Why Guarulhos Is Ratcheting Up Like a Rookie Punk Band in a Major Label Studio

let me tell you, guaru. guarulhos ain’t your grandma’s sleepy city. it’s got this… weird energy. like a thrift store that got hooked on soda pop. first of all, i woke up one morning and realized my ‘vintage’ thrift store haul tips from the past decade couldn’t possibly cover this place. you drive ten minutes from sao paulo and boom, you’re in a city that’s basically a shopping spree with streets.

*local vintage havens? yeah, sure. there’s a spot by avenue talk, called ‘reboque&co,’ where they sell torn leather jackets that smell like amazon rainforest and regrets. i saw a pair of 90s us military boots for 20 reais there, but then again, i also saw a guy selling 50-year-old hula hoops made from recycled bike tires. it’s a city that’s all over the place, like a junkie with a designer relic problem.

data? yeah, data’s real. i saw a reddit thread where they said rent in guarulhos is, like, 30% cheaper than sao paulo. i heard that, and then i paid rent in guarulhos once for three months straight. i ended up hitchhiking to a vintage thrift shop downtown because i misread the address. classic. meanwhile, safety stats? i didn’t check ‘em. i just concluded that if i see a cop, i flex my ‘i pay rent here’ look. it’s worked. most of the time. the job market? forget it. i’ve seen locals at bars saying, ‘yeah, i got a gig at that fancy white-label clothing store downtown, but i only lasted a week because they made me dress up as a mannequin for a photoshoot.’ take that as you will.

rent vs. vintage hauls*? here’s the deal. the average rent for a one-bedroom in gather? 1,800 reais. that’s like… the price of a decent vintage sneaker in sao paulo. i’d rather spend my money on vintage sneakers that don’t charge rent. also, if you’re a vintage clothes picker, the job market’s trash. everyone’s either in crypto or selling avocados at the plaza. i met a guy working at a fruit stand who told me, ‘they kicked me out for adjusting the avocado prices because i wore overalls.’ anything goes here.

camera angle shift. let’s talk weather. it’s this humid, sweaty thing that feels like someone glued a sauna to the sky. i live for rainy days because that’s when i go inside and shop vintage stores. no rain? good luck finding a basement thrift spot that isn’t just a flyer from brasil pretty girls. my neighbors? well, they’re a mix of people who fled sao paulo’s chaos and people who enjoy chaos. last week, i heard a group chanting ‘downtown is for parking only, not people!’ and then five minutes later, a scooter stunt on the main road. life’s like that.

i guess you gotta live with it, right? guarulhos is this chaotic, data-enabled mess. it’s growing fast, but not in a way that makes you take it seriously. it’s like if your favorite band started doing a residency in a lithium-ion battery factory. you’d go for the clothes they might sell, though.

here’s some ‘drunk advice’ from last night. i overheard a guy at a cafe say, ‘trust no taxi after 10 pm. once, i hailed one, and it took me to a brothel disguised as a vintage clothing shop.’ i didn’t believe him, but then i found a thrift store on google maps labeled ‘vintage by accident.’ ended up picking up a grandma’s wool coat that was sold as ‘unisex.’ great find. no.

stay tuned. i’m writing this from a cafe that smells like burnt coffee and possibility. look at this map if you wanna find me:

i took these photos of my latest haul. the first one is what a local called ‘the catering phase’-where i sat at some guy’s kitchen table and he showed me vintage plates. i bought a chipped china teapot. the second photo? me in a vintage hoodie that looks like it survived a hurricane. it’s raining outside, and my hoodie is waterproof. great design choice.

remember: if you visit, check out these links. tripadvisor‘s page on ‘best vintage stores in guarulhos’ is a gold mine. yelp has this place called ‘thrift vault’ that’s both a thrift store and a speakeasy. and the local subreddit keeps track of every time a vintage shop opens or closes-swear, they’re faster than my grandma’s arthritis.

[unsplash photo: aerial view of city buildings during daytime]
[unsplash photo: a cat sitting on a couch]

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