玩偶姐姐

@Kat2202

I don鈥檛 know about the plugs, since I鈥檓 not from the US, I鈥檓 sure someone else will be able to answer that.

The voltage depends on the location, some places have 110V installations, others 220V, and some have both. For example, where I live (Bahia, near Salvador) most houses have 110V outlets for 鈥渞egular鈥� stuff (lights, USB adapters, computers鈥�.) and 220V outlets for power-hungry appliances like electric stoves, A/C, fridges and freezers). These outlets are almost identical except that the pinholes are larger to accommodate thicker pins. Most houses and apartments I have been to only get 110V service from the provider and use at least one heavy transformer (or inverter?) that works in both directions (if you plug it into a 110 socket it will produce 220, if you plug it into a 220V socket it will produce 110). They are a bit larger than a standard sized construction brick and I guess they aren鈥檛 too expensive, since they are literally everywhere around here. So you鈥檒l probably need at least one of those.

Keep in mind that a lot of smaller things (computers, smartphones, USB plugs, razors鈥�) are able to be used with either 110 or 220 volts, and switch automatically between them. It鈥檚聽 written on a label near the plug, it usually says something like 鈥淚nput: 110-240 volts鈥� or something similar.

@Kurterino

Thank you. The house is wired for 110 volts, but the AC unit uses a 220-volt circuit (only).聽 Not sure if my small appliances are compatible with the current wiring, as I am highly concerned about the risk of a blowout or electrical fire. Any brand you recommend?

09/30/25 @Kat2202.聽 Our apartment in Manaus is wired as @Kurterino describes, and apparently as your house is, too:聽 110/127 V for most electrical equipment and electronics, and 220V for air conditioners and electric showers.聽 As he said, most computer equipment tends to be bivolt these days:聽 check the power supply to be sure.

We used most of the small appliances that I brought with me from the United States over eight years ago until they wore out (they did not burn out, most of them were pretty old before I came); we used them with adapters. We bought the refrigerator (Consul, a good but no-frills Brazilian brand); washing machine (Panasonic), microwave (Electrolux), air fryer (M铆dea) and water cooler (Esmaltec) here, no problems.聽 聽We also replaced our coffeemaker and sandwich machine with Mallory, again with no complaints.聽 Food processor and blender are Oster, which are like Oster anywhere else.聽 The only small appliance brand we've been dissatisfied with is Philco -- in our experience, they've broken down quickly and their service is lousy.

When we bought this apartment we replaced all the wiring.聽 If your place has old wiring, just be careful not to overload the circuits, especially by daisy-chaining extension cords.聽 Unplugging things when you're not using them is probably a good idea.聽 After a couple of near-misses from power fluctuations, we have surge protectors on our fridge, our water cooler, and our air conditioners.聽 聽

@abthree

Thank you.聽 The house is fairly new and has been maintained by the owner. For the move, I'll pack one small converter just in case, and I plan on buying all the major appliances once I settle in. I'm currently debating whether to bring a sink water filter or buy one locally, as the comparable options on Amazon Brazil seem quite a bit pricier. Any thoughts?

This move is a huge, exciting step for me. I've been talking about making this jump for a year, but my cancer diagnosis and subsequent treatment meant I had to postpone things. I鈥檓 moving next month and will definitely be leaning on this community for questions and support as I get settled.

01/01/25聽 I'm currently debating whether to bring a sink water filter or buy one locally, as the comparable options on Amazon Brazil seem quite a bit pricier. Any thoughts?
- @Kat2202

Good morning, Denise.聽 Congratulations on your recovery, and on having the energy to tackle this new adventure.

Not sure about the sink water filter, since there will be the question of whether you can get the replacement filter elements here if you need them, and the attachment to the faucet.聽 If it's not too much and not too big it might be worth a try.聽 Most people here use bottled water for cooking and drinking; It costs us (two people, who drink a lot of water)聽 US$4.50 - $5.00/wk for two 20 l jugs, plus the upfront cost of the cooler.

Generally, though, I'm a strong "yes" on kitchen gadgets, especially the ones you use a lot.聽 I published this list of things to bring three or four years ago, so this is a good time to repeat it:

1. A drainboard.聽 Not the drying rack, the flat, sloping piece that goes under it and takes the water that drains off the dishes back to the sink.聽 Here, people put a towel under the rack, an obviously suboptimal solution.聽 The drainboard we have cost $15.99 on Amazon -- and an eyepopping $65.61, mostly taxes, to ship to Brazil!聽 Buy one and throw it into one of your boxes.
2. Lamps.聽 If you have nice lamps, bring them.聽 Good table lamps are hard to come by here, good floor lamps next to impossible.聽 If you don't mind overhead lighting (I hate it, but that's me), never mind.
3. Kitchen gadgets in Brazil have improved a lot in the past five years, but still, if you have anything special that you use a lot, bring it along.聽 If you're a home baker, that includes any specialized pans, muffin rings, dough tools, etc.
4. If you're bringing Queen or King size beds, bring the bedspreads and bedclothes, too.聽 The Brazilian versions tend to be smaller.
5. Dishes are fine here, but bring serving pieces, which are noticeably lacking.聽 聽 If you like your flatware, let the movers pack that, too.聽 It's not necessary, but it's probably better quality than you can get here.
6. If you're bringing a Roomba (we brought two), you can get most parts here, but bring a supply of the filters, which are crazy expensive to import.
7. Naturally, bring anything with a lot of sentimental value, or family connections:聽 you're not going to be able to replace those locally.

Thanks for the suggestions! I will definitely look into a drain board鈥擨 hadn't thought of that.聽 I've already set aside the lamps and bed covers you mentioned (my friend also suggested bringing my lamps. I'm with you on聽 ceiling lights!) As for kitchen items, I've already shipped the flatware, crystal glasses and my beautiful china- crazy expensive in Brazil and not so beautiful. I was planning to donate most of my other serving pieces, but I'll see what else I can take. No Roomba for me, though! I gave myself a limit of how many boxes I can bring. Don't want to overpay.聽

It is certainly stressful and sad to be getting rid of most of my furnishings. Thank you for reminding me of sentimental pieces.