Tami is going to have to post the pictures again once I write this. She can post whatever ones she would like. I was finally able to visit Rio for the first time. It truly is a beautiful place. I only spent a few days there but I was able to eat some of the local food, (which was outstanding), visit the stores and check out a few places to live.
Rio is as expensive as everyone said was. If you want to live an America life in Rio and have all the same things, it is going to be very expensive. If you are willing to live more like someone in Rio and eat the local foods, drive the local cars, etc., it is going to be much more affordable. I didn't check the price of speedos and bikinis but they should be very cheap. We stayed right across the street from the beach and if you pay by the amount of material that goes into the suit, they would be giving them away.
I was able to look at two different places. One was a house and one was a condo. The condo was directly across the street from the beach. It had an amazing view but I'm not so sure we want our boys waking up every morning to the other view that comes along with the beach. Plus, I'm not so sure Tami could handle the boys in such tight quarters without a yard. It was very nice though.
The second place I looked at, fit our lifestyle much better. It had an outdoor barbeque that used wood and coals instead of gas. I think that's about all I remember about the place. I'm sure Tami will post a few pictures. The house is in what they call a condo community so it is all gated with guards 24 hours a day.
The realtor also took me around to look at the stores and compare prices. We went into Walmart just to look at some of the things they had and to be shocked at what they would cost. Brazil has a very high tax on everything that is brought in from out of the country. It is definitely an advantage to buy local.
Lastly, the day we arrived we heard that the police where going into one of the favelas to take it over and get all the drug runners out. They had already captured the leader of the group as he was trying to sneak out of the neighborhood in the trunk of a car. The good news is that they closed the American school down, the bad news is that they had to do it for fear of stray bullets and anything else that might happen if a gun battle broke out. They took tanks into the favela. From what I have heard, it was a fairly peaceful raid.
Other than that, Barra da Tijuca is absolutely beautiful and we are getting excited about the move. Hopefully, we will have our visas in time to move right after the new year. One more thing. All the condos and house have maids quarters which is a room and then a bathroom that is kind of separated from everything else. We already have four little maids that were born into their jobs so we are going to keep that open for anyone that would like to come visit. The plane tickets are expensive but the housing will be free.
