salvador bills: my wallet cried and so did i (a broke student's real guide)

so, you wanna move to salvador. cute. everyone talks about the music, the beaches, the *acarajé that’ll change your life. nobody talks about the moment your conta de luz arrives and looks like a ransom note. i’m a budget student, which means i live on rice, beans, and panic. let’s get into the bloody mess.

first, the map, because you’ll need it when you’re fleeing your landlord:

rent. the big one. i share a casa in the barra area-three of us, two beds, one bathroom that’s seen things. we pay r$1,200 total, so r$400 each. that’s, like, usd$80? sounds cheap until you realize a similar spot in pelourinho is r$2,000 because tourists want to “feel the history.” listen. the history is damp and the stairs are murder. you’ll feel it.

utilities-the trifecta of pain:
- energia: salvador is hot as the devil’s armpit. you will use the AC. or a fan. either way, expect r$150-r$300 a month per person if you’re not a monk. i once left a fan on overnight and my share jumped to r$280. my roommate, who worksnights, texted:
> "a energia tá me comendo vivo. i might just sleep on the street by the farol da barra to save."
- água: usually cheap, r$30-r$50 each, but in the dry months (sept-dec) it can spike. someone told me the embasa charges are based on some ancient maré chart. who knows.
- internet/phone: chose vivo or claro. don’t get oi. i pay r$90 for 300mb. it cuts out during chuva. of course it does.

the reality check: safety. salvador has a rep. i’ve been told a hundred times: don’t flash phone on rua calçada, don’t walk alone at night in periferias. i stick to barra, rio vermelho, and daylight. my bolsa scholarship covers some, but i tutor kids online for usd$5/hr to pay for this stuff. job market? informal is king: beach vendors, bar tenders, gigs at casa de samba. the formal jobs are slim unless you’re in porto or comércio.

weather/neighbors talk: it’s either suffocating humid or torrential rain. my vizinhos upstairs blast axé at 6am. i love/hate it. short flight away: recife (cheap flights, more tech jobs), or ferry to morro de são paulo for a beach detox when bills arrive.

drunk advice from a bar in pelourinho (check this tripadvisor thread):
> "budget? live near campo grande. cheaper, less touristy. but your conta de água will still find you. bring a towel for the tears."

overheard rumor from a feira lady:
> "the city’s raising iptu next year. buy a hammock. you’ll be paying from it soon."

something a local warned me about: don’t rent without seeing the medidor de energia. some landlords have ‘creative’ wiring. also, always get the conta condomínio if you’re in a prédio-it’s another r$100-r$300.

now, the messy data i scraped from friends and a bahia subreddit (r/bahia is a wild place):

:

anyway. salvador eats your money and gives you back afoxé* rhythms and a sense of existential dread. bring cash, a calculator, and a strong heart.

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