An article from Tribuna do Norte (we saw it mentioned at the blog Guia Natal) reflects on increasing living costs in Natal, capital of Rio Grande do Norte. Prices have gone up to the point where Natal is today the most expensive capital in Northeast Brazil, surpassing Recife, Salvador and Fortaleza. The reason for the high cost of living would be a rapidly increasing population putting pressure on a limited housing and services market.

Destination: Natal is our main blog post on the popular destination of northeast Brazil.

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RELATED POSTS:
since 2003, the value of Brazilian real has increased 122 percent against the once mighty dollar
sky-high prices, a new Brazilian reality

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Michael Sommers, author of the Moon Travel Guide to Brazil, published recently a blog post with the title The World’s Most Overvalued Currency reflecting on how expensive Brazilian has become in recent years – for those coming to visit the country but for those living in Brazil too!

Essential reading, as it is the case with anything written by one of the best-informed travel writers on Brazil.

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“Brazilian hotels, the most expensive in the world”.
“Rio de Janeiro, the most expensive city of the Americas”.
“Accommodation in São Paulo or Rio de Janeiro is more expensive than in Berlin”.

The media headlines tell the story of how expensive Brazil has become in recent years. An overvalued local currency means foreign tourists will discover today Brazil is a very expensive country. Price of accommodation in particular will be a sore issue in all traveling budgets.

O Globo magazine published recently a cover where the comparisons are established between prices in Rio de Janeiro and elsewhere in the world.

Haircut more expensive than in London.
Croissant more expensive than in Paris.
Bellini more expensive than in Venice.
Cupcake more expensive than in New York.
Movies more expensive than in Madrid.
Bicycle hire more expensive than in Amsterdam.
Yoga lessons more expensive than in Hollywood.
Gym more expensive than in Madonna’s gym in Mexico City.
Trip up to the Corcovado Mountain more expensive than the boat to the Statue of Liberty.
Trip up the Sugar Loaf Mountain more expensive than reaching the top of the Eiffel Tower.

Let’s reach for another source. The ranking of the most expensive cities in the world by XPatulator. It takes into account cost of living and on its April 2011 edition it includes the following cities on its top 15:

1. Tokyo (Japan)
2. Caracas (Venezuela)
3. Hong Kong (China)
4. Geneve (Switzerland)
5. Zurich (Switzerland)
6. Osaka (Japan)
7. São Paulo (Brazil)
8. Nagoya (Japan)
9. Vaduz (Liechtenstein)
10. Oslo (Norway)
11. Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)
12. Sydney (Australia)
13. Yokohama (Japan)
14. Brasilia (Brazil)
15. Canberra (Australia)

Three Brazilian cities appear in the list.

Brazil has become such an expensive country for tourism than even Brazilian themselves are choosing to travel abroad rather than spending their own holidays home – expenditure by Brazilian tourists abroad is breaking all records (Turistas brasileiros gastam US$ 4,7 bi no exterior em 2011).

Let’s hope for better times for foreign tourism in Brazil. The current price situation is anything but encouraging.

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RELATED POSTS:
since 2003, the value of Brazilian real has increased 122 percent against the once mighty dollar

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New R$50 and R$100 bank notes are being issued today in Brazil. The new notes introduce new anti-counterfeit measures. The Brazilian Central Bank is launching first the notes with the highest values. During 2011 and 2012 the remaining notes will be replaced as well.

Below, the way the new notes look according to the site of the Banco Central do Brasil

The current notes will remain legal tender for as long as they exist. They will be replaced by the new notes as they get worn out.

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RELATED POSTS:
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The article When the chips are down published recently by The Economist featured a table with recent Big Mac Index data that shows how Brazil has become a very expensive destination.

The index is a a semi-humorous attempt to compare living costs throughout the world, by comparing the cost of a single product, the Big Mac burguer. According to the table, the Brazilian Big Mac would be among the most expensive in the world. Which is even more surprising if you consider salaries and wages are much lower in the Brazil than in the other countries at the top of the table.

The rise of Brazil to the top of the most expensive tourist destinations it is not due so much to price increases in Brazil (inflation is under control) but to the increasing value of the Brazilian real against other currencies.

So be warned that looking up prices of transportation and accommodation in Brazil can produce a few surprises. The only possible way of enjoying your holiday in Brazil is to forget the calculator exists; if you keep making conversions you will spoil your holiday!

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A financial analyst from bank Itau (one of the largest Brazilian corporations) told me last week that the bank doesn’t expect big shifts in the current relationship between the Brazilian real and the US dollar and the euro. In other words, an overvalued real is likely to stay, at least for the next few months.

Bad news for foreign tourists as an overvalued local currency adds more pressure on your travelling budget. Good news for Brazilians planning a trip abroad.

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RELATED POSTS:
Mighty real
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The Brazilian Central Bank acknowledged recently what anybody who’s been to Brazil for longer than two months knows perfectly well: there is a serious shortage of small change in the country. The reasons are diverse. The bank blames piggy banks, poor things.

Whether the pigs are guilty or not, the truth is that a by-product of the lack of small change is the irritating practice of always rounding up the change – in favour of the seller, not the buyer. This is a constant practice in all commercial transactions, and 9 out of 10 times the balance is tipped against you. If you pay with a R$5 note for something worth R$4,97, you can be sure you will not get any change in return.

While one tends to accept this practice in the case of small shops or people selling stuff on the streets, one wonders what the impact of this practice is on the cash-flow of large supermarket networks.

Even more annoying is the practice of trading money for sweets or chewing gum. Your meal costs R$9,80 and you pay with a R10,00 note? You might be offered two pieces of chewing gum instead of the R$0,20 you are owed. Please note that this is a one-way practice. You will never be allowed to pay for your meal with chewing gum.

P.S.: of course this is a common practice in many other countries around the world. But in my personal experience, this practice happens in Brazil with an alarming frequency.

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A vitamin-enriched real – the Brazilian currency, reached on Friday an all-time high against the dollar. Not since 1999 had a real bought so many dollars. On Friday, 1 US dollar would buy you 1,5895 reais. 1 euro would buy 2,5194 reais (I’m mentioning here the “comercial” quotation of the dollar, for more info read also at this blog differences between “comercial”, “turismo” and “paralelo” dollars).

This is basically bad news for anyone planning a trip to Brazil. Irrespective of the evolution of prizes within Brazil, Brazil is a much more expensive country for anyone coming from Europe or the United States. To make matters worse, the current inflationary tide sweeping the world is being felt in earnest in Brazil. In a few months, food prices have gone up to 30% in some of the largest cities of Brazil. As a result, restaurants have increased their prices considerably in the last couple of months. I won’t even bother mentioning the rocketing airfare prices, another factor that will be heavily felt by visitors to the country.

More than ever, comparing prices is the name of the game.

At the money category of the blog you can read all the blog entries published on the subject.

As Florianópolis is a larguish island with scores of towns and villages, there are considerable price differences between one place and another, even when there are quite near each other.

The supermarket chain Imperatriz has a website where you can check out its weekly promotions. For as long as the page stays online, it is the most up-to-date resource to get an idea of what the prices for basic items in Florianópolis are like.

I’m leaving here a handful of prices from our trip to the island in February 2008:

Prices at the Ilha do Campeche: bottle of mineral water, R$2; Coke, R$3; beer, R$5; caipirinha, R$5; single-course meal with fish, rice, fries and a salad, R$15; fried squid, R$25.

Prices at the playa de Campeche: basic meal, R$15; Coke, R$2,50; canga (sarong) from R$10.

Prices at a bar at the playa Brava : fries, R$10; fried squid, R$20; breaded fish for two (with rice, fries and vegetables), R$33; burger, R$7; bottle of mineral water, R$2,20; Coke, R$2,90; caipirinha, R$7.

Car rental for a day (basic model): R$65 per day

Prices in Canasvieiras: meal at a popular restaurant from R$12 (not including drinks; Coke from R$2,50); large pizza, from R$15; a sandwich and a fruit juice, R$10.

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The Brazilian government’s agency responsible for fuel, the Agência Nacional do Petróleo, Gás Natural e Biocombustíveis better known as ANP, has a useful tool on its website where you can look up the average prices for fuel all throughout the Brazilian territory: Levantamento de preços.

[As usual on the websites of a government that calls itself champion of free software, the page does not work in Firefox]

It is quite simple to use. You need to indicate the period of time (Selecione o mês, usually the current month), the geographical area (Brasil, Regiões, Estados, Municipios) and the type of fuel (gasolina [petrol/gas], álcool [ethanol], diésel, LNG or LGP). Click on Processar to get your results.

The results page is simpler than it looks. The column that interests you is the one with the title Preço médio (average price).