[Brosemite]

Forum Consensus - Women from Southern Brazil are all a bunch of stuck up cunts that won't give you the time or day.

My Analysis - Wrong. If you want to go ahead and classify Brazilian cities based on just their region, then you are dead wrong. It ultimately depends on the city/town you are in. For example, Vítoria, Rio, São Paulo, and Belo Horizonte are all in the Sudeste or "Southeast" region of Brazil. Are the environments, advantages, and disadvantages in each city all similar? I'll let you guys answer that one. Porto Alegre is going to have a different vibe (more advantageous) than say Florianópolis or Curitiba as the major cities in Southern Brazil.

I had a "successful" 1.5 day trip to Porto Alegre back in 2011 on the way to other cities and wished I spent more time there. Got to visit recently again to see if my intuition of the city would be positive. Though I didn't get the end result I achieved in my brief stay few years back, I'd say this city is the real deal with possibly one of the better bar scenes in the country period (especially for it's size)

Overall Population Dynamics
The city itself has about 1.5 million people while the metropolitan area has 4 million. This is important because good looking chicks will often come into the city to party on weekends. Not just that but also girls from towns 1-2 hours away that will stay with their female friends.

The density of the city is comprised into 3-5 specific neighborhoods that are all very walkable. Logistics will be in your favor here. The Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul has various campuses, but they are all in walking distance. This is obviously much more favorable than say a Belo Horizonte where A) Their main university is 4-5 miles off from Savassi/Lourdes/Funcionarios, B) Savassi/Lourdes/Funcionarios which has the bars/best lodging accomodation, and C) The clubs which are far off from the city.

The Airport & Where to Stay
It's probably about a 20-30 Reais ride if you are staying in Moinhos de Vento or Bom Fim/Independência. I would recommend Bom Fim/Independência because it's in the middle of all the happening neighborhoods that gives you nightlife options at night. Cab ride to say Cidade Baixa will land you at about a 30-45 Reais cab ride.

The big problem with Porto Alegre is that there aren't that many viable lodging options. Most of the hotels are in Centro, which is a dump I don't recommend staying in. The quality of those hotels are badly rated too. Perhaps you can find something good off of Airbnb.com.

This same issue applies if you are looking to live in the city long-term for example as a study abroad student. The options off of http://www.aluguetemporada.com.br are just going to be that much more limited than say in Curitiba or Belo Horizonte where long-term leases are going to be in higher abundance (Especially Curitiba).

Map


Specific Neighborhood Overview
A) Rua Padre Chagas/Moinhos de Vento - Main "upscale" cafe/bar area. It's worth visiting, which I'll explain later.

B) Club 688 - Most popular clubbing options apparently now in POA. Many chicks from the suburbs commute there too in groups.

C) Rua General Lima & Silva - Largest street in Cidade Baixa with plenty of botecos and bar options.

D) Ruan João Alfredo - Not as big as option C, but more bar friendly in terms of social interaction with strangers

E) The park to avoid walking by a nights with killings and drug ring activity there after dark.

F) Liv & Fly - Apparently another popular clubbing option open on Saturday nights.

The Guys
With decent Portuguese, this would be a good place to build social circle and make friends. Quite a few of them have decent English skills, solid game, patience, and good patience. They are quite helpful too. This is very similar to the vibes I experienced in Belo Horizonte too. I would almost say these are people overall that are about as friendly as Mineiros too.

Met a guy from Cordoba, Argentina with just ok Portuguese as he mentioned the women here are just as beautiful as the talent in his home country but with better attitudes. I've never been to Argentina myself, but I could sense where he was coming from.

The Females
The important stuff. Yeah these women are amazing & outgoing. Yeah if you go to big clubs...total bitch shields..same stuff as Belo Horizonte. It's likely going to take dates to bang them too though ONS are possible with solid Portuguese (I missed my chance 2nd time around). Day game with knowledge of the local language would be most useful. In terms of personality/looks, Gaúchas are probably the best complete package in Southern Brazil after overhyped Florianópolis and closed off Curitiba.

Day Game
I would maybe recommend around A) Cidade Baixa, B) Bom Fim/Independência (Mall called Shopping Total there), and C) Rua Padre Chagas/Moinhos de Vento (Mall there is Shopping Moinhos).

In my case, I had to buy clothes in Shopping Total in Independência since my luggage was delayed for a day :/. Good deals to be had there though if you look in right places.

Lots of girls walking around that are not in a rush like they are in Curitiba who will patiently answer your questions and be curious about you.

Night Game (Bar Scene)

There are likely 3 main areas of bars along with scattered clubbing options that should be checked out.

Cidade Baixa Option #1 Rua General Lima & Silva
Most of these locations are likely going to be filled with botecos that aren't great for gaming in a typical bar setting. Lab, Bohemia, Mulligan, Insano Pub Bar might be good options based on me walking by. Another acquaintance mentioned Dirty Old Man as a popular spot for students with an ideal setting.

Cidade Baixa Option #2 Rua João Alfredo
This street has a popular cheap restaurant on weekday lunches called Tudo Pelo Social.

Most importantly, the bar options here are probably more conducive to game as well such as Silêncio, Quintal do Zé, Be Happy Fun Music, Teel, Rock e Soul, and the one place I stopped by which was Matite Pere. Matite Pere will have some tables up front, but there is a bar area that could be good for pickup. I had to leave and meet my friends at another club though.

You can also try street/lost tourist game as people would help (with decent Portuguese) too.

As a side note..nearby Cidade Baixa is a place called Boteco do Natalício. It's apparently best going Saturday noon for their feijoado specials, which is famous in the city. I wasn't able to go because I can't get up that early after a Friday night on vacation

Perpendicular Street connecting Options #1/2 Rua da República
It's apparently a well-known street in the city. It's also the street connecting both mentioned roads in Options #1/2 with some bar and eating options too. Try it out!

Moinhos de Vento Option #3 (Rua Padre Chagas)
This is a street that is packed with cafés & a mall for daygaming or a happening albeit more expensive bar scene than Cidade Baixa. I honestly can't remember the one I entered Friday night, but it had live music. The options are Vilaro, Mulligans, Thomas Pub, and Dublin Irish Pub.

Clubbing Options #4 (Scattered)

Club 688 - The one club I got to visit was this one. I only got 3 makeouts and a ton of rejections. It's likely best on a Saturday night, which I got invited out to. Check the facebook page or website to buy tickets in advance online as that is critical. If you don't have a CPF number, it's best to enter at 11PM-12AM then. Clubs don't really get going until about 12:30-1:00 AM in POA (or on weekends in Brazil based on my experiences).

Kinda grimy. Cover is 60-70 Reais and then this is a place where you have to buy a dollar amount drink ticket before ordering them. Probably the most inefficient system I've been around. You can always game in line beforehand or afterwards on way home.

Live & Die - Unlike Club 688, which is open Friday/Saturdays...this place is only open Saturdays. I wanted to visit solo, but my friends insisted on Club 688. Makes me wonder...also the cab ride out here is likely going to be more $$$ as it's farther out from everything.

Provocateur - This is logistically closer to Moinhos de Vento as it's apparently the place to be on Friday's. Not sure what POA rules were, but it was $200.00 Reais Consumição (Minimum Consumption for guys. Talent is amazing here I've heard. Can't speak for POA location, but this was my favorite club in São Paulo for the time being.

Vidigal Samba - I have no knowledge of this place. They could play actual Samba on some nights, which I'd prefer. Or..they could have Sertanejo nights, which I despise. Talent on their facebook page looks pretty tight.

Overall Consensus
If one were to choose a city in Southern Brazil, it would absolutely have to be Porto Alegre. This is if you've spent some time polishing up your Portuguese beforehand (which is essentially a requirement outside of Rio/São Paulo anyways).

The talent is amazing, friendly, and logistics would be in your favor. The one drawback about the place is it's not very pretty and possibly very grimy lacking the nature/backdrop of say a Belo Horizonte. The pro is that the city has a much better bar scene than say a BH, which it doesn't get enough credit for. The biggest obstacle in POA is having enough time for all the nightlife options with all those bar options offered.

A more walkable city also means bums can easily cruise into the nicer areas soliciting the normal locals residing in them (a problem I've heard). Hence..this distance between everything in say a Belo Horizonte is also what makes it feel safer than POA. I left being able to recommend both cities at the end of the day.

[draguer]

Good report. +1

Did you meet many expats out there?

[Brosemite]

Your ex-pats are going to range from different types.

1) Western professional ex-pat (rare like unicorns) - Likely to hang around Padre Chagas
2) Asian employee ex-pat (quite a few of them) - Companies send them to Universidade Federal do Parana in Curitiba or Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul as an alternative to providing them with $$$ housing/costs of living in either Sao Paulo or Rio. Chicks will often cling to their own packs whereas some of the guys @ times will bang local chicks. More often than not..these Asian dudes will cling to their own packs.
3) Study abroad exchange student (quite a few but they blend in) - From North America, Latin America, or Europe. Will likely be found around Cidade Baixa at nights for cheaper drinking prices.

Overall, there really aren't too many ex-pats as say in Rio de Janeiro tho.

[DiogoFC]

Brazillian speaking: I know well the place. Accurate report.

[Nascimento]

Belo Horizonte is a gold mine..

Having said that, even though mineiras are up there for most beautiful in the country, I'd have to say Gauchas might take #1. It's that European descent combined with the Brazilian figure.

Great report, you put some effort into this one!

[Safado]

Solid report. I got the sense when I was there that POA is like BH's big titted cousin.

Both are places that require you to invest in social circle. Both places are worth it.

BH is starting to attract more foreigners, but it is still well behind Rio and SP. It'll be a few years before foreigners stop being exotic. POA will take longer to reach that level.

For a frontiersman who wants to be the only gringo in town, POA is the place to be. If I wasn't already hooked on BH I'd move there.

[Nascimento]

When I was in BH, I had the 'social ins' as I went out with a couple cousins who had very large social groups and were very liked and respected in their groups, if you may. So I could make some observations from a native perspective.

A gringo is going to get a lot of attention from girls at the clubs. The more obvious the gringo is, the more attention. This can be good or bad. Bad because if you're at a high end club you're going to attract the gold digger type. Being at chalezinho a top end club in BH the hottest girls in the club were there with guys with money or the one gringo in the club.

If you're an obvious gringo and avoid the gold diggers, and you know how to speak portuguese, you are damned lucky. You are going to do very well if you have above average social skills and approach, as long as you clarify you are not in town just for a few days. If you get social ins by breaking into circles (just be friend the guys which should be easy, BH guys are chill) you are golden, golden. These guys are abundant and will introduce you to their girls, more than likely half of them are single and they will willingly introduce you.

I imagine if PA is very similar to BH like this.

[Brosemite]

(05-28-2014 02:33 PM)Nascimento Wrote:  

When I was in BH, I had the 'social ins' as I went out with a couple cousins who had very large social groups and were very liked and respected in their groups, if you may. So I could make some observations from a native perspective.

Local relatives/friends always a power play. Noted.

(05-28-2014 02:33 PM)Nascimento Wrote:  

A gringo is going to get a lot of attention from girls at the clubs. The more obvious the gringo is, the more attention. This can be good or bad. Bad because if you're at a high end club you're going to attract the gold digger type. Being at chalezinho a top end club in BH the hottest girls in the club were there with guys with money or the one gringo in the club.

First night in Chalezinho...went caveman on the chicks...struck out..ignored, they'd walk away. When dudes would try to befriend me, I'd ignore them. Big mistake. 2nd night, I opened up mixed sets and they'd introduce me to other girls in their groups. Adjustment made.

I was able to attract one gold digger....but a bit too late

(05-28-2014 02:33 PM)Nascimento Wrote:  

If you're an obvious gringo and avoid the gold diggers, and you know how to speak portuguese, you are damned lucky. You are going to do very well if you have above average social skills and approach, as long as you clarify you are not in town just for a few days. If you get social ins by breaking into circles (just be friend the guys which should be easy, BH guys are chill) you are golden, golden. These guys are abundant and will introduce you to their girls, more than likely half of them are single and they will willingly introduce you.

I imagine if PA is very similar to BH like this.

Exactly. There was one chick who obviously gave me the DTF vibe as a result of being introduced to the group...unfortunately...she was forced into making out with the guy who introduced me in the first place lol.

POA is like this...except POA has more bar options outside the club scene. Based on from what I saw though..I think I prefer club scene a bit more in BH (better facilities whereas POA ones were more dilapidated based on my sources).