What it’s like to be a digital nomad in Rio
7 min read
RIO DE JANEIRO — Before the coronavirus pandemic forced the city to cancel Carnival and New Year’s celebrations, Rio de Janeiro regularly teemed with international tourists. But in 2021, when visitors became virtually absent, city officials felt they needed to start attracting a different type of traveler: the remote worker.
Last year, the tourism board and local government created the Rio Digital Nomads program. The initiative, which grants at least a year of residency, sells the vibrant Carioca lifestyle with hopes of turning the city into a continental hub for young professionals. It started as a website and has grown into a larger movement. Countries in Europe and the Caribbean were already welcoming remote workers with special visas, and in January, Brazil became the first in South America to create one.
“The logic was to activate Rio de Janeiro, where tourism no longer existed,” says Sebastian Saavedra, the program coordinator.
I relocated to Rio during the pandemic to try the digital nomad lifestyle. I had left my full-time journalism job a few months before the pandemic hit, and I had little to no opportunities as a fully remote freelance writer and travel blogger living in New York City. As a Brazilian American who had never lived in Brazil, I saw the move not only as an opportunity to reconnect with my parents’ native culture, but also as a fresh start for my career.
Here, it’s more about prioritizing time in nature or with friends — and no one takes pride in being stuck behind a laptop longer than absolutely necessary.
The work-life balance of a digital nomad in Rio could not be more different from New York’s mentality. Here, it’s more about prioritizing time in nature or with friends — and no one takes pride in being stuck behind a laptop longer than absolutely necessary. Sandwiched between lush green mountains and the sea, Rio offers stunning nature and the modern comforts of a big city.
“For me, the big pull to Rio was that it had everything I needed in terms of travel and adventure,” says Caroline Cunningham, a 28-year-old freelance digital marketer from Virginia.
During the two months she spent in Rio, her work schedule was planned around outdoor activities such as sunrise hikes, sunsets on Ipanema Beach and post-work drinks in Lapa, a historic neighborhood known for its nightlife.
“Rio has its own personality, where you can feel the energy of the city,” Cunningham says. “I don’t think there are many places like that.”
If the visa piques your interest, consider the pros and cons of moving to Rio de Janeiro as a remote worker.
A year of residency
The visa makes it easier for remote workers to spend a year in the country, with the possibility to extend it for another.
Anyone can apply, as long as you can prove that you are able to work remotely. You will need proof of employment through a contract or other document that shows you earn income from a non-Brazilian source. You will also need to be making at least $1,500 per month or have at least $18,000 in bank funds available.
Walter Tebe, a 32-year-old instructional designer from California, was one of the first Americans to apply. Tebe was already in Rio on a different visa, and he received the new one four to five weeks later. He advises you to apply from the United States or your home country beforehand to avoid any issues.
So far, Brazil has received more than 100 applications from people around the world, including Australia, Belgium, France, Ireland, Mexico, Nicaragua, Spain, and the United States, among others, according to the Ministry of Justice and Public Security.
Here’s a full guide on how to apply.
An active, outdoor lifestyle
Typical days in Rio start and end with your feet in the sand. Whether it’s an early-morning surf lesson, seaside yoga or a post-workout dip, the beach is an inherent part of everyday life.
Most Cariocas — as locals are known here — live in flip-flops. While indoor gyms exist, you can find everything from spinning to CrossFit on the beach. At sunrise, the patterned black-and-white sidewalks that line Ipanema and Copacabana beaches already are full of runners, bikers and barefoot surfers.
Tebe, who applied for the digital-nomad visa, fell in love with the active lifestyle in the city.
“There are people literally dancing and singing on the street. The pagode. The samba. There’s so much energy in the city of Rio,” he says. “Even though I was there for almost a year, I barely scratched the surface of things to do.”
Now that life is returning to normal, many digital nomads are planning their visits around bucket-list events such as Carnival and Rock in Rio.
Avid hikers such as Karalea Davis like to tackle the dozens of trails close to the city. There is Tijuca National Park, one of the largest urban forests in the world, as well as several mountains, including Pedra da Gávea, a challenging hike with a steep rock-climbing section.
“It’s a city on the beach in the jungle,” says Davis, a 30-year-old marketing analytics manager. “Do you like hiking? Do you like going to the beach? Do you like going to events? Do you like mountain escapes? Island escapes? You can do all of that from Rio.”
Your money goes far
Rio de Janeiro is not the cheapest destination to live in South America, but the currency exchange rate favors travelers earning U.S. dollars or euros. The U.S. dollar is worth over four times the Brazilian real.
“As someone who’s earning a currency that has a good exchange rate with the real, that makes life a lot more affordable than where I was living previously, which was in San Diego,” Davis says.
As of July 8, 1 dollar equaled about 5.30 reais. In Mexico City, another popular digital-nomad hub, the currency exchange is about 1 dollar to 20 pesos. Meanwhile, in Croatia, 1 dollar is worth 7 kuna; in Georgia, it equals about 3 Lari; and in Portugal, it nearly equals a full euro. All four countries also offer visa options for digital nomads.
Many digital nomads are freelancers without steady paychecks, a lifestyle that can feel unstable in the United States. Yet in Rio, digital nomads can easily get by with $1,000 to $1,500 a month.
“In Latin America, I’m able to live and travel very well. I enjoy my life and have a nice work-to-life balance that I had never experienced while living in the States,” says Mariana Ortegon, a 32-year-old digital nomad who traveled to Rio for Carnival this year.
Safety precautions
Digital nomads may feel some hesitation before coming to Rio because of its “unsafe” reputation. Ortegon, for instance, was warned several times about the rampant muggings.
“Being Colombian and growing up in the U.S., I almost lived through my mom’s experiences of a ‘scary Colombia’ and ‘scary South America.’ I was a little more aware of my surroundings than I usually am traveling, but my experience was absolutely perfect,” she says after attending Carnival.
Most of the violent crime in Rio occurs in the favelas and low-income neighborhoods that are on the outskirts of the tourist region. Visitors typically stay in Ipanema, Leblon, Copacabana or Botafogo, which are located in the city’s wealthy South Zone (Zona Sul).
Still, locals often warn visitors to be extra careful with their bags and smartphones, even in the South Zone. Most digital nomads avoid walking around with a phone or camera in their hands, and laptops stay out of sight and in a bag close to their bodies. At night, they say, Uber is a safer bet than walking.
The language barrier
Brazil is a Portuguese-speaking country, and English isn’t widely spoken. Even if you’re fluent in Spanish, it probably won’t help in Rio.
Every tourist point in the city will have signs translated into English, and you can easily find English-speaking guides. Restaurants in Ipanema, Leblon and Copacabana typically have English versions of their menus, too.
If you’re spending an extended amount of time in the city, though, you will probably need to take Portuguese lessons. It’s not an easy language to learn on your own, and most day-to-day interactions happen in Portuguese.
The lack of cafe culture
A common complaint about Rio is it lacks the cafe culture travelers have experienced in other cities. While there are plenty of traditional bakeries and casual cafes throughout the city, not many offer WiFi, air conditioning or a comfortable space to work from. Some nomads say the city also lacks the kind of co-working spaces where they can meet people with similar lifestyles.
The digital-nomad program acknowledges that issue by connecting travelers to available spaces to live and work in the city.
On the cafe front, Aussie Coffee is one of the few exceptions. Owner Daniel Hobbs, an Australian engineer who has lived in Rio for nine years, greets everyone who walks in the door. There are plenty of coffee shops in Rio, he says, yet few places “actually feel friendly.”
He designed his cafe’s seating in a way that encourages people to talk to each other. He says he wants Aussie Coffee to feel like a part of their routine, no matter how long they stay.
“There’s always been a steady flow of digital nomads,” Hobbs says. “They might stay for two weeks or two months. Then they’ll go and usually get replaced by some more. Some people fall in love with the city, and they stay.”
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