Experience in São Paulo, Brazil by Bruno

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What is it like to live in São Paulo? Would you recommend it? What is the city like?

It depends a lot on where do you live/study/work. If you live near your work/university it is perfect. you will not be stressed out by traffic jams, full buses/trains. However, if you are far from places, you better get used to traffic and a lot of people using public transports. Another option is using bikes, however, distances are massive in São Paulo, and there are a lot of steep inclines.

Night life is quite amazing, you have pretty much everything. From different kind of electronic music (minimal, house, psy) all the way through brazilian funk, and other brazilian music (Axé, Pagode, Sertanejo), passing through a lot of 70-80's rock places, and also heavy metal and all different strands.

Food is another thing that is really rich in São Paulo. You can get any kind of food at any time, at any price. You can get a sushi at 4 in the morning, and a vegan burger at 3 in the afternoon. Can also spend a lot of money and head towards one of the best restaurants in the world such as Maní or D. O. M.. You have a massive array of choices for pizzas, burgers, vegan and vegetarian cuisine. The only food missing around here is probably Indonesian, Nepalese and Ethiopian. The rest you can find and really good or really bad quality

What is the student lifestyle like in São Paulo?

You will probably be heading to regions such as Vila Madalena, Augusta, and Pinheiros to party, bars, and meeting new people, and enjoyin the night.

Depending on your uni, you will have to study a lot. However, you will still be able to enjoy all the parties (it is not common to have frat parties, only specific university parties as a whole, such as Med school party, Business school parties and etc).

You will find really cheap places to eat, and they will have a fantastic quality...

How much does it cost to live in São Paulo?

It depends on you.

If you want to live near the central region (Higienópolis, Jardim Paulista, Vila Madalena, Paulista) it will be a bit more expensive to rent a place. However, you can get cheap food anywhere, you just need to dive inside the neighbourhood.

Rents are quite expensive (near the best places starts around 400 euros per person), but you can get much lower ones if you are ok on taking the subway or buses everyday (just do not forget that the city is massive large, so it will take you sometime to move from one place to the other by bus or subway, but this might be a good way for you to read more hehe)

Is it difficult to find accommodation in São Paulo? Is there any advice you can give?

it is not difficult, and you can get any kind of place you want.

you just need to be aware that cheaper places will be farther, and you will spend more time on buses/subway/trains

What is the food like? What are your favourite dishes?

Food is amazing, you can find anything in São Paulo at anytime, any price, and any quality... My favourites are vegan cuisine, arabic and mexican.

What places would you recommend visiting in São Paulo?

Ibirapuera Park, it is ours Central Park, but not as big.

Masp - art museum, they have different exibitions from time to time, it is located on Avenida Paulista

D-edge - for electronic music lovers, probably the best nightclub around here for Minimal listeners (if you are straight go wednesday and thursday, if you are bi/homo friday and saturday, if you do not care, go everyday, and enjoy the afterparty on saturday from 7am till 12pm)

Walk around Vila Madalena and just sit in one of the bars up till late (you will definitely meet interesting people)

Casa de Pedra Gymnasium - biggest indoor climbing facility in south america

Is it good to eat out in São Paulo? Can you tell us your favourite spots?

Yes it is, if you know where to go. You can get cheap quality food, and crap expensive one. You just need to talk to locals, and they will all show you their favorite spots for food...

My favourites:

• Banana Verde - Vegetarian/Organic restaurant (with vegan options, and a good wine selection) (fair price)
• Si Senor - mexican (expensive)
• Le Manjue - Organic food (a lot of vegetarian options and a few vegan, different mixtures for caipirinhas) (bit expensive)
• Maoz Vegetarian - dutch company, kind of fast food (practically vegan) (cheap)
• Prime Dog - regular/vegetarian/vegan burgers/sausages - CHEAP and really GOOD, even if you are not a vegan, go for the "Hamburger do Chefe Vegano"
• Loving Hut - chinese vegan restaurant all you can eat (cheap)

Is the nightlife good in São Paulo? Where is good to go?

Freaking amazing! If you enjoy electronic music - D-edge (there are a lot of different places, but I do not go out as much) / HotHot.

Sertanejo (country music) - Woods (expensive) / Villa Mix (more or less expensive. Brazilian music, "Samba" most of the time - Ó do Borogodó (cheap, in the heart of Vila Madalena). Rock - All Black or O'Malleys (pub). Alternative - Sarajevo / Love Story

What advice would you give future students heading to São Paulo?

Enjoy the nightlife - bars and nightclubs... Enjoy the food and meet the people... There are a lot of foreigners in São Paulo, studying or working, but they are all around here...