In every debut episode of Cadê Moradia, Jason Lanzarini asks the realtors the same question: what's the biggest illusion Brazilians have about living in the United States? In the third, with Dina Silveira, he decides to answer too — and the two answers complement each other.

The outdoor kitchen illusion

Jason's is about the house. Brazilians see a home with an outdoor kitchen, a pool and a barbecue and picture weekend cookouts with friends and family. "And it doesn't happen," he says. Friends don't live nearby, and free time is short.

"You buy it imagining you'll enjoy it the way you would in Brazil, and it's not like that." — Jason Lanzarini, on the episode

He attributes this to the cost of living: many people work more than one job. Jason says he does extra deliveries for Amazon Flex and meets Americans with $80,000 cars doing the same to supplement their income. Get-togethers end up concentrated on dates like Thanksgiving, Christmas and the Fourth of July.

Dina offers a counterpoint: she knows Brazilians who throw parties from Thursday to Sunday — but it's usually always the same group. The friends who are business owners or focused on work, those don't show up.

The American home is for family

Dina explains the cultural difference. Americans tend to be more reserved: once they start a family, the core is them, their spouse and their kids, and at most a neighbor. A home's leisure area is designed for the family, not for hosting half the world. And showing up at someone's house unannounced, something common in Brazil, is considered rude here.

Sammy Veicer, on the previous episode, made a similar observation: making friends takes time, and Americans tend to be more careful before inviting someone into their home.

Where's the nightlife?

Dina's illusion was a different one. She arrived in Torrance "with the Hollywood vibe," single, wanting to party. At 7:30 p.m., the street was empty, with few cars. "Where's the Hollywood vibe?" she recalls. The South Bay is residential and quiet.

And even in nightlife areas, the hours are different. In California, state law prohibits the sale of alcohol between 2 and 6 a.m. Jason jokes that by the time Brazilians get to the party, it's ending — and recalls what the police officers on the Palavrão Tático podcast say: between 2 and 3 a.m. crowds pour out of the bars, and between 3 and 4 a.m. is when traffic incidents and fights peak.

A place for everything — that we never visit

Dina chose California for its variety: beach, desert, snowy mountains, trails, theme parks. Jason notes the irony: "You're here, you have everything nearby, and you say you'll go next weekend. And you don't go then either." It's another common illusion, he says — that living close means enjoying it more.

The hardest part: the distance

The conversation also touches on what really weighs. Dina had just returned from Brazil, where she spent two months with her hospitalized father, in his final days. She says the biggest fear of those who live far away is missing time with the people they love — and that she feels grateful she was able to go. Jason notes that many Brazilians in the United States can't travel without risking not being able to come back, and argues that, when it's possible, you shouldn't put it off.

That's why, Dina says, if she could change just one thing about Los Angeles, it would be the distance from Brazil. From Florida there are direct flights to Brazil's Northeast; from here, the trip to Fortaleza easily takes more than 17 hours.

Who's speaking here

Dina Silveira came to Los Angeles in 2014 as an English student, worked in the beauty industry and got her real estate license during the pandemic. She works in the South Bay and says she chose Los Angeles because her best friend lived in Torrance — "it makes the bridge easier," as Jason puts it.

Sources and verification

• Episode 3 of the Cadê Moradia podcast (February 2026), with Dina Silveira and Jason Lanzarini.
• California Business and Professions Code, section 25631 — prohibition on alcohol sales between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m.

This topic comes from the full episode — watch it:

South Bay LA, CA