Brazil has a magical pull on American expat Michael, who lives in the city of Salvador in Bahia. Here he gives very useful information on topics like what it costs to live in Brazil, employment opportunities (or lack thereof), and learning to speak the local language. Life in Brazil, and Bahia in particular, is an emotional roller coaster for him, and he's loving every minute of it.	Michael Andrade

-Where were you born?

I was born in New York City, New York, USA., and moved to San Francisco when I was twenty.

-In which country and city are you living now?

 Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.

-Are you living alone or with your family?

I live with my partner and his sister and niece, as well as three cats and a dog.

I've lived in Salvador part-time since 2003 and full-time since 2008.  Before moving to Salvador I lived for two years in Sao Paulo and one year in Rio de Janeiro.

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-When did you come up with the idea of living in Brazil?

One of my great passions is Latin America.  I had visited almost all the countries in Latin America and Brazil was one of the few that was still on my "to visit" list.  In 1999 I went for a short trip and I fell in love with the country.  I started coming every year for six-month stays, until I finally made the leap and made Brazil my full-time home.

-Was it hard to get a visa or a work permit?

For the first seven years I was able to stay for six months a year on a tourist visa.  Now I am in the process of getting legal residency and I have permission to live here until it is processed.   Residency based on domestic partnerships is a new concept in Brazil, so I am using a lawyer to get through the paperwork and the bureaucracy.  It was relatively easy to apply for the residency, but the wait to get the final paperwork can take up to two years. 

I didn't have medical insurance during the first seven years.  Fortunately I am healthy as well as lucky and I never needed it.  Now I have medical coverage through my partner's job.

I haven't worked in Brazil.  I've been able to live on my savings and investments until now, but the global economic crisis has taken its toll on my net worth so I anticipate finding a way to generate income in the future.   The unemployment rate is very high in Brazil so there are very limited opportunities for me, but I taught English in Mexico for six years so I may do that again here in Brazil.

I speak Portuguese fluently now.  When I arrived  in Brazil I was a fluent Spanish-speaker, and I imagined that it would be easy to pick up Portuguese.  I was wrong!  While Spanish and Portuguese look very similar on paper, they sound completely different and have many "false cognates" and I didn't understand a word.   It took me a while to wash the Spanish out of my Portuguese, but now I've separated the two languages in my head and my Portuguese is excellent.  It's very important to learn the language and read everything you can about the culture if you plan to live here successfully.

I go back to the U.S. twice a year, which helps keep my sanity!  Instant messaging and webcams really help bridge the distance, and it's rare for a day to go by when I'm not in contact with friends and family back home in one form or another.   I actually felt more isolated when I lived in Mexico in the 1990's before the internet was available.  Life in Bahia, Brazil revolves around family and friends, the beach, music, dance and sitting in cafes and bars watching the passing scene.

I've always been a compulsive traveler so I frequently travel around Brazil and go abroad several times a year.   Sometimes I get the "bug" to try another country but Brazil won't let go of me!

We rent a two-bedroom apartment in a very nice upscale neighborhood in Salvador for 600 reais a month, which is about 265 U.S. dollars at the current exchange rate. A foreigner renting the same apartment would most likely pay more, so it's important to get a local to make the deal.  I also bought a small two-bedroom house in a small city about two hours from Salvador for U.S. $11,000.  While that sounds like a bargain, the small city is not near the beach nor a particularly interesting place, but my in-laws live there so we got a good deal, and it's a great place to get away from the bustle of the big city and appreciate small town customs, especially during local festivals and holidays.

Brazil is not cheap!  Some basics like fresh food and other essentials are cheaper than in the U.S., but many things are more expensive.  Utilities like electricity and telephone service are sky high.  While the cost of big ticket items like appliances has come down during the past few years, they are still quite expensive.  Brazil has one of the highest tax rates in the world.   There is little relation between the very low salaries and the high consumer prices.   The high cost for so many consumer items  is the reason why my suitcases are bulging when I return to Brazil after a visit to the U.S.!  You have to learn to live simply and make things last.

The locals are the reason I moved to Bahia!  They are warm, friendly, vivacious, fun-loving, crazy, wild, forgiving and a million other superlatives.   Bahians will take you into their lives and never let you go.  They can also drive you crazy but that's part of the magic.  They are  thrilled and supportive when you make an effort to learn their language.  Bahians are very forgiving of foreign eccentricities.  I felt at home very quickly in Bahia.

-What are the positive and negative aspects of living in Brazil?

There is never a dull moment in Bahia!  There is always something interesting happening: drums beating, a capoeira circle, a free open-air concert, a lively conversation, a day on the beach, a night of drinking caipirinhas in a sidewalk cafe, a walk through hundreds of centuries of history, or a day trip to the lush, green countryside.  And of course there's Carnaval, the largest street party in the world!

The negatives are the grinding poverty, the high crime rate, being seen as the "rich gringo" who will always come to the rescue, the corruption and the bureaucracy.

-Do you have any tips for our readers about living in Brazil?

Life in Brazil is an emotional roller coaster.  Be prepared to feel like you've never been happier in your life one moment, and the next moment feel like you want to get on the next plane home!  Brazilians are a "group" culture and don't have a strong need to be alone, so make sure you give yourself some quiet "private" time to collect your thoughts.  Locking myself in my bedroom for a couple of hours does wonders for my mental health!

The website Gringoes.com has loads of great tips and advice on living in Brazil: http://www.gringoes.com

The website Brazzil.com is an excellent source for keeping abreast of current affairs and the news in Brazil: http://www.brazzil.com