We knew about the helicopters in São Paulo before we moved here, but the first week as we walked around the city, every other minute Michael seemed to be saying, “Ash, look, there’s another one!”  “Another one,” was always in reference to either helicopters themselves or helicopter pads on the roofs of buildings.

Helicopter Traffic

Let me back up.  You may not have known this, but due to São Paulo’s intense traffic (supposedly combined with fears of kidnapping among the richest citizens), São Paulo has become the city with the highest number of helicopters in the world.  They are primarily used to transport business executives to and from work, to and from meetings, to and from wherever!  Some helicopters are privately owned, others are owned by business, and still others are rented out as a type of taxi service.  It’s honestly amazing how common it is to see helicopter pads on the roof of buildings.  Michael’s office has a pad on the roof…one can only dream that he will one day benefit from this directly.

Those blue squares atop the buildings are not rooftop pools, they are Helipads! I think there are 7 or 8 in this photo.

Side Note: Without getting too into it, this should give you an idea about how serious the traffic is here.  Hence why we are looking for an apartment that is WALKING distance from Michael’s office…