The city proper of Belo Horizonte is the sixth-largest in Brazil.
It is a well-planned city with many parks and museums, but is often ignored by tourists because of its distance from Rio, and the fact that it’s not on a beach. It has tons of bars and clubs, and many consider it to be “the bar capital of Brazil.” The people here are extremely friendly!
The layout of the city has a few main walkable areas and neighborhoods with tons of bars. The weather is great to sit around and enjoy life.
POPULATION: 2,500,000
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IS BELO HORIZONTE SAFE?
Slightly sketchy but safer than Rio and cities on the northern coast of Brazil. Both tourists and locals have been robbed on the street in Belo Horizonte, even in daylight. Don’t look wealthy and don’t carry your camera around your neck. Don’t use your cell phone while walking down the street.
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RENT AN APARTMENT IN BELO HORIZONTE
$600.00 is a good reference-point. This should be a safe budget for getting you a decent one-bedroom apartment in Belo Horizonte.
NIGHTLIFE IN BELO HORIZONTE
8.5/10
There are most definitely a lot of bars in Belo Horizonte. They are more or less spread out evenly throughout the city, but there are a fewer districts with a higher concentration of popular spots. The Savassi district has a number of stylish bars and restaurants that cater mostly to rich Brazilians. Lourdes, a neighbourhood next to Savassi is also worth visiting. I recommend getting a hostel or apartment in one of these two areas because Centro can be dodgy when the lights go down.
I recommend: Lord Pub. Good music, good Brazilians. I advise you to go in a group and get a table. Club Chalezinhobh is goddamn amazing, but only if money ain’t a thang for you. Also, it is far from Savassi.
LEARNING PORTUGUESE IN BELO HORIZONTE
If you want to make the most of your time in Brazil, you will need to speak some Portuguese. Rocket Portuguese is the best resource for learning Portuguese quickly and easily.
COST OF LIVING IN BELO HORIZONTE
The following data is from Expatistan, a crowdsourced database of prices and cost of living around the world. In our experience, the data tends to underestimate cost of living, so take the following as the minimum you might need to live here.
*Figures are listed in USD
You’ll need a minimum of $723 USD/month to live in Belo Horizonte
JOB OPPORTUNITIES IN BELO HORIZONTE
English teachers are in demand in Belo Horizonte, and you can get paid pretty well for it. I’d focus on business-English, and having decent Portuguese will help you a ton in the job search.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Belo Horizonte is a great choice if you want to get out of Rio. As I’ve said the bars are excellent and the people are friendly. A couple downsides: it is slightly dangerous, and you may have difficulty filling your days with meaningful activities if you’re not working or studying. Belo is best for a longterm stay; as far as Brazilian cities go, it would be a great place to live. If you are pressed for time, know zero Portuguese and prefer the beach, it is OK to give it a miss.
OVERALL RATING: 8.25/10
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