Vargem Grande do Sul, Brazil

With a population of just 30,952, Vargem Grande do Sul is a sleepy provincial town that offers little excitement for those seeking an urban Brazilian experience. The human development index of 0.802 suggests a middle-class profile, but the municipality's history is one of European immigrant families - Italians in particular - who have put down deep roots here over the past century. Bureaucratic headaches are a persistent concern, as the government once even forced the local mutual aid society to change its Italian-sounding name during World War II. For those content with a quiet, pastoral lifestyle in an isolated corner of São Paulo state, Vargem Grande do Sul may fit the bill - but it's hardly the vibrant, cosmopolitan Brazil that many expats fantasize about.