Rio de Janeiro

Rating: Eh, 3/5

Good for 2 weeks so you can experience the parties/beach culture. Beaches are 100% unique and something you should experience (although full of trash and noisy)

After that, too much. We stayed in Copacabana, so more local and less polished/gentrified than Ipanema/Leblon. Keep in mind I speak Portuguese so that helps in some situations, consider that many things will be harder if you can only communicate in English. Here are a few situations we had to face daily:

- Seeing multiple homeless people whenever you go out, often laying on the ground looking dead. Disturbing.
- Smell of piss/human 💩 in multiple parts of the city, especially the more closer to the city center you go.
- While I didn't get robbed, I saw robberies. I didn't get robbed because you ALWAYS have to big on high alert.
- Extremely unwalkable city. Tiny pavements, tons of crossings with priority for cars, and extremely busy streets with street vendors clogging foot traffic. Extremely annoying to go anywhere by foot.
- You see 0 people walking by themselves after 9 PM. Uber only, even if it's a 15 min walk. After 11PM-ish, it's borderline dystopian.
- Quick grocery run? Impossible. Everything is SLOW. I get it, carioca life, but facing this every day is insane. Same for any store I had to go to but supermarkets were the most prevalent.
- Accomodation prices: insane. You'll be paying European prices for old apartments. E.g. our first apartment had a cockroach infestation for the same price of an Airbnb in Lisbon 😅 Most airbnb options are in very old buildings (there's no new housing stock on the Leblon/Ipanema/Copa area)

There's a few good points (doesn't compensate for the bad points but fair to mention):
- if you like steak, it's heaven (other food options are...scarce though lol)
- Constantly nice weather
- Plenty of party options
- Card is accepted everywhere
- Lots of fruit and vegetable options, nice for a healthier diet.

Other notes:
- There's a comment about being an influencer & looks city: yes. Very much. You can see it.
- We came as a couple which 100% changed the experience, if you're single IMO you'll have a much better time here because of the kissing / hooking up culture...
- ... Which leads me to Carnivals: we stayed during carnival. It's SO hyped on social media but in the end it's just a very sweaty party, tons of people, not many clothes, bad music (it's just marching bands). Again -> if you want to hook up, perfect, if not it's just a normal party with insanely priced accommodation

~ish
Rio is a city focused on beachs. A lot of old white US tourists in resorts.
And a big culture of body building, with people spending a 1/3 of their time in the gym, 1/3 on the beach, and a 1/3 on instagram

The food is quite bad. very hard to find healthy options. everything is fat, fried or super meaty (like parilla with 5 types of meat + fries :)
Not much in term of culture, music, theatre, jazz or anything.
Basically, go there if you want beach resort life. I was quite bored in general

On the plus side, I felt much safer than I had been told. I mainly stayed in copacabana, and never felt unsafe

Rio de Janeiro is one of those places that stays with you long after you leave, I am officially Carioca now.
I spent my time in Barra da Tijuca, and honestly, it was the perfect balance—safe, laid-back, and just a short walk to the beach. Morning runs along the shore, crossfit, beach volleyball games, beach tennis... a nice lifestyle.

I worked mostly from Wework in Barra da Tijuca. It has reliable Wi-Fi and its quite central.
The weekends were for exploring: Feira da Glória brought the best tropical fruits and local bites, while the Feira Hippie de Ipanema gave me a glimpse of Rio’s creative soul.

Sure, Rio comes with its challenges, but with the right mindset and a little caution, you’ll find yourself falling in love with its energy. The digital nomad scene is growing, and while it’s not as mature as Lisbon or Bali, there’s something raw and authentic here that’s impossible to replicate. There are whatsapp groups and a community for any question you have about Rio, from going to the beach, business, crypto, wellness, etc.

It's the best city to be in South America, from the culture, the beaches, the happiness, the food... Paradise.
Stay in Ipanema, Leblon or Barra da Tijuca and be happy.

“Don’t take your phone out” is some outdated advice… there are several people on the streets and in the metro using phones and taking pictures. Remember that nothing stays the same forever. Rio is safer than many people describe. Use your common sense.

Love it! The sun, the weather, the beach, the relaxing vibe! People are friendly, acommodations and food are affordable! And living here, for 1 year, as a woman, I never felt unsafe! It is crowed but I like frenetic cities!

Very nice if you stay in Leblon. It's relatively safe and on the beach. But you still can't take your iPhone out a lot, which is annoying if you're used to taking photos and using it on the street. People not as nice as rest of Brazil but still very nice to me. As most of Brazil people hardly speak English, so try learn some Portuguese! Barra is a nice new modern developed area, which kinda looks like the new development projects in Asia to me. If you go solo to Rio, def ask locals if it's safe where you are or where you will go. THEY will know and YOU will not.

What an amazing city, the vibe of the city will pull you into the present moment. And I found it hard to be very productive as there was always cool things going on everywhere. Safety is a concern. For longer stays I think Barra de tijuca is good, but for a month or shorter it's best to stay in copacabana, ipanema and leblon. My favorite place would be in the middle of copacabana and ipanema. But please learn how to be safe in the city, ask local people or fellow travellers. I will defintly come back to this city :)

Been to 29 cities in 6 months and I can say Rio is AMAZING. However not safe at all, by my first week I knew a total of 10 people that got robbed (3 groups). I've been living here for almost 1 month recharging from fast traveling and haven't been robbed.

I was here for a month. Rio is a beautiful and vibrant city. There's a lot of icons to see. There's great food and the beach is right there. In my, experience the pandemic hasn't impacted the city much. Bars and clubs are still open. I usually go out to Leblon, Ipanema, Lapa, and Barra da Tijuca.

However, it can definitely be a dangerous city if you're being careless. About 10% of the people I've met had an incident there. I was mugged once walking home one night after the clubs in Ipanema, an affluent area. During the daytime, it's fine, but it's not a city where you can walk alone at night even in the affluent areas or at the beach for 5 - 10 minutes. It's one of the most fun places in the world with the warmest people, but just be careful.

As far as coworking, I just used Regus's lounge membership. It's not social, but it was quiet with fast enough for leading meetings.

If I had to do it again, I would stay in Rio for a couple of weeks to see everything and move to Barra da Tijuca for a long-term stay.

Stunning city! The beach + mountains + buildings combination is extremely unique. The most beautiful big city I have ever visited! Brazilians are also very friendly, and Brazil's culture is one of a kind. I loved everything about the trip and even learned some potuguese, which is a beautiful language

I lived in Rio de Janeiro for 6 months and it's my favourite city in the world. I fell in love with the energy, the people, the beaches and of course... the women. Dying to get back there as soon as the lockdown is over. Everybody told me not to go because it's too dangerous. It's definitely not as safe as in Europe (like Portugal for example), but it's nowhere near as dangerous as the media likes to portray. Most of the violence happens in the favelas which skews the stats. If you feel tempted to go but are worried about the safety, just book a flight and see for yourself. You won't regret it. My advice is to 1. Stay in "richer" areas so Ipanema, Copacabana, Leblon and even Barra da Tijuca. Avoid staying next to favelas. 2. Wear non flashy clothes. If you wear bracelets, ear rings or watches, you are increasing the chances of getting robbed. The whole time there I was just wearing a tank top and shorts. 3. Avoid going outside alone at night and also avoid the beaches at night. 4. Use uber. Cheaper and safer. 5. Learn some basic portuguese. It will go a long way! I hope you have fun :)

Rio and Buenos Aires are my favorite cities in Latin America so far, although I haven't yet visited Mexico City, Santiago de Chile and a few others of interest. Rio has beautiful beaches, weather, people, architecture, neighborhoods and green spaces. Great food and a diverse and international population - a Latin American Los Angeles with better public transit and more green space. It's one of the few Latin American cities where most people won't look twice at you for being a white westerner, and are generally friendly. I felt quite safe day and night in Ipanema, Santa Teresa, Leblon and Barra da Tijuca. Other areas can be more dangerous. It's definitely best to learn Portuguese or Spanish, since few here speak English.

Rio is a fantastic city, if u love the outdoors. it is great to be a nomad but u need to be streetsmart and learn the language basics at least to enrich ur ex.

I live in Rio and unfortunately it's not a good place to be a nomad. Most people don't speak English. Most places don't have WiFi. We can't depend on WiFi and 4g anywhere. They don't work well. It's not safe to walk at night. It's not safe to work in public spaces. The city is very big and transportation is terrible. Besides it's too hot most of the year and its polluted.

I live in Rio and unfortunately it's not a good place to be a nomad. Most people don't speak English. Most places don't have WiFi. We can't depend on WiFi and 4g anywhere. They don't work well. It's not safe to walk at night. It's not safe to work in public spaces. The city is very big and transportation is terrible. Besides it's too hot most of the year and its polluted.