For me the central location of Flamengo adds a lot of value. You can live in an apartment with ocean views, have a great beach without crowds, excellent restaurants, and easy public transportation and access to highway that lets you visit either further south down Botafogo way or north towards downtown. Perfectly situated. Little to no crowds and mostly locals.

For me personally, I generally dislike those neighborhoods around the south zone. I feel very unsafe (more so at nighttime) and I never get used to that smell.

Also I find it a huge plus when beaches have no electricity nearby nor buildings as a backdrop. (Florianópolis gets a massive thumbs up for these)

It’s quite nice, unfortunately the bay gets more polluted as you go north. So full swimming at Flamengo beach is not recommended.