Costs of living depends on various factors. First of all, as a foreigner one of the most important factors is the exchange rate between the currency you hold vs. the currency where you plan to go. Next comes location. If you live a small and medium size city the costs will be lower then living in one of Brazil’s mega cities like Sao Paulo and Rio. But location also matters within a particular city. You’ll spend more living in the high class part of town, then in the middle class, and you’ll spend even less living in the poorer parts of town, although this isn’t recommended because of safety issues. The final aspect of cost comes down to lifestyle. If you’re willing to live modestly you won’t spend much. However, if you want to ball in the city of Rio you’ll need a nice chunk of change.

How To Make Brazil Affordable, Even Cheap:

For those who are looking to take advantage or the lower cost of living in Brazil obtain a comfortable lifestyle for a lower cost, it can definitely be done. Like I mentioned above, you’ll want to rent an apartment in a middle class part of town. Don’t rent in the fanciest part of town. If you’re staying long term, don’t rent a furnished apartment. Rent an unfurnished apartment and get in the news papers and buy some used furniture found through the adds in the paper. Take public transportation and don’t rely too much on taxis. Don’t eat out at all or very little, instead shop for your groceries and cook your own food. If you live in one of Brazil’s smaller or medium size cities the cost for rent, utilities, cell phone, internet, transportation, food, health insurance, medical costs, clothes, haircuts, gym and miscellaneous expenses could range anywhere from $2,500 dollars to $4,000 per month. You can increase these costs by 50% if you move to the larger more expensive cities in Brazil.

Here’s a sample budget to show you how much you would spend per month in a small, medium size city with a comfortable lifestyle, taking some taxis, going out on weekends, having internet at home, etc.:

The Expensive Side of Brazil

Brazil use to be a lot cheaper because Brazil’s currency the “Real” was a lot weaker a decade ago. Since then, Brazil’s currency has appreciated greatly against the dollar and modestly against other currencies. For this reason, the cost of living in Brazil has increased greatly for foreigners who rely on currency differences to get great bargains. If you’re the type of person that only likes to take taxis, or wants to by a car, live in a fancy apartment, eat out often, and treat yourself lavishly in Brazil’s most well known cities you’ll find that the costs add up. Although you might save some money compared to say, the same lifestyle in New York, places like Rio and Sao Paolo wouldn’t fall to far behind on cost.

So How Much Does It Cost?

Although Brazil is not as cheap as it was, say 10 years ago, there are still various ways to live comfortably at a lower cost then most places in North America. However, it all depends on location and lifestyle. If you want a penthouse in the best part of Rio, and give yourself a lavish lifestyle, you could end up spending big bucks. By applying a more modest lifestyle you can end up living comfortably in Brazil at a very affordable cost.

Ecuador is a larger less explored, cheaper version of Costa Rica. Many people tout Costa Rica for the proximity of it’s different ecological landscapes. You can be on the coast, in the jungle, and high up at the volcano peek in just a matter of hours. The same can be said for Ecuador although it’s a bit larger. Ecuador has a great coast, a tropical amazon region, and mountainous region which offers a diverse ecological landscape in a relatively small geographic region. Apart from that Ecuador is probably 1/3 or at least 1/2 as affordable as Costa Rica. Ecuador is very often ranked as one the of the cheapest countries in Latin America. As far as the women, Costa Rica probably has more attractive women per capita, but Ecuador does have it’s fair share of attractive women. Ecuadorian women tend to be more reserved, faithful and old fashioned then just about any other women in Latin America… Onto the top 5 things:

#1. Natural Rejection in the Galapagos Islands. As you peer out of your cabin you wouldn’t expect that the neon seas and coral shores mark not the peripheries of paradise, but of hell solidified – a savage wasteland of ash cliffs, petrified lava lakes and angry volcanoes. Despite all of this, you will be surprised to learn that nature and life abounds amongst it’s scarred landscape, albeit curious lifeforms, the result of many generations of adaptation to an uncomfortable dwelling. A marine iguana flashes you a mischievous smile before scuttling into the sea to feed – very unlike it’s ancestor’s on the continent. Nearby, yet another one-of-a-kind perches atop the rocks to dry it’s now useless wing stumps – a flightless cormorant which abandoned its aerial abilities for nautical ones years ago. Every island uncovers more animal oddities from giant tortoises to Darwin’s finches – each one a participant in the world’s most famed works of evolution.

#2. Retail Therapy at Otavalo Craft’s Market. At some point in your travels, you will be hit with panic – realizing your nearest and dearest are at home awaiting your offerings of exquisite gifts from a faraway land. If you happen to be in Ecuador count yourselves lucky – one of the largest craft fairs on the continent is Otavalo, brimming with crafts handmade by indigenous artisans. You can hover wide-eyed around stalls selling an astounding range of jewelery, musical instruments, carvings, paintings, textiles and a whole lot more. The phrase ‘Something for Everyone’ is an understatement – deciding who should have the locally made poncho and who back home will appreciate that two meter rain-stick is all part of the fun.

#3. Watching the Sun Rise from Volcano Cotopaxi. At 5897meters high – Volcano Cotopaxi is one of the highest and glorious active volcanoes on Earth. Starting your eight hour trek to it’s summit during the evening will mean most of the climb will be done under starry speckled skies. The payback of a grueling climb in the dark is reaching the top just in time to watch in awe one of the most spectacular sunrises our world has to offer. Cotopaxi’s yawning crater, the great peaks of the Andes and a distant Quito sleeping below the clouds are sights not to be missed.

#4. Standing On the Equator. Just half an hours drive away from Ecuador’s capital city is the middle of the earth – the equator. Don’t leave your camera behind as you will want to show the evidence of having one foot either side of the equator – marked by a simply painted red line. Just a little further is a rival museum which states that it sits directly on the ‘true’ equator line. On visiting the second location, expect to watch the wonderment of magnetic forces at work. Watch how a sink is filled with water and on pulling the plug, instead of whirling – water at the equator runs straight down the plughole. Genius. Amaze friend by balancing an egg atop a nail, performed with ease due to low gravitational pull at the middle of the earth.

#5. Fishing for Piranha in the Jungle. Trekking through the Amazon you will come in to contact with many notorious predators from the pesky Mosquito, the less than friendly Piranha and even those menacing missionaries! Your guide will try to give you the fear if you haven’t yet felt it – tales of piranha’s frenzied attacks and their flesh ripping teeth will put a stone in your throat. If you want a daring challenge – take the plunge and head out in a canoe to the murky waters of Piranha territory. Expect nothing more than a rather primitive set of tackle and bait – a long stick with a piece of twine and an extremely large metal hook carrying a lump of chicken. A mixture of panic and exhilaration will be something of the feelings you experience while tracking and catching your first Piranha.

I could rattle off hundreds of reasons to travel to South America, but quite honestly the most compelling reason of them all would be to meet some beautiful South American women. If there is any doubt about the femininity, and beauty of South American women, the ladies representing each country in past miss universe contests should erase all of those doubts.

#1. Miss Argentina

#2. Miss Bolivia

#3. Miss Brazil

#4. Miss Chile

#5. Miss Colombia

#6. Miss Ecuador

#7. Miss Paraguay

#8. Miss Peru

#9. Miss Uruguay

#10. Miss Venezuela

Simply put, South American women are some of the hottest women in the world. There’s not much more convincing needed.

Live in direct form Barranquilla, Colombia!

It’s been five weeks since I touched down in Barranquilla, and it’s been a hell of a time. Carnavales, good food, friendly caramel skinned ladies, and lots of sun… I can’t complain and I hope some of you guys can someday make the lifestyle change I’m in the process of making now. As the author of The Global Dating Revolution, I felt I really had to lead by example. I had a good, high paying, comfortable job back in New York but I left all that, including my apartment, and my girlfriend (I have a new girlfriend in Barranquilla, and a new apartment ), in order to prove to myself as well my readers that I don’t just talk the talk, I’m really walking the walk and am now living in Latin America. I don’t know if I’ll stay in Colombia longer then 6 months, I’ll play it by ear, but all I know is that I’ll be living somewhere in Latin America for the foreseeable future. So, I now give you part 1 of my recap of my five weeks here in Barranquilla Colombia.

First a little about Barranquilla:

Barranquilla is a coastal, port city, located on the north coast of Colombia. The capital of the Atlántico Department, it is the largest industrial city and port in the Colombian Caribbean region, and the fourth largest city in Colombia. It lies strategically by the delta of the Magdalena River, serving as port for river and maritime transportation. It is also known as the cradle of Colombian aviation and for its carnival.

Barranquilla’s Carnival (Spanish: Carnaval de Barranquilla) is celebrated for four days before Ash Wednesday. It is broadly recognized as one of the world’s largest carnivals; it is second only to the carnival of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. In November 2003, UNESCO proclaimed it as one of 28 different “masterpieces of the oral and intangible heritage of humanity.”

Week 1 (carnavales):
I arrived in Barranquilla with two lists. A list of phone numbers of the women I had met online, using my strategies for meeting women online, and a list of phone numbers and addresses to the apartments I had looked up through the Internet. The first step was finding a furnished apartment here in Barranquilla. These apartments are called “amoblados” and they are cheaper then hotels and they can be rented for the long term. I arrived a few days before the official start of carnavales, so I knew prices would be a little steep, by Colombian standards. Luckily for me I had met a nice girl named Vanessa online. Her cousin was a taxi driver and she picked me up at the airport with her cousin. Together with my little posse, we drove all over Barranquilla and called up every apartment on my list (with Vanessa’s cell phone). After an exhausting day of searching I finally found a decent apartment at a decent price. I paid about $450 for the whole month in a decent furnished apartment with Internet access. After I got all settled down I started getting ready for carnavales.

Although I have traveled extensively through Latin America, I’ve never been to any of it’s Carnavales and all I can say is WOW was I missing out! I’ve never been to the Brazilian Carnival, but it’s hard to imagine it being any better than the ones in Barranquilla. Rather than write about how great they were, I’d rather show you some pictures so you can see for yourself.

I’ve never been in a city where the entire population (1.2 million people) is in party mode. Think New Orleans Burbon Street on Mardi Gras, except that it’s not just Burbon Street, it’s the entire city! It was four days of drinking, parties, dancing, good food, and just plain old fun. I really wish they had something like this back in the United States, but the sad fact is that with all the rules and regulations back in the states, there’s no way in hell that something like this could ever take place.

Week 2:
I spent the second week meeting some of the women I had met online and also hanging out with some of the girls that I met during Carnavales. Towards the end of the second week, I ended up going to my first introduction agency event. Through a series of events I ended up attending Sam Smith’s I love Latins introduction tour. Sam was a great host and spending some time with Sam, his staff, and the guys who attended his tour really gave me a different view of introduction agencies, how they operate, and what they have to offer.

Over the years, I had heard a lot horror stories about some of the bad agencies/tours out there. But, Sam’s tour helped me gain a new perspective. Here’s the two main things that I took from Sam’s event and the time I spent at his event:

1. Introduction tours can be great for men who are a little hesitant to take their first trip, either because they’ve never traveled to Latin American country, don’t know the language, or are worried about the negative press and safety issues. When you go through an agency like Sam’s you get picked up at the airport, they provide translators for you, and they host events in hotel where you will most likely be staying. These events are places where you will be surrounded by hundreds of single local women, who are looking to meet an interesting foreign guy just like yourself.

2. It takes a long time, sometimes years, to convince a guy to take his first trip. But 90% of the time, after they take their first trip, they get hooked, they never regret it, and they never look back! Sam has noticed this through his agency, and I’ve noticed it through my website as well.

I spent the whole weekend at the I Love Latins events and I made a ton of friends, guys and girls throughout that entire weekend. That took me into the start of the third week. I’ll get into the next three weeks of my trip in part 2 of my Barranquilla summary.

To be continued…

Why Are Brazilian Women So Hot?

It’s common knowledge among men the world over, that Brazilian women rank among the hottest on the planet.

But the REAL question is WHY?

How To Make A Country Full Of Hot Babes In Only Two Centuries: A Short History of Hotness in Brazil

Brazil’s history is just as exciting as it’s current affairs, filled with ups, downs, and conflicts that could compete with any box office action thriller.

The Portuguese were the first European settlers to arrive in the area, led by adventurous Pedro Cabral, who began the colonial period in 1500. Little did Pedro know he was planting the seeds of future hotness that would become the famous the world over.

Unlike the colonizing philosophy of the Spanish, the Portuguese in Brazil were much less focused at first on conquering, controlling, and developing the country. Most were impoverished sailors, who were far more interested in profitable trade and subsistence agriculture than in territorial expansion.

Nonetheless, sugar soon came to Brazil, and with it came imported slaves. To a degree unequaled in most of the American colonies, the Portuguese settlers frequently intermarried with both the Indians and the African slaves, and there were also mixed marriages between the Africans and Indians. This interracial mixing of three very distinct genetic pools, would no doubt have an impact on the future hotness of Brazilian women.

As a result, Brazil’s population is a population of mixed babies, who through some miracle have managed to discover the perfect cocktail of the best genes available to man.

Most Brazilians possess some combination of European, African, Amerindian, Asian, and Middle Eastern lineage, and this multiplicity of cultural legacies is a notable feature of current Brazilian culture, and an EXTRA notable feature of the sexy bunda packin babes you’ll see all over Brazil…

These are facts.

Let’s get back to our history lesson… Portugal so treasured the colony of Brazil that they actually sent its people gold bullion to protect its integrity — quite an unusual action. It’s almost as if Portugal knew Brazil had something special in it, something that made it a South American treasure worth protecting and keeping pure.

In other words, they must have known the place was more or less dripping with smoking hot babes. There’s no other explanation. The Portuguese made some half-assed attempts to colonize parts of America, Canada and other South American areas, but Brazil was their baby — their hot, bikini-clad, long legged baby whom they would cut off several fingers to have sex with.

Brazil’s #1 Export:

Supermodels.

I realize, of course, that this article seeks to explain why Brazilian women are so hot, but — as many philosophers and Douglas Adams have stated — often the only reasonable answer to “why” is “why not?” There are so goddamned many gorgeous Brazilian women that it just seems to be a stone-set fact of life that Brazil manufactures beautiful women as a matter of course. For Chrissakes, one country produced all the following women:

Alessandra Ambrosio

Adriana Lima

Isabeli Fontana

Izabel Goulart

Ana Beatriz Barros

Gisele Bundchen

and Juliana Martins

A Booming Economy

Brazil has the highest GDP in all of Latin America, with significant agricultural and manufacturing sectors and an enormous labor pool. It makes some sense, perhaps, that with their economy going so well, Brazilian citizens are generally less panicked and take the time to care for themselves. It’s easier to eat right, exercise and use skin care products when your country isn’t quadrillions of dollars in debt — lord knows we are, and our hottest chick from a decade ago now looks like this:

Coincidence? I don’t think so.

Weapons of Mass Seduction

Come to think of it, there’s something rather sinister about how many hotties come from Brazil. The surplus hotness Brazil exports on a daily basis could feed the homeless for a decade, if spent properly. It’s almost as if Brazil is trying to corner the global market on attractive women — as if they want a monopoly on sexy.

I am of the opinion that Brazil actually wishes to wage war on the civilized countries of the world by flaunting their women in our faces — their supermodels act as the greatest combination defense and offense in the history of warfare.

Sure, the US could nuke them into oblivion with our massive super weapon stockpile, but we’d literally be killing the most beautiful women on the planet. Similarly, we might have a more stable government with (arguably) more personal freedoms, but hell; Brazil’s got the hottest women! On paper, our lives may be slightly better, but the Brazilian life is more WORTH living simply because the sex is BETTER, and more plentiful. Brazil knows that, outside of disturbing eugenic experiments, there’s no real way for the rest of the world to combat their legions of hotties.

Brazilians fight their wars not with bombs, but with bundas, bikinis, and bosoms. And they are DEFINITELY winning.

The Brazilian Wax & The Brazilian Thong

Is it any wonder that the two most famous things to come out of Brazil are the “Brazilian Wax” and the “Brazilian Thong”. Need I say more? Their minds must be on sex all the time, which leads to vaginal waxing, and hot babes prancing around the beach in skimpy thongs, which leads to better sex with better looking women, which leads to better looking kids, which leads to more and more sex… I know what you’re thinking… It’s a VICIOUS cycle I know we all WISH we could be a part of.

God bless Brazil,