It was painfully difficult for me to find an apartment. 

I know how complicated it can be to find the perfect place. It happened to me a few years ago when I moved from France to Brazil.

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When I moved to Sao Paulo and then then Rio de Janeiro), it was really hard for me to find an apartment. I was working for a french multinational company at the time and I remember how difficult and time-consuming it was to find a suitable apartment. Also the fact that I didn't speak portuguese did not help. 

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I remember that I was looking for options via Airbnb but I was thrustrated that they took 10% to 15% commission. I ended up renting form a real estate agency, and paid 10% commission 😆... 

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The apartment was really well located but it did not have air conditioning nor good wifi. I ended up doing connection sharing with my phone to my computer  but that was also costly😅. Also, there was no caretaker. So when I had problem with the local culture, or health check ups, or currency exchange or whatever... well.. I hustled and often was confronted with situations where I had to hire a translator or call a friend 😒  

Here's why I rent apartments

Yet, in the past years I fell in love with the country and the culture: the food, the samba, the caipirinha, the language, the beaches and the relaxed lifestyle😍.

I finally speak Portuguese (and also English, French and Spanish) - and I now help people find apartments in Rio de Janeiro, so they don't end up in the same situation as I did the first time...