Another Brazilian here. I’ve lived in Australia for 15 years, Brisbane for 5 and Sydney for 10.
I reckon both cities are some of the cleanest safest cities in the world.
I grew up in Rio, left when I was 20. Still to this day I’ve got the street reflexe. My partner, who’s Swedish, finds it mostly amusing, sometimes rude.
For example:
I won’t sit with my back to a door or a hallway, corridor etc.
I don’t tolerate people walking behind me closer than 5-10 meters, I’ll literally turn around and pretend to tie my shoe laces or look at a shop window.
And I think most of all, I can tell immediately if someone is sussing me out, looking for a vulnerability, something of value I’m wearing, etc. I see the eyes, I hear the body language.
All of this from someone who grew up in a middle-upper class neighbourhood in Rio (Ipanema).
I’m wearing an Apple Watch and I’ve got an iPhone 8 Plus in my pocket atm. I often leave the house with a $2000 dollar Sony a7iii câmera just because I “might see something I want to photograph”. My friends in Rio simply wouldn’t comprehend...