The initial trip

Once you' ve reached the decision to relocate abroad it's important to check few important facts to justify your choice. An initial trip to the chosen location should be considered and intended to be a fact finding mission. It shouldn't be confused as an extended holiday and the key focus is to check all the practicalities of living and ensure the location satisfies all basic requirement. Nowadays lots of info can be gathered surfing the web but there is no substitute for going. What do I expect from my trip? A place to live is going to be at the top of my list. The price of property or the cost of rent should be , especially in Londrina, much lower than London. In 2007 when I started to think to relocate to Brazil my plan was to buy a property outright on a beach resort location and rent it out to tourists during the peak season. I've also considered to invest in property still on a plan stage , in particular one development I was interested in and widely advertised on the web was Lago do Coelho. Quite a few people bought villas and flats without leaving their desk in Europe. On my trip to Natal in the North east, I checked out lots of development and i inspected lago do Cohello as well. Huge piece of land next to a lake bit far from the capital city and a small fishing village nearby. I had a meeting with the solicitor appointed by developer and I was assured all the documents and permits were in order. It didn't look right to me, not because i understand of finance, economy or law, just gut feelings. One year on and the developer run into problems and lots of people lost their money. That's why I wont consider to buy a property or start a business without having spent at least six months and gained real knowledge on the field and not on the web. Another fault of my initial plan was not to consider that the rental market in most places wouldn't get a decent yield. The tourist market is seasonal and very limited and the local rental market cannot afford to pay a premium from an above average property.
It's a fact that Brazil is a hyper bureaucratic country and most of the expat complain for the length of time to get the utilities:electricity,water,telephone,cable/satellite tv,gas,garbage collections,mobile phone services,waste water collection(if separately handled) and local authority services. Apparently most of them are quite expensive if compared to Europe considering the minimum salary which in Brazil £150. Is the quality of service as bad as someone say?. I have to say in UK the quality of service has worsen quite a lot.Is the police efficient or run by crooks? Will hospitals and clinics be up to the European standard.It seems the safe option is to get a private medical insurance. I'll let you know.
Transport. New and second hand cars are more expensive in Brazil than Uk, the import tax is huge that's why some car companies have a local factory. The cost of petrol is cheaper, not a big difference, and there is the choice to use alcohol, much cheaper. It's a must to buy a flexi car.Will the public transport be reliable?
Shopping and facilities, my experience tells me that food, restaurants,drink, rent,property are cheaper in Brazil but electrical goods,cars,wine are more expensive
Banking:opening a bank account should be a struggle for non residents, that's why I'm applying for a student visa.It should smooth things out. I hope
Entertainment and leisure activities: London is difficult to match although you can pay £15! to watch a movie in the west end.
Time will tell if my expectation will be met. Beijo.