You could have learned how many of them are balding <| sep |> Hey Troy , How does the educational system work in general ? How are schools and universities founded ? Why are public school not attractive , but public universities are ? Most middle and upper classes in mediumbig cities go to private schools . Better infrastructure and better teachers , as when we talk about schools , wages are better in the private sector . As for universities , despite a lack of great infrastructure in the public sector , the teachers are generally better . Why ? Better wages . Private universities also are really expensive , and if people can have free quality education , they go for it . The downside is that as the general quality of the public federal universities is better , it is only accessible for those who are upper class . How does the tax system work ? What are the main types ? A few numbers ? Not too detailed , I ' d just like to have a general understanding . Nobody actually knows . lol . We have a lot of taxes . Income tax goes from 15 % to 27 . 5 %. There are a number of a lot of different taxes , as State products taxes varying from 1720 % prices you see in stores already have this tax attached , industrialized products tax only the industry chain pays those but of course they reflect on the final price of the produtcs , social care contributions 3 % of any receipt you give if you are a service provider , state retirement tax 11 % of your salary deducted from your paycheck , etc . It is a spiderweb . How are workers rights ? Minimum wage ? Unions ? Strikes ? Minimum amount of holidays ? Parental leave ? Insurances ? Protection against getting fired ? We have a lot of workers rights . Minimum wage is at R $ 880 , 00 per month , but if you are qualified , you usually make at least 3 times that . Unions are a part of our system , and every worker is required to contribute to it ' s respective Union . There are strikes in a lot of sectors , and they are allowed . No minimum amount of holidays , but we have a lot of them . Probably around 8 year , 30 days of vacation . Parental leaves for women vary from 120 to 180 days . No insurance required by law , but it can be negotiated by unions for specific sectors . You can be fired at any time , but the penalty is large for the company . In those cases we have our Labor Justice System , that solves it . It can take some time , though . How does the healthcare system work ? There is free universal public healthcare . But it only works right in smaller cities . In bigger cities you are better off paying for private plans . How do people prepare for retirement ? What is the typical age for retirement ? People do not prepare for retirement . Brazilians are insanely incapable of any sort of monetary longterm thinkingplanning . That is why people have 11 % of their salaries deducted from thei paycheck every month . So when you complete the requirements 65 years of age 30 years of signed work , if male , or 6030 if female , you have a federal retirement . Wages are based on contribution , and the calculations are too complex to show here . But the minimum you receive is the minimum wage R $ 880 , and the expected maximum for 2017 is around R $ 5500 month 13 pays per year . The age of retirement depends on profession , as if you are a teacher , or if you work in dangerous jobs defined by law , you can retire early say , at 50 years old . You can always retire early if you are a regular worker , but you will lose on your benefits . Living Owning or renting an apartment ? Right now , renting . The cost of rent is at about 0 . 4 % of the property value , and we are able to receive 1518 % year fixed investment returns . So , monetarily , it makes no sense to buy , unless it is a really good apartment that may be able to gain a lot of value midterm . But a lot of people prefer to buy , even if it means 30 years of a financing agreement , that will skyrocket the aprtment price from R $ 350 . 000 to R $ 600 . 000 . As I said , people here are not extremely wise on those decisions .