[quote=deadzone]
Your point about the rough areas and being white doesn’t make sense. For one, there are rough areas in any country. What areas ares in specific are you referring to? And being white and sticking out like a sore thumb, how is that different than most parts of LA? Or Detroit? Those are rough places in U.S. and we choose not to live in those areas for obvious reasons. How is Brazil any different?[/quote]
There are 2 big differences. First, as an English-speaking American, you have a couple of huge advantages in rough areas of the US. First, you can “dress down” or look a little grimy and people may not expect that you have any money. Second, you can speak and understand English, so when you are approached you can converse, you can detect trouble quickly, and you can take appropriate action, such as telling someone to f*** off in an appropriately nasty voice if they try to start something. If you were a foreigner, you wouldn’t have this capability and would become an “easy mark.” You would need an expert command of Brazilian Portugese, and in particular, in the Brazilian Portugese slang of the poor to be effective at this.
The second big reason is that, unlike here in the US, skin color is strongly associated with class status in Brazil. If you are a white guy, you will automatically be assumed to be a guy with money even if you’re just a schlub with a few hundred bucks. This fact combined with your lack of ability to speak and understand Brazilian Portugese slang, will quickly identify you as an easy mark. Here in the US, skin color and class status are not linked as strongly in our minds.
That’s not saying you can’t have a great time in some of the cheaper areas! They are a blast! But you are at much greater risk of robbery or even kidnapping. If you visit just once or twice it probably won’t happen to you — but living there is another story. The best option, if you really wanted to live there in one of the cheap areas would be to marry a local that knows the ins and outs, he/she would know what’s what and could keep you out of trouble. Of course you could move to one of the nice areas where you wouldn’t stand out as much, but guess what, those are a lot more expensive.
