List at least a dozen other places, with beaches, year around sun, live poker, very safe, no victims of crime, cheap. You said dozens, I'm good if you can name 12.

Generally speaking, SE Asia... almost everywhere is cheaper and 100x safer. In most places you can be stumbling around drunk in the middle of the night and you still probably won't be touched. I don't really drink much, but I do have a tendency to wonder around at night looking for late night food. With a few exceptions of big cities and tourist traps, you're really safe. I never felt the need to change anything about me, and carried whatever I wanted with me whenever I wanted. You can play poker on the internet instead of playing what is almost microstakes live that has ridiculous rake.

In contrast, the Latin American cities I've visited I didn't even bother taking my DSLR anywhere. hahaha Big chunk of the cities didn't look just poor. They looked "ghetto" with all sorts of shady people where I felt I needed to watch my back 100% of the time and be on my guard. And that's during the day. I didn't get a good vibe wondering around during the day, and I sure as hell wouldn't come back at night.

HelloFriends, you're used to it and maybe you think this is all normal. But trust me, it's not. I've visited almost a dozen countries in Africa and none of the big cities outside of South Africa come even close to the ghetto-ness that is in Latin American big cities. This was a big revelation for me, at least. (Although I haven't been to Kenya/Nigeria/Congo or anything like that.)

THIS is not happening anywhere in Asia, except for maybe Manila/Jakarta:
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=06f_1381668990

But what would really piss me off about living in Brasil is ridiculous import taxes. Hello $1900 Playstation and $5000 crappy motorcycle that costs $1400 in India. It's just not good value, unless you live like a total tourist out of your backpack.

IMO, the biggest things that Latin American countries have going for them are:

- Spanish is a good language and useful to learn
- Women are hotter and have more style and passion
- People in general are much easier to relate and make friends

whoa, just when I was going to say brazil isn't that violent, four guys in two bikes just passed by my building shooting at each other. i'm freaking out right now.

dc elaborated more.. but since im not a fan of southeast asia (i dont wanna live in a 3rd world country again for a loooong time).. ill just list european cities with the criterias you mentioned. "with beaches, year around sun, live poker, very safe, no victims of crime, cheap"

vilamoura, lisbon, cadiz, marbella, benalmadena, malaga(casino not in town), fuengirola (casino not in town), ibiza, mallorca, malta, tenerife, las palmas.

from malaga or fuengirola to torrequebrada casino is about 15min drive. South portugal and south spain has more than 300 sunny days per year, and malta is considered the country with best weather in the world.
Lisbon is a bit out of the curve, but its still very cheap for a capital and its a good option if you like bigger cities, although id choose malaga over lisbon.

A hundred times more safe in SE Asia? Come on dude.

A year ago you said, ITT, that you never been to Brazil. Which Brazilian cities have you visited since then? A lot of what I read in your post is about South American countries in general, which is basically like saying you went to Rome once, Europe looks amazing.

As for the bolded. Is this a level? Why should I trust you, when after all I'm the one who lives here? You visited SA and in your opinion it's all ghetto. This, to be very frank, is a major generalization.

The LiveLeak link is a robbery gone bad. In Brazil, cops will not ask you to surrender when answering a robbery call. They shoot first, then ask questions. When this happened it surfaced that the cop was off duty, heading home from work. While waiting for a green light he stumbled upon this. You're saying that this will only happen in Brazil? Google 'robbery gone bad'.

I do however agree with you about the import taxes. It really is ridiculous. In it self the idea is good; to protect their own industry they have a law that says the government will add taxes ranging from 50 to 80% on anything that's imported. In some cases I can understand why they do this, for instance in the case of the auto industry. They manufacture cars in Brazil. But electronics is a major hassle, since they don't manufacture anything decent. Cell phones, XBOX, TVs etc. Very expensive.

See the bolded again in my reply to you. We were talking about countries, not cities. You are Brazilian, am I correct?

Speaking of the negatives I will list the major points that frustrates the most:

- Import taxes

Previously covered. A major negative in terms of electronics and motors.

- Bureaucracy

Those times you need to deal with the government will be a major pain in the ass. Long lines, illogical rules, lots of red tape. Every contract/document needs to be stamped by the local notary etc.

- Banking

Insane lines, you need to order money in advance to make bigger withdrawals etc. Any day at the bank can easily take 2 hours. My personal record is now at 4,5 hours. Most of the normal credit cards can only be used in Brazil. CC are also very expensive.

- Traffic

Tho Natal is nowhere near Sao Paulo or Rio, the traffic can be pretty bad. This is also probably down to closed roads near the new WC stadium etc, but I can't see it getting any better after the Copa.

do you want to move to a place to improve your life or compare gigantic diverse countries ?

there is no point to mention, for example, USA... since san diego is completely different than minneapolis..
the same with brazil.. the cities are totally different... natal from floripa from manaus from sao paulo..

why are you so worried about the country itself ? you will live in the city, and travel around.. which brazil is definitly the worst country to travel around from the mentioned ones..
btw, if we are gonna compare countries.. its not even fair.. brazil is by far the ****tiest country between spain, portugal and malta..

i mentioned the cities because in the city you can compare criminality, cost of life, weather and other things..
these factors are completely different from malaga to bilbao for example.. and its the same country.

Lol, local news in Rio was making a report about thugs who steal people's necklaces around the city. They showed lots of cases of how it goes down and then asked a lady in the streets what she thought about it. while she was being interviewed, someone tried to rob her own necklace.
http://globotv.globo.com/rede-globo/...vista/3270941/

Just been looking at some stats and it looks like Singapore is about 125x safer, with only 1/480k people getting murdered compared to 25/100k in Brazil.

Thailand however appears to only be between 3-5x safer, Vietnam about 14x safer.

The major difference I see is that in SEA you don't really have to try too hard to stay out of trouble, where in SA I definitely feel like a major target and I actually HAVE to stay out of certain areas at night and be on guard in a lot of different situations (like just taking a taxi is an opportunity to get robbed). Never had that sense in SEA.

But violence isn't the only factor obviously in choosing a place to live.

People are going to live in one place over another for a lot of reasons, like, love of travel, love of cuisine, physical attractiveness of the women, adventure, how conducive the time zone is to grinding, All sorts of reasons.

By all accounts it sounds as if Brazil has enough charm for a lot of people to override those concerns, which actually has me eager to check it out... though perhaps only for a month or two staying in the best lit touristic zones

100x was a bit of an exaggeration, I've yet to go to Brazil, and you're right that not the whole continent and every city on the continent is the same.

But it's still no comparison. Cheap parts of Europe are nicer, easier, can be ridiculously cheap, and usually better in many other quantifiable ways. And places in SE Asia have the novelty of a developing country without the problems that Brasil has.

All of this is a bigger issue for some people than for others. For some poor backpacker living out of one bag, crime and import taxes are not a big concern. They can hole up by some beach somewhere and as long as local food is cheap, their life is cheap.

But if someone wants a more normal life that includes some travel and some toys, other places are easier than Brasil. And usually the longer someone stays in one place, the more they desire. Sitting around on the beach each day is not enough.

I looked up the crime stats for Natal and even though it's a bit on the high side, it looks like a perfectly reasonable place. (this presupposes that foreigners are not targeted for crime.) But if I lived there, I would still want to get a motorcycle or something and explore. So first I would have to buy my *ridiculously* overpriced motorcycle, and then I would end up in Recife, Salvador, and other nearby cities - all of which have crime rates much higher. The sort of crime stories coming out of Brazil simply don't happen in Europe or SE Asia. You don't have to worry about a thing. There are no favellas in SE Asia or Europe. You can wonder blindly into every corner of the country and you'll be perfectly fine. No research or "precautions" required.

This, also, even if in the past a place has been lenient, all it takes is a change in whoever is heading immigration or a little bit of bad press and things can change very quickly.

Do you Natal guys know of any private car/taxi-for-hire companies that do airport pickups there?

Arriving around 3 a.m. and unsure of how easy/difficult/sketchy the taxi situation is going to be there...

As long as there is planes landing there will be taxis there. A lot of them.

So our tour group has set up a bunch of activities that we can choose to or not to take part in while in Natal. Can you help me figure out which of these activities are worth doing?

*A party night of traditional forró dancing (i assume this involves getting drunk)
*Dune buggy trip through Redinha, Santa Rita, Genipabu, Barra do Rio, Graçandu, Pitabgui and Jacumã.
*Maracajaú snorkeling/diving
*Pipa excursion
*Cunhaú excursion
*Baduê boat trip
*Joāo Pessoa trip
*Party with live music at Arena Volks (I assume this is also a drunkfest)
*Deep Sea Fishing
*Play 11-on-11 with or against players from America de Natal (this will apparently be happening every day.)

None of this stuff is free but I've spent a bunch of money to have a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Brazil for the World Cup. I've got like 8 free days to experience some things and just really would like to know if any of this stuff is just dumpy and not worth seeing. The descriptions make this stuff all look great. But obv tourist trap possibilities exist.

The prices being quoted for the fishing trip are 1200-1500usd including all tackle and guides all day. Beers, waters and lunch too. Is this in line with what prices I could find elsewhere on my own? The boats range from 30ft to 50ft.

Honestly the playing with the local team looks like the coolest thing on the itinerary but it's kind of expensive to participate even if someone had played soccer growing up. And I most certainly never did. I'll probably go hang and watch at least once though.

Also, staying at Ponta Negra and wondering where the best place to catch the matches on TV would be. Just cool bar atmosphere or on the beach drinking? Any place there that's pretty hopping that I shouldn't miss for nightlife? I'm ~30, white and a pretty seasoned traveler if that means anything.

The more I research Natal the more I'm excited to spend a lot of time there. It seems like a pretty chill place where the people will actually be welcoming for tourists. Am I off on this assumption?

One more question... the women you posted earlier in the thread. Those are like, 8s and 9s in the area right? And not typical? And is breast enhancement surgery popular there? I live in Korea and it's not common to see such things without surgical enhancement.

I've been to Brazil twice but never north of Brasilia. I was 13 and 18 on my previous trips and though too young to have any clue I was floored by how approachable Brasilian women were in general. Friendly and not looking to punk you just for saying hi. Was I just running good because I was young and harmless or do you find the local Natal women to be that way as well?

Bolded the ones I would do as a gringo. The forró thing is a typical North Eastern thing and all the songs sound alike to me as a foreigner, but there will be tons of chicks there. I am assuming this will be at Rastapé, which is the biggest forró nightclub in town - and the best IMO. Bottle service here is also very cheap, so it could be a good night out.

Pipa if it is during a weekend. I work for a group that owns hotels there and I know that there will be a fairly big Dutch colony there for the WC, but most locals (chicks) go there for the weekends. During the WC it could be different, but try to go there for a few nights to get max value.

The deep sea fishing is expensive here compared to other excursions, but worth the trip. If you're lucky you can catch some big game out there. Being Norwegian I'm kinda spoiled when it comes to fishing and hunting, but I'd say the deep sea fishing here is good. I'd say those prices are within what you must expect to pay during the WC.

That soccer thing sounds cool. América finished mid table in the Brazilian Série B last season and this could be a very cool thing to do.

Dune buggys are fun and casual. Remember sun protection tho, you will be on the back of that thing for a few hours. It's a pretty cool thing to do during the day. They always make pit stops at bars along the rivers, so you can get a little buzz going if that's your thing.

As far as bars with TVs go, they are all over the place. But I recommend checking out Carambar in Ponta Negra. An Englishman owns it and he told me he's open for more or less 24/7 during the Copa and will have a more international clientele. Bonus for good night life too there.

In the area, yes. I've seen some of the most beautiful women in my life down here - they are very body focused - the majority of the girls you will meet works out a lot, very proud to show off their highlighted areas so to say.

Yeah breast enhancements is fairly common, but not an insane amount of girls have this. They are far more into ass and thighs. Big booty and thighs. Strange sight at first, but once you get used to it...

They are very approachable in general, I agree. It certainly helps if you can speak the language a litte bit, but it's not a must. Sign language goes a long way

I have to add something about the bars and clubs - and nightlife in general. Your typical bar/pub is not what you would expect from the climate back home (or colder areas at least). Lots of the places here have a small indoor area and a large outdoor ground where everybody will be. They have contingency plans for rain, like sail cloths type things - but most of the time it happens outdoors.

The clubs have a system that does not allow the average employee to be in the vicinity of money. So you have to buy these coupons when you pay the cover charge to get in. Or you will get a piece of paper where the waiters will fill in what you drink and you pay when you leave. If you want a table and a bottle you ask the head waiter once inside, they will then hook you up and you pay him directly. The going rate now is BRL 110 for a bottle of Smirnoff, then you are all set. The most expensive vodka they have is Grey Goose, but imo it's pointless because the girls will be impressed if they get Smirnoff.

Again, all things imported is twice the price. This means that Redbull is expensive and the girls love whisky/redbull.

Best clubs at the moment:

Pink Elephant - in the Tirol neighborhood. Also the most expensive. Lots and lots of girls.

Pepper's Hall - in Ponta Negra. Not very expensive, also a lot of women folk. Sometimes they have live music instead of a DJ - and sometimes both.

Decky's - calling this a club is a stretch, but they have a mix of live music, DJ, forró etc.

Rastapé - mentioned earlier. Both them and Decky's is located in Ponta Negra.

Sancho Bar - a fairly hidden gem in Ponta Negra, right next to Rastape. Very good on Sundays. A good mix of normal and working girls. Forró and DJ. Owned by a Spanish poker player.

Addendum - very important - bring your ID when you go out at night. Most clubs ask for an ID regardless of your age.

Wow, thanks for the awesome info! I'll be sure to check out as much of that stuff as possible. My buddy is married so we won't be trolling for women, but it'll be nice to experience anyway. Is there anything completely off my radar that I'm gonna miss out on?

No problem friend.

I would try to check out the more or less famous beaches in the area. Genipabu on a Sunday is cool, bit it gets really crowded.

Praia do Amor and Praia do Madeiro in Pipa is also very nice.

Other than that I can't think of anything else. Just have fun.

EDIT: Play some poker perhaps.

The new airport has officially opened and as such all operations at the old one has ceased. This means that for those of you coming down for the World Cup the trip from the airport to the hotels is half an hour/1 hour longer than normal. Partly because they haven't finished the main road leading from the center of Natal all the way up there and partly because it's pretty far away from Ponta Negra/hotels.

So far it seems that things have gone smoothly, but I anticipate chaos in 10 days time.

Just told my moms that I have this little blog here and she correctly pointed that I should tell everyone what you do if the sh** hits the fan and you need a doctor or worse, a hospital.

Assuming most of you going down for the WC have travel insurance you should check with your provider which hospitals they cover. Here in Natal there are many hospitals - thankfully I haven't been to them all, but I have heard stuff and I have visited friends there.

The three best ones are Natal Hospital Center, Hospital Unimed and Hospital do Coração de Natal. Google that for addresses and such.

The most important one is the 24 hour medical centers (posto de saude). These are basically small doctors offices that will see you for cash, no insurance needed. It's not cheap, but very effective. They can also refer you to the right hospitals when they know what type of coverage you have.

In Ponta Negra there is one very decent one, in Rua Monte Sinai, right next to Nordestao Shopping. I've been there several times, often to get sleeping pill prescriptions etc. Clap prescriptions et al.

An expat I know here had his father visiting and said father had a massive stroke. They got him to a very randomly selected hospital (you can imagine the stress level and then trying to find the right place to take him) and it turned out he didn't have travel insurance. So he stayed nearly 6 weeks before they were able to transport him back home to Norway, only after the embassy guaranteed that he was able to pay the hospital bill.

Remember the insurance before you go.

I hope you guys enjoyed Natal during the WC. Myself, I've been stuck in Norway for the last month. Sick father etc. Thankfully he'll recover soon.

Poker news. For the first time in its history the BSOP will come to town. The Stage 5 of the series will take place at Sehrs Natal on September 4th to the 8th. Normally it pays like 200K-300K USD for first, and is kinda inexpensive to enter with only BRL 2.200. I'm deffo playing this. They also have High Rollers events, but I'm not sure how good these are (4-5K entry). Should also be some legit cash games.

Me being in Norway so long means I'm not playing the ranking tournies locally. These tournaments can give you a free BSOP package. It's TL;DR, but it goes like this: They have a 2 monthly ranking system. It's 4 tournaments per week, ranging from very cheap to BRL 100 BI. Different structures etc. You get points for entering, more points for FT, even more for HU and for a win. The top ten players come the end of 2 months play a final table where your starting stack depends on the place on the ranking. You get the point.

The winner gets a BSOP package, which includes entry, hotel and air fare and an additional smaller sum for spending monies. It's kind of cool and I'm going to try to play as many donkaments as I can when I go back. I was just looking at the current leader board and it's full of ass clowns. It should be very doable to finish top 5 here. Only thing that can potentially be a stumbling block is work, but I think I can play at least 20 (out of 32) tournaments in 2 months. It's Monday, Tue, Wed and Fri. Ez game.

In other news I heard that the torrential rain a few weeks ago caused havoc down by the sea. Two new high rises had to be evacuated because of mud slides. I'm guessing this is bad news for the contractors. When it rains for 2,5 days non stop, things go wrong. I had a friend of mine go by my house yesterday to check on things and he said I have a major leak and one of the walls in the living room is ****ed. **** Life.