I am seriously thinking of going to Rio for about a month or two in Oct. I would like to rent an apartment but I can't afford the $1K/month prices that some of the websites offer. Has anyone on this board ever had a girl rent a place for them? I have seen some of the places that they stay and I have to admit, they are very nice. They don't pay shit for them either. One girl I know had a place right behind Bobs (next to Help) very nice one bedroom and she was only paying 600R a month.

I am thinking about calling some of the girls I know and seeing if they can get a place for me. If anyone has any experience or references, I would appreciate your input. I think I owuld have a completely different experience knowing I am going to be in town for 2 months, versus 10 days:-)

Thumper:

I wouldn't trust a garota in Rio as far as I can throw Corcovado Mountain. I don't care how long you've known her or how many times you've fucked her. Having one "set up" and apartment for you means that who's going to get set up is you.

Remember, you can't rent an apartment in Brazil without a CPF and a bank account (and you can't get a bank account without a CPF, and you cna't get a CPF without proving residency in Brazil, etc). So your prices for renting an apartment in Rio are much higher than what cariocas are paying because you are subletting (in other words paying a markup to someone who is paying the "normal" price). Likewise, the subletter is incurring extra risks (which you pay for in higher rental prices) that the "normal" landlord is not - if you trash the apartment, who's going to pay for it? He can't exactly take you to court. Anyway, that's the reality of why apartment rentals are high.

BUT, Brazilians are subletting apartments in Rio all the time, it's not just Gringos who want sublets. The sublets are advertised every day in the classifieds sections of the various newspapers. And O Globo, for instance, carries their classified section online. Of course, it's a little hard to find a good sublet if you are trying to do it from the States. One idea would be to stay in a cheap hotel or "pensao" (their are several in Copa) for a few days to a week while you hunt down an apartment (NO, you can't bring a garota to a pensao, but so what, go to a motel). Of course, you need to speka portuguese, but you'd be stupid to stay 2 months in Brazil without some useable portuguese, so I'm assuming you are passably fluent. Another, simpler, way of doign things is to ask Don or Kenn (or maybe Bobby) if they can hook you up with a cheaper apartment (i.e. you'd be paying them a little cash to do the sublet hunting in the newspaper FOR you). And with the network of contacts they have, they may even be able to find someone who is not advertising that wants to sublet (admitedly, a 2 month sublet can be hard to find). Anyway, it's worth asking.

Good Luck!

BS

Thx alot BS. I just talked to a good buddy of mine who rents a place for 1 to 2 months at a time. He has been renting from the same landlord for about 3 years now, she has multiple apartments on the same block.

He pays about $350/month for his place (near the Copa Palace) I know that is a markup in price, but its still better than the $1k/month that Bobby was asking me for. I am not looking to spend more than $400/month for an apartment, so I don't think Kenn or Bobby would be interested in finding a place for me.

We rented a fully furnished, very large, 3 bedroom (plus maid chambers) apartment right off of N.S. Copacabana in between the two McDonald's for about 2600 reals a month. This is about double the rate I have seen for one-year lease, unfurnished apartments of that size, but we had it from Nov. to beginning March (high season), so there has to be some premium. I would definitely wait 'till you got down there before finding an apartment, and I would recommend staying at the Copa Praia hostel in Copa. just off of Figueredo Malgahaes about 6 blocks back from the beach. Cheap, convenient, and you are likely to find someone who needs an apartment like you. (I did)

Thumper... I have a one-bedroom
apartment in Copacabana, at the corner of Rua Barata Ribeiro and Sigueira Campos,
right above the Tudo Facil cybercafe. It is 1 block from the metro and 1-1/2 blocks
from Luomo. I know this must be too late, but I am renting it for US$500 per month.
In case you are interested, email me at condo@pxr.com.
You can view the apartment by clicking here.

Wish I had talked to you 5 weeks ago:-( I just came back from a 3 and a half week vacation. rented a place on Sousa Lima and NS for $500/month.

I like your place, looks good in the pics. I have a couple of questions. Is that 2 beds put together as one? Do you have cable? You can answer on here in case someone else wants to know the info or feel free to send me a private email.