IT'S ONE BIG COUNTRY!

Almost as large as the USA. Not easy to describe; nor understand.  You really have to come and see it, but even then, you are far from being an expert on the country by visiting only once. Beware of the Gringo expert who has never lived, worked and earned a living here.  Tom Jobim said "Brazil is not for beginners". True words! 

YOUNG PEOPLE

It is a country of and for the young.  Frustrating and irritating at times, but never dull.  From the loud and hectic city life of São Paulo to small, quiet towns in the interior or along the coast; Brazil offers lifestyle options.

THE LANGUAGE: Portuguese
If you are seriously interested in living and working in Brazil you MUST SPEAK THE LANGUAGE!  You must be able to communicate. You cannot just get on a plane, show up, and start working.  Aside from the problem of not being able to speak the language, you need to have the proper visa.

The North:  (Acre, Amapá, Amazonas, Pará, Rondônia, Roraima, Tocantins)

This is the vast Amazon Basin.  A mixture of Indian tribes, loggers, miners, ranchers, rubber growers and farmers.  Poor with limited infrastructure except in the larger cities.   Most travel is by riverboat; except in Tocantins.

The Northeast: (Alagoas, Bahia, Ceará, Maranhão, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Piaui, Rio Grande do Norte, Sergipe)

The old Brazil.  Poor, but with modern urban areas. Noted for its beaches. Boom in international tourism along the coast.  Growing rapidly industrially as well.

The Central-West:  (Goiás, Distrito Federal - Brasilia, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul)

Frontier country. Vast region of large cattle ranches and farms (soybeans, eatable beans, cotton, sugarcane, swine, chickens).  Many of the farmers and ranchers who are developing this region have come from The South.

The Southeast:  (Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo)
 

The largest concentration of population.  São Paulo is the financial and industrial center of the country. Largest Japanese community outside Japan.  Also very important agriculturally.  Rio, aside from tourism, is also an important shipping, ship building and petroleum hub.  Belo Horizonte, the capital of Minas Gerais, is important in mining, coffee and cattle.

The South:  (Paraná, Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina)

The most economically advanced region.  Living standard similar to Spain.  Notable European influence due to immigration from Germany, Italy, and other European countries.  Agricultural advanced.