Moving to Brazil: Vila Madalena

I am a city girl through and through. I love them for being open 24 hours / 7 days a week. I love finding a cute coffee shop around the corner from where I live even though I’ve walked past that same street for months. I love taxi’s. I love that there is a sushi restaurant, a wine bar, a laundromat and a hairdresser within 2 blocks.

We’ve just moved to the other side of town to be closer to Tim’s office. So I have spent the past few days exploring our new neighbourhood, Vila Madalena, which was described to us as the ‘Lan Kwai Fong’ of SP. At the moment that’s a good thing because we can walk to some great restaurants and bars. I have 6 sushi restaurants within walking distance, next door is apparently one of the coolest clubs in town (we need to test that the baby monitor works from our apartment*) and Tim’s office is only a 10 minute walk away. I know most people here in SP drive – partly because of the scale of this city, and partly because of safety – but I don’t think that we would’ve happened if we were sitting in a car. Maybe I am being naïve about walking the streets – I always give people the benefit of the doubt – but I have certainly felt more uncomfortable at times in NYC and London.

Vila Madalena has a history of being the centre of the city’s bohemian culture and it’s reflected in the shops, restaurants, bars, art galleries and graffiti –covered streets. Here are some piccies from around the neighbourhood.

*Kidding about the baby monitor!!!!