Leaving Brazil...

[benjio]

After a two and half year stint here in paradise I was informed that my company wants me back in the states a few weeks ago. The oil industry has taken a dive globally, but no one feels it worse then we do here in Brazil because of widespread inefficiency that drive up costs, overtaxation of foreign companies and a huge problem with corruption. Although Brazil wasn't my favorite place in the world I really don't want to leave now. I finally got settled in about a year and a half ago and at this point I can honestly call this place home. Luckily my girlfriend has a U.S. Tourist Visa and has been several times so she'll be visiting me as often as possible in the states. I'm not sure what our future holds but she'd never leave Rio to live anywhere else so if things get anymore serious I'd have to return and find my own way to make a living here. The worse thing about this is returning to the U.S. lifestyle. There are things here I'm really going to miss. Fresh, naturally grown produce that's not full of pesticides and hasn't been genetically altered. I don't drive here and I've gotten use to that. I take taxis or the subway pretty much anywhere I can't walk. The beaches, the night life....way too many things to list. But most of all...THE WOMEN!! I'm not single but there's something pleasurable about walking around the city each day and seeing women that drop your bottom jaw so low you could trip over it. I honestly thought about sticking around and living off my savings until I can find something else, but it's too risky and at this point my investment goals and an early retirement is much more important. Oh well.....se la. It's been a hell of a ride.

[mudd]

i feel for you,

[robert angel]

Tough break Benjio, but I've got a feeling you could be in a pickle and make relish of it or in a jam and turn it into great jelly. Just be you, roll with it and I bet things will work out fine--if mysteriously! Best Wishes!

[bcc_1_2]

Unless she is independently wealthy and wants to support you she needs to go where your work is. If she's unwilling to do that it sounds like the end. I mean what are you going to do... teach English? I guess this is the point where the relationship gets put to the test.


I'm sorry to hear you don't get to stay, but there are good things about the USA. When you have a good partner here everyday, I can say it's not so bad.

[benjio]

Unless she is independently wealthy and wants to support you she needs to go where your work is. If she's unwilling to do that it sounds like the end. I mean what are you going to do... teach English? I guess this is the point where the relationship gets put to the test.


I'm sorry to hear you don't get to stay, but there are good things about the USA. When you have a good partner here everyday, I can say it's not so bad.

Her family is very well off...but it's from real estate (mostly vacation rentals of luxury apartments). I'm no handy man, or rental agent, etc. There's really nothing I could do in terms of work if we were to get married, I wanted to stay in Brazil, and her father offered me employment (and he probably would...the guy loves me now). After breaking up with my first girlfriend in Barranquilla I decided I'd never bring a girl stateside so that's not even an issue.


Also...Brazil is not Colombia, Peru or Mexico. There is much more opportunity here. Not just teaching English. I could probably very easily start my own IT Consulting Company and instantly have customers because of all the contacts I've made. Outside of ruffnecks and engineers that's exactly what most expats are in Brazil for...IT work. I'm just taking it all in stride now. I'd hate for it not to work out with her but after you've spent significant time in a place like Colombia, Brazil, etc. you realize there's so many single, beautiful women you can always find another one.

[bcc_1_2]

Her family is very well off...but it's from real estate (mostly vacation rentals of luxury apartments). I'm no handy man, or rental agent, etc. There's really nothing I could do in terms of work if we were to get married, I wanted to stay in Brazil, and her father offered me employment (and he probably would...the guy loves me now). After breaking up with my first girlfriend in Barranquilla I decided I'd never bring a girl stateside so that's not even an issue.


Also...Brazil is not Colombia, Peru or Mexico. There is much more opportunity here. Not just teaching English. I could probably very easily start my own IT Consulting Company and instantly have customers because of all the contacts I've made. Outside of ruffnecks and engineers that's exactly what most expats are in Brazil for...IT work. I'm just taking it all in stride now. I'd hate for it not to work out with her but after you've spent significant time in a place like Colombia, Brazil, etc. you realize there's so many single, beautiful women you can always find another one.

Good stuff. It will be interesting to see what happens. I can tell you from experience that an adult latina can move to the States and manage to not morph into a gringa.


I guess the other question is do you want to give up the chase? Managing and leasing properties... there is nothing wrong with that? What's stopping you from working for him?

[benjio]

Good stuff. It will be interesting to see what happens. I can tell you from experience that an adult latina can move to the States and manage to not morph into a gringa.


I guess the other question is do you want to give up the chase? Managing and leasing properties... there is nothing wrong with that? What's stopping you from working for him?

I don't think there's a position the wildest imagination could think up that would warrant him paying me enough to be content. I don't think this particular girl would change to the extent that I wouldn't want to be with her anymore (or she wanted to leave me) if I brought her stateside. Doesn't matter either way. She has made it abundantly clear that she's a Carioca for life.


As far as giving up the chase...well that's the million dollar question ain't it. So many hot [snip]ing women down here man. Regardless of what happens I'll be visiting for the rest of my life if I don't end up living here again.

[bcc_1_2]

well that's the million dollar question ain't it.

Yep.


And I gotta tell you, Mexico City was full of Chilangas (lol) that had it great and had no interest in leaving DF. They are perfect for having fun with, but if you are looking for a relationship.. not so good. Maybe you are with a great girl, but you haven't found that full package yet.

[benjio]

Yep.


And I gotta tell you, Mexico City was full of Chilangas (lol) that had it great and had no interest in leaving DF. They are perfect for having fun with, but if you are looking for a relationship.. not so good. Maybe you are with a great girl, but you haven't found that full package yet.

You might be right. I can definitely see myself marrying her but I don't have some overwhelming desire to do so right now. I'm trying to remember exactly what that feels like and if I've ever felt that way. I think most of my male friends in the states got married because it just seemed like the next logical step in the evolution of their relationship. Especially if there were already kids involved. I mean, I'm absolutely sure they all love their wives but we're very candid with each other. None of them EVER spoke about getting married like they do about other things....football or barbecueing for example. I could honestly stay with a woman forever, being faithful and supportive while maintaining an element of romance without ever walking down the aisle. But I love Latinas and we all know that ain't happening down south.

[fathertime]

After a two and half year stint here in paradise I was informed that my company wants me back in the states a few weeks ago. The oil industry has taken a dive globally, but no one feels it worse then we do here in Brazil because of widespread inefficiency that drive up costs, overtaxation of foreign companies and a huge problem with corruption. Although Brazil wasn't my favorite place in the world I really don't want to leave now. I finally got settled in about a year and a half ago and at this point I can honestly call this place home. Luckily my girlfriend has a U.S. Tourist Visa and has been several times so she'll be visiting me as often as possible in the states. I'm not sure what our future holds but she'd never leave Rio to live anywhere else so if things get anymore serious I'd have to return and find my own way to make a living here. The worse thing about this is returning to the U.S. lifestyle. There are things here I'm really going to miss. Fresh, naturally grown produce that's not full of pesticides and hasn't been genetically altered. I don't drive here and I've gotten use to that. I take taxis or the subway pretty much anywhere I can't walk. The beaches, the night life....way too many things to list. But most of all...THE WOMEN!! I'm not single but there's something pleasurable about walking around the city each day and seeing women that drop your bottom jaw so low you could trip over it. I honestly thought about sticking around and living off my savings until I can find something else, but it's too risky and at this point my investment goals and an early retirement is much more important. Oh well.....se la. It's been a hell of a ride.

Hey Benjio,


It sounds like a fun time you had.  Now you can leave with your head held high.  If you feel like going back later for this particular lady, it sounds like the door is open.  I tend to agree with your decision not remain in Brazil working as the father's lackey.  You have been your own man, and that is how you should remain.  IMO




So now what happens with your work?  Are you still employed, and just stuck here in the states?  Will you have a fair amount of vacation to travel?  Will you be able to get reassigned to another part of S. America, or perhaps another part of the world? 


Fathertime!   

[benjio]

Hey Benjio,


It sounds like a fun time you had.  Now you can leave with your head held high.  If you feel like going back later for this particular lady, it sounds like the door is open.  I tend to agree with your decision not remain in Brazil working as the father's lackey.  You have been your own man, and that is how you should remain.  IMO




So now what happens with your work?  Are you still employed, and just stuck here in the states?  Will you have a fair amount of vacation to travel?  Will you be able to get reassigned to another part of S. America, or perhaps another part of the world? 


Fathertime!

FT,


Thanks for your input. I agree...even if her father could pay me six figures it just doesn't feel like the kind of situation I'd want to put myself in. I didn't even want to rent an apartment from him last year when my first lease was up and he was going to put me in a 3 bedroom penthouse a block from the beach for a third of the price. He was going to let me stay in the apartment with no lease contract and just pay him in cash to avoid the taxes. But I kept thinking, "Damn...what if something happens between me and my girl after I move in." AWKWAAAARD!!! And with no paperwork the guy could have easily just put me out on my ass if we broke up.


As far as I know I still have my gig and traveling is always a part of the game. We're starting a huge project in Colombia in the Fall so I'll be back in Bogota quite a bit. We're also "downsizing" a few operations in Latin America and at times they need my assistance with that as well. Thankfully in my racket you really don't have to worry too much about unemployment. Even if they let me go I have headhunters contacting me once a month. My company is actually still hiring IT personnel and experienced engineers in the states. I really can't complain.

[bcc_1_2]

FT,


Thanks for your input. I agree...even if her father could pay me six figures it just doesn't feel like the kind of situation I'd want to put myself in. I didn't even want to rent an apartment from him last year when my first lease was up and he was going to put me in a 3 bedroom penthouse a block from the beach for a third of the price. He was going to let me stay in the apartment with no lease contract and just pay him in cash to avoid the taxes. But I kept thinking, "Damn...what if something happens between me and my girl after I move in." AWKWAAAARD!!! And with no paperwork the guy could have easily just put me out on my ass if we broke up.


As far as I know I still have my gig and traveling is always a part of the game. We're starting a huge project in Colombia in the Fall so I'll be back in Bogota quite a bit. We're also "downsizing" a few operations in Latin America and at times they need my assistance with that as well. Thankfully in my racket you really don't have to worry too much about unemployment. Even if they let me go I have headhunters contacting me once a month. My company is actually still hiring IT personnel and experienced engineers in the states. I really can't complain.

Oh the Zona T and Calle 93 will be calling your name. Beautiful women.

[Hector_Lavoe]

Hey Benjio: Sorry to hear your stint in Brazil is having to end without your consent. But 2.5 years is a nice run and that is 2.5 years more than most guys have the good fortune to get (at U.S. salary levels to boot).

Rio is a really unique place....really sweet you got to spend 2.5 years living there!

No matter how nice your girl's father is I would also not want to work for the family. Even more so since you are in a high demand field, etc.

With two foreign languages under your belt plus your IT skills, I am guessing there will be plenty of other opportunities for you to return to Brazil or Latin America in general.  Oil prices will rebound eventually, the Petrobas scandal will fade and hopefully Brazil will get back on track.

So now that you are leaving Brazil how do you rank your Portuguese in terms of fluency...say on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being perfectly fluent? 

[Kiltboy1]

 Benjio
 
Very much enjoyed hearing about your life in Brazil. I will most likely never visit there so living through you was like a mini vacation of sorts.
Your GF may or may not like it here , who knows. I never through my wife would being so close to her family, but now my biggest problem is getting her to want to leave the US at all. She loves the lifestyle here.
 
I was talking to a good friend of mine WindyCity , who is first generation Cuban and fluent in Spanish yesterday. He actually answered the phone in Manizales. He was visiting his GF there. He was telling me how much he disliked Colombia after 15 years of visiting and being in Manizales for 6 weeks, he could not wait to get back to Chicago. This coming from a guy I met in Cali 14 years ago and swore as soon as his pension came through, he was living in Colombia .So I guess the point is as exotic as Rio is, you might just decide there are things about the US that just cannot be duplicated anywhere(Good Stuff I mean)
 
All places have their positives and negatives, sounds like you have plenty of time to decide what best fits what you want.
 
KB
 

[robert angel]

Benjio
 
Very much enjoyed hearing about your life in Brazil. I will most likely never visit there so living through you was like a mini vacation of sorts.
Your GF may or may not like it here , who knows. I never through my wife would being so close to her family, but now my biggest problem is getting her to want to leave the US at all. She loves the lifestyle here.
 
I was talking to a good friend of mine WindyCity , who is first generation Cuban and fluent in Spanish yesterday. He actually answered the phone in Manizales. He was visiting his GF there. He was telling me how much he disliked Colombia after 15 years of visiting and being in Manizales for 6 weeks, he could not wait to get back to Chicago. This coming from a guy I met in Cali 14 years ago and swore as soon as his pension came through, he was living in Colombia .So I guess the point is as exotic as Rio is, you might just decide there are things about the US that just cannot be duplicated anywhere(Good Stuff I mean)
 
All places have their positives and negatives, sounds like you have plenty of time to decide what best fits what you want.
 
KB

So true. While my wife usually let's the conversation about living in her country revolve around how she's worried I won't like it, eventually it turns more towards how she no longer would want to live there full time anymore--she's grown accustomed to getting in the car and going to places, to places the likes of they don't have there, accustomed to good steaks, salads, a cleaner environment, less obvious, abject poverty everywhere --a lot of things.

As for Chicago--as terrible and long as the winters are, I know people from tropical nations who've moved there and would now never live anywhere else. I don't 'get it' I love Chicago, but couldn't live there year round.

[Elexpatriado]

Thats the oil industry.Boom and Bust. I have had stints in Pretty good places-LikeTrinida and Tobago--but a lot of stints in sh!t holes like Kazakhstan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela. As well as time in Canada and the US.
 
These stints are too good to last,.. make your money, save and invest, wait for the next boom, and maybe eventually you have enough to retire in Colombia or elsewhere in Latin America.
You had a prety good ride in Brazil..thats what I would call an A1 assignment.

[kai #2]

Fresh, naturally grown produce that's not full of pesticides and hasn't been genetically altered. I don't drive here and I've gotten use to that. I take taxis or the subway pretty much anywhere I can't walk. The beaches, the night life....way too many things to list. But most of all...THE WOMEN!

Most people don't get this part, they only know the women

[fathertime]

Hey Benjio,


Looks like Argentina is going to be a big place for oil and gas.  Any talk of you winding up there?  I do notice that it is the Russian company Gazprom that is making inroads in the region.



Bigger Than The Bakken - Energy Companies Setting Their Sights On Argentina
 Tuesday,May 19,2015

Argentina is quickly becoming the venue for the next shale boom, and now the race is on to get in on the oil and gas potential, with Russian Gazprom staking out the place, while investors wonder how they can play this momentous game.

If there were any doubts over the past year that Argentina is on the cusp of a US-style oil and gas revolution from shale, Gazprom’s overtures should put them to rest.

Russian state-run news agency Interfax is making sure the world knows that Gazprom plans to be a key player in this game, announcing late in April that the Russian energy giant may begin drilling for shale oil and gas in Argentina as early as 2016.......
http://ir.baystreet.ca/article.aspx?id=130&1432036799




Fathertime! 

 

[benjio]

Hey Benjio,


Looks like Argentina is going to be a big place for oil and gas.  Any talk of you winding up there?  I do notice that it is the Russian company Gazprom that is making inroads in the region.



Bigger Than The Bakken - Energy Companies Setting Their Sights On Argentina
 Tuesday,May 19,2015

Argentina is quickly becoming the venue for the next shale boom, and now the race is on to get in on the oil and gas potential, with Russian Gazprom staking out the place, while investors wonder how they can play this momentous game.

If there were any doubts over the past year that Argentina is on the cusp of a US-style oil and gas revolution from shale, Gazprom’s overtures should put them to rest.

Russian state-run news agency Interfax is making sure the world knows that Gazprom plans to be a key player in this game, announcing late in April that the Russian energy giant may begin drilling for shale oil and gas in Argentina as early as 2016.......
http://ir.baystreet.ca/article.aspx?id=130&1432036799




Fathertime!

I had to travel there for work on several occasions while I've been here. I'd never live there though. Entirely too racist.

[Elexpatriado]

Hey Benjio,


It sounds like a fun time you had.  Now you can leave with your head held high.  If you feel like going back later for this particular lady, it sounds like the door is open.  I tend to agree with your decision not remain in Brazil working as the father's lackey.  You have been your own man, and that is how you should remain.  IMO




So now what happens with your work?  Are you still employed, and just stuck here in the states?  Will you have a fair amount of vacation to travel?  Will you be able to get reassigned to another part of S. America, or perhaps another part of the world? 


Fathertime!

let me give you a very accurate analogy  FT...Júpiter is About 5000 times as massive as earth and 100℅ methane..but we won't be exploiting it very soon..

[Elexpatriado]

Sorry that was supposed to be in response to Argentina post..damn I phone

[Elexpatriado]

Sorry that was supposed to be in response to Argentina post..damn I phone

[Elexpatriado]

Russians dont have enough money tompay thier own bills ley alone undertake expensive aventures in unstable Latín Americano countries.

brazil has more oil in the pre salt than Argentina in the shale. Venezuela supposedly have biggestvreserves in thecwird. there will be diddleysquat investment in Expensive  reserves of Latín América with bargain base.entre oil.prices..espescially with the anti business  policíes of these unstable regimes

[fathertime]

let me give you a very accurate analogy  FT...Júpiter is About 5000 times as massive as earth and 100℅ methane..but we won't be exploiting it very soon..

Hey Expat,


I'm no oil expert, just own a couple oil stocks which is why the article popped up this morning.  They did throw around some very large numbers like this though:



Argentina is home to 27 billion barrels of recoverable oil and 802 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, primarily in and around multiple prolific shale basins in the central Neuquen province, including the prized Vaca Muerta shale.

According to Business Insider, Vaca Muerta alone represents 40% of the country's shale gas resources and 60% of its shale oil. Moreover, the basin is in the Neuquen province, which is at the core of Argentina's production history and where the necessary infrastructure for oil production is already present.

For investors who are looking to get in on this before the shale boom explodes, there is really only one way to do so without getting involved with the international supermajors, such as ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM), which has made two major discoveries on its Vaca Muerta acreage, and Chevron (NYSE: CVX), which is expected to have over 300 wells in production by the end of 2015 in a joint venture with Argentina’s YPF.




Being that you worked in the Oil industry, what do you make of all this?


Thanks,


Fathertime! 

[fathertime]

I had to travel there for work on several occasions while I've been here. I'd never live there though. Entirely too racist.

Gotcha,



Perhaps you mentioned this before, and I didn't recall it.  What types of negative experiences did you have? 


It sounds like nations such as Colombia and Brazil, would be the sweet spot, as they have both gas and the racism is kept down enough for you to enjoy yourself the same as anybody else.


Fathertime!