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Living in Rio
By Tom Thumb
There can be few more alluring places to go and live than Rio de
Janeiro. La cidade de Maravilha (the Marvellous city) is
famous for being the party capital of the world and draws more tourism
than just about anywhere.
 And
that’s the problem. There’s so much hype about carnival,
the girls on the beach and the national obsession with football
that it’s hard to really understand what’s going on.
If you’re going to live here you need to get past these clichés
and get to grips with the reality of life in Rio de Janeiro.
To begin with you need to learn Portuguese.
This is a good deal easier than Spanish and there are many excellent
language schools in Rio. Once you begin to pick up
some of the lingo then you’ll be able to hit the nightlife
downtown where few people speak English.
It’s also an excellent way of
not appearing like the usual gringo
in Brazil. When you take on step towards the Brazilians then they
will take two steps towards you! To live in Rio you need to think
like a local and that means more than just wearing skimpy swim suits
to the beach.
To find an apartment
you can either walk around the neighbourhood you want to live in
and ask around or else you can check the classifieds in the many
Rio newspapers. To live in Ipanema you’ll probably pay around
$200-300 a month but only $100-200 in the sleazier areas. You can
live in downtown Lapa or Flamengo but you will really need your
wits about you..
In any case the most beautiful beaches
are all near the South zone of the city. Here the most beautiful
bodies in the city come to show off in the sun and it’s the
closest thing you’re ever likely to see to Bikini Heaven.
The beaches are not so safe at night though, and you should never
leave your belongings without someone taking care of them.
Rio de Janeiro can be a dangerous
city as the drug traffickers battle it out with the military police
in the favelas. The latter are community slums perched on the hilltops
and supply most of the cocaine to be found in the city. They are
not safe to enter alone but you may take a favela
tour with a professional guide and experience a whole
other side to living in Rio de Janeiro.
 Tales
of mugging and violence in Rio are abundant but
generally no one here has any interest in harming you. The Brazilians
are genuinely one of the friendliest people in the world and the
street crime that exists stems only from poverty and drug addiction.
If someone holds you up here they will only want your money. You
give it to them and they leave. As simple as that.
The main thing is to avoid the situation
in the first place. You don’t walk around with expensive jewellery
or Rolex watches in the street and you don’t go strolling
down dark streets at night. You’re best off taking taxis when
coming back from a night out but if you do walk then move with attitude
and stay away from shadowy doorways where someone could be hiding.
Making friends in Rio de Janeiro can
take time; it’s easy to meet people and strike up conversations
but the people here are famous for their fickle nature. ‘I’ll
call you!’ they say. But they don’t even have your phone
number. Still, it’s easy enough to go out and make a whole
bunch of new friends for the night.
Most people who come here may have
expectations of wild love affairs with the Brazilians who are amongst
the most beautiful people in the world. You may well find love in
Brazil but beware no one is taking you for a ride. The prostitutes
in particular can be very machiavellian and are best avoided. There
are plenty of other girls and guys who will see a relationship with
a gringo as something exotic.
Although Rio has a fair deal of wealth
there’s also stark contrasts with the poverty and it can be
a challenging place to live. Some things here meet the standards
of first world countries whilst others bear more resemblance to
the developing world. Leave your prejudices at home and make the
effort to think and live like a local.
But maybe then you’d never want
to leave.
Why not read the DestinWorld.com Guide
to Rio de Janeiro...
Tom Thumb is the editor of Road Junky Travel
Guides – a resource for the alternative
traveller.
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