I am European, 45 years old. I lived in Miami, New York City, London and I have traveled extensively. My Brazilian wife and I live in Florianopolis now. The island is gorgeous. The nature is breathtaking as we all know. But do not expect too much, stay realistic. The weather could be challenging for many, especially humidity and wind from the South. Hot summers and "four seasons" in one day during the winter. If you have allergies - think twice. Depending on where you live there are many mosquitos. Do not expect the "American/Canadian" customer service. If you are not a calm and relaxed type of a person, if you have never lived in Brazil before...rent a place first...and then decide...
Nenhum lugar no mundo é perfeito morei no Reino Unido e pior que o clima igual aquele não existe com ventania,chuviscos e neve além de tudo e quando tem sol é pior ainda !!gelado nas ruas. Sou paulistana morei na Europa por 17 anos e Europa está em declínio desde a UE (Na minha opinião)UE conseguiu destruir a Europa. hoje moro na grande Florianópolis em uma região muito melhor que na ilha .Segura e tranquila com muita natureza ,proximo a cachoeiras ,águas termais além dos valores dos imóveis serem muito bons. Moro em palhoça .Por 3 anos morei no campeche próximo ao mar. Prefiro mil vezes aqui onde estou e na Europa so prá visitar alguns familiares, não sinto falta de nada pelo contrário nem sei como morei por tantos anos. Sempre tive medo de morrer sem voltar para meu país. Viva Santa e bela Catarina
@@julianacardoso953 Absolutely 👍 European and north American settling in Brazil must understand the nitty gritty in detail. It’s a package of good and not so good kind of stuff. Instead of complaining they must adjust accordingly otherwise throughout their lives they’ll keep crying over the stuff which hardly matters. Live the way locals live otherwise what’s the point. It’s all about attitudes.. Brazil have all possible permutations and combinations provided person is intelligent enough to understand this fact I have been frequently visiting Brazil and coming back in July 2023. We all have limited time in our lives why not to live stress free healthy life.
This is an incredibly wise comment. I’ve been in Brazil at least yearly for the last 7 years and i definitely need to temper my Americanism! When in doubt, act Brazilian haha
@@lNowHerel It not crazy cold, you should bring some winter clothes but is it not that cold. You can expect around 10C degrees during the colder days in Floripa and BC. A lot of wind in some days might make it feel a little colder
Is your relationship better than you could have imagined being married to a brasileira? I have been married to my esposa brasileira for almost 5 years. I am 52 and she is 50. I was married before to an American woman for 22 years, and it was a daily routine of selfishness and arguments. The last 5 years have been heaven. My life now is a level of happy that I did not think existed in reality. I no longer have anyone arguing with me on the daily. My every minute is spent happy and relaxed. My wife is my ride or die. She is with me side by side with whatever we encounter. I just wanted to see if your experience is similar to mine. Thank you for the content.
Absolutely. After dating my wife in the US for 9 months I knew that she was the one and when she came back to Brazil I bought a one-way ticket and never looked back. I haven't been married as long as you but our relationship is fantastic and now we have a little one with us (our daughter) and it only makes it better. Thanks for sharing your story!
As a Brazilian living in Australia for about 15 years, I believe to immigrate to Brazil for a foreign, the best options is make money overseas to keep your expenses in Brazil, the wages are low and the cost of life could drive you crazy. Make your money overseas online and you will have an amazing life experience in Brazil. Always choose south of Brazil, is the closest of your overseas ocidental reality in America or europe. The adaptation will be smooth.
That is very true. When I first got to Brazil I couldn't believe how cheap everything was but when I started making Brazilian level wages (I worked online) it changed my perception completely. I love Brazil but yes, definitely more enjoyable experience making overseas wages.
As a foreigner living in Brazil, I completely agree with this. If you earn in USD, you can live like royalty here. On Brazilian wages though, the reality changes quickly.
the state of Santa Catarina is the best state in Latin America without a doubt, it is home to several important companies at an international level such as WEG and BRF (owner of Sadia, Perdigão, etc.), in addition to being the center of tech startups in Brazil surpassing São Paulo. It has very beautiful colonial cities with a high HDI, large theme parks, and well-organized and clean beaches, apart from the lifestyle in contact with nature. I've already researched almost a hundred cities and all the states of Latin American countries, and none of them have this kind of combination between having a great economic potential combined with a healthy lifestyle and in contact with nature.
Oh! this is excellent information. Thank you so much! I am planning on teaching languages in SC. I've lived in SP for almost 4 years and loved teaching there. But SC is the next step for me.
How is the cost of living in Floripa compared to other cities in Brazil? I like your videos and would love to see the cost of food, transportation, rent..etc in Floripa. Thank you 🙏
It's significantly more than the last city we lived, which was about 2 hours north of Rio. For instance our rent is the exact same and we have about 500 less square feet and no common area in our current apt. complex. Also groceries and everyday items are about 15-20 percent more. I will try and make a video covering that and compare real prices between cities in Brazil in the near future
Depende da região, atualmente devido a grande divulgação os aluguéis estão em alta principalmente em estâncias turísticas balneário Camboriú, Itapema, Florianópolis. Mas se comparado a EURO e DOLAR é bem barato. Muito diferente da Europa onde morei em quarto sala e banheiro com o que gastava no Reino Unido daria para pagar 2 alugueis de apartamento bem localizado com 2 quartos,sala,cozinha,dois banheiros e varanda em Florianópolis
Você esqueceu de mencionar o problema causado pelas chuvas excessivas que causam alagamentos todos os anos. Ao escolher um imóvel para alugar ou comprar, é necessário perguntar aos moradores e comerciantes se ocorrem alagamentos.
Na Europa quando chove Tb tem enchentes não é só em Santa Catarina e em outras partes do Brasil Tb. Isto é a fúria da natureza. USA sempre tem furacões. SP minha terra basta pingar um pouquinho alaga tudo. Meus tempos morando na Europa vi que a natureza agride qq lugar e me fez refletir como o Brasil é abençoado em clima e tantas outras coisas. Só damos valor quando vivenciamos outras experiências. Nós Brasileiros temos a ideia que saímos do Brasil estamos no "primeiro mundo pronto! "Tudo perfeito". Fui assaltada no metrô de Londres, vi pessoas sendo espancas e transeuntes passando parecendo que não estava acontecendo nada.Muitos bairros vc não pode andar a noite tem muita violência que eles não divulgam.(talvez por não serem vira-latas) Noite na Europa começa as 3 da tarde praticamente o ano inteiro. O que deixa a desejar no Brasil são os próprios brasileiros que acham o "primeiro mundo" perfeito.
Man you are speaking my language! My wife and I are going to visit in March and if we like it, Garopaba will be our next home. Thanks for letting me know! Could you tell me good neighborhoods, places to check out? I really appreciate it
Thanks for the tips, but would be great to know which neighborhoods are good there if you don't love the tourists but sill want some lively places. Though if I were to come off season (to practice Portuguese, does it even matter?)
I'm about to retire from the US. I will have enough of a pension to live a reasonable lifestyle in any city in Brazil. (By reasonable, I mean modest. I'm not going to live in a penthouse apartment, but I'm not going to lie in a slum.) What I'm interested in is a place with a decent climate (not too hot or humid) where I can get a small farm on the outskirts of town. How is the climate there? And can a person rent a small (4-5 acre) farm near any of the towns on the island?
Great description man. I'm thinking of moving there for 3 months or so in a few weeks. I'm looking to stay in either Lagoa da Conceição, Campeche, or Barra de Lagoa. Would be great to hear any thoughts you have on any of these places.
I love all of those place. Lagoa da Conceicao is my favorite and actually the first place I stayed when my wife and I came here. Campeche is great too just not as centrally located. I am going to do a video about all of these neighborhoods this week or next and try to include all of the relevant information.
I actually haven't done a video on that yet but I teach English online. I went more than a year that without steady work here and it's a way to have consistent work and pay the bills
Great presentation and lots of valid points on living in Florianopolis.certainly agree about the traffic congestion during the summer and the slow progress of the main through road and pathways didn't help the past summer. Yes the beaches ( I live in the same area as yourself) are very busy during the summer but we use the natural Mozambique beach more as its much quiter without the beach restaurants and loud music. Would like to see a presentation on house purchasing here as many tourist fall into the trap of buying houses without public deeds which is a big risk so would be great if you could tip the viewers off on that.keep them coming very enjoyable watch.
Thanks, I appreciate that. I will need to do more research on that because I don't know much about foreigners buying houses here. Are you in Ingleses Norte?
My wife and I are moving to Floripa from Vancouver, Canada and we ended up choosing the neighborhood Corrego Grande - it has local parks and it’s close to great restaurants, the airport, Lagoa da Conceicao and many beaches in the eastern side. The downside is housing costs.
We just bought an apartment and will be back in late July with our stuff. We’ll probably cross paths in one of those hikes 😅 Outside the island, I loved this hike called Vale da Utopia (Guarda do Embau, Palhoça), now that you got a car I’d recommend that one, it’s unbelievably beautiful. Cheers!
@@northofidaho what about residing in Centro of Florianopolis? I don't plan on buying a car. Are there grocery stores, restaurants at walking distance?
@@englishwithmonica Centro is definitely the best place to live without a car. There are lots of shops, restaurants, stores, markets, etc. My wife and I sometimes joke that we should have just moved to Centro because we always have to go there for appointments or to do things we like
How hard was it to move from where you were before to florannopolis? My wife is Brazilian and I'm American also and we live in Brasilia but we're thinking about Florannopolis as a possibility. From what I can tell the cost of living is about the same as Brasilia. Did you sell all your things to move? Did you go through a real estate agent to find a place to rent? Thanks
We didn't have a whole lot of stuff when we moved to Florianopolis because the place we rented in Saquarema was fully furnished, as was our place in Floripa. We used the VivaReal.com.br to find our place and the real estate agency that had our listing was actually in our neighborhood which was nice because the handy man that worked for the company was always just a few mintues away when something went wrong. From what people tell me about Brasilia the cost of living is similar but I have never been there so it is hard to say. And the cost of living on the island can vary pretty drastically from neighborhood to neighborhood. For instance, Praia Mole and some of the nicer neighborhoods are about triple the cost of rent compared to where we were in Ingleses.
Hi Tucker, thank you so much for your vid! I am an ESL teacher as well and about to make my move to SC. However, could you tell me how humid it gets out there? Is it like Rio?
We actually noticed that it was more humid here where we live in Florianopolis compared to Saquarema. But we also live just a few hundred meters from the forest and the ocean and that probably has a lot to do with it. It doesn't get as hot though. Where as in Saquarema we had lots of 35+ degree days during the summer, here it generally stays in the low 30s. And, it also is a lot more pleasant in the fall when we get the cool mornings and nights. I hope this helps.
My girlfriend lives there and I'll be doing the same as you in a few years. We also met while she was in the US. Curious what do you do for a living? Do you work for a Brazilian company, for yourself, or a US company?
I recently moved back to the US but while I was there I was teaching English online. I used a platform called Cambly and then also had a private student I taught on my own.
@@northofidaho may I ask you, did you move alone just to make more money and then go back to Floripa? Just curious because I might be in the same situations
This is a great video. What I would like to know is, when you speak about what you were able to afford here as opposed to there, or Rio as opposed to Floripa. What are we looking at as far as rental costs? I was waiting for you to mention the prices for rentals. That's a huge question. What do houses cost monthly? What is an average price to buy a home there? Thanks so much for the video and your time.
I was referring to the northern part of the island here in Florianopolis. The neighborhoods that we would have liked to live for a similar size apt. or house were about 50% more. In other words we could get 2 bed 2 bath house here in ingleses for about $2800 reais and in Campeche or Lagoa would be around $4200 reais. As far as buying a home the prices vary dramatically and I don't plan on buying here so I am not able to give you good information aside from some websites I use like vivareal.com.br or olx.com.br
Your videos are very helpful, Tucker. Keep up the content. Moving to Brazil in 2024 probably, but I need to prepare myself in advance regarding what to expect.
@@northofidaho That's the idea. I watched your videos about the procedure for marriage to a Brazilian and applying for PR afterwards while on tourist visa. Sorry to see you had to run around quite a lot, but I'm glad it all worked out. I've got my work cut out for me, I guess. 😄
@@zaynstorm2518 I hope it goes smoother for you but I have to say at least it was fast comparatively to if I had brought my wife to the US. The bureaucracy here is a pain but at least now you know what to expect ha
Hello, thank you for such an inforative video. Can you please tell me how you got involved in teaching english online in Brazil? Is there a website where I can apply?
Yes of course! I actually teach through a platform called Cambly. There is no previous teaching experience required (I had never taught English before) and you are able to select the hours that you teach. It doesn't pay great, but I have a very steady schedule and it pays the bills right now. If you decide to try it out I would really appreciate if you use my signup code www.cambly.com/invite/G7ZN6V43?st=042323&sc=4, it gives me a little referral bonus:) If you have any questions about the platform and how it works please feel free to ask!
Hey Tucker! Great videos and congrats on becoming a father! My baby boy was born 2.5 months ago and the feeling is amazing so far. My partner is Brazilian from Campinas but we live in Malta, EU (a small Mediterranean island). We are planning our first visit to Florianopolis at the end of 2023 and possibly staying longer than a few months. Would be cool to have a chat or a call with you to introduce my family to yours and share thoughts/ideas.
Congratulations! That's awesome. We most likely won't be here by then because we are planning to move back to Saquarema when our lease ends in June, but I am happy to talk with you and share ideas.
@@Andrologist From May until November it is heavenly. It was like living in a small town. But when December came it was a whole other world. Just research the neighborhood and try to stay away from the north of the island during that time period.
When we lived in Saquarema my wife head Unimed Rio and it was pretty terrible. Since we have lived here we have been using the public health care system and it has been really good for us. We have heard the SulAmerica and Bradesco are both very good, but we have not used them ourselves
How does the tax situation work for you down there? From what I have researched, if i was a resident of Brasil i would have to pay 27.5% in taxes to Brasil as well as being taxed in the U.S. That sounds insane.
As far as I know this applies only if you are a salaried employee here in Brazil known as CLT. They deduct this directly from your paycheck. I do not work for a Brazilian company so I will still file taxes in the US and not pay that crazy 27.5 percent.
@@northofidaho oh wow. i thought brasil taxed universal income for any tax paying resident, regardless of where the money comes from? are you a resident of Brasil? brother, please double check because everything i have read says that residents have to pay on their worldwide income. For instance, i am a travel nurse in the U.S. and i could work one 13-16 week contract per year in the U.S. and spend the rest of the year in brasil ( assuming i did something that qualified me as a resident) but i would still have to pay taxes to Brasil. Unless i am just completely wrong.
There are some states that doesn't have income tax like Washington, Texas, Florida. As for the federal tax there are are tools and benefits are available to expats. These tax benefits, such as the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion and Foreign Tax Credit, can help you avoid double taxation. Worth checking with tax expert!
I live on the northern end of the island and we don't get the open ocean swells that the rest of the island gets so it is much less consistent here but from what I have been told that is true. Places like Joaquina and Campeche have good consistent surf but not the same size waves that you will get in Rio and Saquarema
My husband and I have been visiting Florianopolis since 2006, and we've witnessed the traffic issues escalate over the years. While we're back here again this year with other family members, and I absolutely love it, relocating isn't a viable option for us. We adore Brazil, but the rise in violence is concerning. Having previously lived in London, we've found that Portugal offers a quieter, more affordable lifestyle, along with a notably lower level of violence. It's a trade-off, but one that aligns better with our current priorities. Good luck
Hey man, planning to move to Floripa for 1 month for working remote. Why don't you like Ingleses Norte? Campeche or Rio Tavares sound like the place to be? I'm looking for a nice apartment to work in, with good infrastructure close to the ocean.
Ingleses Norte is not a bad neighborhood, it is actually very calm and beautiful 8-9 months of the year. But come summer (november) it turns into a mad house and you can barely leave your house. A lot of Floripa gets pretty crazy during the summer but I have never seen anything quite like Ingleses. Rio Tavares and Campeche have much bigger beaches and bigger areas for people to spread out. Ingleses was just way too crowded. But that being said, we did love winter and fall there.
That's a great video. I went to Hawaii three times and it's sad to see how it feels like every little town in the US. Floripa has its charm, and as you work from home, you won't complaint about the prices since it's easier for Americans to live in Brazil earning in Dollars. Not throwing shade, You're welcome here! Just saying please vote for US candidates who won't interfere in our elections like you've been doing for year with CIA and FBI spying and interfering with our public officials / tech companies to support exploitation of our resources. Out of that hope you're having fun here :)
Thanks man. I know, I hate when our gov't gets involved in other countries affairs. They do it on our elections too. But don't use "you" when referring to the US gov't, CIA, or FBI, I have nothing to do with them and despise their actions.
Stopped being a paradise around 10 years ago now the traffic’s nuts beaches not as clean. The saddest thing of all though is all the little local bars and restaurants have been priced out
I'm a native to Florianopolis and endorse this video. But, knowing the "lady of the land", having relationships in the corky and state and planning your logistics will make a great difference in your enjoyment of the city. If you're visiting the city or wanting to move here for good and need a few pointers, talk to me.
Hello! Kindly advise, having 3 children of kindergarten and school age, which district is to be chosen taking in consideration schools and after schools activities
@@НиколайБугрым City center, Island side (Centro, Beira Mar, Agronômica). Plenty of access to everything and a good range of prices. Just avoid living too close to the slums in the mountain downtown, Mauro Ramos Avenue. Too adventurous for my blood.
@@НиколайБугрым the three central neighborhoods in the island: Centro, Agronômica, Beira Mar. If you want a little less pricy cost of living, Estreito or Balneário, on the mainland. The important thing is: plan your life on one of the sides of the bay, either island or mainland. To have daily commute between both is guarantee of heavy car traffic.
