Life Lately
Hi friends!! How is your week going? If you follow me on Instagram, you have probably worked out by now that the family and I have landed here in Brazil. We are still getting settled into our apartment. Luckily we found a furnished place so we have a bed and living and dining room furniture. We also took 14(!) pieces of luggage with us on the plane so we have a ton of clothes and we managed to pack in some utensils, sheets and pots and pans as well so we have all the basics. It’s a good thing because we shipped most of our stuff via UPS and our tracking numbers are saying the stuff hasn’t left NYC ????!
I’m super excited about our apartment. We lived in a one bedroom for six years in NYC and while we obviously liked it enough to stay for six years, towards the end space was really becoming an issue. We now have three bedrooms, four bathrooms (2 full and 2 half), a large kitchen, a massive pantry, our own washer and dryer and a big living room. We also have a ton of storage, which is a truly welcome change. I’ll be sure to post some pics once we have the place cleaned and ready to go.
I’m also pretty excited that it is summer in Brazil. The first couple of days we were here were so so hot (above 30 degrees celsius) but it has cooled down a bit since. Our apartment complex has a pool so we’ve been taking advantage of that.
There is even a baby pool for Coops!
We’ve been out to eat a couple of times. I am loving the coffee and fresh juice here but I have been less than thrilled with the food options. We found a great breakfast place but I’ve been having a hard time with lunch and dinner. There is A LOT of meat and pasta. I love pasta but I like some variety. I am missing my local Indian restaurant so much!
Although Sao Paulo is a huge city, it is actually very green. There is a nice park called Parco de Povo not far from our house. There is also a huge park called Ibirapuera sort of in the middle of the city. It is Central Park in Sao Paulo. I haven’t been there yet but have heard so much about it!
Getting set up is way more difficult than I imagined. We don’t have a car yet and we are hesitant to take Cooper in a taxi so we have been making trips to the mall and bringing back only what we can carry. Also, basic things seem to be outrageously expensive. For instance, we found the exact trash can I want for our kitchen and it was close to $300!!!! Crazy. I can’t find anything similar to Target or Walmart so we have to shop at fancy home stores that are not cheap.
It seems like there are two classes in Sao Paulo—those with a TON of money and those that live in poverty. I’m sure there is a middle class but it does not seem like the economy caters to it the way it does in America and Australia.
We STILL don’t have internet at our house. People, I am having serious withdrawals and my international data plan is taking a huge beating. We have to get our tax numbers before we can sign up with the internet service provider. We have to go in person to get these numbers. Such a pain!
Despite all the growing pains, I think our little family will be happy here for a few years. I’m looking forward to having some family visit us and traveling around South America! I’m also very excited to share my journey with all of you!
Readers, have you ever lived abroad? How do you get settled in a new place? How long can you go without access to internet?