I heard that living costs in Brazil are the same as the United States. If Brazil costs as much as America, why move? What are the cheaper countries in South America? I have a budget of less than $1000 per month.
Gracias.
Gracias.
Quote: (05-09-2010 06:49 PM)speakeasy Wrote:
Cost of living is about the same as in the West, yet they have one fourth the per capita income on average. That's gotta hurt!
Quote: (05-09-2010 08:06 PM)lavinci Wrote:
Quote: (05-09-2010 06:49 PM)speakeasy Wrote:Where in South America is cost of living about the same as in the West except Rio? I think measuring the actual purchasing power rather than the per capita income is more of a better evaluation. What does it matter if they earn one fourth of what US earns if let's assume stuff costs one fifth of what it costs in the US?
Cost of living is about the same as in the West, yet they have one fourth the per capita income on average. That's gotta hurt!
Norway I believe has the biggest per capita income in the world. You wouldn't believe how freaking expensive it is there though. It does not matter at all.
Quote: (05-09-2010 08:06 PM)lavinci Wrote:
Quote: (05-09-2010 06:49 PM)speakeasy Wrote:Where in South America is cost of living about the same as in the West except Rio?
Cost of living is about the same as in the West, yet they have one fourth the per capita income on average. That's gotta hurt!
Quote:Quote:
I think measuring the actual purchasing power rather than the per capita income is more of a better evaluation. What does it matter if they earn one fourth of what US earns if let's assume stuff costs one fifth of what it costs in the US?
Quote: (05-09-2010 11:16 PM)lavinci Wrote:
OK - bad comparison with America. The US has arguably the biggest purchasing power in the world. What I was trying to say is, the per capita income is not a true equivalent of a society's wealth. You said that South America's GDP per capita is on average four times lower than the West's. That leads us to think that they must be 4 times poorer. But more often than not, if we're not talking about Rio od Sao Paulo, I thought the things are a few times cheaper than in the West so it doesn't turn out THAT BAD living on their average wage, no? It seems like imported goods such as Levi's or electronics are then however considered luxury goods. Cause why else would they be priced so insanely high?
Excluding living in touristy places and buying luxury goods (yeah, like ipods), do you think middle class in SA lives one fourth of the West's standard? I don't know. I know the standard of living has to be lower, but I've always been curious how much lower it actually is. That's why I asked where is the cost of living equal to US in South America. Like I said with Norway, the country has the 2nd biggest GDP per capita in the world, yet it does not tell us how much less you can buy with that money they make there, say comparing to US. But you guys are saying that prices in Brazil are comparable to US, so there's nothing to say except, how lucky we are to be living here I guess. I've seen Levi's being very pricey all over Europe as well. Electronics too. Bought a laptop in Ireland for 1000 euros, when I could have bought it here for 700$. Excluding Rio and Sao Paulo, I don't think all Brazil is that pricey though, huh? Maybe we take US for granted and underestimate the fact, that it's everything here that's so cheap. What about the rent prices? How long would you have to work there to rent an average-SA-apartment?
Quote: (05-10-2010 02:33 PM)Vacancier Permanent Wrote:
El Guapo,
Food in Rio CAN be cheaper depending on where you buy it and what you buy. If you go to places in Centro and eat at por kilo types of restaurants and even at launchonettes, yes it would be cheaper than the US. But when I was in Orlando last fall, I found food to be very cheap, at least cheaper than in Canada. I really would like to know what you're getting in Rio to be spending only 50-60 reais for a week per person. I assume you're buying groceries and cooking yourself? Because I remember spending at least 30-40 Reais for a light lunch and upwards of 80 Reais for a dinner at a restaurant and or at a churrascaria like Carretao in Ipanema. I'm not even mentioning Porcao where you pay around 90 reais per person let alone Marius where you pay 180 Reais per person for the all you can eat seefood.