Post: #26

Depends really on where in Brazil and also the time in the year and of course, your lifestyle.

In Rio/SP, if you live like a local, in the lower end hoods and not going out much, you can make it on I'd say 1500/month. If you want to live it up, then you'd need twice that amount easily. If you want to live in Ipanema/Copabacana, in a nice pad near the beach, your rent alone can be in the 1500/2k/month. In Sao Paulo, you could do it all: live on the cheap but not have much fun living in a not so good hood.

The best bang for the buck in Brasil remains the 2nd tier cities such as Joao Pessoa, Belem or Fortaleza in the Northeast. Another good option would be Belo Horizonte: neat, safe, big enough to have a lot of talent and eye candy but not as big as Sao Paulo which is humangous. Advantages of BH: among the best talent in all of Brasil, Mineiros are not as out going as say the Cariocas but once you make a Mineiro friend, you can count on them and they are your friend for life. Mineiras are among the best in all of Brasil, not only in terms of looks but also attitude as they are more traditional and make great gfs and wives as per my brasilian friends and expats living there that I know.

Cost wise, I'd figure 2k/month is doable if you don't go crazy and party out every night in the top clubs or go eat at the top places. With 3k/month, you'd be having a pretty sweet lifestyle there. 4k/month and you'd be among the top 5% of the people there.
Chochemonger was there not long ago, maybe he can chip in with current or at least, more recent prices there. Anyone else in here that's currently in BH or was not long ago?

Curitiba, in the south, can be done with 1k/month if living like a local. 1.5k would offer you more options in terms of logistics and at 2k/month, you'd be having good fun there.

Brasilia, forget it without a car as the city is made for cars not for humans and without a healthy budget. I'd figure a minimum would be 3-4k/month there.

I haven't been in Brasil for over 5 years so things have gone up no doubt. Would be good to see those who are currently in Brasil or been there not long ago to chip in regarding the costs.

If you go during Carnaval, double if not triple those figures, specially for accommodations in Rio, Sao Paulo, Salvador and Florianopolis or Floripa. If money is an issue, best time to go is after Carnaval in March/April/May or the best time IMO for weather/costs and lack of gringos/tourists is in the fall (Sept-Oct).

(03-13-2013 07:42 PM)Prince X Wrote:  Hey man, coud ya do a quick cost of living for Brazil in general on a monthly basis?

Post: #27

(03-13-2013 09:41 PM)Vacancier Permanent Wrote:  Depends really on where in Brazil and also the time in the year and of course, your lifestyle.

In Rio/SP, if you live like a local, in the lower end hoods and not going out much, you can make it on I'd say 1500/month. If you want to live it up, then you'd need twice that amount easily. If you want to live in Ipanema/Copabacana, in a nice pad near the beach, your rent alone can be in the 1500/2k/month. In Sao Paulo, you could do it all: live on the cheap but not have much fun living in a not so good hood.

The best bang for the buck in Brasil remains the 2nd tier cities such as Joao Pessoa, Belem or Fortaleza in the Northeast. Another good option would be Belo Horizonte: neat, safe, big enough to have a lot of talent and eye candy but not as big as Sao Paulo which is humangous. Advantages of BH: among the best talent in all of Brasil, Mineiros are not as out going as say the Cariocas but once you make a Mineiro friend, you can count on them and they are your friend for life. Mineiras are among the best in all of Brasil, not only in terms of looks but also attitude as they are more traditional and make great gfs and wives as per my brasilian friends and expats living there that I know.

Cost wise, I'd figure 2k/month is doable if you don't go crazy and party out every night in the top clubs or go eat at the top places. With 3k/month, you'd be having a pretty sweet lifestyle there. 4k/month and you'd be among the top 5% of the people there.
Chochemonger was there not long ago, maybe he can chip in with current or at least, more recent prices there. Anyone else in here that's currently in BH or was not long ago?

Curitiba, in the south, can be done with 1k/month if living like a local. 1.5k would offer you more options in terms of logistics and at 2k/month, you'd be having good fun there.

Brasilia, forget it without a car as the city is made for cars not for humans and without a healthy budget. I'd figure a minimum would be 3-4k/month there.

I haven't been in Brasil for over 5 years so things have gone up no doubt. Would be good to see those who are currently in Brasil or been there not long ago to chip in regarding the costs.

If you go during Carnaval, double if not triple those figures, specially for accommodations in Rio, Sao Paulo, Salvador and Florianopolis or Floripa. If money is an issue, best time to go is after Carnaval in March/April/May or the best time IMO for weather/costs and lack of gringos/tourists is in the fall (Sept-Oct).

(03-13-2013 07:42 PM)Prince X Wrote:  Hey man, coud ya do a quick cost of living for Brazil in general on a monthly basis?

The analysis in bold...is particularly helpful. Only about 8 more weeks to go till I head down for @ least 3 mos. I shall contribute.

Post: #28

Glad it was helpful yb13! Looking forward to your reports. Where in Brasil are you going and for how long? How's your Portuguese? To really get the most out of it, really no secrets here: invest as much time as you can in learning the lingo. Download the Pimsleur Brazilian Portuguese audios from any of the torrents sites. Get on Orkut, the Brazilian FB and make contacts there. I'd suggest making contacts with local guys as they will be more beneficial to girls. They can be a great asset in plugging you up into their social circles since the hottest and best girls are accessed through social networks. Also, these cool guys can take you to parties that you would have no way of getting into on your own. Also, I'd prefer making guy friends before hand over girl friends as with a girl, you'd be pretty much stuck with her while with a guy, you'd have a lot more options into the kind of girls you really want to go after and not the low hanging fruits so to speak.

If you have an iphone, download this app: it's free and it's da bomb!
TuneInRadio, you can listen live to radio stations from around the world and there are a ton of stations from Brasil. Listen to some cool ones in Rio to listen to the music which is among the best, if not the best and richest in the world and is fabulous overall.

Some radio suggestions: in Rio, Radio FM O Dia, lots of good music, specially pagode, samba and baile funk.

Radio Furacao 2000: only baile funk. Good stuff for dancing with the "loose" girls.

Radio Samba dos Gemeos, best sambas from the 80's and 90's. I love Samba so I listen to this a lot.

I love football or fuetbol and love listening to Brasilian commentators for matches as they show tremendous and unmatchable passion during the matches. Radio Jovem Pan AM (from Sao Paulo) is great for that specially during the weekends when the Brasilian matches are played).

Is this your first time in Brasil? I'm sure you'll have a blast! Enjoy and report back!

(03-13-2013 10:03 PM)yb13 Wrote:  The analysis in bold...is particularly helpful. Only about 8 more weeks to go till I head down for @ least 3 mos. I shall contribute.

Post: #29

(03-13-2013 10:50 PM)Vacancier Permanent Wrote:  Glad it was helpful yb13! Looking forward to your reports. Where in Brasil are you going and for how long? How's your Portuguese? To really get the most out of it, really no secrets here: invest as much time as you can in learning the lingo. Download the Pimsleur Brazilian Portuguese audios from any of the torrents sites. Get on Orkut, the Brazilian FB and make contacts there. I'd suggest making contacts with local guys as they will be more beneficial to girls. They can be a great asset in plugging you up into their social circles since the hottest and best girls are accessed through social networks. Also, these cool guys can take you to parties that you would have no way of getting into on your own. Also, I'd prefer making guy friends before hand over girl friends as with a girl, you'd be pretty much stuck with her while with a guy, you'd have a lot more options into the kind of girls you really want to go after and not the low hanging fruits so to speak.

If you have an iphone, download this app: it's free and it's da bomb!
TuneInRadio, you can listen live to radio stations from around the world and there are a ton of stations from Brasil. Listen to some cool ones in Rio to listen to the music which is among the best, if not the best and richest in the world and is fabulous overall.

Some radio suggestions: in Rio, Radio FM O Dia, lots of good music, specially pagode, samba and baile funk.

Radio Furacao 2000: only baile funk. Good stuff for dancing with the "loose" girls.

Radio Samba dos Gemeos, best sambas from the 80's and 90's. I love Samba so I listen to this a lot.

I love football or fuetbol and love listening to Brasilian commentators for matches as they show tremendous and unmatchable passion during the matches. Radio Jovem Pan AM (from Sao Paulo) is great for that specially during the weekends when the Brasilian matches are played).

Is this your first time in Brasil? I'm sure you'll have a blast! Enjoy and report back!

(03-13-2013 10:03 PM)yb13 Wrote:  The analysis in bold...is particularly helpful. Only about 8 more weeks to go till I head down for @ least 3 mos. I shall contribute.

Mt obrigado pelas dicas sobre fazer amigos e o radio no BR. O meu pt sera bastante quando eu for la pq eu completei uma aula intensiva que cobriu materia de quase 3 anos em 8 meses. Sera a minha segunda vez aqui. Ja visitei Porto Alegre, Floripa, and Rio no dezembro de 2011.

Yeah I'll be spending the first 6-8 days between Salvador, Natal, and Praia de Pipa late May but then at least 3 months in Curitiba for a grad school project along with more advanced business grammar classes through a language institution. I will land on my feet by staying with a family of a friend in Curitiba so will naturally have a nice built in social scene. After a week or two, I could rent a room through Easy Quarto in perhaps Batel or Centro (cheaper)..that is if this host family doesn't get attached to me, haha. Will have other stops in Sao Paulo, Belo Horizonte, and Foz do Iguacu during my stay too. The casualty of this trip will likely be Vitoria though..but def next time.

If I get an offer to teach English (working on that process now) in Curitiba, I could be there till December while starting that gig late July. If not, I return home late August to resume my graduate level classes while starting a new IT based job in Texas. I'm sure things will work out for the best whatever happens.

Post: #30

Opa, vejo q vc fala bem portugues! Entao, vc vai se divertir la pra caramba rapaiz! Uma coisa tenho q te avertir, vai fazer frio em CWB em maio. Eu estive la em maio ums anos atras e tinha q comprar uma jacquete. Tipo 10-20 graus durante o dia e pode cair ate 5 ou mesmo ate 0 graus durante a noite.

Switching back to English so that others can also understand/benefit from the info:
Yeah it'll be cold in Curitiba in May. I was there a few years ago in May and during the day, temperatures would be in the teens while at night, they would fall to 5 or even 0 degrees celsius at times. I wasn't expecting it to be that cold so I had to buy a jacket when I was there.
Centro is awesome as far as logistics are concerned since it's smack down in downtown and there are 2 or 3 universities in the area. When I was there, I was in a hotel in Centro and it was a gold mine for day game there. Didn't game much at the time as I was unfortunately tied to a girl there at the time. Batel is where the higher end nightlife and upper class restaurants/bars and condos are located. Your costs are definitely going to be lower in Centro vs Batel.

It's good that that you'll have an existing social circle to get plugged into right away. If you get the chance, venture out to Blumenau, a small city not far from Curitiba where you would think you have stepped back in time into a small German city. Lots of eye candy, think tall, blonde Germanic types. Very unspoilt, un-jaded.

Oh and if you can, go to Floripa from CWB by car or by train. The views are breathe taking. However, not sure about whether it'd be hot enough to enjoy the stunning beaches in Floripa in May but if you go there, you might get lucky and catch a few sunny days and be prepared to be blown away by the talent there.

Oh and one last tip to everyone going to Brasil: DO go and watch a football match at the stadium. It's nothing like anything or any sport in North America. Going to live sporting events in NA is totally lame, no atmosphere, no fun around you. All you hear is just the retarded 'D-Fence" makes me laugh each time. Go watch a football game in Brasil and you will be blown away by the atmoshpere, the banners, the awesome choregraphies of the fan groups, singing, and all the flags, big banners all around, the ambiance and partying going around you, the chanting, dancing and not to mention, the hot hot hot girls everywhere. Prime gaming spots!

But do not go there wearing a local football jersey specially if you're not familiar with the clubs as you may end up wearing the wrong team's jersey and/or have your seat in the wrong part of the stadium. In that case, the only thing you can do is praying. Football is religion in Brasil and the rivalires between the teams, specially those from the same city are very fierce! But other than that, some of the best, most fun experiences I've had around Brasil and Argentina, have been going to watch live football matches. Absolutely mind blowing!

Enjoy your trip man!

(03-13-2013 11:17 PM)yb13 Wrote:  Mt obrigado pelas dicas sobre fazer amigos e o radio no BR. O meu pt sera bastante quando eu for la pq eu completei uma aula intensiva que cobriu materia de quase 3 anos em 8 meses. Sera a minha segunda vez aqui. Ja visitei Porto Alegre, Floripa, and Rio no dezembro de 2011.

Yeah I'll be spending the first 6-8 days between Salvador, Natal, and Praia de Pipa late May but then at least 3 months in Curitiba for a grad school project along with more advanced business grammar classes through a language institution. I will land on my feet by staying with a family of a friend in Curitiba so will naturally have a nice built in social scene. After a week or two, I could rent a room through Easy Quarto in perhaps Batel or Centro (cheaper)..that is if this host family doesn't get attached to me, haha. Will have other stops in Sao Paulo, Belo Horizonte, and Foz do Iguacu during my stay too. The casualty of this trip will likely be Vitoria though..but def next time.

If I get an offer to teach English (working on that process now) in Curitiba, I could be there till December while starting that gig late July. If not, I return home late August to resume my graduate level classes while starting a new IT based job in Texas. I'm sure things will work out for the best whatever happens.

Post: #31

Quote:Oh and one last tip to everyone going to Brasil: DO go and watch a football match at the stadium. It's nothing like anything or any sport in North America. Going to live sporting events in NA is totally lame, no atmosphere, no fun around you. All you hear is just the retarded 'D-Fence" makes me laugh each time. Go watch a football game in Brasil and you will be blown away by the atmoshpere, the banners, the awesome choregraphies of the fan groups, singing, and all the flags, big banners all around, the ambiance and partying going around you, the chanting, dancing and not to mention, the hot hot hot girls everywhere. Prime gaming spots!

But do not go there wearing a local football jersey specially if you're not familiar with the clubs as you may end up wearing the wrong team's jersey and/or have your seat in the wrong part of the stadium. In that case, the only thing you can do is praying. Football is religion in Brasil and the rivalires between the teams, specially those from the same city are very fierce! But other than that, some of the best, most fun experiences I've had around Brasil and Argentina, have been going to watch live football matches. Absolutely mind blowing!

i have to agree with VP the soccer game i went to in argentina was fucking nuts. by far the most crazy ambience for a sporting event ive been to in my life. for comparison i went to an NBA game maybe 2 years ago and was bored to tears.

Post: #32

Most def. Yeah I get that Curitiba has the highest altitude and coldest temps with regards to major cities in Brazil. I look forward to experiencing my first southern hem winter at colder temps as I once did the opposite being Summer Dec 2011! I also think the colder weather would be a nice balance for my studies, research, partying, and gaming too. Centro looks like a reasonable place & doesn't appear to be too far from Batel if I head out there 1-2 times a week.

I know some gals in Floripa I'll definitely be visiting from diff social circles...though I'm not really all that motivated to go there off peak as I'm not super fond of it..Blumeneau will be on my list too along with Londrina/Morretes in the state I'll be living in. I know that Parana has the 2nd highest Asian population outside of Sao Paulo in Brazil so would like to test the waters for data sheet purposes.

I feel well prepared for Southern Brazil bc of my resources and past experiences visiting. Now all I gotta do is do more studying on BH, Sampa, and Natal through the diff threads on this forum...

Post: #33

Quote:Oh and one last tip to everyone going to Brasil: DO go and watch a football match at the stadium. It's nothing like anything or any sport in North America. Going to live sporting events in NA is totally lame, no atmosphere, no fun around you. All you hear is just the retarded 'D-Fence" makes me laugh each time. Go watch a football game in Brasil and you will be blown away by the atmoshpere, the banners, the awesome choregraphies of the fan groups, singing, and all the flags, big banners all around, the ambiance and partying going around you, the chanting, dancing and not to mention, the hot hot hot girls everywhere. Prime gaming spots!

But do not go there wearing a local football jersey specially if you're not familiar with the clubs as you may end up wearing the wrong team's jersey and/or have your seat in the wrong part of the stadium. In that case, the only thing you can do is praying. Football is religion in Brasil and the rivalires between the teams, specially those from the same city are very fierce! But other than that, some of the best, most fun experiences I've had around Brasil and Argentina, have been going to watch live football matches. Absolutely mind blowing!

Lil' off topic but this post actually counts for all of Latin America (or most of it). Football (saying soccer is gay) is a passion here.

People fight, there are criminal gangs dedicated to their teams and loads of crazy shit happening here, all related to football.

VP's description of a football match is on point. You won't experience that stuff on other places. It's just how things are here.

And the jersey part had me rolling hahaha. There's a joke that if you go into the wrong zone of the stadium with the rivals jersey you will get killed although it may actually happen... or at least you'll get raped

Post: #34

Yeah football is a religion in all of South America, Europe, Africa and most parts of Asia, that's why it's called the world's game.

Warning: the following is a long post, nothing to do with cost of living nor girls, but rather about a potentially life threatening situation that I experienced as a result of ending up in the wrong part of the stadium, wearing almost the wrong jersey in Buenos Airees, Argentina.

Buenos Aires, May 2007. I went to a Boca match in the Copa Libertadores, the South American Champions League 1/4 final first leg between Boca Juniors, the most popular team in Argentina and Velez Sarsfield, another Argentinian team. The day prior, I had gone to a tour to the legendary Boca stadium, la Bombonera and loved it. Feeling adventurous, I ventured outside the group and bought a ticket on my own for the big Boca game the next day against Velez from a tout on the streets. Not sure how but I never checked to see in which section of the stadium was the ticket. I just paid the ticket (realizing later on that I had paid 3 times the amount of the regular price of that ticket but that's another story...) without checking anything. The whole day, I was very looking forward to this match and seeing one of the biggest names in world football, Boca Juniors, live at one of the most legendary stadiums and wanted to wear my newly purchased official Boca jersey for the match.

As the match approached, somehow, I felt like wearing another jersey and was hesitating between wearing my nice Brasil jersey I had bought the week before in Curitiba or the jersey of the team of my heart, AC Milan. That was the day after the 1/2 final return of the Champions League where Milan had destroyed Manchester United 3-0 (the year of our last real good team when we won the Big Cup in 2007). So from wanting to wear my Boca jersey to my new Brasil shirt, I didn't know which to wear to the game. Finally, still feeling pumped after Milan's historic ass wiping of United, I ended up wearing my black Maldini away Milan jersey to the Boca game.

So off I went to the Bombonera wearing my Milan jersey. As I got to the stadium, I realized that my ticket was not in the middle of the Boca fans but rather among the away visiting team, Velez. I was like what the hell??? I wanted to be in the Boca part of the stadium. So after overcoming my disappointment, I go to the area where my seat was located, in the middle of the Velez's most die hard fans where I was surrounded by the toughest, rougher looking "fans" you could imagine. I carefully scanned the crowd and sat besides an older man who was with his teenager daughter (maybe 12 years old). I sat besides him as I thought he would be the safest bet in the area as I didn't want to be near the crazy ones.

The old man started chatting with me and in my Portunhol/italian told him that I'm a Milan fan. He gave me the thumbs up for my Maldini jersey and for Milan ass raping United the day before since the Argies hate with a passion England and anything English. Despite this, I still felt very uneasy being around the most hardcore, toughest looking fans, or rather thugs from Velez Sarsfield.

The match started and Boca got a few crucial calls for them and the Velez keeper got sent off for going karateka style on the Boca forward, el loco Palermo. Inside me, I was happy as a Boca fan but of course, I couldn't express it for fear of being publicly lynched if not more. The first half ended with Boca leading 2-0 and a man advantage. Of course, everyone around me were cursing at the ref like there's no tomorrow and against Boca in general for having bought he game before hand. The tension got even higher as Boca got a soft penalty gifted to them by the ref. People around me were going furax and some of the huge guys were even tearing their seats and throwing them at the pitch towards the Boca players. Things got really tense to say the least!

Finally half time came and I couldn't wait to get the hell out of there. I found my way out of the stadium and ended up in the Boca bairo which is not the safest of all at night as it's one of the most dangerous hoods in all of BA. I don't think I've ran that fast in the last few years as I was sprinting as fast as I could outside of the vicinity of the stadium and of the Boca bairo. Finally I got to the main street and there, no cab and when there was a cab, they wouldn't stop for safety reasons. I kept running for about a good 10 minutes until I got to a major intersection and then, was able to finally get into a cab and back into the Calle Florida in the heart of downtown BA where my hotel was located.

When I told the reception guy at my hotel about my crazy adventure and showed him the ticket I had bought the day before from a tout. Looking at the ticket and the section it was in, he told me I was very lucky to have made it out of there alive for 2 reasons: 1) the Velez's section I was at contained some of the biggest thugs in all of Argentina; 2) finding yourself alone, at night in the Boca hood was very dangerous for a local, let alone as a foreigner! He was in total disbelief when I told about me wanting initially to wear my Boca or my Brasil jersey and somehow, someway, ended up to wear my Milan jersey! He told me that I was indeed a very lucky man that night and had I worn either of the Boca or Brasil shirts, I would probably not have made it out of there in one piece. Oh after seeing what I saw during that first half, which has been the longest 45 minutes of football of my entire life, I totally believed that guy! I believe that wearing the Milan shirt and NOT the Brasil shirt or worst of all, my Boca shirt that night, may have very well saved my life. I am not kidding! I was still shaking when I got to my room that night...

Moral of the story: never buy a ticket from a tout in Latin America and I would add, also Europe and if you do, before you give your money to the guy, make sure you're not in the wrong part of the stadium! Oh and do NOT wear a local team shirt during those games as things can and will go crazy! If you have to wear a football jersey, wear a neutral one, a European team or a National team that is NOT seen with too much animosity. (ie do not wear an English team jersey or worst, the English NT or Brazilian NT in Argentina, that would be really asking for it! LOL ). Some example of safe jerseys to wear: Russian NT, Japan NT, Canada or USA NT; wait, do they even have a football team in Canada or the US? or the Ukraine NT or any of the Eastern European countries. That is except if any of these countries is about to play against the South American country that you happen to be at that moment. Use common sense guys!).

So yeah make sure you experience the crazy passion that is football in Latin America, but do it either with an official tour or with a local that you know and trust. Or you could end up in a very dangerous situation...

The actual football is really good, the atmosphere second to none on this planet and if you happen to be lucky to witness a great footballer live, then you will be blown away as I was the two times I watched Boca live at the Bombonera. I still am in awe of Riquelme's vision, passing and ball control. You can see so much while watching a match on tv, it's live that you see the little details that tvs fail to catch: the movements, specially without the ball and how a top player can anticipate and read the play and the way he smoothly yet with extreme precision, caresses the ball the way a playa would caress a girl, like a flower. Totally captivating and mesmerizing!

(03-14-2013 12:16 AM)Titan Wrote:  And the jersey part had me rolling hahaha. There's a joke that if you go into the wrong zone of the stadium with the rivals jersey you will get killed although it may actually happen... or at least you'll get raped

Post: #35

Ha. Great story.

How would have a Spain or Ireland jersey played out?

Post: #36

In Argentina, I would avoid any UK team due to the political animosity, if not pure and unadulterated hatred that Argentina has towards England. While Ireland (or Scotland, Wales) is NOT England, the average Joe or rather, Juan, in the streets and in the stadiums of Argentina may not know the difference and to them, it's all the same. Spain, tough call. The Argies still have some hatred towards the Spaniards and Spain due to historical reasons. In all honesty, the safest jersey to wear in Argentina in a football match is an Argentina # 10 Maradona shirt. The man is a living god there. His pictures are everywhere, in banks, hospitals even inside churches you will more Maradona pics that statues of Christ!

If you somehow end up in the wrong part of a stadium in Argentina, I wouldn't start talking in English. I would use whatever or however basic Spanish you'd have. If no Spanish skills, use a latin language, with Italian being the prefered one as the Argies consider themselves the Italians of South America and are in love with Italy since a huge portion of the Argies have an Italian heritage.

In Brasil, I would avoid wearing my French NT jersey since France is the ONLY country in the world which has a winning record against Brasil in the World Cup. We eliminated them in 1986 in the 1/4 finals (in what is highly regarded as the most beautiful match of all time in World Cup history); we destroyed them in 1998 in the final in that famous and legendary ass wiping 3-0 (the biggest loss ever that Brasil has had) and in 2006 again in the 1/4 finals after a fantastic team performance lead by a magestic Zidane, the greatest player I have seen in my life. However, in Brasil, an England NT jersey is very safe as they respect and appreciate the English. As a a very broad rule of thumb, anything that the Argentinians love, the Brasilians hate and vice versa. Needless to say the hate each other with a passion and the matches between Argentina and Brasil are more than a football match, it's literally a WAR!

(03-14-2013 07:36 PM)thegmanifesto Wrote:  Ha. Great story.

How would have a Spain or Ireland jersey played out?

Post: #37

(03-14-2013 07:56 PM)Vacancier Permanent Wrote:  In Argentina, I would avoid any UK team due to the political animosity, if not pure and unadulterated hatred that Argentina has towards England. While Ireland (or Scotland, Wales) is NOT England, the average Joe or rather, Juan, in the streets and in the stadiums of Argentina may not know the difference and to them, it's all the same. Spain, tough call. The Argies still have some hatred towards the Spaniards and Spain due to historical reasons. In all honesty, the safest jersey to wear in Argentina in a football match is an Argentina # 10 Maradona shirt. The man is a living god there. His pictures are everywhere, in banks, hospitals even inside churches you will more Maradona pics that statues of Christ!

If you somehow end up in the wrong part of a stadium in Argentina, I wouldn't start talking in English. I would use whatever or however basic Spanish you'd have. If no Spanish skills, use a latin language, with Italian being the prefered one as the Argies consider themselves the Italians of South America and are in love with Italy since a huge portion of the Argies have an Italian heritage.

In Brasil, I would avoid wearing my French NT jersey since France is the ONLY country in the world which has a winning record against Brasil in the World Cup. We eliminated them in 1986 in the 1/4 finals (in what is highly regarded as the most beautiful match of all time in World Cup history); we destroyed them in 1998 in the final in that famous and legendary ass wiping 3-0 (the biggest loss ever that Brasil has had) and in 2006 again in the 1/4 finals after a fantastic team performance lead by a magestic Zidane, the greatest player I have seen in my life. However, in Brasil, an England NT jersey is very safe as they respect and appreciate the English. As a a very broad rule of thumb, anything that the Argentinians love, the Brasilians hate and vice versa. Needless to say the hate each other with a passion and the matches between Argentina and Brasil are more than a football match, it's literally a WAR!

(03-14-2013 07:36 PM)thegmanifesto Wrote:  Ha. Great story.

How would have a Spain or Ireland jersey played out?

Uruguay WON the World cup final 2-1 in Maracana stadium, Rio de Janeiro against BRASIL in 1950, and against 200000 (yes, two hundred thousand) brazilian fanatics ("torcedores") , the most packed game in the history of football. People commited suicide, journalists retired professionally, it was brasil worst defeat ever. Even in that time Brasil only needed a draw to be world champion, and it even was winning the match 1-0 at the start of the second period of the game...

The legendary match is known as the "Maracanazo":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maracanazo

France? yeah right....

Post: #38

True about Uruguay and what a shock it was at the time, beating the Mighty Brazil team, which had destroyed all the teams in its passage in that tournament, including Uruguay in the first round 8-3. And at home, in the Maracana, the biggest stadium in the world, built specifically for that event.

It is also true that in each world cup, when Brasil loses, there are a few hundreds in Brasil who commit sucide or who die of heart attack. I'm not kidding, it may sound absurd but in Brasil, football is truly religion. When the national team plays a World Cup game, companies let their employees go home early other wise, nobody would show up to work.

However, I don't understand what you meant with your remark about France. I never wrote that France have a better record than Brasil in World Cups. No team in the world, as a matter of fact, does. What I did write and this is an irrefutable FACT, is that France is the ONLY team in the world with a winning record against Brasil in the World Cup.

The last time Brasil beat France in a World Cup was in 1958 in the 1/2 final in Sweden with a certain Pelé and Garrincha, probably the 2 best players of all time. The last 3 meetings in the World Cup have all ended with France beating Brasil: in 1986, 1998 and 2006.

And if you want to add other official international tournaments:
France beat Brasil in the 1/2 final of the 2001 Confederations Cup in Japan/Korea. France also beat Brasil in the final of the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

And if you want to add friendly matches, France beat Brasil yet again last time they played in February 2011 in Paris 1-0. The last time Brasil beat France in any match? A friendly match in August 1993 in Paris 2-0.

(03-14-2013 08:32 PM)Scarecr0w Wrote:  Uruguay WON the World cup final 2-1 in Maracana stadium, Rio de Janeiro against BRASIL in 1950, and against 200000 (yes, two hundred thousand) brazilian fanatics ("torcedores") , the most packed game in the history of football. People commited suicide, journalists retired professionally, it was brasil worst defeat ever. Even in that time Brasil only needed a draw to be world champion, and it even was winning the match 1-0 at the start of the second period of the game...

The legendary match is known as the "Maracanazo":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maracanazo

France? yeah right....

Post: #39

Back to the original topic of cost of living in the various cities around the world. A great thread started by Beyond Borders.

/thread-18230....+of+living

I'd love to see a break down of costs in the following cities:

Porto & Lisboa, Portugal.
Valencia, Sevilla, Barcelona, Madrid, San Sebastian, Spain.
Roma, Milano, Bari, Italy.
Paris, Toulouse, Biarritz, France.
Sofia, Bulgaria.
Budapest, Hungary.
Prague, Czech Republic.
Spilt, Sarajevo, Croatia.
Kiev, or 2nd tier city in Ukraine.
Poznan, Poland.
La Valette, Malta.
Tirana, Albania.
Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

Bali & Jakarta, Indonesia.
Singapore.
Seoul, South Korea.
Hong Kong.
Nagoya, Kobe, Hiroshima, Sapporo, Japan.
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Montevideo, Uruguay.
Medellin, Cali, Barranquilla, Colombia.
Belem, Joaoa Pessoa, Sao Luis, Brasil.

Data sheets also for Central America, in Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Guatemala. In other words, we need to have the entire world mapped out! We have plenty of guys traveling and living around the world, so it shouldn't be hard to come up with a detailed and recent data sheet on the cost of living in these places.

Post: #40

Washington, DC

Hotels:

$120-$600+

Bars:

$5-$12 a shot (not including top shelf bourbons/scotches)
- drinks are mostly $6-$14
*happy hour prices from 4-7 vastly differ, but you will save considerably

Cabs:

$7+ in DC
- outside city varies, but you can pay up to $25 to $30 for most suburbs outside of city limits (Fairfax is likely near $50 to $60)

Rental Apartments:

- in DC is like $1200-$1600 for studio in Dupont, AdMo, Columbia Heights, Georgetown, Glover Park, Capitol Hill, Eastern Market, Cleveland Park, Chinatown and Logan Circle ... (sorry, the rest of the neighborhoods are either ghetto or too expensive--Penn Quarter). Real estate guys chime in, please. Stay in Northwest DC for the most part. Capitol Hill and Eastern Market touch NE and SE, but I think the closer you stay near the Capitol Building, you are safer. It's still too messy if you are staying in Columbia Heights or Capitol Hill and Eastern Market. You want to be around where it is known to be safe... and girls will think the same.

- 1 bedrooms are likely $1600-$3500. If you do roommates, you should probably learn to drop that shit and get real. It's ok when you're fresh out of college, but you'll be treated as such afterwards if you don't move up. DC broads will ask what your living situation is like and where you live to assess your likely income level. There is no question about it. It will happen and you will be categorized.

Get something close to dowtown like Dupont or Logan. You will be centrally located and will be able to walk to most bars in DC. That saves money with cabs and you will be logistically close enough to bars to walk girls to your place. Arlington is a different story, but if you choose to go that route, live in Clarendon or Court House. You might save $200 in rent, but not much. You will still be paying for cabs and logistical difficulties if you're trying to pull from DC to Arlington. If you go to bars in Arlington, drink prices are not much different than DC. You need to live close to one of the shitty bars there if you plan to close at bars in those neighborhoods.

Post: #41

(03-15-2013 12:49 AM)slothpiece Wrote:  Washington, DC

Hotels:

$120-$600+

Bars:

$5-$12 a shot (not including top shelf bourbons/scotches)
- drinks are mostly $6-$14
*happy hour prices from 4-7 vastly differ, but you will save considerably

Cabs:

$7+ in DC
- outside city varies, but you can pay up to $25 to $30 for most suburbs outside of city limits (Fairfax is likely near $50 to $60)

Rental Apartments:

- in DC is like $1200-$1600 for studio in Dupont, AdMo, Columbia Heights, Georgetown, Glover Park, Capitol Hill, Eastern Market, Cleveland Park, Chinatown and Logan Circle ... (sorry, the rest of the neighborhoods are either ghetto or too expensive--Penn Quarter). Real estate guys chime in, please. Stay in Northwest DC for the most part. Capitol Hill and Eastern Market touch NE and SE, but I think the closer you stay near the Capitol Building, you are safer. It's still too messy if you are staying in Columbia Heights or Capitol Hill and Eastern Market. You want to be around where it is known to be safe... and girls will think the same.

- 1 bedrooms are likely $1600-$3500. If you do roommates, you should probably learn to drop that shit and get real. It's ok when you're fresh out of college, but you'll be treated as such afterwards if you don't move up. DC broads will ask what your living situation is like and where you live to assess your likely income level. There is no question about it. It will happen and you will be categorized.

Get something close to dowtown like Dupont or Logan. You will be centrally located and will be able to walk to most bars in DC. That saves money with cabs and you will be logistically close enough to bars to walk girls to your place. Arlington is a different story, but if you choose to go that route, live in Clarendon or Court House. You might save $200 in rent, but not much. You will still be paying for cabs and logistical difficulties if you're trying to pull from DC to Arlington. If you go to bars in Arlington, drink prices are not much different than DC. You need to live close to one of the shitty bars there if you plan to close at bars in those neighborhoods.

Whoa. The cost of living and high demands of the low quality women for such a soso scene appears frightening. Funny enough, I am visiting a friend in DC again for a 4 day stay before I head out to Brazil this May.

Post: #42

Medellin:

It all depends how you want to live there (And how long), but assuming you want to live in a neighborhood that's somewhat decent and safe...

Apartments:
You can get an apartment starting at around $300, possibly even cheaper, especially if you plan on living there for a while. I paid $500 (Only rented for a month. It was more expensive by the week. You could probably find the same place for 350 or 400 if you are renting long term) a month for mine. It was a room in a 4 room apartment. Very nice facilities and in the nicest part of town.

Food:
This really all depends. There are plenty of places in even the nicest neighborhoods where you can eat $5 lunch. It will be a full meal and you will have a choice of chicken, streak, or fish, along with rice, salad, beans/soup, arepa, and a juice. Many places in Parque Lleras have 30-50% off before 7pm. A typical good plate in Lleras is going to cost you close to $12 full price, but you can also get lots of good food cheaper. For example, I would get a really good, chicken al lemon (Half chicken), for around $9 at full price. If you want to go to a nice restaurant, nothing over the top, plan on spending about $15 for your meal and a beer. Street food is cheap.

Taxis:
Taxis in Medellin are super cheap. The minimum is around $2.5. You can rent a taxi for an hour for right around $13. to get a ride half way across town shouldn't cost you more than $6 or 7.

Booze:
I found booze to be fairly cheap compared to what I'm used to paying. A beer is going to run you around $2-3. Imports are a little more expensive, maybe $4 depending on what you get. There are lot of happy hour spots, but it's not really 2x1 (For beer), it's more like 2x1.5, it's strange. They'll do lots of happy hours where you can get 3 cocktails for around $10, which isn't a bad deal (At a lot of these places cocktails are $8-10!). A typical cocktail should run you about $4-6.

Spanish classes:
You should pay no more than $10 an hour for a private lesson. A friend of mine told me he paid around $180 for 2 week classes in EAFIT. The classes were 4 hours a day.

Metro:
The buses and metro are about $.75 to take and the metro should be safe just about all hours it's open, which i believe to be around 11 pm. the metro is super clean and nice. Good place to meet cute girls as well.

Club Entrance:
Typical club entrance will only run you from about $3-6. I saw a couple places where it was around $15, and I'm sure there are some exclusive spots that are even more. Many places don't charge cover.

Post: #43

InternationalPlayboy,
Awesome! Thank you for your sheet on the cost of living in Medellin, a city I'm really interested in spending some time.
How did you find the apart you were staying at? Did you book it online or once on the ground, by networking with the people you met and or pounding the pavement?

You mention your place was a room in an apartment. Hum...not sure I'd want that, I'd much rather have my own place. When you say you can get apartments starting at 300, are you talking about a room in an appartment or your own apartment with no one else to share it with? Are you talking about furnished ones or with nothing? I'd want a furnished apartment for myself, with no one else to share it with. How much do these usually go in a decent bairro?

Anyone has any info to drop on the other Colombian cities I mentioned above? (Cali, Bogota, Barranquilla, but also Armenia etc...)?

Thanks guys!

(03-15-2013 03:07 PM)InternationPlayboy Wrote:  Medellin:

Post: #44

What are some of the cheapest European cities with hot girls? I know Budapest is really cheap.

Post: #45

I'd expect cities like Bratislava in Slovakia, Ljubljana in Slovenia, Zagreb in Croatia, Timisoara in Romania, Chisnau in Moldovia, Minsk in Belarus to fit the bill on what you're looking for. Just like any 2nd tier city in any of the EE countries. Just look at a map, pick any city and go there and you should find what you are looking for.

Speaking of Budapest, have you been there? Would love to see a cost of living data sheet on that.

(03-15-2013 03:30 PM)AlbertoDelMuerto Wrote:  What are some of the cheapest European cities with hot girls? I know Budapest is really cheap.

Post: #46

I haven't been anywhere in Europe, but London. I'm planning a Europe trip, as we speak, and I am only looking to go to the cheapest cities.

Post: #47

(03-15-2013 03:28 PM)Vacancier Permanent Wrote:  InternationalPlayboy,
Awesome! Thank you for your sheet on the cost of living in Medellin, a city I'm really interested in spending some time.
How did you find the apart you were staying at? Did you book it online or once on the ground, by networking with the people you met and or pounding the pavement?

You mention your place was a room in an apartment. Hum...not sure I'd want that, I'd much rather have my own place. When you say you can get apartments starting at 300, are you talking about a room in an appartment or your own apartment with no one else to share it with? Are you talking about furnished ones or with nothing? I'd want a furnished apartment for myself, with no one else to share it with. How much do these usually go in a decent bairro?

Anyone has any info to drop on the other Colombian cities I mentioned above? (Cali, Bogota, Barranquilla, but also Armenia etc...)?

Thanks guys!

(03-15-2013 03:07 PM)InternationPlayboy Wrote:  Medellin:

No pob Vancier. I booked mine on Airbnb, but it's cheaper talking to the guy yourself. Next time I'll do that since I have all his info. Even if though, you should still be able to find a one bedroom place for $500 a month if you planned on staying there for a couple months, even in a nice neighborhood. A friend of mine was living in a 2 bedroom for $350, in Envigado, which is only a barrio or two away from Poblado (Pretty much nicest area of town, at least with nightlife). He wasn't in the nicest neighborhood, but not the worst neighborhood either. It was fairly safe. It all depends what you want though. I feel like you like to live fairly large. If you want something impressive, you can spend just about any amount of money out there. But I feel pretty certain that you could get something nice and impressive for $7-800. Also, another option besides Airbnb that is much cheaper is Compartoapto.com. I didn't look around the site too much, but it should be able to give you an idea. You have to pay to use it, but it's super cheap if you are really interested. Check out Airbnb though to get an idea of what you would be paying for a one bedroom. Remember, many of the places give you much better deals if you book for a month. If you plan on staying longer, you can also talk them down. It may be the best idea to only book for a night or two and then talk to the owner and try and get him down more from what the site is offering. Oh, I forgot to throw in the price for a maid, though if you do rent off one of these sites they should have a maid come weekly. You can get a maid for $15 a day, maybe cheaper or a little more expensive depending on the size of your place.

Added: I was actually paying more than I should have been for my spot, but I didn't mind. Many people showed me deals that were better than mine cost wise, but then I factored in how much I would be paying in cabs and figured out I would only be saving about $5 a day, which for me wasn't an issue because I really liked the place. It was in a great area, great facilities (Pool, gym, little soccer field, and a playground for the kids). The guy who owned the place was awesome too. Any time we needed anything in the apartment, as long as it was reasonable, he made sure we had it within a couple days. My roommate complained about slow internet, so he actually went and bought the faster internet package. Even so, I was still paying more than I would have been had I wanted to stay 3 months. If you want, PM me at any point when you are ready to go down there and I can set you up with a couple people. The guy I rented from has something like 6 different properties, and I believe one is a one bedroom or studio.

Post: #48

Awesome IP! Thanks man!
Yeah you're right, while I may not be balling G style, I do want to be comfortable as I'm not a hostel guy at all. I like to have a nice pad with all the amenities. To me, a fast internet is the most important for my biz along with being in a good bairo not far from the action is the # 1 thing. Then, other factors such good variety of food options nearby, a pool and a gym in the building I'm at is also important. So I'd say the sweet spot would be around 5-700 and if a place is really nice, 800 a month would be cool. When I go there, I'd be looking at 3-5 months, maybe using one city as my base to explore other cities and areas in Colombia.

I will definitely get in touch with you before going there.
Compartoapto.com is gold!

And girls wise, what would you say is a good site for building a good pipeline to have a golden touch down when I land there? Would you say colombiancupid is the best? or did you use/recommend a different site?

Also, all in, would you say 2k/month is enough to have a comfortable lifestyle, going out 3-4 nights/week, eating out 90% of the time and entertaining 2-3 girls at the same time? Maybe taking a girl and spending a weekend or a week in between at a beach? Just to have some rough idea of what to expect.

Gracias!

Post: #49

(03-15-2013 04:12 PM)Vacancier Permanent Wrote:  Awesome IP! Thanks man!
Yeah you're right, while I may not be balling G style, I do want to be comfortable as I'm not a hostel guy at all. I like to have a nice pad with all the amenities. To me, a fast internet is the most important for my biz along with being in a good bairo not far from the action is the # 1 thing. Then, other factors such good variety of food options nearby, a pool and a gym in the building I'm at is also important. So I'd say the sweet spot would be around 5-700 and if a place is really nice, 800 a month would be cool. When I go there, I'd be looking at 3-5 months, maybe using one city as my base to explore other cities and areas in Colombia.

I will definitely get in touch with you before going there.
Compartoapto.com is gold!

And girls wise, what would you say is a good site for building a good pipeline to have a golden touch down when I land there? Would you say colombiancupid is the best? or did you use/recommend a different site?

Also, all in, would you say 2k/month is enough to have a comfortable lifestyle, going out 3-4 nights/week, eating out 90% of the time and entertaining 2-3 girls at the same time? Maybe taking a girl and spending a weekend or a week in between at a beach? Just to have some rough idea of what to expect.

Gracias!

I think you could definitely pull off a nice spot for 5-700 if you wanted to stay 3-5 months. Even in Poblado, which is the area you are going to want to be in to be in the action. There are lots of good restaurants, and it is really safe. A lot of the good night spots will be outside of Poblado, but there are plenty in Poblado as well. The only problem Poblado is there are so many gringos. But regardless that is where I recommend to live for everything else. All the good night spots are close by. No more than a $5 taxi ride away.

I used Latin American Cupid for pipelining, and there was a lot of good quality. Latin American Cupid was nice because I could use it in other places, such as Lima, when I was on that trip. But if you only plan on staying in Colombia, then it's possible Colombiancupid is better, but I couldn't say cause I haven't checked it out. What I do know though is there is so much talent out there, I would think you should be pretty good with most of the popular sites. Just be warned that a lot of girls off the sites are going to look for you to pay for their cabs and shit like that. But you might get that from a girl you meet in the street too considering her cab ride may cost as much as she makes in a day.

When you say $2000 a month for a comfortable lifestyle with going out and entertaining, you mean strictly for going out and extras right? Not rent included? Even so, if you are looking to entertain 2-3 girls at the same time, and you plan on paying, no way. Look at it this way, if you want to take 2 or 3 girls out to a decent restaurant, it's going to run you at least $12 a meal. If you all have cocktails (Depends if you are doing happy hour) at normal price, you are looking at around $30. If you want to take a girl to the beach, a ticket will run you at least $140 round trip, plus all the extra accomidations. I guess it all depends on what your plan is, but just to take 2-3 girls out a night and pay, you are going to be dropping at least $100.

In Colombia, the girls are expecting you to pay 90% of the time if you invite them out. That's just the culture. Unless you find yourself some rich girls. It's much different than Brazil. I always found myself hanging out with upper class girls in Brazil, because there are a lot of them, and the girls didn't expect me to pay. In Colombia it seems that there isn't as much of an upper class. I think you'll probably find yourself hanging out with quit a few girls that don't have much money. I know I did. It also seemed in Brazil the quality of looks was pretty equal with what class they were in. In Colombia, you are going to find a lot of good looking girls that don't have much money.

It's hard for me to say because I wasn't entertaining 2-3 girls a night, but if you are, 3-4 nights a week, I want to say realistically you are looking at dropping at least 3k a month, but could be upwards of 4-5k. It's cheaper than many cities in the US, but it's still not cheap. To be honest, I flew into Denver and had a drink and a burrito after my flight, and I thought to myself, wow, this is pretty cheap. I honestly think living in Poblado would be pretty close to the equivalent of living in a place like Denver.

Post: #50

Thanks again for all the valuable tips and feedback IP!
Just a clarification, I didn't mean to entertain 2-3 girls going out at the same time every night. I meant 2-3 girls in my rotation (at least initially as that number will increase no doubt with time) and having one of them going out on a particular night.

I don't mind paying a girl's cab ride if the girl is hot and not a straight prepago specially if the girl is coming from a far away bairro.

It's good to know that good looking girls are not only in the higher social classes in Colombia cause the last thing I'd want is a stuck up bitch. I'd much prefer the more humble, sweet and down to earth middle class girl. They make better gfs and are a more enjoyable company in general.

One thing that has been mentioned a lot in here has been the flakyness of the Colombianas. How did you deal with that? I guess the best policy would be to have at least 2-3 girls lined up for every night as a back up should any of them flake, right?

Regarding online dating sites in Colombia, a few guys on this board complained that a) the quality is much better on the ground (which has also been my experience in other countries that I've been to) and b) and above all, that 95% of the girls on online sites geared towards gringos, are prepagos. Did you notice that too with the girls you pipelined online? I'll check Latinamericancupid.com and make a comparison with colombiancupid.
Speaking of online pipelining, how's FB for hunting ground in Colombia?Have you used that and if yes, was it worth the time, was the ROI good?

Thanks again!