Mikeflanagan
Canadian expat in Brazil
Forum posts
475
Contacts
2
About me
Canadian
Speaks English Partial Portuguese
Registration: 12 September 2017
About
Occupation
I am Employed.
My expat journey
Recife, Brazil
Toronto, Canada
Activity
Assimilation: when is enough enough? by alexanderstephenlange
TL; DR some thoughts on plugging in (or not) to the culture/society. All comments welcome! How important to you is assimilation into Brazilian society? Do you even find yourself contemplating it? Is it self-imposed or something unconscious you don't ...
My Portuguese is still very poor however im well known in my area and everyone is always more than accommodating, helps and hinders at the same time. But for other folks - language even if its poor or you generally understand flows of conversations ... Read More
Starlink use in Brazil by Boondog
@abthree Thank you for responding. Yes, I bought a home in Casemiro de Abreu in the state of Rio they should be moving there sometime September October. Do you have any experience with Starlink in rural areas?Thanks again for your input. Regards. ...
Its hit and miss. and with the density of clouds in brazil you will be hard pressed for signal on the norm. Humidity and clouds = worse and poor signals.Is there any specific reason your anchoring to something like starlink ? Read More
Having trouble with credit card and debit card working by NewBrazil
Just when yesterday and today to my local supermarket to buy groceries. When I tried to pay with my international credit card it didn鈥檛 work. Called my bank they said everything thing should work. In the same store tryed to use my ...
So it all boils down to if your card is part of the PLUS+ network - normally its on the back of your bank card. or other thing thats super important here - if your card supports visa debit - just say credito each and every time as you will just have ... Read More
Looking for experiences in Rural areas with HughesNet by mberigan
Hi!I have a home in a rural area unserved by telephone services but that does have Internet. Initially, the area started with radio Internet and that helped people with communication and basic Internet services. Streaming works OK and generally ...
@mberiganOne thing I have noticed is if someone is providing fiber to your area, and its of better services - you can offer to pay for the fiber installation in full ( I had to do this once to an area ) and it was 2km out of bounds. Backup option ... Read More
Google Fi phone service good in Brazil? by alexanderstephenlange
Hello, ex-patriots!I have heard that Google Fi (a service I use here in the States) works well in Brazil.Anybody have any thoughts on that?I also understand that one should switch away from Google Fi to use a less expensive, native service... ...
like if spectrum provided phone services as example lol Read More
Google Fi phone service good in Brazil? by alexanderstephenlange
Hello, ex-patriots!I have heard that Google Fi (a service I use here in the States) works well in Brazil.Anybody have any thoughts on that?I also understand that one should switch away from Google Fi to use a less expensive, native service... ...
yea their reception in even capital cities is atrocious at best Read More
Google Fi phone service good in Brazil? by alexanderstephenlange
Hello, ex-patriots!I have heard that Google Fi (a service I use here in the States) works well in Brazil.Anybody have any thoughts on that?I also understand that one should switch away from Google Fi to use a less expensive, native service... ...
yeah helps - if your staying down and in the NE depending on the area you can look at TIM - claro tends to fib / exaggerate their coverage maps - avoid vivo or oi Read More
Google Fi phone service good in Brazil? by alexanderstephenlange
Hello, ex-patriots!I have heard that Google Fi (a service I use here in the States) works well in Brazil.Anybody have any thoughts on that?I also understand that one should switch away from Google Fi to use a less expensive, native service... ...
google fi is spot on but if you dont visit usa every year or such some folks service may get abruptly snipped. However if your on one of their flex plans they dont care so much and as long as your not abusing bandwidth ( sits around 20g per month ) ... Read More
Remember: When Changing Phones... by Pablo888
April 4, 2026I just upgraded my phone (twice) recently. The upgrade path was easy but one thing I did not do before wiping out my old phone is:Make sure to login in both the old and new phone and transfer the account from the old to the new by QR ...
Basically for banking apps and such to avoid any scams or the likes - you need too transfer and authenticate any government or banking apps during a transfer.No big headache there - just a quick trip to your bank ATM and you will be sorted asap Read More
Typical cost of health insurance? by John_D
Is this a reasonable price for health insurance in Brazil?R$1255 monthly per person? (both in mid-60's)(with R$250 coparticipacao)
I trimmed mine off leaving my wife and daughter on it. For me out of pocket for a suprise eye surgery I had to foot a bill of 2500 reais.I am young & still working so no sweat off my balls there but if your in the older age bracket - totally ... Read More
No More Paying A Ransom for Amazon.com Orders by Roddie Simmons
Let me explain. This is not something I think will happen to others, hopefully. I live in a very small village of less than 3,000 people in Northeastern Brazil. There are times when I do not think I can get a product locally (i.e., my computer ...
@abthree this 100% my family sent a nice dress and gold jewellery for my daughters most recent birthday, well over 10 mil in taxes juros - always ask for people to vet packages prior to sending Read More
VPN's ANYONE by Roddie Simmons
Bom Dia! i have had a really rough week. hint my YouTube computer blew up. My quick question is about anyone who has a VPN or would recomend a brand. I currently have EXPRESS VPN and it is usually the best, but with my computer situation, I have to ...
Ya if you need help with it shoot a pm. Normally 403 is auth related issues for express vpn which may just require something like using revo uninstaller to do a full removal and get rid of hidden config files - restart computer reinstall from your ... Read More
Atestado de resid锚ncia no exterior by UhOhDetran
Just wondering if anyone (Brazilian or expat) left Brazil for a while and then applied for a "Atestado de resid锚ncia no exterior". It's a document that you apply for and get from the embassy stating that you've been living outside of Brazil ...
Just keep in mind that canada and brazil share a tax treaty to avoid double taxation between the two countries. Read More
Tried to use my girlfriend CPF by NewBrazil
I was at a grocery store as a experiment I put my girlfriend CPF in but the cashier said it didn鈥檛 work. Did it twice still didn鈥檛 work. When I put my CPF it works. I found it strange it didn鈥檛 work. This was just using a regular ...
normally its optional. In recife we dont do it for groceries ( bill is usually circa 700-1200 biweekly ) electronics is mandatory as those are heavily taxed items already so no way around that Read More
98 lb dog to Brazil??? by sjpetzold
I am trying to move my 98 lb Giant Schnauzer to Brazil and it is becoming a nightmare! He needs such a large crate (700 size with possible extension) that most airlines that still move pets can鈥檛 move him due to the size. The only options that ...
@Peter Itamaraca ya people were getting a bit willy nilly with what qualifies as an ESA so they forgone that for most airlines lol.imagine a mastiff any breed as an ESA lol Read More