Tips for expats – moving to Rio de Janeiro

You’ve heard a lot about Brazil, and you’ve heard a lot about this splendid city. The beaches, football, the statue of Christ the Redeemer… Whatever your reason for moving to Rio de Janeiro may be, One Moving & Logistics is here to help you with some advice so you can keep informed. So, let’s go ahead and see what Rio has to offer and what your best course of action is when you decide to move there.

Rio is mindbogglingly huge

Rio de Janeiro is one of the biggest cities on Earth. Its population goes well into the eight-digit territory. Now, this isn’t something someone from New York, Mexico City or Tokyo will see as a problem. But other people, from smaller cities or the countryside, might wish to take some time to adapt to the hustle of the big city. However, we’re all extroverted at least a little bit, and, looking at the picture below, you can be sure that you won’t be lacking company anytime soon. The data presented in the image below are taken from World Population Review:

You can see where this is going. Before moving to Rio de Janeiro, you should know that you’ll never lack company.

The thing is, moving to Rio de Janeiro means that you will have to change your lifestyle a bit? Is it difficult? Maybe, depending on your previous lifestyle. Is it a great and fulfilling experience? Of course! Moving to Rio de Janeiro means changing your habits – not all of a sudden once you’re done moving, but, you know, over time. You will find that as you do that, your social circle increases and you feel gradually less “new” to the city, so to speak.

Despite the size, it’s not at all stressful

Relocation to Rio de Janeiro means that there are a lot of cultural differences to consider.

When people think of big cities, they think of business centers, corporate headquarters, giant skyscrapers… you get the idea. However, Rio is not that kind of a metropolis (Sao Paulo is business-oriented, on the other hand. So, if you’re looking to land a long-term career, that’s the place where you wanna go). You can forget all the formalities of meeting new people that you’re used to. No distance-keeping, firm handshakes, and tightly-locked eyes. Brazil, in general, is much more relaxed than that – and Rio in particular. Speaking of which…

After moving to Rio de Janeiro, you’ll notice that life revolves around the beach

“Beach-centric” doesn’t even begin to describe it. You see, a lot of Brazilian social life takes place next to the beach. That’s where you will want to meet new friends and acquaintances. However, don’t be surprised if they show up late. And, by all means, don’t take that as an offense. Brazilians are usually late to everything – including business meetings. In facts, it’s somewhat of a custom to be 10-15 minutes late, perhaps even more. Anyway, back to the beaches. Spending your free time on the beach will let you score social points with your (probably ever-expanding) circle of friends. So, before you go ahead an plan out your international relocation Brazil, consider that the three most important beaches in Rio are:

Rio’s beaches are splendid, though never empty. After moving to Rio de Janeiro, you’ll be hanging out on some of them.

• Copacabana
• Ipanema, and
• Barra de Tijuca

Copacabana is 4.5. kilometers (2.6 miles) long, and it racks up to quarter million visitors every year. Many meetings occur there, and more than just a few long-lasting relationships began right there. Cariocas (people born in Rio) tend to meet, hang out and drink on the beach. Speaking of drinks, Caipirinha is something you want to try. Although different manufacturers make it in different ways, it’s essentially made of sugar, lime, cachaca, and ice. If you down one or two more than you should, do not go swimming. The waves can wash you up ashore, or pull you underneath. And riptides occasionally happen, so be extra careful even if you’re completely sober.

4. Cariocas have a different outlook on life than many other people

What do you when you meet a stranger for the first time? Polite handshake? “Pleased to meet you”? Well, there’s none of that in Rio. You see, it is customary for Cariocas to kiss whenever they see each other – especially women. Three kisses on the cheeks (right-left-right) are the norm, and so is hugging among men. Expect to see a lot of uncovered skin, but no nudity.

After moving to Rio de Janeiro, you’ll be sucked into the vortex of social life.

You see, social etiquette dictates that you can show all the skin you want, except for the offensive parts. Weird right? It’s actually a clash of two aspects of Brazilian culture – on one side there’s the modesty and chastity of the Catholic Church, which maintains a strong influence on the way of life in Brazil. On the other side, there’s the Brazilians’ sheer appreciation of social liberties.

So, you wish to maintain your social etiquette after moving to Rio de Janeiro…

Well, luckily, you’ve come to the right place. Brazilians are (on average – that doesn’t mean there aren’t exceptions), very different from “Gringos”. Some of the things will improve your social etiquette. Those things are:

• Coming over – you’ll be invited for a lunch at your acquaintance’s house. And God help you if you arrive on time – nobody likes a cold, punctual gringo;
• Invasion of personal space – as weird as that seems, Brazilians (and especially Cariocas, seeing as they live in a big, crowded city) have zero notions of personal space. Your personal space will be invaded on a regular basis. And, you will be expected to invade theirs;
• When coming over, bring gifts.

After moving to Rio de Janeiro, make sure you follow the social etiquette.

If you fail to adhere to the social etiquette, it’s not the end of the world. Far from it. You’re new to their culture and they know it. But by complying with their culture, and, just, rolling along with it, they will see that you’re trying to make an effort. This will have a positive outcome on your social life, and you won’t get overwhelmed by the cultural shock that you will experience after your residential relocation to Brazil.

The not-so-social etiquette

There are, of course, some things that you mustn’t (or at least shouldn’t) do after moving to Rio de Janeiro. Some of those will only result in your losing social points, other will get you mugged – we’re talking about safety precautions, and I’ll tell you about them in a second. Here are some of the things you should never do in Rio de Janeiro:

After moving to Rio de Janeiro, apply sunscreen. You don’t want to end up looking like this.

• Don’t dress like, well, a westerner. Nobody will ostracize you, but taxi drivers might charge you higher prices. In a worst-case scenario, a mugger will know that you are a foreigner, and will assume that you have money on you. That’s a surefire way to get mugged. Your best bet is to “blend in”;
• Use sunscreen! The tropical sun will surely make your skin blister. Even if you like sunlight, you should wear protection, otherwise, you’ll end up looking like this:

• Do not assume that everyone speaks English. English is one of the most widely-spoken languages, but some folks are, simply put, a tough linguistic nut that you have to crack. How do you do the cracking? Well, you should learn some Portuguese – you are moving to Brazil after all. This might elicit some laughs, but you will be much easier to understand. They will be able to assist you in what you need.

If possible, avoid the favelas

Rio, as we mentioned, is a big city. This means, in essence, that it’s got it friendly, social and fun side, but, of course, that there are the less savory parts. Favela is a term describing low-end neighborhoods, usually illegally built, on the outskirts of almost every big city in Brazil. The crime rates are much higher there than elsewhere, so you can see why wouldn’t it be too smart to go there as a foreigner – especially on your own.

Any neighborhood that these guys have to visit regularly is not one you want to be in.

You should keep in mind that every city has its problems. Keep this in mind when moving to Rio de Janeiro. The silver lining here is that it’s pretty obvious to tell where the trouble is – in the run-down suburbs of big cities. Not all favelas are like that, to be sure – some are even quite respectable places – but you don’t want to be there without a very good reason. If you do like to visit such places, then you will notice the stark contrast between the opulent center and the not so opulent outskirts.

It’s all about football

You already know that Africa and South America are the continents where football is at its peak. You also know that Brazil’s main export is not agricultural products – it’s football. Brazil has become the country of football. They won FIFA World Cup five times, after all. This is something that you will be socializing over not only with men, because all Cariocas are into that, regardless of gender.

The Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro is called “The Temple of Football” for a reason.

Anyway, not everyone is into sports in Brazil – but you will find that a rather large part of the population:

• Has a favorite team – there are four major teams in Rio de Janeiro, and these are Botafogo, Flamenco, Fluminense and Vasco da Gama;
• Everyone has a favorite national player – be it Ronaldo, Kaka, Neymar, Roberto Carlos, or some of the extremely talented juniors;
• Is a member of the local fan club.

Despite everything, Rio is a pretty safe place

You may have heard about the street crime and everything else, however, Rio de Janeiro is not such a bad place as the media make it out to be. Crime rates aren’t higher than anywhere else. Big cities always have an underbelly of sorts, where all the bad stuff happens, but even if you live in San Francisco, CA, you know that there’s one in there too. You don’t (and never will) need members of a private defense agency if you’re going to meet your friends or going to a shop. You only have to avoid certain places, and you can judge those quite quickly by their appearance. We’re, of course, talking about favelas, and not even all of those are unsafe places to be.

After moving to Rio de Janeiro, or even before, get vaccinated

Brazil is a tropical country with a high number of mosquitoes. Some airline companies might not even let you fly on their planes without bringing proof of vaccination first. Especially during an outbreak. As you know, mosquitoes carry all sorts of diseases with them, so it’s like an airborne blood infection. And the little devils fly really fast. Brazilian health care system is very efficient, especially in big cities.

They have all but eradicated stuff such as yellow fever, however, there tends to be an outbreak every now and then. Brazilian federal government is generally speaking very generous when it comes to healthcare, seeing as it is one of the main problems tropical areas face. So, here’s a quick tip from our domestic movers Brazil – before you move, get a routine checkup.

Do not forget to have fun

We’ve told you that living in Rio de Janeiro is all about fun. The people are relaxed, and so should be you. You know about samba, but it’s not the only type of music out there. For example, funk is extremely popular. It’s called carioca funk, and it’s very different to what funk actually means in the USA. Songs sometimes have deeply social meanings, regarding racial inequality, poverty, social justice, gang violence etc., but they often also take on the romantic side. Below is a video displaying different types of dancing. Just a heads up – it doesn’t contain explicit nudity, but, let’s just say that the clothes are very few. That is to be expected, we’re talking about Brazilians, not Eskimos.