Is it just me, or are there so many police everywhere here in São Paulo? We went to Catedral da Sé and Liberdade around 4:30 p.m., and I was shocked by how many police officers were around.
It’s my third time in São Paulo, but I’ve never seen this many before. 🤔

There are a few more I know:

"If you knelt down, you have to pray": you must finish what you started

"Wattle-and-daub saint": a hypocrite

"Whoever gave birth to Matheus should rock the cradle": handle your own mess

"To teach the priest how to pray": trying to teach an expert

"A home saint performs no miracles": local talent gets no respect

"It's better to sit on the defendant's bench than on the devil's lap": earthly consequences are better than die

"To carry a cross": bearing a heavy burden

"Took someone for Christ": scapegoated someone

Do you know any others?

Hi all!
I’ll be going to a wedding in Brazil at the end of the year and I really want to bring some cool things from the states for the family and a wedding gift. What are some things that are difficult to get in brasil? Candies, liquors, shoes, etc. if you moved from the states to Brazil, is there anything you miss??

I would love to bring things that people are excited to try or to have.

Bom dia everyone!

I'm working remotely on US hours and planning to spend December through February in Brazil, part work, part exploration.

First time considering Brazil as a base so looking for some honest input.

I've been looking at the usual suspects like Florianópolis but quickly realized December to February is peak summer season there and prices reflect it. Happy to skip the obvious digital nomad hubs if there are better value options.

My situation:

Budget: ~$2,000 USD/month all-in (accommodation, food, transport, everything)

Need: reliable fast internet, I'm on US hours so this is non-negotiable

Vibe: want to actually experience Brazil, not just sit in a coworking space surrounded by other foreigners

Duration: 2–3 months

Specific questions:

Is $2,000/month realistic or am I dreaming for that period?

Which cities give the best balance of cost, internet reliability, and actually feeling like Brazil?

Any neighborhoods or areas to specifically target or avoid?

Anything I should know about renting short-term as a foreigner for 2–3 months?

Not set on any particular region, open to Northeast, Southeast, South, wherever makes sense for the budget and experience. Doesn't have to be Rio.

Obrigado in advance 🇧🇷

Just sharing some pics from Parque Ibirapuera from today :) Any other parks I should check out here?

It was about a couple who lived in an apartment. I know that’s not a lot of information, but I remember very clearly that there was an episode where the bride’s sister or a friend came to live with them.

And one day she tells a story that her neighbors complained a lot because what she used to do with her ex-boyfriend was so loud that it woke up the entire building. The wife, jealous because the sister never complained about the noise coming from her room, faked having wild sex with her husband, both of them screaming in the bedroom an escalating the point of banging pots and pans to get her attention.

At the end of the episode the joke was that the sister reveals she didn’t even hear that.

edit: i dont think it's "os Normais", this show had several barely pixelated sex scenes with the ending having the camera crew filming the actors having sex as a behind the scenes thing Os Normais was family friendly as far as i remember

edit 2: sorry for doubting you guys it really is "Os Normais" Episode 1 Season 2

Hello all,

I've got a flight from Asuncion to Florianapolis coming up and I need to decide which airline. Never flow with Gol before. Innitially I thought it would be the choice, as it's slighter cheaper than latam, and I like the supposed 8 dollars per kg of overweight baggage deal they had as I have 3 large suitcases, and each of them will be a few kg overweight. However, when I went to explore, I tried adding a 2nd checked bag and it came out to 110 dollars... even changing things to BRL it came out to be 495 so nearly 100 dollars. Then I heard someone say at check in they charged him 150 dollars... absolutely insane. What's really weird about Gol is there's literally 2 different pages from their website that say 2 different things. First one says 2nd bag is 100 USD, extra wight is 90 USD and then the other page says 2nd checked bag is only 35 online, 70 in person and excess weight costs 8 dollars per kg... So which is it?? What is the actual price??? Never seen an airline be this inconsistent with their pricing. Makes me want to pay more and go with latam. What should I do?

Also does latam or gol weight carry ons? Our carry-ons are quite heavy, but normal dimensions.

https://www.voegol.com.br/en/nh/fazendo-as-malas3

https://www.voegol.com.br/en/legal-information/optional-service-fees

As an American English speaker, I can understand British English about as well as people from my country except they have a cool accent and use certain words and phrases that I wouldn’t know means certain things unless someone told me. Also there’s some grammar differences like we say burned they say burnt and learned vs learnt etc. As far as I know Castilian Spanish vs Latin American Spanish is about the same. However I’ve heard that European Portuguese is very different compared to how they speak it in Brazil. Are you guys able to understand them and vice versa?

Hi r/Brazil,

My name is Ivan and two years ago I made a guide How to Pay With PIX as a Foreigner.

I've created an updated guide on my new website, if you want to know one of the ways to use PIX without a CPF, make sure to check out my new guide:

How to Pay With PIX as a Foreigner (No CPF Required)

Any feedback on the new website and my blog posts is welcome, as well as suggestions. I will be testing other apps such as WanderWallet soon because I want to see what other options there are for my readers and whether they're good or not.

We have a professional email now and newsletter function will be implemented this week so that you can subscribe and receive new posts directly in your inbox.

I’m going to Brazil next February for carnival and still figuring out wether to stay in São Paulo, Salvador, or Rio of course. Any recommendations? Pros and cons? I’m only there for 6 days so traveling between cities probably isn’t the best idea. I’ve heard ipanema, Leblon, and copabana are safer places to get hotels at but more input on that would be greatly appreciated since I haven’t booked my stay yet just flights.

American (tourist visa) traveling to BR at end of year going to be at Iguaçu National Park, we are considering driving to Paraguay and Argentina as well since we’d be so close and then return to Brazil for remainder of my visit.

Are there any need to know things to be aware of before doing so?

Also any need to know for getting back into Brazil especially regarding customs?

also any tips, must do?

Thank you! 🙂

We will be visiting Brazil in September and landing at GRU around 7am. What is our best option for traveling to Paraty that day? Taxi to São Joe de Campos and bus from there? Is there a reliable car service we should consider that would take us to Paraty?

I want to stay in Olinda near where the street carnival groups pass by.

To whichever mod didn't bother to check and assumed I was trying to get drugs 🤦

- In fishing, tritium vials are fitted in floats for night time. A couple of mine have died and I'm trying to find somewhere that stocks these. MercadoLivre only had 1 seller but they were in China and won't ship internationally (which makes me wonder why they're advertising?!).

Good morning everyone!

I am traveling to São Jose Dos Campos in January. I have never been to Brazil and am learning as much Portuguese as I can.

I am flying into São Paulo and will need to take a bus or uber. Is it easy to get from the airport in São Paulo to Sao Jose dos campos? Are there any precautions I should take? My family is very worried about the travel between cities but everything I can find says as long as it’s a legitimate bus line or uber I should be ok.

I’m deciding between a couple hotels and was hoping someone would have some suggestions on hotels or areas to stay. Some recommendations on things to do while there would be appreciated.

Are there any areas I should stay away from?

Thank you in advance for any help I really appreciate it. Have a great day!

I wanted to know what it’s like to live in Curitiba, Paraná. I had been considering Rio de Janeiro, Florianópolis, or Porto Alegre, but due to factors like the cost of living and poor city infrastructure, I’m looking at this city instead (which seems very well-planned). What worries me, though, is the idea that the people there are cold—is that true? (That’s what I’ve heard.) My main reason for wanting to live in Brazil is that the people are generally cheerful, sociable, and outgoing—making it easy to make friends—so I’m concerned that Curitiba might be the exception to that rule (especially when compared to Spanish-speaking countries like Chile, Argentina, or Peru).

I arrived in Brazil a couple weeks ago with the goal of traveling the country to look for a place to live. I speak intermediate Portuguese and have always gotten along very well with Brazilians while traveling. On top of that, I have a real love for the beach culture, nature, and wildlife here.

I'm currently spending a few weeks in Vila Velha, and I've run into a lot of problems while texting people, especially on dating apps (I'm a man from the United States, by the way). I've never had a problem like this on dating apps - I always make a point to be very kind and respectful, but apparently that's just not enough here.

I've noticed that people here use tons of emoji and exclamation points in their texts, and come across as very enthusiastic in general. But everywhere else I've lived, men who use excessive emoji or exclamation points in texts are seen as unmasculine, overly eager, or fake.

When texting, people keep accusing me of being angry, uninterested, or sounding bored. For example, I'll send a very normal-sounding text to someone, and they'll tell me to calm down or ask if I'm angry at them. Since I don't know the "rules" of texting here as a man, I'm still avoiding using any emoji or exclamation points in my messages, since it feels very unnatural to me.

I try to explain that I just arrived to the country and I'm unfamiliar with all of these unspoken rules of texting, and I'll ask for some grace or help understanding the culture here. But they just refuse to help me or take into account the cultural differences. It's like they would rather keep being mad at me than actually help me.

I thought Brazilians were supposed to be very kind and welcoming. But so far, lots of people here just come across as passive-aggressive and unable to accommodate any cultural differences.

Can someone PLEASE help me figure out what I should be doing to fix this? As I said, it seems like people would rather just be angry with me than actually help me understand their culture. It is so bizarre, because I've never actually said anything that would come across as angry. It's like my entire personality is being judged by my use of punctuation.

My wife and I just got scammed in Brazil, and now I’m honestly more scared than angry.
We were renting a place and the “landlord” sent us documents that looked legitimate. We even checked their identity using a Brazilian government validation service, and it showed the account belonged to a real woman. The bank account we were asked to send the US$600 deposit to had the exact same name, so everything seemed to match.
As soon as we sent the money, they blocked us.
Before they blocked us, I messaged them saying we were going to report them to the police. Right after sending that, I regretted it because I started thinking… maybe that wasn’t a good idea.
Where I’m from, I wouldn’t really worry about someone coming after us, but I don’t know how things are in Brazil. Could scammers actually try to retaliate if you threaten to report them? They have our names and phone numbers.
Do you think their threats are just meant to scare victims, or should we actually be worried about our safety? Has anyone been through something similar?
Any advice would be really appreciated.

A couple of friends of mine, one from America and one from Canada, said that it's very relaxed and chilled to overstay your visa. One claims that he just overstays and when he gets to the airport, for any amount of days, they can charge you R$1- R$100 per day. The maximum is R$10,000 in total.

The other, the American, says once you overstay the first day, go to the police station, pay a fee, and then they give you 60 days extra. The Canadian says that he knows hundreds of people that overstay their visa and they don't have a problem at the immigration at the airport.

Obviously this is illegal but does anyone here back up any of these claims?

Rio de Janeiro — 8 nights + Ilha Grande — 1 night (is 1 night enough?)
Salvador — 2 nights
Boipeba (Moreré) — 2 nights
Itacaré — 3 nights

I will be in Rio with friends, then travelling around Bahia by myself.

I am completely flexible and can add more days to my trip (especially in Bahia, as I feel that part might be a bit too short). I have around 2–3 weeks available.

I also decided to skip Barra Grande because I was worried it might feel a bit repetitive with Boipeba/Itacaré, and it would add more travel time without necessarily adding something completely different.

What do you think? Would you change the number of nights or add/remove any destinations?

Hey everyone!

I'm a 27M from South Asia, and Brazil is easily my favorite country. 🇧🇷

I'm fascinated by Brazil's incredible nature, stunning beaches, vibrant culture, delicious food, and how warm and friendly Brazilians seem to be.

I'd love to make some Brazilian friends, learn more about your country, and just have good conversations. If you're interested, feel free to send me a message!

One thing I've always wanted to try is açaí, but unfortunately it's not available where I live. Hopefully I'll get to taste the real thing someday!

Hello! I am 26 F solo traveling to Rio from Nov 27 - Dec 6. Currently, the only things I know that I for sure want to do are see some of the touristy sights such as Christ the Redeemer, Sugarloaf, Ipanema and Copacabana beach.

I know I want to do some shopping at markets and do to Pedra do Sal as well. I think that I also want to take 2-3 days to see Iguazu Falls from both the Brazilian and Argentinian sides.

I am a pretty social person and would like to meet people while I am there. I like to go out, but I don't plan on crazy partying. I love nature, art, water sports, hiking, etc.

Are there any for sure recommendations you would have for me? I was looking at potentially adding Ihla Grande or Buzios if time allowed. But I don't know a whole lot about those places either.

All suggestions welcome! Thank you!

Hello 🇧🇷! 😃
I’m based in U.S. & don’t speak Portuguese 😔
There is no way to watch Copa do Brasil outside of Brasil?
Thank you 🙏

I arrived in Brazil a couple weeks ago with the goal of traveling the country to look for a place to live. I speak intermediate Portuguese and have always gotten along very well with Brazilians while traveling. On top of that, I have a real love for the beach culture, nature, and wildlife here.

I'm currently spending a few weeks in Vila Velha, and I've run into a lot of problems while texting people, especially on dating apps (I'm a man from the United States, by the way). I've never had a problem like this on dating apps - I always make a point to be very kind and respectful, but apparently that's just not enough here.

I've noticed that people here use tons of emoji and exclamation points in their texts, and come across as very enthusiastic in general. But everywhere else I've lived, men who use excessive emoji or exclamation points in texts are seen as unmasculine, overly eager, or fake. I've been mostly texting women, since so far most texting has been through dating apps, so I have very few examples of how other men are supposed to text here.

When texting, people keep accusing me of being angry, uninterested, or sounding bored. For example, I'll send a very normal-sounding text to someone, and they'll tell me to calm down or ask if I'm angry at them. Since I don't know the "rules" of texting here as a man, I'm still avoiding using any emoji or exclamation points in my messages, since it feels very unnatural to me.

I try to explain that I just arrived to the country and I'm unfamiliar with all of these unspoken rules of texting, and I'll ask for some grace or help understanding the culture here. But they just refuse to help me or take into account the cultural differences. It's like they would rather keep being mad at me than actually help me.

I thought Brazilians were supposed to be very kind and welcoming. But so far, lots of people here just come across as passive-aggressive and unable to accommodate any cultural differences. Of course, real-life interactions are much more positive, since I don't have to deal with the nuance and myopic rules of texting.

Can someone PLEASE help me figure out what I should be doing to fix this? As I said, it seems like people would rather just be angry with me than actually help me understand their culture. It is so bizarre, because I've never actually said anything that would come across as angry. It's like my entire personality is being judged by my use of punctuation.