Post: #1

Fellas,

Time to tap into the great knowledge base of this forum again!

It's possible that in April/May next year, I will have spare 6 weeks to be based anywhere in the world while I prepare for a self study exam. I like the idea of renting out an apartment and living like a local somewhere instead of jumping from city to city. Basically, I plan to use the weekdays to study (6 - 8 hours) but party at night and on weekends. I'm open to taking 2 hours of language lessons a day but will focus mainly on my studies. My only other objective is to bang hot women.

Before you start firing suggestions, here are a few things I consider to be important -

1. Needless to say - hot, friendly, and approachable girls. I'm an Asian dude, 24, and prefer non-Asian girls.
2. The size and population of the city doesn't matter but its citizens must speak some English (at least among the 20 - 30 age group).
3. Weather is not a concern, both South and Northern Hemispheres will be mild. Although I would like a tropical city with a beach culture or not far from beach resorts. This is not critical tho.
4. Solid nightlife options, good food and dining, variety of pubs and bars. I don't have super high expectations but must be solid.
5. Established public services - transport, gym, libraries, internet access etc.
6. Safety is important. I would rule out Russia because of crazy skinheads but I'm not overly paranoid as long as I'm not targeted.
7. Cost - cheaper the better because I want to demonstrate high value and rent a a posh apartment.
8. Cafe culture or study halls/universities inducive to chatting up girls. This is quite important as I'll be studying for long hours of the day.

I have a few cities on my list of possibilities so far
1. Krakow - know some local chicks and have a good mate who lives there with his wife. Decent prices, university town, plenty of cafes and clubs. I love Polish girls but find the average Pole slightly weird. Nonetheless a solid option.
2. Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong - easy to fit in as I have plenty of contacts and friends. Cosmopolitan cities, pricier than other Asian countries but still quite affordable. Only problem is women so can't say I'm super keen.
3. Sao Paolo - met a guy and a chick while travelling in Europe. Both from upper middle class families in Sao Paolo who were studying in London and Spain. They both seem to have great social circles back home which is encouraging. The girl even invited me to visit her and take me up to her beach house north of Rio. I always wanted to travel to Brazil although I hear Sao Paolo can be hit and miss. The city is chaotic plus English is a problem. How does the women compare with the rest of the country? I would have thought the sheer population presents options. Would highly appreciate input from those with good knowledge.

Please give me some other ideas and highlight why? Thanks!

Post: #2

Poetik,
First of all, welcome on board mate, this is indeed the best forum when it comes to travelling the world while sampling the local goods (ie women)
Based on your criterias, I'd personally suggest Sao Paulo, but I would warn you that SP and Brasil in general are getting more and more expensive literally by the month due to the very strongly albeight overvalued Real, the strong and very healthy Brasilian economy and the almost worthless $US internationally nowadays. So that means that SP is in a lot of ways, as expensive if not more expensive than say NYC. You want to rent a posh crib in SP? Cool, that'll set you back at least $3-$5K say in Morumbi, Jardims or Itaim Bibi, the poshest parts of SP. And these are the parts you'd want to stay in anyway. You could get cheaper in other parts of town, but because SP is a beast in size, you could easily spend HOURS in traffic getting from one part to the other part of town, specially during rush hour or at night or in the morning. Also, if you want to hit the high end clubs, be ready to pay anywhere between 50 Reais to upwards of 300Reais entrance alone. So unless you have a healthy budget of say at the very least US$5-8k/month (that is if you really want to be having a good time in SP), I'd suggest you look for cheaper parts. Sure, you could also do SP a lot cheaper but that wouldn't be fun and IMO would defeat the purpose of all this. SP boasts one of the biggest and best nightlife in the world, IMO easily in top 10 in the world. This city is so freaking huge that you could be hitting a different club each night of the week for 6 months and you'd still wouldn't be scratching the surface of what's available in that humongous city of 30M people, the 2nd or 3rd biggest in the world.

That's the bad news. The good news is that Brasil is one of the most beautiful countries in the world, with some of the most breathe taking scenery you'll ever see, anywhere. World class beaches, awesome cultural and historic places, some of the best eco-natural tourism. Also, Brasilians in general and in particular the women, are some of the friendliest, warmest and coolest people on earth. The women, specially in SP can be stunningly beautiful, intelligent and smart. IMO, the Brasilian women are the best in the world as they have the whole package: extremely sexy, sensual, beautiful, cool, very fun to be with, smart and intelligent and tigers in bed. Now, if money is an issue, you can still have a blast but in other parts of this gigantic country. Say for example Joao Pessoa on the North East coast. Small, very laid back beach town, awesome weather all year round, half the cost of SP and Rio. While it may not have the sheer # of spectacular stunners that SP boasts, it still has some stunning beauties. So If I were you, I'd skip SP altogether and go to a smaller city either on the coast or in the interior. Other great suggestions for "smaller" towns: Belo Horizonte, Goiania, Campinas, Cuiaba.

If you really want to have the time of your life in Brasil, then the best investment you could make is to spend 2 hours a day starting now to learn Brasilian Portuguese so by the time you get there, you'd be able to at least get by and that'll make such a huge difference to your overal experience there.

Now, if you really want to get the best bang for your buck then Bangkok, in Thailand would be an awesome choice. I am currently here and I'm having a blast. I'm staying at nice but inexpensive hotels, eating out all the time, going out 3-4 times a week and I'm having a very hard time spending more than $2K/month (not including accommodations). The nightlife is awesome, the people friendly, very touristy friendly in the sense that while Thai and Asian languages in general are a bitch to learn, you can still get by with only English. The food is delicious and everything is relatively cheap.Oh and the girls are some of the most adorable, cutest, sexiest, friendliest and most feminine you'll see anywhere. There are some truly spectacular Thai girls that will blow your mind. Just some perspective, I'm a white guy and prior to coming here in BKK, I was not into Asian girls at all but now, after a month here, I"m totally hooked on them and can't get enough. ahahah I'm juggling between 2-3 girlfriends and have more lined up. You can have your pick and have as many gfs as you can handle.

I would have also mentioned Buenos Aires, Argentina as it's a magnificient city, very cheap, delicious food/wine however, it has one major major downside and that is the girls are not only nothing to write home about but also the coldest you'll meet anywhere. So if you get to Brasil, the best thing you could do is get yourself a hot, sexy, fun Brasileira and come spend a week with her in BA and you'll have a wonderful romantic time there as BA is a world class city, and one of the cheapest world class cities in the world.

So to recap, if you have a healthy budget (say in the 5-8k/month), go to Brasil and you'll have the time of your life, specially if you make the effort of investing 2 hours a day starting now to learn the lingo. If you want a cheaper destination that very fun, then Bangkok would be my # 1 choice.

Hope this helps man.

Post: #3

(12-04-2010 02:29 AM)Vacancier Permanent Wrote:  Poetik,
First of all, welcome on board mate, this is indeed the best forum when it comes to travelling the world while sampling the local goods (ie women)
Based on your criterias, I'd personally suggest Sao Paulo, but I would warn you that SP and Brasil in general are getting more and more expensive literally by the month due to the very strongly albeight overvalued Real, the strong and very healthy Brasilian economy and the almost worthless $US internationally nowadays. So that means that SP is in a lot of ways, as expensive if not more expensive than say NYC. You want to rent a posh crib in SP? Cool, that'll set you back at least $3-$5K say in Morumbi, Jardims or Itaim Bibi, the poshest parts of SP. And these are the parts you'd want to stay in anyway. You could get cheaper in other parts of town, but because SP is a beast in size, you could easily spend HOURS in traffic getting from one part to the other part of town, specially during rush hour or at night or in the morning. Also, if you want to hit the high end clubs, be ready to pay anywhere between 50 Reais to upwards of 300Reais entrance alone. So unless you have a healthy budget of say at the very least US$5-8k/month (that is if you really want to be having a good time in SP), I'd suggest you look for cheaper parts. Sure, you could also do SP a lot cheaper but that wouldn't be fun and IMO would defeat the purpose of all this. SP boasts one of the biggest and best nightlife in the world, IMO easily in top 10 in the world. This city is so freaking huge that you could be hitting a different club each night of the week for 6 months and you'd still wouldn't be scratching the surface of what's available in that humongous city of 30M people, the 2nd or 3rd biggest in the world.

That's the bad news. The good news is that Brasil is one of the most beautiful countries in the world, with some of the most breathe taking scenery you'll ever see, anywhere. World class beaches, awesome cultural and historic places, some of the best eco-natural tourism. Also, Brasilians in general and in particular the women, are some of the friendliest, warmest and coolest people on earth. The women, specially in SP can be stunningly beautiful, intelligent and smart. IMO, the Brasilian women are the best in the world as they have the whole package: extremely sexy, sensual, beautiful, cool, very fun to be with, smart and intelligent and tigers in bed. Now, if money is an issue, you can still have a blast but in other parts of this gigantic country. Say for example Joao Pessoa on the North East coast. Small, very laid back beach town, awesome weather all year round, half the cost of SP and Rio. While it may not have the sheer # of spectacular stunners that SP boasts, it still has some stunning beauties. So If I were you, I'd skip SP altogether and go to a smaller city either on the coast or in the interior. Other great suggestions for "smaller" towns: Belo Horizonte, Goiania, Campinas, Cuiaba.

If you really want to have the time of your life in Brasil, then the best investment you could make is to spend 2 hours a day starting now to learn Brasilian Portuguese so by the time you get there, you'd be able to at least get by and that'll make such a huge difference to your overal experience there.

Now, if you really want to get the best bang for your buck then Bangkok, in Thailand would be an awesome choice. I am currently here and I'm having a blast. I'm staying at nice but inexpensive hotels, eating out all the time, going out 3-4 times a week and I'm having a very hard time spending more than $2K/month (not including accommodations). The nightlife is awesome, the people friendly, very touristy friendly in the sense that while Thai and Asian languages in general are a bitch to learn, you can still get by with only English. The food is delicious and everything is relatively cheap.Oh and the girls are some of the most adorable, cutest, sexiest, friendliest and most feminine you'll see anywhere. There are some truly spectacular Thai girls that will blow your mind. Just some perspective, I'm a white guy and prior to coming here in BKK, I was not into Asian girls at all but now, after a month here, I"m totally hooked on them and can't get enough. ahahah I'm juggling between 2-3 girlfriends and have more lined up. You can have your pick and have as many gfs as you can handle.

I would have also mentioned Buenos Aires, Argentina as it's a magnificient city, very cheap, delicious food/wine however, it has one major major downside and that is the girls are not only nothing to write home about but also the coldest you'll meet anywhere. So if you get to Brasil, the best thing you could do is get yourself a hot, sexy, fun Brasileira and come spend a week with her in BA and you'll have a wonderful romantic time there as BA is a world class city, and one of the cheapest world class cities in the world.

So to recap, if you have a healthy budget (say in the 5-8k/month), go to Brasil and you'll have the time of your life, specially if you make the effort of investing 2 hours a day starting now to learn the lingo. If you want a cheaper destination that very fun, then Bangkok would be my # 1 choice.

Hope this helps man.

I've got a very similar profile to yours, Poetik. If I wasn't so focused on Asia-Pac business then I'd go to Colombia or Brazil immediately.

Although you've got those hot nordic blondes in NE Europe, I think there is more to gain in terms of lifestyle and business from living in Brazil.

Post: #4

Good informative post by VP!

To Poetik, I'm in a similar situation as yours except that I'm planning to do it in January, the earlier the better. My job allows me to work remotely. Last year I spent most of time working from China but that was for family reason. My boss and clients had no problem with the work I did. I'll see if they allow me to work in another country for a few months, then back to Toronto for a month, then leave again or if I can find a position within the company in another country.

Back to your question, in April/May, you'll have many options, unlike winter. I'd consider Medellin as well, it's a beautiful city, cheaper than Sao Paolo and girls are hot, friendly and interested in Asian guys . You need to learn some Spanish though, even the basic would help a lot. Actually I probably will go there in January and stay for a couple of months. A good friend of mine lives there. She's been inviting me to go there for a while and she promises that she will introduce sus amigas bonitas to me.

Post: #5

(12-04-2010 02:29 AM)Vacancier Permanent Wrote:  Poetik,
First of all, welcome on board mate, this is indeed the best forum when it comes to travelling the world while sampling the local goods (ie women)
Based on your criterias, I'd personally suggest Sao Paulo, but I would warn you that SP and Brasil in general are getting more and more expensive literally by the month due to the very strongly albeight overvalued Real, the strong and very healthy Brasilian economy and the almost worthless $US internationally nowadays. So that means that SP is in a lot of ways, as expensive if not more expensive than say NYC. You want to rent a posh crib in SP? Cool, that'll set you back at least $3-$5K say in Morumbi, Jardims or Itaim Bibi, the poshest parts of SP. And these are the parts you'd want to stay in anyway. You could get cheaper in other parts of town, but because SP is a beast in size, you could easily spend HOURS in traffic getting from one part to the other part of town, specially during rush hour or at night or in the morning. Also, if you want to hit the high end clubs, be ready to pay anywhere between 50 Reais to upwards of 300Reais entrance alone. So unless you have a healthy budget of say at the very least US$5-8k/month (that is if you really want to be having a good time in SP), I'd suggest you look for cheaper parts. Sure, you could also do SP a lot cheaper but that wouldn't be fun and IMO would defeat the purpose of all this. SP boasts one of the biggest and best nightlife in the world, IMO easily in top 10 in the world. This city is so freaking huge that you could be hitting a different club each night of the week for 6 months and you'd still wouldn't be scratching the surface of what's available in that humongous city of 30M people, the 2nd or 3rd biggest in the world.

That's the bad news. The good news is that Brasil is one of the most beautiful countries in the world, with some of the most breathe taking scenery you'll ever see, anywhere. World class beaches, awesome cultural and historic places, some of the best eco-natural tourism. Also, Brasilians in general and in particular the women, are some of the friendliest, warmest and coolest people on earth. The women, specially in SP can be stunningly beautiful, intelligent and smart. IMO, the Brasilian women are the best in the world as they have the whole package: extremely sexy, sensual, beautiful, cool, very fun to be with, smart and intelligent and tigers in bed. Now, if money is an issue, you can still have a blast but in other parts of this gigantic country. Say for example Joao Pessoa on the North East coast. Small, very laid back beach town, awesome weather all year round, half the cost of SP and Rio. While it may not have the sheer # of spectacular stunners that SP boasts, it still has some stunning beauties. So If I were you, I'd skip SP altogether and go to a smaller city either on the coast or in the interior. Other great suggestions for "smaller" towns: Belo Horizonte, Goiania, Campinas, Cuiaba.

If you really want to have the time of your life in Brasil, then the best investment you could make is to spend 2 hours a day starting now to learn Brasilian Portuguese so by the time you get there, you'd be able to at least get by and that'll make such a huge difference to your overal experience there.

Now, if you really want to get the best bang for your buck then Bangkok, in Thailand would be an awesome choice. I am currently here and I'm having a blast. I'm staying at nice but inexpensive hotels, eating out all the time, going out 3-4 times a week and I'm having a very hard time spending more than $2K/month (not including accommodations). The nightlife is awesome, the people friendly, very touristy friendly in the sense that while Thai and Asian languages in general are a bitch to learn, you can still get by with only English. The food is delicious and everything is relatively cheap.Oh and the girls are some of the most adorable, cutest, sexiest, friendliest and most feminine you'll see anywhere. There are some truly spectacular Thai girls that will blow your mind. Just some perspective, I'm a white guy and prior to coming here in BKK, I was not into Asian girls at all but now, after a month here, I"m totally hooked on them and can't get enough. ahahah I'm juggling between 2-3 girlfriends and have more lined up. You can have your pick and have as many gfs as you can handle.

I would have also mentioned Buenos Aires, Argentina as it's a magnificient city, very cheap, delicious food/wine however, it has one major major downside and that is the girls are not only nothing to write home about but also the coldest you'll meet anywhere. So if you get to Brasil, the best thing you could do is get yourself a hot, sexy, fun Brasileira and come spend a week with her in BA and you'll have a wonderful romantic time there as BA is a world class city, and one of the cheapest world class cities in the world.

So to recap, if you have a healthy budget (say in the 5-8k/month), go to Brasil and you'll have the time of your life, specially if you make the effort of investing 2 hours a day starting now to learn the lingo. If you want a cheaper destination that very fun, then Bangkok would be my # 1 choice.

Hope this helps man.

A lot of great info in one post VP. You can hear the experience in your words.

Post: #6

I'd recommend the Philippines. I've done better there than anywhere else in the world. The girls are hot, they are friendly, they like foreigners, and very importantly, they speak English. For an international player that doesn't speak another language, the Philippines is by far and away the best choice. Also, the girls there look quite different from Northeast Asian countries like Japan/China/Korea.

It's also very cheap there, and it has a lot of good beaches.

If you don't speak another language, and you are looking to hook up overseas, there is no question that the Philippines is the best choice.

Post: #7

language is going to be an issue if you go anywhere in Latin America as English is not spoken much.

Bucharest, Romania meets your requirements very well. I spent a week there. English is spoken very widely. Its cheap. The nightlife is solid. The women are attractive. They have awesome grocery stores where you can get lots of good food like what you would expect in American supermarkets. And its relatively safe. I'm not sure about cafe or study hall culture though.

The Philippines is a solid option. Only negative... Is that the women are not particularly good looking especially if your not into Asians. However, its really easy to pull here. You come to the Philippines for quantity more than quality. The turbos are few and far between. After 3 months here, I'm happy to leave. They all look the same. I go out and hit on chics I'm not even that attracted to as thats generally all there is. I miss being back in Eastern Europe where I actually get that urge in my physiology telling me "YES, I WANT THIS GIRL." On a positive note, Philippinas do tend to have nice soft skin and tight pussies

Post: #8

(12-07-2010 06:27 AM)BaronStanley Wrote:  Bucharest, Romania meets your requirements very well. I spent a week there. English is spoken very widely. Its cheap. The nightlife is solid. The women are attractive. They have awesome grocery stores where you can get lots of good food like what you would expect in American supermarkets. And its relatively safe. I'm not sure about cafe or study hall culture though.

Agreed. As a side note, everything but food is not cheap comparing to US (generally you pay the same price in EUR as you'd pay in USD in US, and you pay VAT on top of that), and a lot of girls smoke. It is also very safe, assuming you take reasonable caution (like not walking back home heavily drunk through the park area with no lights while dressing up in designer clothes while counting 100 EUR bills) the most dangerous thing which might happen to you there is getting bitten by a straw dog.

If by "cafe culture" you mean something like US-style Starbucks where people got a cup of coffee and sit for hours, it is not there.

Post: #9

Housing is also cheap and so are taxis.

Post: #10

(12-07-2010 11:16 PM)BaronStanley Wrote:  Housing is also cheap and so are taxis.

Relatively. A renovated 1BR apartment with AC (which I consider a must for summer) , and quality kitchen equipment around Universitate/Unirii area won't be cheap. A crappy apartment in Chaushesku-built home at Titan - yeah, that will be cheap, but even I wouldn't live there. And hotels are more expensive than in Bay Area.

Taxis, indeed, are cheap. So is subway (roughly 25c a trip) and local trains.

Post: #11

I stayed in not nice but acceptable apartment near unirii for around $250 for a week. No A/C though and it was pretty hot. I'm sure nice renovated places would be a lot more. However, it was really easy to find short term rentals at a fair price in Bucharest which you cannot say about most cities.

Post: #12

(12-04-2010 01:49 AM)Poetik Wrote:  3. Sao Paolo - met a guy and a chick while travelling in Europe. Both from upper middle class families in Sao Paolo who were studying in London and Spain. They both seem to have great social circles back home which is encouraging. The girl even invited me to visit her and take me up to her beach house north of Rio. I always wanted to travel to Brazil although I hear Sao Paolo can be hit and miss. The city is chaotic plus English is a problem. How does the women compare with the rest of the country? I would have thought the sheer population presents options. Would highly appreciate input from those with good knowledge.

Why on earth Sao Paulo when almost every other place in Brazil is better. Though Sao Paulo was the easiest place for me to hook up, when I was there, all I could think about was going to Rio. Sao Paulo is a huge, dirty, crouded city. Don't get me wrong, it's still Brazil and still fun, but everywhere else I went was better. And part of the reason I hooked up easily was probably because I had good friends there that were good with women as well. They did a good job showing me where to go and introducing me to women.

Post: #13

(12-04-2010 02:29 AM)Vacancier Permanent Wrote:  So to recap, if you have a healthy budget (say in the 5-8k/month), go to Brasil and you'll have the time of your life, specially if you make the effort of investing 2 hours a day starting now to learn the lingo.

Dude, that's insanity! $5-8k a month?!?!? Yes, Brazil is expensive, but not even as expensive as the US. With $8K, that is ballin out huge!!! I balled out and I spent $2k a month. Did whatever the fuck I wanted, but then again my idea of a good time isn't going to a nightclub and spending R$300 to get in, I'm not that into night clubs. But I certainly did spend R$150 + at a couple. I also had free rent. But even so, in Rio, you can easily find a decent appartment for US$400-500 a month. I don't even understand HOW you could spend $8K in Rio in a month.

Post: #14

I stayed in Romania for a week in 2008, mostly in Brasov and Maramuresh area. Brasov to me is a nicer place than Bucharest. Bucharest is just ugly , filled with communist-era building. Girls are attractive and nice. A lot of young generation speak good English. I hooked up with a girl on streets while asking direction in Baia Mare and another girl in Brasov. As for price , transportation, food, beer , cigarette are cheap, hotel not really.

Post: #15

Internationalplayboy,
Everything is relative. From my perspective, I feel that to really have a good time in SP, a healthy budget would be 5-8K if you want to really be among the in crowds, go to the best clubs, eat at the best restaurants and stay at top end places. I like my comforts and I don't sacrifice on that. I for one agree with you that while one can definitely have a great time in Brasil for 2k/month, (certainly not in Rio/SP or BSB) but doable elswhere. But 2k/month in Brasil? I couldn't do it. I spend that much just in hotels alone for the month. And please do tell me where is the 4-500/month apartments in Rio. Perhaps if you book a room in a favela or in Bonsucesso but in Flamengo, Botafogo, Centro? Very unlikely unless you stay for at least a year and not just 1-3 months and you speak fluent lingo, have good trustworthy local contacts that will agree to be your fiador. Good luck with that! Other wise, you'd pay the gringo price of at least double that amount and specially if you stay for 1-3 months and even more so in the high season (nov-until carnaval). But please do tell where are the 4-500/month aparts in Rio.

Post: #16

(12-08-2010 12:13 PM)Vacancier Permanent Wrote:  Internationalplayboy,
Everything is relative. From my perspective, I feel that to really have a good time in SP, a healthy budget would be 5-8K if you want to really be among the in crowds, go to the best clubs, eat at the best restaurants and stay at top end places. I like my comforts and I don't sacrifice on that. I for one agree with you that while one can definitely have a great time in Brasil for 2k/month, (certainly not in Rio/SP or BSB) but doable elswhere. But 2k/month in Brasil? I couldn't do it. I spend that much just in hotels alone for the month. And please do tell me where is the 4-500/month apartments in Rio. Perhaps if you book a room in a favela or in Bonsucesso but in Flamengo, Botafogo, Centro? Very unlikely unless you stay for at least a year and not just 1-3 months and you speak fluent lingo, have good trustworthy local contacts that will agree to be your fiador. Good luck with that! Other wise, you'd pay the gringo price of at least double that amount and specially if you stay for 1-3 months and even more so in the high season (nov-until carnaval). But please do tell where are the 4-500/month aparts in Rio.

My friend (A local) has a house in Copacabana, 1 block from the beach for around US$400 a month (1 br), which is the place I stayed at when I was there. Another friend I stayed with in Sao Paulo has a nice 2 bedroom for US$900 a month in nice neighborhood. I don't' understand how that's hard to believe when I have a place in South Beach for $550 a month. You've gotta be kidding me though. To hang out with the "in crouds" go to the best clubs, $8K a month!!!! That's outrageous! I had plenty of fun with plenty of beautiful women a great people, I'm sure the quality of women or people you were hanging out with weren't much better than the ones I was. I couldn't imagine spending that much money unless you are staying at Copacabana Palace for a month. The most expensive club I went to in Rio was R$120 and that included consumption. I guess maybe we have different ideas of what fun is. I couldn't imagine though hanging out at places you are spending that much money at, you would find true quality women beyond the fact they probably look good. The more upscale the places the more westernized the girls were from my experiences. I enjoyed meeting women through friends, on the beach, or more laid back clubs than at the expensive places. But like I said, our experiences and lifestyles must be much different. Also like I said I had free rent most of the time i was in Brazil, so add maybe $500 total to the $2000 I spent. And also in Rio, I did ball out and go out almost every night to fairly expensive places some nights and others not too expensive. And yeah, I would say that month I spent close to $3k without rent. But I remember thinking to myself, "Damn I'm partying hard and spending a lot of money, I gotta slow down." So MAYBE $4K MAX if you are going to nice restaurants, clubs, and have to pay rent for a month in a decent place on copa. That's more than R$6k a month. Unless you're P-Diddy I see no reason to spend more than that if you have an appartment and aren't staying in hotels. That's a lot of fucking money man. I definitely like to switch it up though. I'm not going out EVERY night to a club. I like to go to a club one night, go hang out on the beach and maybe just hang out at home or go have a drink with a friend the next. Then maybe go to a little barzinho the next night with a group of friends. In all honesty some of the funnest times I had were going to little bars with a big group of friends (15-20), shootin the shit and drinking cervejas all night. Or maybe the awesome Bar-B-Ques my friends parents would throw with 200 + people. And yeah, those were expensive for them to throw, but I didn't pay a dime, and met some super FLY, down to earth honeys. I mean do you really go to an expensive club EVERY single night you are in Rio or Sao Paulo?

Post: #17

The price locals pay for rent and anything involving a major purchase is different than what the foreigners pay, despite what they would like you to believe otherwise. So while your local friend is able to get a house 1 block from Copacabana for 400 bucks/month, as he lives there, I highly doubt it that a foreigner could on a short term deal. If you were to live there and commit to a 1 year contract at the minimum, you could get a good deal. But to get a house in Copa, a block from the beach, as a gringo and only for 1-3 months, for $400/month, sorry but that ain't gonna happen. Same in Sampa. Or anywhere in Brasil. On the positive side, I've seen and been offered decent aparts in Copa and certain parts of Ipanema for around $800-1k/month through my contacts.

Sampa is a different beast altogether, rent is more expensive than in Rio. I've not stayed long term in SP but from my short terms there and from my many Paulistano friends, a good fully furnished apart in a good neighbourhood, is going to cost at least $2-3k/month. And that's for short term as a gringo. If you were living there and able to commit to a 1 year contract, then you could reduce that to maybe $1.5-2k/month, but not short term. One could certainly find something decent for half that price but because of its huge size, you'd be far away from everything of interest and you'd spent a lot of time, not to mention money cabbing it from the clubs to your place. Yes, SP has public transport, but are you willing to waste 2-3 hours each way to wherever you want to go, each day? And 100-150R cab rides are quite common in SP to go from one point to another. So hence the vital importance of staying in a good neighbourhood to reduce the cab rides's fee but most importantly, the amount of time wasted in traffic.

Usually, when I go to SP, and quite often in Rio, it's to meet and entertain a business partner or potential partner, so many a time, the bill for a night can easily reach 1,000R$+. Yes, it definitely is a different lifestyle. I'm sure that kind of expenses wouldn't apply to what the OP is looking for. While both my and your experiences may not apply to most people in here as you got free rent (which is pretty sweet!) and I like and tend to stay in high end places, for the average reader in here who's more of a backpacker than flashpacker or the biz traveler, let's not give them wrong hopes of finding a house in Copa one block from the beach for $400/month. A more accurate and realistic figure for a short timer foreigner (1-3 months) would be to double that amount with an average of $1k/month in Rio, in Copa. For Ipanema, raise that figure by about 50%. In SP, I'd say double if not triple that figure. Again, we're talking about a short term foreigner (1-3 months), trying to rent a nice fully furnished apartment in a good area while not speaking much Portuguese and with no strong local contacts to do the negotiations and even accept to be their fiador (THE main part in getting a good deal in renting an apart/house in Brasil).

On a side note, I do thoroughly agree with you that going to barzinhos with a bunch of friends or attending a churascaria party can be extremely fun not to mention an absolute gold mine to get introduced and meet some absolute gems of girls.

Post: #18

Dude, you are out of your mind! $1k a month minimum?!?!?!?! No way, not buying it at all, at least not for a one bedroom for what the average person is looking for. MAYBE $600 in a nice neighborhood in a nice appartment. Go look over in the "Good bars in Sao Paulo" thread. The guy that posted it is paying about $450. Like I said, I live in a place in SoBe for under $600 and SoBe is much more expensive than Rio or Sao Paulo. R$150 cab rides?!?!?! Where are you going? From one end of Sao Paulo to the next? No way, that is by no means and average taxi ride, not even close. Yes, Sao Paulo is HUGE, but at the same time, that also means there is everything you need and you shouldn't have a hard time finding things not too far from you. My most expensive cab ride was R$100 from the airport, and that had to have been over 35-40 miles. I'm telling you man, my friends live in a nice place, it's not huge by any means, but it's nice and cosy, on the 14th floor and they are paying something like R$1600 in the middle of a very nice neighborhood with plenty of things all around them. Paulista Ave couldn't be more than a R$25 cab ride from their house. Okay, so they have a year rent. I'm sure even short term couldn't be THAT much more. Maybe R$2000- at most 2500 for a two bedroom. I think you are giving the average traveler a very misleading figure. Because I'm thinking a good amount of people reading this are looking for something to get them by while they are trying to stretch their money out in Brazil. And a place for $600 US would put them in a very comfortable, nice appartment in a good neighborhood for a month. That's no bullshit. I would even say $600 is expensive without a doubt. And cab rides, that's simply not true, not a chance you are spending that much on a cab ride unless you are litterally going all the way across town, in the 4th biggest city in the world. You're telling me all this info being there for a day or two at a time. I'm saying this based off of people whos houses I stayed in for a month who I've been friends with for years, who have lived in the city their whole lives. I actually went with them to look for this house the first trip I took to Brazil. The second trip they had moved into one of the places we were looking at. That place was one of the more expensive ones they were considering. I'm telling you man, for the average traveler, you would be more than happy in Sao Paulo with a room for $600 a month. That would be a room in a nice 2 br appartment. Yeah, there are by all means places you can spend $3k a month for a 1 bedroom, but do you really think many people reading this are looking for a $3k/month pad? I don't.

Post: #19

foreigners renting short term get shafted unless you really know how to search. i.e. you need local friends or at very least know how to speak the local language to do properly google searching and local newspaper classifieds skimming. I always get laughed at when I tell locals how much I pay for my places... and I'm a miser who vigorously tries to find the best value places. You generally pay atleast 50% more up to 300% as much as a local would pay long term.

Post: #20

You're straight up insane if you are paying 300% more than locals. Even 200%. How are you gonna let someone rape you like that? Why wouldn't you just find someone who's already a local that needs a roomate if you don't know anyone?

Post: #21

Guys,

Apologies for the late reply. I'm on my way to Europe and have been busy at work trying to wrap up shit before xmas.

Great to see some good discussions take place about Brazil and SP. I did check out rents online and monthly rent is about $1500 USD minimum for a good 1 bedroom centrally located apartment in SP. Money isn't a problem although spending 8K is a bit much. Maybe ok if airfare included and covers for the entire 6 weeks.

Thanks for the suggestions on Thailand and Phils. I don't think I'll be going to Asia for reasons explained earlier. I just reckon Bucharest is a crappier version of Krakow. Anyway I could be biased. One of the key criteria will be whether I have local contacts. Just so much easier to tap into networks of attractive local girls if you know people on the ground...

Post: #22

Hi just joined up, great forum with some excellent advice.

In my experience I've found that you do pay quite a premium for a short term apartments.

I've been willing to do this in the past purely to save time, if I get somewhere and I'm only going to be there for a month I don't want to spend a week schlepping around trying to find a great place at a bargain price.

Short term apartments are primarily aimed at foreigners so they have to be secure, in a good area, furnished and with facilities such as phone and wireless, all reasons for the higher price.

I did overlap with a friend who travelled to some of the same places as me where we were both staying for over a month. He always managed to pay a lot less than I did but he put a lot of research in beforehand and was willing to compromise for price. In BA my flat was in the cool trendy area Palermo with a porter and pool at the back, his was in a much much less salubrious area with no facilities.

So you can find cheaper deals but if you want your own place and aren't going to be there for a long time you usually have to make some trade-offs for a cheaper price.