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Hi there, Lilo09,

I suggest you read the article on Moving to Brazil and request a free quotation to our partner, who is a professional specialized in moving personal effects.

You can meanwhile check out the prices of the furniture in Brazil and evaluate if it is worth moving with or without your furniture.

Hope this helps as a start of hints

Cheers
Arlette

(I moved your topic to Rio de Janeiro forum for a more accurate visibility! )

It really depends...  Quality furniture here is REALLY expensive.  The more affordable stuff is crap, unfortunately.  Also, the good stuff tends to be HUGE and ill-suited to smaller apartments.  That said, shipping is expensive - be sure to inquire about any duty taxes involved.

We shipped only those items which had sentimental value or would simply be irreplaceable.  It was fun to shop for furniture once we were here, but we were definitely turned off by the quality issues.

Also - we hired a talented woodworker to custom build our kitchen cabinets/counter4s, etc. as well as the entertainment center and shelving in our living room.  It was the same price as buying the furniture - but it was exactly what we wanted and exactly the right size.

Also check out this website for additional input gringoes.com

Lilo09,

jimeluiz was right on.  In addition I think you need to figure out..How long are you going to stay in Rio?  If you don't bring the furniture, do you have a place to store them at home? How are you going to bring the furniture? Via container?  Container takes more than 2 months to deliver (door-to-door) so you need to factor that.

I brought essential items like bed frame/mattress because I know I can't find quality mattress at a reasonable price here.

Thanks FeeAcer for moving my post and the advise, I will ask a quotation to the movers!
Thanks Jimeluiz for the info! Do you have an idea more or less how much will be a bedroom set (bed,matress, side table and wardrobe).
And Thanks MartyMcfly, we think that we will be living there for the next 5years, that's why we really want to bring almost all that we need. Now we are expats living in Dubai, and here is really easy and cheap buy good quality furniture, and I've heard that in Brazil is not like here.
Thanks again!
Lilo.

Lilo,

For a 5 year plan, you might better off do a single shot and move everything over!  I was in the same situation and after checking out the prices of the furniture and appliances, I moved everything (I wish I had moved more!) including frig, washer,dryer, stove, LCD TVs, and all my electronics..A 20 foot container might fit and it costs less.

Having said that, mind you about the definition of "cheap" and "expensive"; it is all comparative. Things are definitely more expensive here than the US West.  But then some Europeans might not see it that way.

MartyMcfly,
Good to know that! thanks!

In our case moving things like clothes washer, stove, etc. did not seem like a good idea because we have friends who did this and then got stuck when things needed to be repaired.  They had to get friends back home mail parts to them in Brazil.  Service is an issue with foreign made appliances.

If you buy new and bring with you (like a large television or new computer) - be careful - the warranty is generally voided when these items are taken out of the country.

But a bed -- now that's a different story!  There are no mattresses available here that come even close to the quality of what we bought and brought with us from the United States.  Matresses here SUCK! - no matter how much you pay for them.

In general we brought only particular furniture pieces of value to us, EVERYTHING kitchen (appliances, flatware, pots and pans, knives, etc.) artwork, carpets and collectables, plus personal belongings.  We were happy with our decision - with the exception of the large TV.  It turned out the TV was manufactured for the US and European market and we had to pay R$350 to modify the electronics so that it could decode television signals here in Brazil. We could have bought it locally for nearly the same price.

Here is more detail for your consideration:

1. LCD TVs - Brazil doesn't use NTSC system (check your TV). However, the cable box from the Brazil cable company (which isa  motorola box) is able to be configured to send NTSC signal.  In this case, your NTSC TV can work with Brazilian cable. Like jimeluiz said, you can buy it in Brazil if you want to be sure.

2. Washer - Yes, parts and warranty will be a concern.  I actually have mine for about 6 months before I move it.  The washer has the same drain host and water in host connections.  The voltage is 110V.  The capacity is bigger but then it takes up more space.

3. Dryer - Most units in Brazil are two in one (washer and dryer).  I do have a separate dryer.  Again, parts and warranty are a concern.  This one takes a little more work - as the voltage is 220V.  In most apartment, your wiring is for 10A system and import dryer takes 30A circuit. Don't do this one if you are not sure.  But again I didn't know what to do with my semi new dryer so I brought it.

4. Computer Systems - Warranty is a concern.  But parts are available.  If you are tech guy, you can take this risk. LCD Monitor cost more and this is a pretty low risk item assuming you check and use the monitor for a while.  Laptop/Netbook are good to have in Brazil for size and portability (but you will never see lines of laptop in Starbucks here in Brazil as in the States).  If you buy them Brazil, prepare to pay high price as import tax is high in Brazil.

5. Kitchen small appliances - These are good to have if you plan to work in the kitchen.  They are outrageously price here since they are imports.

So what is the bottom line?  If your company is paying for the move I would move more stuff to save buying new items in Brazil with higher cost and lower quality.  If you are paying for the move, move the essential like jimeluiz said. Space is a consideration as most apartments in Brazil are small (two bedrooms apt. is about 60-80 meter sq.)

Jim is spot on!

Just a piece of advice to conclude. If you have nice wood furniture, you need to have them treated agains termites as soon as you arrive, these little things can do a lot of damage and there are plenty of them here.
[Moderated]

Hello all, this is a relatively old post.

Do you think this information still applies? I'll be moving from London to rio and I'm thinking about shipping the following to brazil.

Refrigerator
Dining table
Desk
Bed/s
Mattress/es
Washing machine
Cooker

Other stuff like the following I will buy locally in rio:

TV
Printers
Microwave
Plates and cutlery

I heard mixed opinions on paying duties on personal items when they arrive in brazil. Do you guys know for sure?

Kind regards

Matthew

Hi Lilo,

Unless your furniture is extremely valuable or antiques with a lot of sentimental value you would be better off not shipping them to Brazil, unless your company here is willing to assume all or part of the cost. It is extremely expensive.

Depending on the quality of furniture you want to buy here, it can range from extremely inexpensive (paying cash in places like Casas Bahia, Ponto Frio, Maribras) to very expensive at top-end exclusive furniture shops.

You can probably furnish a 1 bedroom apartment with new refrigerator, stove, microwave, washing machine, sofa, chairs, bed, dresser, closet, kitchen table & chairs, television, stereo, etc., on a budget of about R$10.000 if you try hard. That would be about $5,000 US.

Cheers,
William James Woodward - Brazil Animator, Expat-blog