Author: dan

Cost to Retire in Florianópolis Brazil

Today, I show you my new favorite beach island in the world for moderate weather.  Most of the affordable retiree beach islands overseas are very hot and humid for much of the year.  Whereas, this island’s average year-round daytime highs range between 71 and 85°F, which is 22 and 29°C.  

This island has neighborhoods with budgets ranging from high to low.  But look at the windows and fences on the homes in this high-end neighborhood.  This is not a gated community.  Yet, there are no bars on the windows or fences hiding these gorgeous homes.  That tells me how safe it is here.  

If a spaceship had dropped me on this island, I would never have guessed what country I was in by looking at these homes.  This is not the US, it is not Europe, and it is not Asia.  This beautiful neighborhood is on the safest island in the country of Brazil.  This island is called Florianópolis.

Florianópolis is the capital city in the safest state of Santa Catarina.  It is the safest capital city in the safest state in all of Brazil.

We arrived in Florianópolis after investigating 5 other cities in Brazil which we will discuss over the next few weeks in future reports and videos.  But Florianópolis is by far our favorite place in Brazil for the reasons we will now explain.

There are 40 beaches on Florianópolis island, and public transportation runs free all over the island for free, at age 65 and up, so you won’t need a car.  But Uber Taxi is quite affordable if you prefer; we averaged about $6 to $8 USD per 30 minute rides.  

The beautiful homes we showed you a moment ago are in a beach community in the north (Praia de Jurere), and we also loved another beach community in the East (Praia do Campeche).  

But we stayed in Central Florianópolis and would likely stay there long term and just visit our favorite beaches around the island whenever the mood strikes.  

We prefer living in Central Florianópolis because it had more vibrant nightlife, shopping, cafes, and restaurant choices.  And the old town center had more interesting architecture, parks, and history.  

We were surprised at all of the affordable restaurant choices in Central for both meat and vegetarian to satisfy both Qiang and me.  All of our shopping, groceries, nightlife experiences, restaurant choices, and where we stayed are on the first link in the notes below this video.    

I left the United States 19 years ago.  Since leaving America, I have searched for the best places to retire overseas.  I have spent more than a couple of hundred thousand dollars of my own money wandering through 73 countries so far.  

I will show the video Qiang and me took of Florianópolis as I discuss the factors I believe retirees should consider when deciding where to retire overseas.  I will start with Cost of Living.

Estimated Cost to Retire in Florianópolis, Brazil

Rents: I found this furnished apartment, 1 Br, 1 Bath, advertised for rent today for  R2800 ($520 USD) per month, with a long-term lease in the city center, on a walking street.  Short-term and vacation rentals are much more expensive.  Apartments range from about $400 USD per month to $1200 USD per month in central Florianópolis.  

Here is the process we use to find great apartments.  So, we will show you a table of all expenses in a moment.  We will use $450 USD per month for our lower rent estimate and $800 per month for the middle cost of living estimate for expats who want a little more space.

Utilities:  The weather and humidity are moderate in Florianópolis, so the utilities are not bad.  We estimate that the year-round average for our utilities would be about $50 USD per month.  The utilities would cost more for the larger apartment, starting at around $100 USD per month, depending on size and construction.  

Groceries:  We estimate about $290 per month for groceries.  Other expats are likely to shop more often in expensive grocery stores, and or buy more expensive and imported foods, spending more than $390 per month on groceries.  

Restaurants:  We would eat out twice per week in local-style buffet restaurants for about $4.20 to $6.00 USD per meal per person (both meat and veg), and one or two splurges per month of $12 to $20 USD per meal per person.  If you add it all up, we would spend around $180 per month on restaurants for the two of us. We may have a beer here and there, but that is covered below in alcohol.  

Other expats are likely to eat more often at expensive restaurants and less in local-style restaurants, so they would likely spend more like $280 per month for 2 people in restaurants.  It is lifestyle-dependent.

Cell Phone Data: The cost to get a prepaid SIM card for your unlocked smartphone is about $10 USD per month.  

Other expat couples are likely to buy two prepaid SIM cards so they would spend $20 USD per month.  

Laundry: Unfurnished apartments generally have no washing machines, but furnished newer ones often do.  Drop off laundry in the area would charge us about $12 USD for 5 kg of laundry per week, or $48 USD per month.

Drinking Water: Ceramic drinking water filters in Brazil typically cost around $120 to purchase, and the filters require replacement every year at a cost of approximately $100.  So we would spend about $12 per month on drinking water.

Internet: 60 Mbps in-home wifi is about $15 USD per month.

Transportation:  Mostly, we walked everywhere in Centro Florianópolis because we were exploring where we would live if we moved here.  Many people also ride bikes here, so we would also consider purchasing bicycles.  We would use Uber a few times per week, especially at night to avoid being isolated, so we would spend about $20 per month on Uber.   We would rides buses for $1 per person per ride to the beaches.  So we estimate $40 per month total for transportation.  

Other retirees may want to pay cash for a used car, but would still need to pay another $300 per month or more for gasoline, repairs, and insurance.

Alcohol (Optional): Domestic beer in Florianópolis is $1.50 per liter in grocery stores.  In bars and restaurants, beers are about $2 USD. So, we estimate about $100 per month on alcohol for the two of us.

Many other expats would spend more on imported foreign or craft beers in convenience stores, bars, and restaurants, so we estimate about $250 USD per month for 2 people, assuming they do not drink imported whiskey or wine.  

Entertainment (Optional): We would budget about $200 per month for the two of us.  We generally enjoy doing more do-it-yourself kinds of entertainment, so other expats would spend a little more, maybe $300 per month, for 2 of them?

Estimated Costs to Retire in Florianópolis, Brazil

We gathered this data with our feet on the ground here in December of 2025, so adjust for inflation after that.  The above lower cost of living estimate assumes the two of us live in Central Florianópolis on a tight budget.  The middle estimate is just an example of what more typical expats might spend if they moved here.  

So, what would it cost you to live in Florianópolis, Brazil?

To understand what it would cost you to live here, you must put your feet on the ground, see how you would choose to live, eat, and entertain yourself, and add it all up.  It doesn’t matter what anyone else spends because we are all different.  

You should also add anything to the above table that you spend money on in your home country that is not listed in the above table.  Presumably, you find those things necessary in life.  To do that, visit the Numbeo Florianópolis Brazil, and add anything not mentioned in the above table.  Anything not on Numbeo you should add during your exploratory visit before moving to Florianópolis.

Never move anywhere until you have visited first personally to verify the living costs for your lifestyle and needs. I am not guaranteeing these prices. These are just my notes and estimates from the time of my visit and this post. Your costs will likely be drastically different depending on your lifestyle and the time since this post.    

Typical expats’ living costs in Florianópolis, Brazil, range from about $1800 to $3600 per month.  But people spending that much often have higher savings, incomes, or pensions.  They often report spending more on accommodations, entertainment, eating out more, traveling, and alcohol.  Many also have more expensive cars, houses, or apartments.  

Florianópolis, Brazil, Livability Factors

Before you move anywhere outside your home country, make sure to create a list of things that you must have for your happy retirement.  Here are my livability factors, and I will rank each as high, medium, or low before assigning an overall retirement desirability score.  

Walkability:  High.  We walked everywhere in Central Florianópolis except when going home at night or when bringing groceries home, we used Uber Taxi or Buses to go to the beach towns or the airport.  Everything was so centralized that we rarely needed to walk more than 15 minutes.  Plus, walking is the healthiest way to stay in shape as we age.  

Internet:  High.  The in-home wifi in our apartment was 60 MBPS up and down.  Good enough for us to do Zoom calls, upload YouTube videos, and watch Netflix.  We were also able to use our cell phones as hotspots when we were out of the house together.

Food: High.  The restaurants in Central Florianópolis are mostly local Brazilian food, but we did see Hamburgers, Pizza, and Lebanese food.  Some of the more expensive restaurants had international foods like pasta.  The exciting for me was all the vegetarian and vegan restaurants.  They had all-you-can-eat vegetarian and vegan buffets starting at 20R (3.70 USD) per person.  And they were delicious and healthy, so Qiang loved them also.  Even the buffets that had meat started at around 20R per person (3.70 USD) included a reasonable selection of vegetarian dishes.  So, if we lived here on a tight budget, we would be able to enjoy both home-cooked food and buffets without worrying about going over budget.  

Weather:  High.  Brazil is below the equator, so summer is in December, but the temperatures vary little between seasons.  Summer daytime highs average from 85°F ( 29°C) in January down to daytime average winter highs of 71°F (22°C) in July.  The rainy season occurs from December through March, with the most rain of 11.6 inches or 295 mm in January.  

Things to Do:  High.  Florianópolis is mostly known by Brazilians for its beautiful beach life, holidays, and for being the safest state in Brazil.  That includes relaxing on the beach under beach umbrellas while eating food and drinking beer from the food carts.  The beach chairs with umbrellas are free so long as you buy your food and drink from the food carts.  Internationally, it is not a widely known destination yet, except for Argentines and some Europeans.

People also surf, boogie board, and play volleyball.  There are boat tours, fishing tours, and booze cruises.  The beach life slows down after dark when people move to the nightlife areas or enjoy family and friends at home.    

A year-round nightlife, including live music, seems to congregate mostly around Central Florianópolis.  Links to our favorite spots are in the full report, including nightlife, restaurants, and where we stayed.  

There are a few day trips you must do while in Florianópolis.  You must visit the beautiful beach communities Praia do Campeche, Praia de Jurere, and Santo Antonio de Lisboa.  Maps for those Do-It-Yourself Day Tours are at the first link in the description below this video.

Social Considerations: Medium.  English is not commonly spoken in Florianópolis.  You will find a few English speakers in tourist-facing businesses, but not many.  If you are unwilling to learn some basic Portuguese language, you will be spending a lot of time on Google Translate.  I have met many expats overseas who have used Duolingo, the free language-learning smartphone app, to learn various languages.

Safety: Medium.  Florianópolis consistently ranks as the safest part of Brazil.  We never felt threatened or in danger during our stay.  Safety is more based on the neighborhood level than the country level.  Make sure to watch my video on how to remain safe all over the world.  The main idea is not to get isolated, especially at night.  The US State Department issues travel advisories for each part of the world, which you should be aware of.  Brazil is level 2 right now, “Exercise Increased Caution.”  We often travel to level 2 locations, so this was not a big concern for us, but you should be aware of it and listen to my video on safety, which is provided in the safety paragraph at the first link in the description below this video.  

Expat Community: Low.  We found a few English-speaking expat pages for Florianópolis on Facebook: 1, 2.   But we didn’t hear or find many English speakers walking around.  So Florianópolis would be more for people who are comfortable using Google Translate if they are visiting, and to learn Portuguese if they intend to retire or live here long term.  So learn how to use Google Translate in multi-language live conversations on your smartphone before arriving, link provided.  And if you love it here, start learning Portuguese.  

Medical: High. This healthcare international comparison index ranks Brazil 83rd in the world, which is not quite as good as the United States, which ranks 69th in the World. There are different ways healthcare is rated, but this rating seems to consider not only the quality of care but also what patients are charged.

The good news is that Brazil’s public healthcare system is free for all citizens and visitors, as mandated by the country’s constitution.  Several tourist videos report receiving free treatment in hospitals in Brazil.  

Tourist Visa: High.  Australia, Canada, and the United States are countries whose citizens are currently required to get a digital e-Visa for tourism and business travel to Brazil.  Other countries should check the embassy in their home country to verify the conditions of entry, or at the bottom of this page.

Retirement Visa:  You must demonstrate a $2000 USD per month pension or equivalent and prove you are retired in your home country, provide a clean criminal record in your home country, and prove you have health insurance if the application is made from outside Brazil.  Details.  

You can probably do this yourself, but if you want a lawyer, I would request a referral to a lawyer on one of the Expat Facebook pages. I would ask the expats there for an immigration lawyer whom they used personally to get their retirement visa.

Real Estate: Foreigners can own land in Brazil, although there are some limitations and significant complications even for Brazilians.  

Apartment for Sale, 3 Br, 3 Ba, Central Florianópolis, Jan 9, 2026.

I would not buy real estate in a foreign country until I have lived there for an extended period of time, making sure I still love it after the honeymoon period. I have a report explaining what to look out for and why.  

I would also hire a lawyer who has no conflict of interest with me. Do not use a lawyer recommended by your real estate broker or your local lover. I would seek a referral from an expat who has used that lawyer’s services to successfully buy real estate.

Florianópolis, Brazil Overall Retirement Desirability Score:  High.  This is our favorite beach island in South America so far.  But it is not a soft landing for new people retiring overseas for the first time.  It would be a better fit for someone experienced in living overseas, willing and able to learn Portuguese, and who prefers cooler, low-humidity weather.  The lifestyle here is relatively affordable, the nature is beautiful, and the people are very kind and friendly.  

Three Favorite Beach/Day Tours

Campeche Beach

Click the link and catch the bus to Praia do Campeche (Campeche Beach).   This is especially a must-see if you are a surfer.  The departing bus station is a short walk from Central Florianópolis.  

Where we ate in Campeche:

Bus to Praia do Campeche:

Jurere Beach

Click the link and catch the bus to Praia de Jurere (Jurere Beach).   This is especially a must-see if you would like to see the beautiful homes without bars on the windows or fences shown at the beginning of the video.  Walk the beach and walk some of the neighborhoods; it will blow your mind.  

Where we ate or drank in Jurere:

The departing bus station is a short walk from Central Florianópolis.

Bus to Praia de Jurere

San Antonio Community

Click the link and catch the bus to  Santo Antonio de Lisboa. (San Antonio Community).  This is especially a must-see if you enjoy old world charm, eating fresh or steamed oysters, or fried fish.  You will also enjoy the arts and crafts, seeing what life looked like 100 years ago, the laid-back artsy community as you enjoy the shady beach trees.  What we ate here:  Corner Oyster: Raw Oyster 25R, Steam Oyster 20R, Fried Fish 10, Beer 16

The departing bus station is a short walk from Central Florianópolis.

Bus to Santo António de Lisboa

Where we stayed in Central Florianópolis

We stayed at this apartment on Airbnb for 10 nights at about $49 USD/night.  We were in walking distance of just about everything we needed here.  If we moved here and signed a long-term lease, I would expect to pay much less per night, as shown above under the cost-of-living rents.  

How we got to Florianópolis, Brazil

We flew to Florianópolis International Airport from São Paulo, Brazil, for about $135 USD per person.  We found the flight on Skyscanner.net and booked it directly on the LATAM Airlines webpage.  Uber Taxi operates in Florianópolis, so that is how we got from the airport to our accommodations.

Restaurants, Bars  (Prices in R.  $1 USD is R5.34 Brazilian real (R))

Vegetarian/Vegan Restaurants:

Best Nightlife:

Services/Markets: