Category Archives: Setting up home

Apartment update

Almost a year ago now I wrote a number posts about the trials and tribulations of apartment hunting. As it turned out, my experience was relatively straight forward, with the actual number of trials and tribulations fairly limited.

Since then, I have witnessed a number of new colleagues’ experiences relocating to Rio. Unfortunately they have not encountered such smooth sailing. In the lead up to the World Cup, a number of property owners and/or letting agents seem to be trying their luck with short-term, high price rentals aimed at international guests arriving in the coming months. What this means is that the number of reasonably priced apartments available on a long term basis in Zona Sul is lower than it was when I arrived.

To combat this issue, many people are being pressured to actually widen their search area a little into neighbourhoods such as Flamengo, Laranjeiras and Humaita. Whilst these are perfectly safe and liveable neighbourhoods, I can understand the reluctance.

For me, a huge factor in coming to Rio de Janeiro was the beaches. It is likely that never again in my life will I have the opportunity to live such a beach lifestyle and I intended to take full advantage of it. By living just a little (and to be fair, it is only a little) further away from the beachfronts of Leblon, Ipanema and Copacabana, you do actually kind of lose some of that. The key thing in Rio is that the traffic is, at times, nothing short of horrific. And so that extra bus stop or two from the beach can actually translate into a bit of a nightmare at the weekend when all you want to do is sprawl yourself on the beach.

Therefore, in Rio (and I should caveat that this is just my personal perspective only) I would recommend compromising on the actual property that I was renting before location. Properties here may feel small, especially if you are coming from North America or Australia/NZ/South Africa. In addition, they may feel a bit quirky in terms of layout and built in features. But I would recommend embracing these quirks as much as possible so as not to sacrifice on location.

My other recommendation is for single people relocating to Rio to consider sharing their apartment with someone else. An apartment with two (large) or three bedrooms is consistently bigger and better value than a one or two (small) bedroom apartments. I have seen one bedroom apartments without space to swing a cat on the market for R$4500 versus a relatively spacious two bedroom for R$6000. Whilst the outlay upfront is higher, the now apparent shortage of properties in Rio means that spare rooms do not stay empty long and you end up with a lot more space for a lot less money in the long run.

I just needed an oven

Unlike most unfurnished apartments, mine came with an oven. However, it was teeny tiny, had no temperature button (just hot or not so hot), no pilot light and let off a bit of white smoke – likely to be the result of residue within the oven however no amount of scrubbing seemed to do the trick.

So I decided to invest in a new one. My landlord was happy for me to get rid of the old one if I left the new one in the apartment when I left, or to keep the old one in the apartment somewhere if I thought I would take the new one with me.

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Having never bought an oven before, I decided to stick with a brand I knew and just go for one that, at a minimum, had a temperature button and was a decent price. That way I would happily leave it in the apartment when I left the country. I found a GE oven on Submarino that was heavily discounted but looked good enough.

When it arrived, the box was absolutely huge! I was hoping that this was due to a lot of extra packaging but unfortunately that was not the case! Apparently, the clue that I was buying an almost industrial sized oven was the fact it is a 5 burner so be warned!

In order to disconnect the old oven and have the new one installed, I needed to phone GE to arrange a technician to come out to my house. My language teacher helped make the appointment and the technician came on the day specified and connected our giant new oven.

When I got home from work that day, I was sure I could smell gas but I assumed that it was just some gas that had escaped during the installation of the oven. However, the next afternoon, as I was minding my own business, I wandered into the kitchen only to find my beautiful, new, giant oven on fire from where the gas pipe connects to the wall.

I wasn’t sure exactly what to do but firstly put out the fire with a wet blanket and turned the gas off at the wall.

In what I thought was an incredible turn of fortune, it just so happened that a neighbour of mine had told me the day before that their oven was being installed that day so I gave him a call. He said he was expecting his technician in the next half an hour so would send him across once he arrived so I went outside to wait. Unfortunately, once he arrived, he said he was not authorised to look at our gas connection so recommended I contact the gas company directly.

I got a Brazilian friend to help me call the gas company and they promised to come to our apartment as soon as possible. Unsurprisingly, “as soon as possible” meant about an hour but in the meantime, I was able to alert our door man who could turn the gas supply off to the building.

Once the gas company technician arrived, he was great. Speaking slow and simple Portuguese he explained that the valve used for the installation was faulty along with another part that was actually quite dangerous and needed replacing immediately. Being a Saturday and also, being in a foreign country, I was relieved when he offered to do the repairs for us on the spot for about half the price that we had paid for the original GE technician!

The gas company technician spent almost 2 hours working on the problem, including actually going to a hardware store nearby to buy the required parts. Needless to say when he was done I was incredibly grateful.

So we now have a working, giant oven in our kitchen… the pressure is on now for me to actually learn how to cook to make the experience worthwhile! I would like to complain to GE for the original dangerous installation but don’t have the language skills to be able to have that conversation! I guess I will just leave it be and count myself very lucky that nothing serious happened as a result.

 

Transformers – 220V to 110V

With the arrival of my stuff from the UK, I needed to purchase some infamous transformers to ensure I could use my 22oV appliances here in 110V Brazil. I had mixed luck!

Firstly, the best article I have found giving advice on selecting a transformer is: http://international-electrical-supplies.com/transformers16.html. Basically, it explains that the size of transformer you require relates directly the wattage (W in English or VA in Portuguese) of the appliance.

So, the appliances that I needed a transformer for and their wattage were:

  • DVD Player: 8W
  • TV: 129W
  • Microwave: 800W
  • Coffee Machine: 1700W
  • Kettle: 1700W
  • Toaster: 1800W
  • Vaccum cleaner: 2100W
  • Iron: 2200W

I found that Amoedo on Rua Farme de Amoedo in Ipanema had the best range locally (bottom shelf in the lighting store) so I bought all my transformers from there.

The transformers at Amoedo were 100W, 200W, 300W, 500W, 1100W, 1500W, 2000W or 3000W and ranged in price from approx R$45 to R$450 depending on the size.

So, for my DVD Player and TV I went for the safest option as I was very nervous about ruining my TV and bought a 300W transformer. This is working perfectly, the transformer makes no noise and I feel safe having both items plugged in at the same time.

For my microwave and coffee machine, I decided to go with one transformer to cover them both but only plug each appliance is as I was using them. I must have mis-read the wattage of my coffee machine as I only bought a 1500W transformer and within a few days it blew up! Whoops! I now need to go back to the store to get a 2000W version however these are very expensive so I am considering just buying a new microwave and coffee machine.

For the kettle and toaster, I would have needed the 2000W transformer so, due to the price, I decided to just buy a new toaster and boil water on the stove!

For the vacuum cleaner and iron, I would have needed the 3000W transformer which not only is expensive but also a little more complicated to use. For the 2000W transformers and below, you simply plug one end of the transformer into the wall and then plug the appliance into the other end. The 3000W transformer actually requires some knowledge of electrics as you must actually connect to the wires from the transformer into the plug of the appliance… much too complicated for me so I decided to buy a new iron and just to sweep my floors instead!

Knick knacks

In Rio, there is definitely no shortage of stores to buy “knick knacks” from. I am talking tea towels, bathroom accessories, clothes hangers, pots and pans, cups, mugs, ironing board covers, bowls, bedding, hooks, sheet protectors, cutlery, frames, nails, door stops, rubbish bins, plant pots, door handles… the list goes on and on…

If you are setting up home in Rio, buying time until your shipping arrives or using apartment-style accommodation instead of a hotel for your Rio holiday, you will no doubt find yourself in one of these stores at some point. You will typically recognise them by the over-flowing baskets of bedding, towels and other marked down items that spill out onto the pavement.

In Zona Sul, my advice is to shop around the independent stores as prices and variety can vary considerably.The stores in Leblon and Ipanema can be really over-priced for basic items so, if you can, head east toward Copacabana and Botafogo.

Within Leblon and Ipanema, your best bet is typically the chain stores such as Americanas and Casa & Video as the prices are more regulated. You won’t get the big bargains but at least you know you are not being over-charged.

Etna delivers

My Etna order was delivered today with no hassle. They did not specify a time they would be coming so I was prepared for a full day indoors but was pleasantly surprised to receive them just before 9am. They assembled everything for me and placed it where I wanted it to go. It only reinforces my feeling that Etna is in a league of its own when it comes to furniture and homeware stores in Rio.

etna

Bring an adapter!

I have a new number one piece of advice for anyone coming to Rio from the United Kingdom… bring a UK to Brazil power adapter!

I had read that to get one it was as easy as going to your local hardware store and within my first few days of arriving I had managed to do just that.

Since then, however, I have not been able to find a single hardware store in Leblon or Ipanema that stocks adapters that work for United Kingdom plugs and my original hardware store is never open when I trek out to it!

The advice I received today from more than one store was that I would not be able to find such an adapter anywhere in Zonal Sul!

I am determined though and next weekend I plan to extend my search to Copacabana and Botafogo. Wish me luck!

 

Jungle furniture

More household shopping this weekend and I have come to some conclusions.

Tok and Stok is expensive.

There is no getting around it! I purchased some cushions for my sofa today and it wasn’t until I got home that I realised that some of them had cost me the equivalent of about £35! This is not the price I personally would normally pay for something like this, no matter where I was in the world.

And realisation number two: Casas Bahia, Ponto Frio and Ricardo Electro have bad quality furniture.

Although I am cheap careful with my money, I will take solid timber over MDF and nails every day of the week. These places are great for finding a good deal on your electronics but I would really not recommend considering them for furniture.

etna

All is not lost though, I am still really pleased with the furniture I am getting from Etna. It is certainly still not what I would call a cheap store but overall the prices are much better than Tok and Stok. Downside is that you need to travel to Barra to shop there although online shopping seems a good option.

Beyond that, today I discovered a great furniture store right by my house in Ipanema: Jungle Moveis.

They have a store in Copacabana and Leblon as well and what is great about this store is that it sells unique, antique type furniture along with good, solid basics all a reasonable price. And, best of all, unlike some of the more mainstream stores, you can haggle with them on the items to ensure that you pay exactly what you think the item is worth.

I got a great recycled, small, Victorian-era school desk today to use as a place to store keys/bags etc near the front door for R$170, down from R$250. Its solid wood and whilst it sounds a bit weird is extremely practical for what I was looking for.

The Ipanema store is located at Rua Visconde de Pirajá, 44 – highly recommend!