Rio vs Sampa

I hadn't been to Rio in almost 2 years until this weekend just gone. It's such a fab city to go visit and we always wonder about how life would be in the beautiful city. We stayed in Copacabana for the first time. I've always thought the beach is dirtier, it's full of tourists and the water is too rough for kids. It is. So where would you choose to live in Rio?

I would love the opinion of someone who has actually lived in Rio and Sampa. Seriously,where is better?

Here are some things I was thinking about:

Yes for Rio - living that close to the beach is a dream! Everyone is running, cycling, swimming, surfing, playing volleyball at all times of the day. Rio 1, Sampa 0

No for Rio - does it sound wrong when I say that Rio is SO much dirtier than Sampa? I had cockroaches attacking me left, right, center! Rio 1, Sampa 1

Yes for Sampa - people get things done here (relative of course). The service is atrocious in Rio. I know everyone is on holiday there but what about the people who live there, how do you pay the bills? A friend said that the taxis in Rio don't like to work when it's raining as the traffic gets really bad - duh! If you arrive at SDU and it's raining, brave the weather to get one from the parking lot. They just might wake up from their nap and take you where you need to go. Rio 1, Sampa 2

No for Rio - you think traffic is bad in Sampa? It took us half an hour from copa to cnr of ipanema on a sunday at noon. There's no shortcuts unless you take a helicopter. Rio 1, Sampa 3

Yes for Rio - Jesus lives there. (That's for you Mum!) Rio 2, Sampa 3

Yes for Rio - Samba is everywhere. The juice places are on every corner and everyone walks around in their sunga (is that a pro or con??) or bikini. I like that rich or poor, cariocas all wear havaianas and carry a plastic bag to the beach. Rio 3, Sampa 3

Yes for Sampa - Food / Supermarkets. There is an incredible variety of restaurants in SP compared to Rio. I obviously have not spent enough time to try every single restaurant in Rio but from what I've seen there is alot more food innovation in SP. There are very nice supermarkets in SP ... though one might argue, why would you need to buy R30 peanut butter when you can just have another agua de coco on the beach... though home comforts are important to people so I'll give this one to SP.  Rio 3, Sampa 4

Yes for Rio - you get a whole lot of sunshine. My friend was complaining about that one very hot week and he had to stay inside next to his aircon. I would still take too hot over constant rain and it still looks pretty when you look out your window. Rio 4, Sampa 4

Yes for Rio - visitors always want to go to Rio, they don't want to come to Sao Paulo! So if you have family and friends that come to visit you, you HAVE to take them to Rio (or at least somewhere to the beach). Everyone thinks I live in Rio. Rio 5, Sampa 4

Maybe because of my bias for Sao Paulo they are pretty close in this competition. For all it's fabulous'ness I think I would still struggle to uproot my life here, right now to move to Rio unless we had a clear cut reason (i.e. work). Plus my buttercream frosting would just melt in that Rio sunshine.