vibes, very expensive as it is a place for southern millionaires to go and party. Also not sure about portuguese lessons there. But lots of hot women, great nightlife...
About Rio, for both beach and infra, stay at Leblon or Ipanema if possible. Jardim oceanico is better for beaches but not so good for walking imo. But also a good option. But a bit more far from everything (with a tube station though). The other areas in Barra da Tijuca are not worth it imo. Copacabana is full of old people, hookers and transvetites. Also the beach is rather ugly and dirt. Crime in Rio and brazilian medium size-big cities is everywhere. But being in a upscale neighborhood takes away most of the dangers.
What's with Rio rental prices? It's like new york city wtf
is argentina or brazil whiter?
By proportion, Argentina
By quantity and variety, Brazil
I want to coom and spend a week in Brazil. I also want to eat in restaurants. Is it recommended I learn Portuguese before I do this or is English sufficient? I learned Spanish just to coom in Mexico/South America so I can go through the process again.
english is enough and with spanish everyone will understand you in brazil, its very close to portuguese
Spanish will mostly work but you should learn some key Portuguese words (like 'obrigado' for example) to help yourself out there with the locals
How is Recreio dos Bandeirantes in Rio? Good beaches? Safe? Any kind of nightlife?
It is a middle class neighborhood, bit far from the touristic attractions, built for people who wanted to get away from Rio's problems but had not enough money to buy real estate in Barra da Tijuca. It's ok in everything. As safe as the safest neighborhoods in Rio, it has good beaches and some nightlife. Can't compare it to Zona Sul and Jardim Oceanico though.
This is more of a cultural question.
Please take it to
or