Living in Rio de Janeiro Forever?

I am usually asked about if we are staying or going. Are we going to be in Rio de Janeiro forever? Forever is a long time so it is a difficult one to answer.

Logistically, we will be here forever. Mr. Rant's job is here. We own a home. Our children have been born and raised here so far. And as much as I love Target, the idea of picking up the entire family to indulge my consumerist tendencies seems slightly selfish (even if I'll be mainly buying for them).

Then there's the other side of the story. Rio de Janeiro is an amazing place to raise small children! First off, they are widely accepted anywhere. Seriously, Cariocas love small children more than small dogs in Louis Vuitton bags. It's a special place like that.

Don't even get me into how life in Brazil is heaven for children. Even ignoring the natural beauties such as the beach and waterfalls, you also have the extravagant birthday parties and commonly late bedtimes. Kids are the dictators and people pretty much like it like that.

The only thing that worries me about living here is the general lack of stability, although the economy has been going strong for 10 years now. Brazilians my age have memories of inflation dramas, change of currency, minor epidemics, and general nervousness of parents surrounding government stability. As an American born in the fabulous year of 1980, I'm used to a government who averages a life of butterflies and rainbows. Of course that is not counting natural disasters, wars, and the current state of the economy.

None the less, I have realized in my young age that stability is in the mind of the beholder. Living within one's means makes all the difference in a world of flux. Just to clarify, I'm not saying that I do that. Of course I so immaturely blame Continental and their extremely high priced tickets from Rio de Janeiro to the US. That and my 8 suitcases full of crap that I just HAVE to bring back. Consumerism is a drug more addictive than crack and I am not even close to accepting that I have a problem, so don't even go there.

But back to the main topic, we live here. Taking away the little issues, like being thousands of miles from friends and family, we have a good life. We are happy. My children are well adjusted, bilingual, and love every aspect of the culture of their Motherland.

And when I live in a place that makes the 3 most important men in my life happier than anywhere else, how can I not want to live here forever? 

Mr. Rant and the US Broke Up

I'm no immigration lawyer but I have had my fair share of time working with the US department of immigration. By work I mean trying to get papers for my husband.

In all fairness, they did give him his Green Card. Guess what, the card was actually green. Go figure. Doing it abroad didn't take nearly all the hoop jumping that getting my Brazilian resident card did. On the contrary, he had it in about 3 months.

So while we were quite a bit poorer after the whole thing, we thought we were set. We thought so anyway. Turns out you have to set foot on American soil every 6 months if you want to keep it. Sadly, the US government doesn't cover the bill of flying from Rio de Janeiro to US soil twice a year. But I did discover that you can enter after 11 months once, twice if the second customs agent is forgiving.

That's what happened to us. Being who we are, and with all our respect for bureaucracy, we pushed the envelope... and we got called into secondary. Thankfully that was just because Immigration departments around the world all have the same standards for organization and they couldn't figure out which was our latest US address. But we were informed that while they were going to let us in, my death glare and bitching must have intimidated them, Mr. Rant would be turned around and sent home if we waited this long again. Oh, and he would be without his Green Card.

We ultimately decided that it was time for Mr. Rant and the US to break up. They could have some ex-sex in the form of the Tourist Visa but nothing more. The US is far too needy. It expected way too much from this relationship. I mean, Permanent resident is a lot, what more could you ask for?

Oh yeah, spontaneous finger printing in California because he wasn't actually a Permanent Resident but a Temporary Permanent Resident. Anyone else see the contradiction in terms there? Not to mention the fact that they could not do it in the consulate and that Residency is for people who are actually residents.

That one right there just pissed me off. I'm an American. Hell, I didn't even leave the country until I was 18 years old. Doesn't my country celebrate that kind of thing? So give my husband his papers.  I'm allowed to marry who I want to... oh wait. But in this case, I can marry him, I just may not be able to bring him home to Mom. I suppose, depending on the Mother-in-law, some spouses may not be too upset by that.

In the end, I guess we all have our immigration stories. The US is famous for just that. What are yours?