Sao Paolo

[runningsloth]

Can anyone give me their honest opinion, hopefully from experience, first-hand or from friends of the living and working conditions in Sao Paolo? Are you going to be able to save any money if you are at a top school there? Is it a good place for kids? Is it safe as long as you don't get into the wrong neighborhoods? I know very little about it, but would like to learn more.

[marina]

The richest city in Brazil, Sao Paulo is a megalopolis that is pretty overwhelming to those from outside of Brazil and even those from Brazil. The cost of living is high in order to get into the right neighborhoods and with the economic downturn, the poor are more brazen than ever in terms of crimes committed. The fall in the real means that international teachers paid in reais have lost at least 25% of their earnings in the last few months alone. Some schools have salary stabilization clauses, but most don't cover for the full depreciation of the real. Try to negotiate your salary as high as possible if it gets to that point. The cost of imported items is very high and many products that should be available in the country are not because of protectionist government policies. Sao Paulo is the banking capital of Brazil, Brasilia is the political capital, and Rio de Janeiro is the beach-sexy-fun capital of the country. It gets extremely hot, but unlike Rio, you don't have the beach to turn to for relief. I would not move to Sao Paulo right now with kids unless Graded was an option, but even then, your children, like most of Brazil's well-off, will probably need to be shuttled around from . to . to keep them safe and secure from the reality that is Brazil at the moment. They won't be playing carefree in the streets here. It's not my idea of the best childhood, but people do it and their children make it just fine, and school-wise, Graded is very strong.

[kaccomaz]

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