CNN
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After spending years traveling the world while working in the United States military, Christopher Boris dreamed of one day moving overseas permanently.
But the retired veteran, who grew up in New Jersey but was based in Maryland at the time, ended up relocating earlier than he’d intended after struggling to cope with the rising cost of living.
“I really couldn’t afford my mortgage payments and my utilities anymore,” Boris tells CNN Travel.
“I struggled. I was living off of VA disability,” Boris says, referring to a tax-free monetary benefit paid to veterans with disabilities. “And I said, ‘I think my money could go a lot longer living overseas.’”
In the summer of 2024, Boris and his wife Maria Jesus, originally from Bolivia, left the US to start a new life in Brazil.
“I could not afford the American Dream,” he says.
According to Boris, they had been struggling financially for at least five years, but things came to a head when he left his government job in 2022.
“It was a year-long decision,” he adds. “My wife and I were always talking about moving overseas.”
While they considered moving to Bolivia, the couple ultimately chose to settle in neighboring country Brazil, a destination that they’d previously lived in between 2007 and 2008, when Boris was stationed there.
“We chose Brazil, and Rio specifically, because of the higher quality of life,” explains Boris, adding that their experiences using the medical care system in the country had been positive, and they knew that they could live comfortably there.
“We had first rate doctors. First rate everything… You have access to a lot of good quality services. So that was one of the pluses that we had.”
Once they’d made the difficult decision to leave Maryland, the couple set about getting their affairs in order and arranged to sell their three-bedroom home.
“We decided we were going to sell our house as is, because I didn’t have enough money to put in to repair it anymore,” Boris says.
The couple, who have three sons, arrived in Rio de Janeiro in July 2024, along with their youngest son, Andrew, 24, who works remotely.
They moved into a one-bedroom apartment in Leblon, an affluent Rio de Janeiro neighborhood near Ipanema, and focused on integrating themselves into the local community.
Boris says that they immediately felt at home in the area, and loved how walkable everything seemed to be.
“We didn’t need a car, because we could get anywhere by taxi,” he says. “Things like going grocery shopping, buying bread, going to a restaurant, getting a haircut…
“Everything was at my disposal. All within a block or two, or three blocks (at) the most. So that’s what we enjoyed.”
While Boris speaks Spanish and had picked up some Brazilian Portuguese during his first stint in the country, he was far from fluent.
However, he stresses that this wasn’t a huge barrier for him, and he was able to make friends relatively easily.
“There’s more community, it seems like,” says Boris. “Even though I don’t have relatives down here… People are friendlier to me.”
Boris goes on to explain that he finds Brazilians to be more relaxed and less money-focused.
“People are a little bit more laidback,” he says. “And it’s not as stressful as the United States, or the way people perceive us to be. Because everything is all about making money all the time.
“But here, it’s not about making money. It’s establishing other factors, like friendships.”
Boris points out that, while his grasp of the language has improved over time, he still struggles.
“It’s more colloquial…” he explains. “I mean, I could be standing there and somebody is having a conversation, and I can’t understand what they’re saying.
“But if they’re talking to me, I understand. So it’s a little funny that way.”
Boris entered Brazil on a tourist visa, before applying for a retirement visa, which is available to those aged over 60 who receive a pension income of at least $2,000 per month, and permits holders to remain in the country for one year.
“The biggest obstacle was the FBI fingerprints,” he says, explaining that he was required to provide an FBI history check as part of the application process for the visa, which can be renewed for one additional year.
“How do you get FBI fingerprints down here in Brazil, if you’re not in the States and you have no place to fingerprint your finger? I still have to overcome that one for my next round.”
He says he plans to apply for Brazilian residency in the next year or so.
As Boris and his wife, who are now based in Ipanema, had previously lived in the country briefly, they already had a good understanding of Brazilian culture, and didn’t have much trouble adapting to life there.
However, Boris admits that there’s one aspect of life in Brazil that he’s found difficult to get used to — the dress code.
“They show their bodies off a little bit more,” he says. “It goes with the personality, but it also goes hand in hand with your appearance, too.”
While Boris’s dress style hasn’t changed too much, he has switched up his footwear, and rarely goes anywhere without his trusty flip flops by iconic Brazilian brand Havaianas.
“I wear them constantly,” he says. “That’s my staple footwear, basically.”
When it comes to affordability, Boris says that he and his wife are able to have a much better standard of living in the country and don’t stress about money as much as they did in the US.
“The dollar goes a long way here,” he says, acknowledging that the country is more affordable for them than it is for Brazilians. “I live very comfortably. I just have to live on a budget… I have to be careful.”
Since moving to Rio de Janeiro, Boris says he saves “about $1,000” on rent payments, and spends very little on food.
“Food in general is just a lot more inexpensive,” he says, pointing out that he can get a healthy large snack and a drink for around $2.
“We go food shopping probably about two or three times a month here. But I was going almost every day in the States, because my wife doesn’t like to freeze meat. She likes stuff fresh.”
But while they may be under less financial pressure, Boris stresses that they still have to be careful with their money and simply don’t have the funds to live a luxurious lifestyle.
“I live on a budget now,” he says. “So I don’t go crazy like a tourist.”
Brazil is recognized as having one of the highest levels of income inequality in the world, and Boris says he’s well aware of the country’s problems. A travel advisory by the US State Department assesses Brazil as “Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution.”
“The unfortunate part of the city is that there is poverty,” he says, noting it’s often linked to crime.
The US State Department advises against “travel to certain areas, particularly along international borders,” and urges US visitors to “be aware of the potential for crime.”
“You have to be careful,” says Boris. “There’s certain neighborhoods that you should avoid.”
He goes on to note that “the irony of the situation” is that many of his new friends live in these areas.
“Most of the good people that I’ve met live in favelas,” he says, using the word for impoverished neighborhoods in Brazil. “They’re very friendly people… “
“But the problem is, where they live is not necessarily the safest, because you have drug traffickers controlling areas.”
While Boris says he hasn’t really ever felt unsafe in the country, he acknowledges that “anything can happen at any time.”
“I don’t want to sound over confident,” he says. “And I’m not saying it doesn’t exist… But we prefer to stay in locations that are safe.”
Reflecting on his life in the US, Boris now realizes that he was missing out on social interaction.
“My last 10 years in the United States, I’d be going to work, working, coming home, and everybody is focused on themselves,” he says.
“I mean, we had block parties in my community in Maryland, but I still think it’s not as friendly. I just didn’t get that friendly sense..
“People were more uptight…. I feel like I have more social interaction here than I do in the United States.”
As a retiree, Boris, who describes himself as a “night owl,” has a lot of free time and tends to spend his evenings hanging out with his friends, including his barber, as well as locals who work near his apartment building in Ipanema.
“We have a great time listening to music and just talking about normal things,” he says, adding that he’s been given the nickname “chimney” by his new friends.
“I do smoke a little bit,” he admits.
Boris has developed an appreciation for Brazilian soccer during his time in the country and loves watching his favorite team, Flamengo, play.
“I have only gone to one Flamengo game so far and loved watching them play in the Maracana (stadium),” he says. “But plan on going to more in the near future.”
After less than a year in Rio de Janeiro, Boris can’t imagine living anywhere else now.
“I like the architecture,” he says. “I Iike the beach. I like the way the city’s set up, and the natural beauty of it all
“You’ve got the Christ statue. You’ve got the big lake, and then you’ve got the ocean. And the samba clubs. So I enjoy that.”
Although he lives within walking distance of at least two world famous beaches, Ipanema and Copacabana, Boris says that this has become less of a novelty over time, and he doesn’t feel the need to go every day anymore.
“Some days I don’t go,” he says. “There might be three or four days I don’t go to the beach, even though it’s two blocks away.”
While Boris returns to the US once a year to visit family and friends, he doesn’t see himself ever returning permanently, and feels as though he wouldn’t be able to “live the American standard of living.”
“It feels comfortable no longer feeling and dealing with the financial burdens I had in the US,” he says.
