Spain or Brazil (crime rate, best, life, country)

[timeofseasons]

I'm interested in knowing city-data.com users prefrence towards Spain and Brazil. Speaking of living wise, would one prefer to reside in Spain or Brazil and why?

[MJay]

For me it's definitely Spain. It's in Europe, the crime is way lower, quality of living is higher and the cities are prettier. Also the climate suits me better. My friend, who went to Rio told me, that when he got out of his car about ten kids run to him and begged him for money or food. It didn't happen only once. In Brazil, there is a huge gap between rich and poor.

[timeofseasons]

Oh wow thats surprising.

[joejitsu]

I have been to both places. I spent 1 month in Spain back in 2004, and I have been in Brazil for the past 6 months. I prefer Brazil over Spain, but I liked them both. It is much cheaper, less touristy, the people are friendlier, I like the climate here better, etc. Brazil does have its problems. I find its best to avoid the more well known cities in Brazil like Rio. Rio is beautiful, but crime is terrible. Brazil has some very safe beach cities. You can't really go wrong with either place. If you want a more touristy safe place with lots of culture and history go with Spain. If you want an exotic adventure go with Brazil.

[Dport7674]

If I had lots o' money...Spain. You're only a train ride away from all of the major cities in Europe.

It would be amazing to have Paris, London, Amsterdam, Rome etc. as weekend getaways.

IMHO, South America in general is a nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there.

[♪♫♪♪♫♫♪♥]

I voted for Spain only because I've been there. Not that I've seen all there is, nowhere even close; I only saw Cartagena for a few days, but it was gorgeous. And since Spain is in Europe, it has a natural appeal to me for cultural and social reasons, plus most of my ancestry is in Europe (though not necessarily Spain as far as I know). I know next to nothing about Brazil as I've never been there.

[bale002]

I have to join the "Spain is in Europe" argument, offering a life buoyed by thousands of years of cultural development, among other things.

On the other hand, if economic opportunity is the priority, I'd take my chances with Brazil. In that sense, much of South America has a lot going for it for those who know how to deal with, even relish, relative chaos which is slowly coming to order.

Rome was not built in a day.

[Mooseketeer]

I love Brazil but I would not want to live there .

Too much extreme crime in the big cities, not as much history, too humid , the architecture is no way near as good, arts ,"culture" and arts etc... is to me a lot less developed ( which is highly important to me) .

Brazilians are lovely , friendly and warm people though which is a huge bonus for the country and of course the Amazon which is simply magnificent.

Living in a place like Rio, Manaus or Brasilia would kill me. I need beautiful old architecture, a sense of history , museums, art galleries, theatres etc.. and the beach culture is not for me. I would also hate the gap between the rich and the poor ( never mind that the middle classes and the poor). I also have little time for the cosmetic surgery culture which is rampant in many parts of Brazil where the "body beautiful" is more important than cultural enrichment.

Rio de Janeiro must have been before all the monstrous high rise buildings one of the truly magnificent and unique natural environments anywhere in the world. It now looks ugly beyond belief.

Having visited so many favellas as well as stayed with the richest of the rich , I don't think I could live in a country where the class divide is such a gigantic chasm of social injustice.


Da Silva has promised much and delivered little in many ways. He has made some headway but I am not sure the political will is truly there to ensure that indigenous populations in the Amazon are protected from the encroachment by settlers, miners and cattle ranchers who rape and pillage one of the most diverse bio-system in the world ( the lung of our Planet), that the rampant police corruption is kept in check and that both death squads and criminal gangs are destroyed.


Brazil has the potential to be one of the richest country on the Planet ( especially with its recent oil find which would rank it 3rd producer in the world) but it will at some point have to deal with what is still a medieval social structure or the whole country will descend into complete anarchy. Which would be an appalling shame considering Brazilians are on the whole such wonderful people in all their ethnic diversity . A beautiful country where a minority of people manages to bring down the majority. Very sad.




Wonderful Place to visit. To live there , not at the moment.

[msoler29]

Id choose Spain. I am of Puerto Rican decent, and Spain has a big role in my peoples beggining from Puerto Rico. Spain is just so rich of culture... Madrid is soo beautiful.... The job rate is horrible there, but I'd choose it over Brazil... The crime rate in Brazil is really bad a friend told me.

[Texas2010]

Originally Posted by MJay

For me it's definitely Spain. It's in Europe, the crime is way lower, quality of living is higher and the cities are prettier. Also the climate suits me better. My friend, who went to Rio told me, that when he got out of his car about ten kids run to him and begged him for money or food. It didn't happen only once. In Brazil, there is a huge gap between rich and poor.

I've been to Brazil more than once, and only had that happen one time. I assume some people add to the story for the sake of a better tale.

I will agree with you that the contrast between wealth is very vast.