Are the costs of things cheaper in Brazil, 1 us dollar to 2.133 brazil, does our money go furhter there?

Question

Are the costs of things cheaper in Brazil, 1 us dollar to 2.133 brazil, does our money go furhter there?

Answer 1

As a rule, exchange rate has abslutely no relation with purchasing power.

But answering your question, it depends on what you're planning on. Cab rides and meals will be cheaper but air travel and lodging probably won't.

Compared to the US or Europe, Brasil's economy is less developed. This means that some services will be expensive because there's little competition. In other ocasions you wont be able to find what your looking for and have to settle for more (or less) than what you needed.

As an example of the latter, take the hotel industry. One of Brasil's major set backs tourism wise is the lack of 3 stars hotels. We have lots of 5 stars and not few 4 stars. Certainly there are a lot of unstared hotels too. But what we lack are the Best Westerns and Days Inns where you can stay for less than USD100 in a clean an safe place. You're likely to spend over USD 150 to200 for a really great place you might no need. Of course that will depend on where you're travelling too. Some towns, specially in the Northeast have a wide range of lodging.

If you're not travelling on a budget, you might find it cheap here, b/c a five star hotel here is still cheaper than in the US or Europe.

On the other hand, if you are away from largr cities like Sao Paulo and Rio, you can stay at the simple lodgings I mentioned and eat at simple yet decent places and really stretch your money.

Hope it helps.

Answer 2

Actually costs here are cheaper than USA, food, clothes, public transportation, gas is the same or expensive. If you have dollars will can use it so well.

Answer 3

it depense on the cost of living, i would think its cheaper than the US though.

Answer 4

A simple answer without getting into economics is yes!

Anything made in Brasil is dirt cheap - clothes, leather goods etc

Food is also very cheap.  One of the cheapest ways to eat there is at the 'por kilo' restaurants where you choose your food and pay depending on the weight.  It is fun and easy!  Street vendors are usually fine, but beware of the use of unboiled water, for e.g. when you buy corn on the cob, the water that it is cooked in is fine, but the water they dip it into before salting it will likely upset your stomach!

Most of the top hotels that charge in US$ are expensive.  You can find many great 3 and 4 star hotels and the thing is that you won't be spending much time in there anyway!

A good option if you are going to be there for a while (3 weeks +) is to rent an apartment.  It is a third to half cheaper than a 4 star hotel.