Here are some things to consider

 

taxes here are 27% flat on world-wide income (including any reimbursements such as housing allowances, education allowances, etc) unless you can get a tax equalized contract or one where the company pays your taxes for you.  You will receive absolutely nothing for the taxes you pay here (no retirement for example).  You will still be responsible for medicare and social security in the US unless your company will pay it for you.  If they pay some of this for you, you will also be taxed on it.  Taxes and how they worked were one of the biggest surprises for us and we definitely pay more in taxes here than we did in the US.

 

Many companies will pay a housing allowance.  Depending on your company, this can be very generous or not.  Find out how the taxes will work on your housing allowance before you find a place to live.  Regarding housing, people here mostly live in high-rise buildings for security and convenience.  There are not many houses with yards.  I pay in the 4k R range for a 110 m2 apartment in a good neighborhood that is close to my husband's office.  This is one of the cheapest expat apartments that I know of (although Brazilians live much more frugally in smaller spaces or have a long commute).  Most of my friends spend upwards of 10k R per month (paid by the company).

 

Some companies will give you a car or a car allowance.  Cars are a necessity here and very expensive.  Get as much paid for by the company that you can.

 

If you have children, you will need an education allowance.  Private schools can range from reasonable (1500/m) to expensive (7000/m) with steep enrollment fees.  Again, make sure you understand how you will be taxed on these items.

 

You will most likely be given international health insurance.  We have Cigna International and find it to be good.  It allows us access to the best facilities and we get a decent amount reimbursed.

 

Companies will generally cover shipment of your goods to and from Brazil.  Unless you have a large apartment, you may find your Brazilian apartment too small for American furniture.

 

Most expat contracts have a return flight home once a year for the family.  Again, check on how you will be taxed on this.

 

Any sort of emergency leave home should be covered (illness/death of family, etc).

 

We still contribute to our 401k at home.   My husband's salary is paid in the US and Brazil, so they deduct the 401k out of his US salary based on his 'home based salary'.  This salary is what he made before we moved to Brazil. 

 

Make sure the company hires a company to help you with the apartment finding and settling in process.  LATAM is horrible.  Emdoc was pretty good.  We experienced both and our experience with LATAM made me want to return to the US pretty  much immediately. 

 

See if you can get your company to pay for language lessons.  Not many people here speak english.

 

When you negotiate your salary, make sure they tell you if it includes the 13th month salary.  Brazilians receive an extra paycheck every year.  We are paid this money in our Brazilian account to comply with Brazilian law and then it is deducted from our US account.  I am not very pleased with that.

 

See if you can get a trip down here for you and your family before you sign a contract.  If your spouse is not happy, this will not be a good time for anyone.

 

That's all I can think of for now.  Let me know if you have any other questions.