A Tour of Cities and Housing in Florianópolis, Brazil
This is a 'how long is a piece of string?' question. You would be better off doing some research into…
This is a continuation of 3 Reasons to Live in Florianópolis, Brazil from Monday.
Anyone who knows me understands that I love living on the “Ilha da Mágia” (The Magical Island). So much in fact that my daughter is able to call herself a native “Manézinha da Ilha” – a title reserved for people born on the island paradise.
When looking at Florianopolis, the first thing we notice is that it’s big, about 45km from north to south (roughly 30 miles) and has a lot of diversity!
You have the über rich city called “Jurerê Internacional” to the vibrant “Lagoa da Conceição” and everything between.
So what are the different areas of the island like and what would you find infrastructure and housing wise?
This is exactly what you will be getting today – but first an overview of the island:
Here is an overview of the island to give you a general idea of the different cities, where they are located:
(Watch )
Let’s move onto some more specifics now and get our hands dirty 😉
Jurerê Internacional: Brazil’s Beverly Hills
Let’s start off with Florianópolis (Floripa: slang) “crem de la crem” or what is locally referred to Brazil’s Beverly Hills.
The minute you enter into this city, the first thing you notice is that there are no walls whatsoever around these mansions! “But wait, there must be an electric fence system around the community like in Alphaville, São Paulo?” Nope!
A typical house in Jurerê Internacional
One of the first rules of this community is that no walls of any type are allowed, period.
If you stood in Beverly Hills and were blindfolded all the way to and then had the blindfold removed, you would think that you were in some other (maybe better) subdivision of Beverly Hills itself…
This place is amazing with pristine beaches, no crime, amazing shopping, world class restaurants and amazing living.
(Watch )
As you can see, this is a whole different world in terms of quality of life and there is one draw back to living here (despite it being a bit pricey): it dies down in the cold season and the streets get pretty vacant, though in the hotter months it is a vibrant place to be.
Florianopólis Centro: World Class City Dwelling
The next part of our tour brings us to the first city you encounter after crossing the bridge over to the island: o centro (city center).
You will notice a huge increase in quality of life in the city center compared to that of the continental city side before crossing over. You have everything from the old colonial city which has amazing shopping and really wonderful walking streets (no cars allowed), high quality apartments, biking lanes, a great selection of stores and more.
When walking through some of the newer areas of the city center, you could easily be confused that you are in Brazil and not some 1st world city.
(Watch )
This is a great place for someone who wants to be close to everything as it’s got the options of a large city yet the quality and security of a smaller one.
Ingleses: Affordable Middle-class Living
Ingleses, or as it’s commonly known “a praia dos Ingleses”, is located in the N.E. part of the island and has developed into a city of substantial size.
This is a great win-win area for those who don’t need regular access to Floripa’s city center, love beaches but need a lower cost of living in general.
There are a lot of surfer communities, families and some really well laid out and cheap areas! In the south part of Ingleses, you can rent a really decent (and new) house for under r$1,000 per month (not even $400 a month USD).
(Watch )
You will enjoy this area if you don’t have a high maintenance life, as it has a decent infrastructure though is far from big and speciality stores. It has enough infrastructure and the cost:benefit is good enough to outweigh some of the benefits of living close to the city center.
Lagoa da Conceição: Floripa’s Pulse
Lagoa (as it’s locally referred) is one of my favorite places on the island and one of the places I’ve called home, why? Due to the amazing people and year-round active life.
People are really down to earth here: they stop to let you cross the street (WHAT?), don’t care about classicism, are super friendly and caring.
It is also the pulse of the island in that there is tons of night-life, great restaurants and cafés, wonderful shops, surf outlets and more. It’s also known as being the island’s cultural center as they have a large praza (square), where they hold everything from organic markets to concert events.
You have access to year-round active sports as the lake is renowned for it’s kite-surfing, close world-class surfing and more.
(Watch )
The main drawback to this area is the price and beach traffic. Lagoa is on the path to some of Brazil’s most amazing beaches and everyone drives through there on the way to and from, so you can have some insane traffic on warm weekends or the summer months (count on biking or being within walking distance to the city).
Campeche: Floripa´s Happy Medium
Lastly, there is the place called Campeche or “Praia do Campeche” (Campeche Beach).
This is a middle working class city as you are still within reach of jobs in the city center yet close to the beach. Campeche used to be a really great budget choice, though has in recent years grown insanely.
It is still a great choice if you would like to live cheaper than in Lagoa yet would still like a decent and pretty safe area.
(Watch )
So if you want to be in more close contact with the beach, nature though aren’t willing to pay an arm and a leg in Lagoa, this may be the area for you!
Final Words
Hopefully this guide brought you value and motivated you to come to the other side and live in paradise.
Now it’s your turn: what area did you like best and why?
Valeu!
Kevin
P.S. don’t forget to sign up for my FREE video series below and get the foundation for a successful life in Brazil.
I loved the city center, with those fabulous tall buildings, and also Lagoa da Conceicao. I wouldn’t mind to live in any of those areas 😀 I used to live down by the beach when I was living in Brazil and I miss so much the Brazilian way of life. Makes me want to smash my head against the wall that I am stuck in a country that I hate, with no possibilities to move to Brazil in the near future. And I don’t even pretend to live in Florianapolis. Great article and videos!!!
Yeah it’s pretty awesome! Many Brazilians (who don’t live in Floripa) like to say “well that’s not Brazil, that’s Florianópolis” 😉 Hope you can make it to Floripa!
I watched all the videos and sub’d to your YouTube channel as well. Interesting discussion about the recent Brazilian Protest.
Campeche looks like the happy medium between beach access and city life. In any case its still thousands cheaper than paying for housing in Santa Monica, Venice, Marina Del Rey and Malibu.
Awesome! Yeah you got that right, you can get a really decent apartment in Campeche (close to the beach) for around R$1000 a month ($400).
How’s the infrastructure? You went a bit into it but not too deeply as I understood the reasons for making videos fairly short.
Is Fiber-to-Home available and if so, is the cost reasonable?
Is DSL the only other broadband available?
Pretty decent to be honest, though it can vary from area to area. Fiber-to-Home is available and the cost is reasonable for Brazilian standards but yeah ADSL is the other broadband available and can be had in any part of the isle.
Understood. It would be nice to live by the beach with excellent weather conditions and in affordable conditions. With the ocean air, how are your electronics and other things like your walls (mold) holding up?
Fine, but I’m not right on the beach 😉 Walls don’t seem to get moldy ever, must be something about the climate and material they use to build with (brick and mortar).
Oh how you love Floripa :). Great job showcasing it, you make us want to visit!
Oh you know it Fritz hehe 😉
Hey Kevin. I’m glad to found your blog…how nice! I am brazilian, living actually abroad but with plan of moving back in a near future with my dutch husband and daughter. I like to see your point of view as foreigner. Florianópolis is high on my list as a good place to live. I am from Paraná but lived almost my hole life in São Paulo. I see you highly recommend Florianópolis. Could you talk a bit more about the criminality over there? I have heard not so nice things from natives, but I know sometimes local people can over react. Could you make some abservations about robberies, murders ( I have read it has been more than 6000 in the last 6 years ?????). How is the feeling? Where does this all come from in the last years? The honest and working population are victims of this crimes or there are more criminals involved in their own crimes…like drugs users, etc? Thank you so much Kevin!!!
Hey Kevin!
Cool articles about Floripa! I am from The Netherlands and I am currently living in Jurerê. Great to live here! I really enjoy it and it is nice to show them to people who are interested in this place!
I work with internet tech and and also have although I haven’t worked on the latter lately..
If you need me just talk to me, I’ve added you on facebook (Peter).
Thank Kevin for all your help. I am interested to living in Florianópolis for 6 months a year. My Brazilian girlfriend will be with me. I have tried your language program and was not able to complete it. It was the best program I have found so I will in future begin again. I hope to be in Florianópolis October or November. Thank for any help
Nice article! I’m an American living in Floripa for four years now. No regrets. I love it here!
Hey great article! It interesting to read about the differences of the cities in Florianopolis!
I am actually researching for a place to stay in January as I will go to study at UFSC. I was debating between Campeche and Lagoa, as I would like to be close to the beach. Lagoa seems close enough to the university to go by bike, but what about Campeche?
Thanks again!
You hit the nail on the head . The ares you highlighted are all pretty ok. I live in the north of the island and well, its not that cheap now. Things have gone a bit expensve as more and more people have started coming to Floripa. BTW, when I came here , I couldn’t find anyone speaking English. And, that made me feel so lonely, especally since I was going to have a baby. But, now, we have a small group of English speaking people. Anyone who speaks English can join our group and come to our meetups in Ingleses. Check out :
Hi Kevin , I am thinking of opening a fast food restaurant in Florida , and I need ur advice on that, I would love to live close to the beach , but i want to make sure the restaurant will work all year not only in the summer time ! Any suggestion on the perfect location ?
How about Lagoa da Conceição?
Could I get more up to date information about the cost of rent in Floripa?
I am planning to live for 12 months. Should I just book a room using AirBNB or should I consider renting my own 1 bed room apartment?
I already speak fluent Português and English.
This is a ‘how long is a piece of string?’ question. You would be better off doing some research into rental properties yourself on sc.olx.com.br and also compare cost of living in Florianopolis to your own city: