IMO, if coming to Floripa, you'd want to stay in, or somewhere near the vicinity of the town of Lagoa da Conceição.  That would include Barra da Lagoa, Joaquina, Canto da Lagoa, Rio Tavares, and Campeche.  Although there are many rental apartments and pousadas in Canasveiras and Ingleses, you would not want to stay there (mainly because that side of the island has no surf to speak of).

The actual town of Lagoa is where the greatest concentration of bars, restaurants, cafes, etc are located, outside of downtown (Centro).  Centro is on the bay, not the ocean; I  don't think you'd enjoy staying there.

The site I sent you, guiafloripa.com.br has many options for accommodations.  Here are two hostels, perhaps more affordable than a pousada for 'long term' (3 months); they also have private rooms.

http://www.hihostels.com/dba/hostels-Florianopolis---Barra-da-Lagoa-009164.en.htm
(a fairly new place, perhaps three years old; simple yet very clean)

http://www.sunsetbackpackers.com/pt/hostel
(a popular and hip place with an awesome view)


Here are a few options for learning PT (schools).  I have no recommendation of one over the other, as far as quality of program and instruction.

http://thelanguageclub.com.br/
(located in Lagoa)

http://www.step1.com.br/portuguese/index.htm
(located near the university UFSC, which is on the other side of the hill from Lagoa)

http://www.sun7school.com/
(located in the fishing village of Barra da Lagoa)


This a private instructor, who's a well-know personality around the town of Lagoa.  I've never had classes with her, but I have used her for translation work.

http://www.lagoavirtual.com/learnportuguese/


The link below is a surfing school in the village of Barra da Lagoa.  If you're just learning to surf, Barra is considered the 'bunny slope' for surfing.  Yet you're just a few minutes by car or bus from Praias Mole/Galheta.  The surf at Mole can be quite intense.  Galheta is more manageable (FYI, Galheta is also the officially sanctioned nude beach).

Mole is where they hold the surf tournaments, when here, or at Joaquina, which is perhaps another 10 minutes further by car/bus.  The beach at Barra da Lagoa is really the most southern portion of Praia Moçambique, which is 14km long.  Further up the beach, a good 45 min walk, or more, the surf is often more challenging.

http://www.escolinhadesurf.com/


IMO, you would be best served by entrenching yourself in Barra da Lagoa.  Stay at the HiHostel, take classes at sun7school, which is no more than a 5 min walk from HiHostel, and take some surfing lessons from Evandro (link above), which is also in Barra.  It's a simple village, very laid back, but would have all you need.  You can easily take a bus to Lagoa, 20 min journey, should you want a little more 'action' and interaction.  The principal residents in Barra are fishermen, whose ancestry is from the Azorean islands.  They have a unique accent which makes their PT difficult to understand.

On the weekends, Praia Mole (10 min bus ride from Barra), would be hopping with a more 'sophisticated' crowd, and a great place to spend the day.  Then at the end of the day, it's a quick return to Barra from there, but the post-beach traffic to Lagoa from Mole will be bumper to bumper.  This used to apply only to summer, but now it seems to be year round.

Lastly, you might want to take some time and read this thread, at least the first couple of pages:  www.gringoes.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=11927


PS:  I forgot to mention in my previous post about crime, which was one thing you were concerned about.  It exists here, but is one-tenth of what exists in Rio.  If you get robbed here, you probably won't know about it until later.  If you get robbed in Rio, you'll know, as it's happening….