Hi I'm traveling to Florianopolis soon on a student exchange program. I wanted to learn more about the area and there's only so much you can learn from photos and articles. I wanted to get the opinion of the locals. I have read that the university is excellent. How's the nightlife? Good and bad parts of town?
I'm a Florianopolis native and UFSC graduate. Though it's a good university by Brazil standards I think an UFSC degree probably won't take you very far when you're applying for jobs in the developed world. What course are you gonna be taking there? Nightlife is good, but slower right now during winter months. The party district is definitely Lagoa da Conceição, look for bars such as John Bull on Rendeiras ave or Confraria das Artes (very expensive place but it's where the cream of the crop girls go). Good seafood during the day there also if you like that. The top 2 beaches to hangout during the day are Jurerê Internacional up north and Praia Mole in the south (near Lagoa). A couple of fun places to hangout just outside of Florianópolis are two mainland beach towns called Guarda do Embaú and Praia da Ferrugem. Again, the nightlife is so much better during summer months peaking during holidays (from around dec 20 to Jan 10).at Florianópolis is relatively safe, as long as you stay away from the Morros and perhaps don't hang out downtown past midnight you'll be fine. I actually haven't lived in Florianópolis in many years so I hope my advice is up to date.
@samuel_clemens thank you very much for the info! very helpful. i haven't yet looked into the courses. i am in the early planning stages. the goal is to travel in january, but if i have to delay it until the summer i will. do you remember if they offer any psychology courses? i should have been more careful with the thread title. i'm not transferring 100%, it's just more of a 1 month exchange program study. as much as i'd like to stay in brazil, i'll have to return home once the fun is over.
yeah they do offer psychology courses, however you must realize that january is summer vacation in Brazil and I'm not sure if they offer any summer courses within that field. If you're coming for the summer months (dec through march), it's a good idea to arrive around dec 20. As I said earlier, nightlife peaks between dec 20 and jan 10th, you'll have a great time.
Florianópolis could be a very interesting city. First: If you will live without car, be prepared because the traffic in this city is pretty awful. Second: Good places to have fun in the night are Beira-mar Norte, Lagoa da Conceição, some places in the north of the island and arround the University. Third: The university is good. I studied in University of Coimbra and i felt both universities were very similar (level of the teachers, structure...) Forth: The football here is pretty nice. We've 2 teams, with huge rivalry but with low violence. We've a good Rugby team, Americam football etc... Fifth: The best of Florianópolis is the nature. REALLY BEAUTIFUL beaches, good places to see, preserved areas with beautiful scenarios and a lot of trails in the nature, with waterfalls and lakes (in a island!) Welcome to the capital of Santa Catarina. This is a good place to know and live!
thanks for the info! i have seen photos of the city and it is incredibly beautiful. it will be nice to get away from the desert and see all of that green and blue. i'm very excited to also see football in brazil for the 1st time. should be an experience like no other. any famous restaurants among the locals that either you or @samuel_clemens would recommend?
Taiko in Jurere Internacional - You can have seafood and beer while chilling in the sand and checking all the hotties in bikinis
Well, i think you can understand portuguese, i mean, if you want to live some time here it'll be pretty good for you to understand and talk a little bit of portuguese. If you understand something, see this website: http://www.guiafloripa.com.br/ In this website you can find some of the famous restaurants, pubs, nightclubs, shows and events. Well, if you want good restaurants, i think you want typical food. Florianópolis was colonized by portugueses from Açores islands, so the typical food is Sea food. For Portugueses food, I recommend "O Lusitano" in Sambaqui and "Vila do Porto" in Santo Antônio de Lisboa. The restaurants are good and the neighborhood are beautiful. It's something like be in a portuguese small village. For Colonial Café, i recommend "Padeiro de Sevilla" in downtown. Really good, and the place is nice, with a huge table were you can eat with everyone, like family café. And for typical food, the best of Floripa, it's nice the Pegorini Grill, with a lot of Churrasco, in downtown and "Bar do Arante" in Pântano do Sul. This one is really nice because it's unique. The place is fun, the neighborhood is pretty beautiful. And, if you're a adventure, it's near from one of the best trail in the island!!! I hope this can help you!
muito obrigado guys! i speak spanish so i sort of understand quite a few things in portuguese. i'll be working pretty hard the next few months learning the language. i hope within 10 years i can move down there.