i was looking at apartments at airbnb and everything costs like 3000-4500 reals per month and they are quite bad... what do you recommend?

Wow, that's not at all how the general market is. If you're looking at high rises in Ponta Negra it will be from 1.200 to 2.000 a month, incl gas, condo fees and property taxes. Furnished. The newer ones will be around 2.200.

I'd recommend looking at http://natal.olx.com.br/casa-apartam...luguel-cat-363

That site does not come in English, but you get the gist. I also know most of the movers and shakers so I can probably get you in touch with someone who takes care of this for you, just send me an IM etc.

i heard electronics can be 2-4x as expensive in Brazil as the US...if i were to fly there with for ex. a laptop, iphone, PS4, etc...would i be able to arb them for profit? how difficult would it be to find buyers?

Yeah, import taxes here is crazy. Recently walked by a store at Natal Shopping who wanted 4K reais for the new XBOX.

You can easily sell phones and PS/Xbox, not sure about laptops because of the keypads. Around the poker community there will always be buyers for gadgets IMO.

My time in Brazil is nearing its end. I'm changing jobs and as a consequence, countries/continents.

It leaves me with mixed feelings tbh. I've spent a total of 5 years here now I think, and thoroughly enjoyed every single one, but it's kind of a relief to be going. There are some things about Brazil that simply drives you nuts. Over time you'll experience it, no matter how seasoned you are.

The friendships I have made here cannot be replaced though. Say what you will about Brazilians, but they are hands down the most welcoming people on the planet. Even tho they are horrible winners at the poker table, they are most gracious in defeat. And you will probably never find a more loud populous in a poker room ever, but they play with heart and genuine joy. On their on turf it's easy to forgive and laugh along.

It's not easy to break my stay here into a short post, but I'll try to sum it up with pros and cons.

Pros:

Climate
Lady folk
Poker is totally legal (live and online)
The tranquil of it all

Cons:

Prices are going up, fast
Banking is difficult as a gringo
The overall corruption
Crime*

* I've never been the victim of any criminal behavior whatsoever during my years here. Crime is very real here though, and you should take precautions. Be safe.

I'm extremely pleased to be leaving on good terms with Brazil. I've seen countless gringos bow under in the end, living here can eat you up if you are prone to the various vices they have on offer.

Hi there
nice thread.

I have couple of questions, I will be staying in Ponta Negra, probably in the D resort for around one week around middle October. I speak no Portuguese at all.

1) Any other choices for poker other than Meza and clube do poker?

2) What time games normally start and until what time are there running table usually on weekends and weekdays?

3) Is $US currency exchange a rib off there? should I come with BR?

4) Do i need to rent a car? i am mostly concerned about safety while going back and forth to these two locations, and probably any other poker place around.
- CDP seems a walking distance, is it safe at 1 or 2 am?
- Are cabs safe?
- are there any incidents of players being stalked after leaving?

5) Any touristic attractions one should not miss around the area?

Many thanks

My 2c

Don't miss Genipabu!
And IMO anywhere in Brazil isn't totally safe at 1am.

GPS:

1) In Ponta Negra there are no other options. Meza is currently by far the best place.

2) both clubs open around 18.30. On the days when they have tournaments cash games tend to start later in the night.

3) bring USD here and change into BRL when you arrive. Any bank will do, also the cambios.

4) rent a cheap car (Gol or something), should be about 30 bucks per day. You shouldn't be walking around down there alone after 23:00. It's very to get around here by car once you know the way. Cabs are safe and cheap also.

I've never heard of anyone being robbed after leaving the clubs. There was one incident with a couple of players and dealers who met at a diner after playing a tourney who got robbed, but it was very likely unrelated to poker.

5) as said, Genipabu and beaches like this around. Lots of beautiful spots around.

Good luck on your next adventure HF, and thanks for making this thread/providing a lot of helpful information.

Thank you Gramps, high five.

Anyone who wants to know why I prefer Meza before CDP, send me a PM.

Nice thread!

Shame I only stumbled across it just as you are leaving..
I live here in Natal - been on and off for a while, but full time here now.
When are you leaving?

We may have met at Meza before - mostly play cash with a few tournies thrown in.
I'm the English guy whom Rose nicknamed Visconde. Had longer hair and a bit of a beard for a while, and she said I reminded her of Visconde de Sabugosa : D

Totally agree that Meza is the best place for live poker here.

Although I've never had any trouble here, I definitely wouldn't recommend walking around late at night (anywhere in Brazil really). Especially as if you're coming from playing poker, there's a good chance that you'll have a lot of cash on you, which you probably wouldn't want to get stolen.

And to GPS, or anyone else visiting Natal for that matter:
If you change USD to Reais and have some left over at the end of your trip - I might be interested in buying them off you (if you have a skrill account). Same for Euro and GBP. Save us both on conversion fees etc.

Can you recommend any resources for learning about real estate here in Brazil?
(particularly Natal)

Either general info / news / resources in order to get to know the market better here, or specific places to look / agencies / methods that you could recommend would be great.
I'm familiar with olx, vivareal and a few other general agency sites.

It'd be interesting to be able to see historic price trends for various areas, or any other useful info / data like that for building knowledge about the field.
English preferred, but Portuguese ok too!

Thanks!
I'll ship you a pint (well, bottle of skol) if you have the time : )

I live in Mossoro (city between Natal and Fortaleza) and think it's a great place to buy atm.

KansasCT: many thanks, I will give it a visit, it looks close to PN.


HelloFriends: thanks for the detailed info. I will be renting a car, since I will be driving around the area. I will be hitting both clubs every night, if i survive jet lag. If you will be around there that time, I definitely say hi.


mmmutiny: that will be great, but i do not have skrill unfortunately, in addition, i usually exchange according to my need gradually, unless i hit a big win at the table, i don't think i will be left with much BR.

Great thread again.

A little off topic and a long-shot but does anyone have any information on poker in Joao Pessoa? Any known card rooms?

ha i saw this a few times even in leblon, they run up snatch and are gone.

Federacao Paraibana or something like that, google it.

The quality of the field is generally higher in JP than Natal, at least for tournaments. They have some pretty decent players there. They also have more clubs even though JP is about half the size of Natal.

Your last paragraph resonates well... someone once said "Brazil is not for amateurs." The more time I spent there, the more I understood that quote.

Bumping because a 15k gtd tournament is happening this weekend in Natal and I'm playing day 1b! I think it's a no brainer for any poker player around the city this weekend.

I'm playing today too!
Good luck (unless you're on my table of course ; )

Are you the Australian guy? Or the club owner?
Ah, just read your "visconde" post. I have no idea who you are, but I was the dude with the green sweater and the PokerStars shirt + Russell from the movie Up as a card holder

The tournament had a nice field and the guaranteed doubled, pretty nice. Didn't specially like the structure though, and the addon was really expensive.
****ing busted in the last level , too.

I have been to Natal on several occasions. It is really a pleasant place to enjoy sun sand and sea. People are very friendly and helpful for those visiting the city for the first time. There is this web site that has some pictures and useful information: http://www.natal.brazil-report.com/

I hope it helps.

Hey HelloFriends, thanks for all the information.

My friends and I (all online poker players) are looking at Natal to possibly move to for six month. In the past we've lived in Playa Del Carmen, Buenos Aires, Medellin and have traveled South America. Brazil and Natal are high on the list for us because of the climate, beaches and women. The wants are:

Live very close to the beach. Hopefully a local thong bikini (top priority, obv) beach. No tourist and plastic chairs please!
Hot local women, who aren't working girls, are approachable, have the latina passion.
Being able to meet locals and feel part of the "community", so being able to do Portuguese classes in a school, or join clubs etc.
The city not being too big and overwhelming so that we get lost and anonymous in it. A walkable neighborhood.
Good food options.
Not ridiculously expensive.
Reliable internet.

Natal seems that it certainly beats out Rio, Sao Pauloa, Fortaleza for those. My question is are there any other cities we should research in the north of Brazil (Joao Pessoa looks like a good option)?

Also about Natal, how difficult would it be to find either 2 2 bedroom apartments (in the same building), a 4 bedroom apartment or a house (close enough to the beach) for 6 months from June until Jan? I know that starts high season and we are gringos who aren't long term renting so in the past it's been difficult. Do you have any recommendations?

Thanks for everything. Sorry for the standard sounding pokerplayer-gringo-expat moving to latin city wants sun, beaches and women question.

I've lived close to both Natal and Rio (I'm close to Natal now). And I've gotta say, you should really pick a small city in Rio. I used to live in Rio das Ostras and it was great. It's a very small city in Rio state but it has everything you need and it's close enough to Rio (the city).
There's a joke among northerners that Natal has the ugliest women in the country lol. The South certainly beats the north in that sense. The more you go to the south, the prettier they are. Following that logic, expect women from Santa Catarina to be the hottest. You should definitely look into that. They are also the best places to play poker. I can name two cities that you'd probably be interested in. Balneário Camboriu and Florianópolis.
If you still have the north in mind though, Fortaleza or Natal should be your options for sure. Forget all the rest.