If you think Brasilia is a typical city from Brazil, think again.

Brasilia is the national capital of Brazil and therefore the center of government, courts, and public administrations. Build between 1956 and 1960 for a population of 500,000 people it now exceeds 4.2 million people (Click here for source), including the satellite cities and “informal” housing areas, making it the 4th biggest city in Brazil.

Many of the people living in the city of Brasilia, that is Lago Sul, Asa Sul/Sudoeste, Asa Norte/Noroese and Lago Norte, are public servants, lawyers, politicians, lobbyists, health professionals and military. And they all have a very good income and, what is more important, a secure job. While the minimum wage is 1100 reals per month, it is not uncommon for a public servant to receive 15 to 20,000 reals a month.

So life is good here. That’s why Brasilia is, relative to Brazilian standards, an expensive city. In fact, Wikipedia says, “Among major Latin American cities, [Brasilia] has the highest GDP per capita.”

Most of the workers in Brasilia, like the maids, gardeners, nannies, trades people, security personal, etc, are living around Brasilia in the satellite cities. These satellite cities are a different story.

So please know Brasilia does not really represent Brazilian cities.

As we expats here say, Brasilia is a bubble in Brazil, and if you live in Lago Sul or Lago Norte, you live in a bubble in a bubble.