Bargain braces coming off for Brazil

So here is my great economic insight for the day: orthodontia is more affordable than it used to be.

When I was a kid growing up in the (ouch) 1970s, putting a child through orthodontia was this very big deal, because it was so expensive. I remember my sister and I sitting in the Volvo waiting while my brother and Mom went through the dumpster at McDonalds hunting for his retainer. We had eaten at McDs for dinner, a rare treat that only occurred when my Dad was out of town on business. Brian had taken his retainer out to eat and then left it on the tray. When he dumped the whole thing into the trash bin, the retainer went along too.  The instrument was considered too valuable to write off, so the whole family returned to the scene to dumpster dive in hopes of retrieving it. This happened several times -- always at McDonalds. I know Brian found his retainer at least once.

These memories came back to me recently when my own daughter needed braces because of a buck-toothed overbite she developed due to thumb sucking. She had her braces on for about one year, and just had them removed since we cannot take them with us to Rio.  Door to door, for about one year, we paid less than $2,000. Our ortho (thank you, Dr. Bill!) let us break down the cost in a monthly payment with no interest.

So here is my theory: it's not that braces are cheaper now. They just seem like a relative bargain because everything else is so much more expensive. And there are MORE expenses with kids than there once were. Instead of kids running in packs on the street outside, playing whiffle ball until dark, they each take classes and camps and the bills  pile up.

This formalized fun, as I call it, is one thing I am hoping to reduce living in Rio. I think kids need other kids and people around to teach them and be friends with them. And that should not require payment as it does for a service like braces.

You're Moving WHERE???#$^%&*???!!!?!??!?

You get a wide range of reactions when you tell people you are moving your family to Rio, but the news generally provokes two distinct faces: a furrowed brow w/subtle frown or a wide smile and dancing eyes. One person came to me, held her hand in mine, looked into my eyes and said, "I'm so sorry to hear your news,'' as if we'd had a death in the family. Maybe she meant it as a sadness for HER that we were leaving, I don't know.

Other people, especially people who have been to Brazil, immediately shout: "Ah, I'm so jealous!"

There are also persistent rumors about Brazil that are very outdated and silly. Alfredo used to joke that Americans believe that snakes slither along the streets of Rio and that pedestrians live in mortal danger of being attacked by jungle Orangutans every time they go out for a walk. Recently, I had a conversation with a friend who said it would be a big adjustment for the girls to move from "an advanced country" to a place that is somewhat less than that.

Sure, Brazil's big cities grew largely without any urban planning. And the favelas are an ever present issue since the quality of life in them is so much lower than it is in, say, South Orange County. But they do have the Internet over there, I've heard. People live in apartment buildings and houses, like here. And the employment rate is 6 percent. So, which is more advanced?