Curitiba is a model city not only for Brazil but also for all of South America and much of the world. It is a truly world-class city that recently was voted the 2nd best city in the world to live in - losing only to Zurich. It is an extremely rich city - culturally speaking and financially. This also presents a drawback in that the people are not overly friendly (which is NOT the norm for most of Brazil). It is a city that was settled in the 17th century and has preserved part of this history in the downtown area.