‘Brazil is a complete nightmare to live in,’ I was warned. I took a gamble and went anyway

Nowhere is beyond the reach of chaos, mayhem and revolution in these polarised times. The extreme-right protesters among the supporters of the former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro showed that all too clearly last weekend.

Their invasion and vandalising of the presidential palace, congress and supreme court in Brasília caused extensive physical damage and even greater devastation in the heart and soul of a nation that had just emerged from the most divisive presidential campaign in its history.

This remains a story in progress. As Brazilians advocate for democracy and order on the streets from Rio de Janeiro to São Paulo and onwards, it’s important to remember that every society comes with both the beautiful and the ugly.

In fact, a couple of years ago, when I explained to the Brazilians I knew that I was going to their country not just on holiday but to live, the enthusiasm with which they’d been recommending places to visit and things to eat drained from their faces. “Why?” they asked. “It’s a brilliant country to visit, but it’s a complete nightmare to live in.”

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[ Lula moves to defuse extreme protests after farcical riot ]

I’d lived in many countries, mostly in Asia, during the past few years, but I wanted to go farther south, to Rio de Janeiro, to see for myself one of the most famous – and infamous – cities in the world. So, despite what my Brazilian friends had said, I decided to take a gamble. After all, although it’s good to trust what people tell you, it’s better to verify it for yourself, so off I went.

One of the first things you notice before you land at Rio’s international airport is the sea of favelas stretching to the horizon. The city’s notorious slums have had decades of attention, ranging from international reporting of drug violence to the making of very successful movies such as City of God and Elite Squad.

You can see the favelas from most of the city. Often they’re right beside affluent areas. The rich and poor won’t necessarily live in exactly the same area, but they’ll walk the same streets and socialise in the same places.

To associate everyone who lives in a favela with crime would be a terrible injustice. The vast majority of their residents work, study and live like any other Carioca (as a person from Rio is known), albeit in very different socioeconomic conditions.

I think it’s bad form to go on a tourist trip to a favela, so you can boast about visiting one of the city’s slums, and take photographs for your Instagram page while standing on a sheet of corrugated iron that is literally someone’s roof. But it’s a lucrative business for many.

Brazilians take pride in their restaurants the way we Irish take pride in our pubs – and while Ireland may have the best beef in the world, Brazil is definitely a contender for having the greatest way of cooking it. Brazilian assado, or barbecue, is renowned. Every Latin American country claims its barbecue is the best – so fiercely passionate competition drives the pursuit of perfection.

There isn’t a big drinking culture in Rio, but there are still plenty of pubs. If you’re not a Carioca it’s easy to be the biggest drinker in a group, as locals rarely get drunk, and even fewer use drugs, because of the association with narcoviolence.

Being in the astonishing outdoors, playing sports or relaxing on a world-class beach are at the heart of life here. The weather in Donegal, where I’m from, makes beaches redundant and off-licences essential, in contrast.

On the downside of life here, road safety consists solely of crossing your fingers. Everybody drives as if they’re taking part in a Grand Prix after drinking a bottle of spirits. There are rules of the road, but they appear very much optional. Speeding to your destination apparently trumps survival. Taxis are cheap, however: €5 or so for an hour-long trip in an Uber means you don’t need to drive yourself.

[ The Irish Times view on the protests in Brazil ]

The only thing I have found truly unbearable in this exceptional country is the bureaucracy. What should be a 10-minute job will often take weeks, as the regulations and requirements vary from one register office, or cartório, to the next. Organisation seems nonexistent, waiting times are measured in hours, and even when you get to the front of the queue your request probably can’t be processed because you’re missing documents that nobody said you needed to bring with you.

It took me and my wife, Caroline, six months to emerge from this bureaucratic purgatory to get married. At least by the end of the process you’ll be sure you truly love them, as it will have tested your patience, and your sanity, to the absolute limit.

But don’t let that put you off visiting, or even moving to, Rio de Janeiro. A far cry from a war zone full of crime, corruption and deprivation, it truly stands as a contender to be among the greatest cities on the planet.

If you live overseas and would like to share your experience with Irish Times Abroad, email abroad@irishtimes.com with a little information about you and what you do