Tuesday, February 1, 2011

From Kingston to Rio...

When winter comes, Hudson Valley real estate slows down in most areas, (unless it's a ski town). This is the time I take my vacation and come to Rio. I've been coming here for ten years now and seen so many safe changes. This city reminds me of what happened to NYC during Giuliani’s mayor ship, (it's really getting a new face). I usually spend about two months here and come for carnaval. I parade and compete on one of the two main days with the samba school, (team) Vila Isabel. The competition is very tough and groups are judged on MANY different categories. There are 12 groups that compete and the group I parade with is a smaller group of 3,800, (250 of which are drums)! In 2006 I paraded with them and we won by 1/10th of a point!


I have been here a few weeks now and even though Carnaval is a month away, I have had three big rehearsals. The supermodel Giselle is going to be parading with us this year and many famous Brasilian actors!

Real Estate in this city has also been really exploding since the announcement of the World Cup and Olympics coming here. I have a very good friend here who used to work on the beach selling chairs, umbrellas, and beer. He was a real surfer dude living the beach life. He is now a Realtor like me. Here is an article about Rio's real estate and how well it's doing...

http://riotimesonline.com/brazil-news/rio-real-estate/rio-real-estate-shielded-from-burst/
Another reason for the prices here being so high, is that most of the buildings are already built and there is no more room really for much more.

It's a great city, and I have tons of amazing friends here. I'm so happy for them all right now, (while they feel bad for my country's economy)!

Here is part of my group’s drums...