Learning Portuguese and living with the locals

Brazil is delicately balancing the tightrope between actively encouraging more tourists and becoming overly ‘touristy’. The adoption of a ‘less is more’ approach is proving to be the key to success allowing the beaches, climate, cuisine and inspirational locals to speak for themselves. And it’s this simplicity which attracted Richard and Nicola Hobday, both aged 38 from Esher in Surrey, to buy their first overseas property in this popular South American nation.

Richard comments, “When we go abroad as a family with our two daughters aged ten and seven, we’re keen to experience the ‘real’ deal - integrate with the community, try and learn a bit of the language and live alongside locals rather than hoards of tourists. At the early stages of our holiday home hunt we were quick to discount Dubai and Bulgaria for this very reason - high rise, high density tourist destinations just aren’t for us. Not to mention an unclear exit strategy when competing against similarly priced identikit properties.”

Richard continues, “We’ve traveled a lot – Caribbean, Africa, Far East – but after a holiday to Brazil we fell in love with it and thought we should step on the property ladder. Nicola and I were quick to zero in on Natal in northeast Brazil as it is clearly authentic and largely unspoilt yet offers excellent infrastructure. Flight accessibility and flying times are good, around nine hours, and jetlag doesn’t really feature which is handy with children in tow.”

“Property-wise the village of Pipa made most sense” says Richard, “an attractive beachfront town popular with Brazilian and international visitors alike, Pipa has artisan shops, quaint streets, lively bars and restaurants, some on the sand itself, and some incredible curves of beach, one of which Baia dos Golfinhos (Dolphin Bay), allows for swimming with these playful creatures in their own habitat rather than some contrived SeaWorld. A big purpose-built resort in the middle of nowhere wouldn’t have the same soul or indeed feel like Brazil at all.”

With the help of Brazil real estate specialists, www.uv10.com, Richard and Nicola reserved a three bedroom semi-detached villa in Pipa Beleza for £105,000 gbp. Set high up on the russet-coloured Chapadao, the cliff that forms a backdrop to Pipa’s breathtaking beaches, Pipa Beleza is a boutique development which combines Norwegian design with Brazilian rustic charm. The centerpiece is a Spa facility with relaxation pools, Balinese baths, yoga, Pilates, beauty treatments and ‘chill-out’ rooftop juice bar, and the project also offers extensive swimming pools, a unique meditation garden, minimarket, Asian fusion restaurant and pool bar. Full property rentals and an on-site management and administration office are in place ensuring high returns and carefree ownership.

“Pipa Beleza is ideal for us” continues Richard, “low density, plenty of green areas, sea views and enough unique facilities such as the Spa plus the Jacuzzi tub on our roof terrace to make it stand out from the crowd in terms of rentals and selling on. Not that we can imagine selling on as we fully intend to have twice-yearly holidays here, particularly in the winter sun, and even longer breaks when the children are old enough to look after themselves. Perhaps the only reason we’d sell is to upgrade to a bigger model in the area. www.uv10.com has been invaluable as a source of knowledge on the local area, rental potential and informing us that much of the land surrounding Pipa is protected from further development which not only protects the environment, but our asset.”

Richard concludes, “Brazil truly offers something completely different from Europe, culturally and aesthetically. We’re looking forward to exploring the beaches, the rainforests, trying our hand at canoeing, beach buggy safaris, and, as a dedicated footballer, I am especially keen to have a kick about with the maestros on the beach. Nicola and I are both learning Portuguese in order to help us meet and assimilate with the locals and we’re currently looking into ways to involve ourselves in local projects, perhaps sponsoring a local charity. After all, Brazil is much more than just a holiday home for us; it could well be part of our family’s future.”

Current prices at Pipa Beleza, which is now under construction, start from only £66,700 gbp* for a large two bedroom ground floor apartment with private garden and from £107,000 gbp* for a three bedroom semi-detached house with option for private rooftop Jacuzzi. *prices fixed in local currency

For more information, visit uv10.com