You know that a country is going through an economic crisis when your friends from Brazil don’t begin their days by posting photos of their morning coffee, but by commenting on the exchange rate between the Brazilian real and the US dollar. When more people know the exchange rate of their country’s currency than the league position of EC Bahia, it’s a sure sign that the currency is tanking (although both of them are doing equally bad).
And indeed: Since I so cleverly made the decision to move to Brazil half a year ago, the Brazilian real has continued its downward trend. Compared to a year ago, it lost almost half its value.
I am currently using the Lonely Planet South America guidebook to plan my upcoming move to Brazil, and it lists the exchange rate as 1 euro = 2.69 reals. That was in August 2013. Now, one euro buys 4.6 reals. What euro crisis, I wonder?
For someone like me, who earns in EUR and USD, this means that Brazil is becoming more affordable. Granted, some of these gains are eaten up by inflation, but as long as inflation is lower than the loss of the currency’s value, I will be fine. I won’t need to purchase any imported goods, so I won’t be hit by the reduced international purchasing power of the real either.
Maybe, just maybe, I might even be able to rent an apartment and won’t need to sleep in parks and train stations. What a luxurious thought, thanks to Brazil’s economic policy!
The Happy Hermit 
Hi Andrew,
Moving to Brazil sounds amazing. The Brazilians I have met have all been cheerful and positive people to be around. I don’t know much about there social policies though the update on the economic situation is interesting.
Here’s to hoping you can make the most of the journey.
Regards,
Sharon
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Thank you!
I hope to have a lot more insight in a few months.
It’s not safe to sleep in parks. Only homeless to it. And there’s no train stations in the Brazilian north and northeast. But there are many bus stations called “rodoviária”.
Thank you very much!
Yes, my search for trains has mostly revealed freight trains, unfortunately.
hmmmmmmm……don’t count your chickens before they hatch…depreciation usually implies inflation (or that the Brazilian government is totally sketch and has no foreign reserve to meet exchange demands). I bet Brazilians are paying a lot more BRLs for their feijoada this year than last. More than likely, your euro probably has about the same purchasing power in Brazil this year as it did last year. Sorry for the bad news.
So far inflation seem to be in check (by Brazilian standards): http://www.inflation.eu/inflation-rates/brazil/historic-inflation/cpi-inflation-brazil-2015.aspx
I also guess that many products have become much more expensive in Brazil, but this should primarily affect imports. Because I only need housing, transport and food, but no electronics or any foreign brands, I should be able to benefit from this spread between inflation and depreciation.