Shopping belongs to those with money, no matter which country you are in and Brazil is no exception. Some clothes may be cheaper than in the UK but others are not,
some food is cheaper and some not, some household items are cheaper and others not. A rough guide is, that in Curitiba at least, the cost of living is generally
lower than in the UK but luxury items, like electronics, are dearer. What I found, the longer I lived there, was that quality was the key to understanding the value of things.
Shopping Centres
This was my biggest surprise.
There are 5 or 6 of these near the centre of the Curitiba (another 5 or 6 further out) and all of them are new or well maintained with a large amount of shops.
This standard is repeated in the other cities I spent time in, which strongly goes against the stereotype of Brazil, which reflects a dusty, underdeveloped place.
The choice that this provided me, added strongly to my enjoyment of the city. However, there is a substantial duplication of shops here.
On the high street in Curitiba, there are 3 of the same shoe-shop. In fact, we went into all three in search of some footwear for me the first week we arrived. Another distinguishing feature of the centres, is that many of them
play host to either a Theatre, or a Cinema, which is a trend that can be seen spreading within the UK now.
Location
Unlike in towns and cities in the UK
where everything is based around the centre: (The bars, the cafes, the restaurants and the shopping), in Brazil things appear to be more spread out; away from the centre and even in the outskirts.
There aren't the same solely residential areas that we have in the UK. Instead, there are many shops, small businesses and restaurants spread throughout every neighbourhood.
Food Shopping
I get a rather unusual enjoyment from shopping in supermarkets, and I was very curious to find out how they would compare to the ones in the UK. It took a long time to get a feel for the price and standard of the produce, as you have to take the relative costs into account, but once you get used to it, you will find that most things follow a similar pricing scale.
Fruit and veg for example, are cheaper than meat, and cheese is more expensive than margarine.
However, it's useful not to be complacent, as not everything is
the same as you might expect. Vodka, for example, can cost from £1.50 up to £3.50 per bottle, whereas, wine can cost from £2.00 (pretty low quality) up to £10 or more, for
a nice kind. Also, although green peppers are very cheap, at sometimes less than 20p per pepper, red peppers cost around £1.20, whilst shower gel tends to be 4 times the price
of shampoo.
It would be time-consuming to go into great detail, so I would advise you to just go and get shopping, even if you're doubtful about the language and have someone who'll do it for you. It took me a while before I felt comfortable shopping on my own, as they often ask you things like "Do you have a store card?" and "Is that everything?", which can be difficult to decipher from someone who doesn't speak slowly for you. But once I was used to it, I found it an excellent way of improving my Portuguese.
People often say to me now, when I'm talking about Brazil, "The food must have been very different", but after a while, it was easy to find the ingredients to prepare
most of the dishes I'm used to eating in the UK.
Although there is definitely less choice, perhaps this has more to do with the expansion of the UK supermarket industry
over the last ten years. There has been an explosion in food imported from Europe and especially Asia, and the high levels of immigration have no doubt brought with them,
the means and the demand for a great variety of spices and foodstuffs that were not only impossible to get hold of in the past, but also largely unheard of.
Although Brazil has not yet benefited from this buying power, there is still enough choice, once you know where to find it, to recreate most meals. What you will also find, is that you are exposed to many new options, and through the people you'll meet, you will learn new ways of preparing food too. My advice, is simply to try everything, and you will find no better way of doing this, than at one of the many per/kilo restaurants.
Clothes Shopping
Shoes and clothes are definitely the dominating factor in the shopping centres, with other types of shop a bit thin on the ground. This is a direct reflection on the Brazilian women, who love buying new clothes more than anything else. Luckily, my wife is not typical in this respect and we were very careful about what we spent money on.
I spoke before about quality, and this is very important if you intend to refurbish your wardrobe in Brazil.
There are many clothes in Brazil which are of a very poor quality, even when
compared to those of British supermarkets and budget stores. It was, for example, quite difficult to find clothes made from wool and from 100% cotton, especially when trying
to find jumpers and tops. What was common, was a glut of shops selling the same cheaply-made garments, which were of a level, difficult to find anywhere in the UK now.
It is just as difficult to find a high standard of trainer or shoe without paying significantly more, and this is what is most noteworthy. If you do want to purchase clothing and footwear that is either from a reputed manufacturer, or of a clearly high quality, you could find yourself paying the same as you would in England, which is of course, relatively much more expensive. Clothes are simply, a luxury item, and should be treated this way if your visit is anything more than a holiday.
Don't worry though, it's not all gloom and bankruptcy, there are a host of shops that fall neatly between level of the boutiques and of the bargain-basement shops. C&A, although
a memory only for the British, lives well in the cities of Brazil.
The face of this chain is provided by the model and star of the recent "Taxi", Giselle Bunchen, whose success
is echoed by the shop. On a Saturday morning walk to my class, I would see a huddle of C&A employees, working solely towards the promotion of store cards, who in basketball fashion,
all produced a primal cheer before setting about their targets. We bought several things from here and other western-styled stores, which offer a middle ground between quality and cost.
In truth, the clothes are out there, but you better be prepared to look hard for them.
Household Goods
Here, sensible and patient shopping also prevails. The same item can vary in price from shop to shop, and whereas some things need money spent on them to assure quality, others are obtainable from the many "China House" and "Store of Japan" shops. These are Asian-run businesses, which are easily identifiable from their names and offer a wide selection of household basics, at half the price of sometimes even the supermarkets.
More specialised items are a little more difficult to find and are subsequently, dearer, but once again, it really does pay to shop around, as traversing a block or two, can often lead to a significant saving.
