About the area:
The largest city in South America makes New York City look small. Crowded buses grind through streets spouting black smoke, endless stands of skyscrapers block the horizon, and the din of traffic deafens the ear. But native paulistanos (inhabitants of São Paulo city) love this megalopolis of 17 million. São Paulo sprawls across 7,951 square kilometers (3,070 square miles), 1,502 square kilometers (580 square miles) of which make up the city proper.
The draw is the dynamism of the immigrants who have been coming since the late 19th century, when São Paulo became a major coffee producer. The possibilities for work and investment attracted people from throughout Brazil as well as from Italy, Portugal, Spain, Germany, and Japan.