People who have been to Rio, would you go again? What did you like about it or dislike?
I usually stay in the Mediterranean (great food, great social life) but I'm thinking of going somewhere more exotic/tropical this year. One of the downsides I see are the safety concerns, it's a bit hard to socialze in a relaxed way when you have to be careful for potential threats.
>One of the downsides I see are the safety concerns, it's a bit hard to socialze in a relaxed way when you have to be careful for potential threats.
this is now a bait thread, everybody get in here and post your meme brazil takes
Well look I've been thinking Rio because it looks good, has beaches/sea, seems to have a good social life and the food options seem decent as well (although I am well aware that nothing in the world can hold a candle to Mediterranean culinary traditions and culture, no need to get butthurt about this).
It seems like a very fun place. BUT then I started reading about the safety stuff and just always needing to be on the lookout and not doing this or that, stuff that is even the most basic afterthought across the Med, makes me think I would not be able to truly enjoy myself. Stuff like not taking your phone out, having some cash ready in case somebody robs you so you can give it to them, any bar hopping/city exploring seems off limits, you should uber to the place and back and not veer off anywhere, prostitutes/junkies/scammers at the main city beach, can't walk by yourself at night almost anywhere, have to constantly watch your drinks etc. etc. those are just things that are 90 percent unfathomable in the Med and it makes it seem like half of your brain power is taken up by security issues rather than focused on enjoying yourself.
>having some cash ready in case somebody robs you so you can give it to them
This is a meme invented by the cowardly and paranoid brazilian middle class. Disregard.
But yes, rio is not cuckeast asia where people won't assault you. You can't mindlessly walk around in the dead of night.
If this stresses you out, go to europe instead
>This is a meme invented by the cowardly and paranoid brazilian middle class. Disregard.
The only untrue thing is that they would never take just some cash, they'd take everything
>People who have been to Rio, would you go again?
I would. I’m a little biased because I have a friend who lives there whom I rarely see, but I really enjoyed it, and against all odds, I wasn’t robbed or shot or stabbed anywhere near as many times as I thought was inevitable.
>What did you like about it or dislike?
I didn’t like being worried about my safety. I arrived tense and expecting danger at every turn. This was sort of my own fault, of course, and I eventually calmed down a great deal, and absolutely nothing happened to me (as it doesn’t to the great majority of people who visit), but I was always a little tenser than I am when visiting other countries. The correct answer is to be only slightly more alert than you are in other South American cities, rather than perpetually shitting your pants.
And it’s a little sacrilegious, but I don’t really like Brazilian food much. I’m sick of feijoada by the second time I eat it. I like pão de queijo, though, and had some excellent fresh fruit and seafood. And Rio has plenty of good restaurants doing other world cuisines.
I liked the weather, the urban beaches, and nearly all of the people I met. Brazilians are a mixed bunch, of course, but they’re warm and friendly on average, and far more outgoing than in my grouchy, fussy home country. I also loved hanging out with Japanese Brazilian friends of my friend. Phenotypically, they look like people from Tokyo with a tan, but they’re native speakers of Brazilian Portuguese. It’s a neat little cultural enclave. I also really like carioca Portuguese, although my Portuguese friends mostly find it unpleasant. And there are really good art and music scenes (my friend is a talented amateur jazz musician), although many would argue that São Paulo has more going on in the arts, and of course traditional samba/bossa nova stuff is centered in Bahía.
>. It’s a neat little cultural enclave. I also really like carioca Portuguese, although my Portuguese friends mostly find it unpleasant. And there are really good art and music scenes (my friend is a talented amateur jazz musician), although many would argue that São Paulo has more going on in the arts, and of course traditional samba/bossa nova stuff is centered in Bahía.
Holy frick you can cut the Reddit with a knife
Would Salvador be considered even more dangerous than Rio? How about Sao Paulo? I will have between 10-20 days to explore so I was thinking maybe a week or 10 days in two places rather than just staying in Rio all the time.
A distinct possibility would also be 10 days in Brazil and another 10 days flying somewhere else. My friend wants to do Rio and Buenos Aires, while I seem to lean towards doing two Brazilian cities instead.
I’ve been to all three. Salvador is supposed to have worse crime than the Brazilian average, but it’s sort of concentrated in one half of the city. There are posh neighborhoods where crime isn’t a big deal, but people don’t walk around much by themselves at night even there.
São Paulo is interesting because most of the central/downtown neighborhoods are considered safer than the suburbs (which include predictably scary straight-up favelas but also some places that looked pretty boring to me). I was only there for a couple of days, visiting another friend, but it didn’t seem too bad from what I saw. If I had to rank them, I’d put it at the top for relative safety, followed by Rio, followed by Salvador.
Would you rather visit SP or Salvador? Im a big fan of live music (I'm ab amateur musician myself) and we mostly want to just hang out, drink, eat, hear some music, and during the day explore a little maybe some sights and museums, but nice nature/parks/beach is a good alternative too (which is why we're both leaning Rio as one of the cities to visit since it seems to check all those boxes). The typical boom boom clubbing experience isn't that important, id rather hang at a cool bar or a samba party than listen to trap in a sweaty dark club
>Would you rather visit SP or Salvador?
They’re completely different experiences. SP is absolutely massive—the main impression is relatively modern middle-income megacity, not particularly attractive. Salvador is more manageable in size (the SP metro area is 10X as big), prettier IMO, and feels more historical. Also has nice beaches, unlike SP. So I’d personally probably prefer to go back to Salvador. But SP has more of everything except the seaside, and it’s not as dangerous.
Oh, and as for live music, Salvador is great—lots of bars and pubs with live acts. Some of it is undeniably a little museum/tourist-trappish; samba showcases in theaters, etc., similar vibe to some of the fado shows they put on for tourists in Lisbon. That said, also like Lisbon, the artists doing the showcases are usually very talented. And there’s still a healthy scene of local musicians performing stuff from a ton of genres in bars and small clubs, mostly for local audiences. I didn’t actually see any music in SP, but I know it’s there (there’s a lot in Rio, too)—SP was the epicenter of tropicália in the 60s-early 80s, and its descendants are all over the place. I didn’t notice any megaclubs in Salvador, but I wasn’t looking for them; I have no interest in unts-unts-unts til dawn. I saw ads for, and went past the façades of, some big clubs in SP, but, again, not my bag.
>Salvador
more dangerous
>Sau Paulo
less dangerous
>Buenos Aires
even less dangerous
>Florianopolis
basically no danger, safe enough for europeans, but not warm all year
Not him but from my brother in law if you’re looking for a nice urban beach setting with a little more safety (relative to Brazil) Florianopolis is the way to go. Can even take a weekend trip to iguazu if you feel like it
What are Brazilian girls like? Are they friendly?
Have you ever heard anyone complain about the girls in Brazil?
There are only two types of girl in Rio: the type who have a massive fetish for gringos (easy to spot because they usually speak English) and the type that don’t have a gringo-fetish and expect any gringo who wants to date them to be very assimilated into Brazilian culture (which usually means living in the country long-term and speaking some Portuguese)
>there’s also the third category of favela girls, but the type of gringos who frick them are the same type of guys who go to the slums of The Philippines or Cambodia to frick kids
>Mfw im a gringo who speaks decent Portuguese
Im 5'10 blue eyes white (although i tan pretty well under the sun). I have a decent job. I speak Portuguese (not perfect but good enough and would like to improve too), Italian and English. How easy would it be for me to get a nice Brazilian gf that wouldn't want to just take advantage of me? Where do I go for nice educated Brazilian girls in Rio?
>that wouldn't want to just take advantage of me?
Drop that requirement and learn to take women as they are. Other than that, if pretty easy if you're not a sperg. just go to tinder.
I'm assuming he means not just try to empty his bank account while also fricking her local boyfriend like many Colombian girls do. I don't think it's nearly as much of an issue in Brazil if you aren't moronic.
Oh, no, that's not an issue.
Then you won't enjoy the girls to the fullest. It's not SEA. They want to have fun and if you're just a sperg with a wallet that's hardly fun. You can hire prosties, though.
Nta but What if I'm a sperg
What about the “beach boys”
Go for the cheap steak and beer
Or
Do what I did and meet some random Brazilian girl on Omegle and start a relationship with her then go visit her and she can show you a lot more
You will be surprised by how few people speak English.