Attorney Luciano Oliveira interviews Florianopolis-based realtor James Rocks

Luciano Oliveira (07:42.548)
And so maybe you could tell us what’s going on with Florianopolis, why, you know, foreign citizens absolutely love this city.

James Rocks (07:50.597)
Yeah, I think what is happening is Florianopolis is now being discovered on the global stage. I think it was one of South America’s best kept secrets because traditionally and particularly when I first moved here, you would see like a lot of Argentinian tourists here, high tourist

James Rocks (08:15.222)
But Florianópolis has gained more of a reputation on a number of fronts really, being a very safe place to visit in Brazil, a very beautiful place, great outdoor lifestyle, it’s an island with 40 beaches, with luscious green hills, lots of activities also. A lot of the beaches in their sense are like towns, they all have their different vibe and things, they’re something for your party.

party goers, you know, Brazil is something, Jorreirê is something of a party capital in Brazil and then you’ve got more kind of scenic or rustic type beaches where you can go and relax. Some beaches you can only get to by taking a trail and things. And also Florianópolis, particularly post pandemic, it seems to be becoming a very popular place to either spend a great deal of time or even relocate permanently to Florianópolis. So

the Digital Nomad Community for example is now here on mass in Florianopolis. It’s gained a good reputation for travelers who can go and work everywhere and spend a few months in a place. But also people looking for quality of life as well, you know, compared to North America or the United Kingdom in Europe. The cost of living is good here and you can have a really good quality of life in Brazil. You know, one of the reasons I’m so passionate about Florianopolis…

and Santa Catarina is I genuinely believe, I might be biased, but I genuinely believe this is the best region in Brazil to live in for a number of reasons. You know, whether that’s safety, whether that’s, you know, the beauty all the region has to offer. The climate is favorable as well. You have distinct seasons. I used to live in the northeast of Brazil, great, you know, tropical beach, beautiful there, but just really hot all year round.

found myself missing was just distinct seasons whereas in Florianopolis you know you have those distinct seasons I find it never gets too cold and it never gets too hot here which is which is nice and yeah I mean I would definitely say that now particularly during the high tourist season there are times where I hear a lot of English out and about where

James Rocks (10:39.33)
before, you know, it was mainly, if I was to hear another language, it would have been Spanish, other South Americans, but now I’m noticing a lot more North American, sometimes even British and European visitors as well. Another thing, another trend that’s happened as well is that a lot of Russians are also coming as well to gain, yeah, to gain residency here in Brazil. And the main, I guess, the places they tend to go to are São Paulo, São Paulo, or

of Rio, but there is a huge contingency now in Florianopolis just because it’s such a calmer, safer place in the Brazilian context. So there’s a huge Russian community here on the north of the island as well.

Luciano Oliveira (11:26.328)
so interesting and you mentioned about the digital nomads and Florianópolis has been a major destination for digital nomads. We handle at the firm not only real estate transactions but we also assist foreign citizens with the digital nomads visa application and it has been recurrent for us to organize their final interview for the digital nomad visa at the Polícia Federal in Florianópolis. It’s probably the third major destination for digital nomads. First would be Rio de Janeiro. I mean, we’re talking about our firm, right? We’re not talking about Brazil in general, but, for us, first would be Rio de Janeiro, second São Paulo.

And in third place, there would be a Florianopolis. And so, yeah, we’re experiencing a lot of interest from the digital nomad community. So it’s so interesting that you’re mentioning that as well.

James Rocks (12:24.446)
Wow.

James Rocks (12:34.871)
Yeah, it’s also worth noting as well, Florianopolis scored very high with Airbnb earlier on this year during the high tourist season. It became the most sought-after place for an Airbnb in Brazil and the seventh most sought-after place in the world on Airbnb, which is quite an achievement. So it shows that there’s a lot of people coming this way.

Interested in visiting Florianopolis? If you are from the US, Canada, and Australia, remember you may need an eVisa to enter Brazil.

For Digital nomads: Brazil Digital Nomad Visa. Other routes to stay in Brazil for a longer term available here.