300 days of sun, the steadiest trade winds on Earth and a life set to forró — off the tourist track, on the water.
Fortaleza and the wider Ceará coast trade British drizzle for 300-plus days of sun, warm Atlantic swell and the steadiest trade winds on Earth — where the school run ends at a beach and the weekend means a kite, a board or a sierra bike trail.
It's affordable, alive with forró and fresh seafood, and just far enough off the tourist track to feel like a real life rather than a long holiday. Fortaleza is the base — the region's one real cluster of international schools, a major airport and private hospitals.
The trades that make it a kite mecca also make it genuinely windy, it's a long haul from the UK, safety needs street-smarts, and there's no rowing pathway.
Fortaleza chosen for schooling, airport and healthcare within 30 minutes of world-class wind. The long UK haul is the main cost.
About US$1,500/month remote income or ~US$18k savings; one year, renewable once. Dependants apply separately. Confirm with a specialist.
Under 183 days, foreign income is generally untaxed; cross it and you declare worldwide income, with no comprehensive UK treaty. Take advice.
Strong private hospitals in Fortaleza; São Paulo or a UK trip for the most specialist. Family cover ~£150–300/month; consultations £30–60.
26–31°C year-round with a wetter spell Feb–May. Relentless trade winds (strongest Aug–Dec) — glorious for sport, occasionally wearing day-to-day.
Northeastern and Bahian cooking is a highlight — moqueca and peixada coconut-fish stews, crab (a Fortaleza obsession), tapioca crêpes, carne de sol with cassava, açaí bowls, and street acarajé. Fruit is extraordinary and cheap — caju, mango, graviola.
Life revolves around beachfront barracas grilling fish over cold beer, and lively fish and municipal markets. Eating out is inexpensive and social.
Moqueca, crab, carne de sol and tapioca crêpes.
Mercado dos Peixes and Mercado Central; beach barracas.
Cheap, social beachfront dining and extraordinary fruit.
The language is Portuguese, and English is limited outside tourism, so basic Portuguese is essential. The soundtrack is forró — especially during June's Festas Juninas — plus axé and coco, with set-pieces like the out-of-season Fortal carnival and São João.
Daily life is warm, informal and outdoors — beach, music, football, family — and genuinely welcoming to newcomers who make an effort with the language, with Jericoacoara and Canoa Quebrada for weekends.
Portuguese; limited English — basic Portuguese essential.
Forró, Festas Juninas, São João and Fortal carnival.
Warm, informal beach-music-and-football living.
Excellent and cooler up in the Serra de Guaramiranga / Baturité massif, an hour or two inland — mapped singletrack with rainforest climbs and waterfall descents — plus dune and coastal trail riding around Fortaleza.
An honest gap. There's a strong sailing and nautical tradition but no established junior sculling club — Brazilian rowing sits in Rio, São Paulo and the south. Eli would pause formal rowing, though flatwater lagoons suit recreational paddling.
World-class. Cumbuco, 30 minutes away, and Jericoacoara are among the planet's top kitesurf and windsurf spots — reliable trade winds Aug–Dec, flat lagoons and waves — with good surf and sailing all along the coast.
Surfing, SUP, football everywhere, capoeira, buggy dune trips, and easy weekends in Jericoacoara and Canoa Quebrada.