Has Buenos Aires declined since 2019?

[Macanudo]

the soul, lifestyle and culture of Buenos Aires are the same as always.

Completely agree with this.

 

[mrverde]

It is. But it's silly to discuss it in isolation from what's happening worldwide. If ONLY CABA had these issues, I would be concerned. This is global. Only being concerned with problems in CABA while the world's capitals are going through similar convulsions would be like fretting about skin cancer when your pancreas is rotting away. Without perspective, why even discuss this?

Well...I came back to BA after having spent the previous three months in eastern Europe, mainly Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and Ukraine, the four before that in the midwestern US, and the four years before that in Brazil (Porto Alegre). Poland blew me away with it's clenliness, organization, public transportation and infrastructure. Porto Alegre was doing fine until last week.

When I got back to BA the contrast with aforementioned places was striking, and that has really surprised me. I'm not "whining" about anything, but rather asking for verification from the community if it is just my perception, or if the city really does look run down compared to 2019.

Greg, I'm not trying to single you out, but your messages seem very angry and directed towards a conversation that you have invented in order to wave your fists at. From one Californian to another, chill out dude. It was just a harmless question.

 

[mrverde]

Across the board, there has been pretty much zero massive investment over these years (and also those prior) to your last visit.
Most vehicles and busses on the streets today simply looked newer in 2019 than 2024.
Buildings that used to be (more) freshly painted in 2019 are now covered in mould and grime.
Most new constructions and public works since 2000ish have been made with cheap, low quality materials that simply don't age well.
Villas in the conurbano have grown significantly in size and sprouted up in new locations (e.g. the drive between the city and Ezeiza or Quilmes...).
Many "historic" buildings that used to be "part of the charm" in a bohemian kinda way a decade ago, are literally decaying without upkeep in a not so charming kind of way.
The recent storms did not do wonders for the green areas of the city which now look comparatively "thinned out".
A look south across the skyline from an office in Microcentro does look more like the skyline of Havana than a developed metropolis - stuck in time and neglected. Same thing happens to any city when money for new investment as well as money for upkeep and maintenance is short.

That said some areas and projects have been advancing since then. Nuñez, Barrio Chino and Vincente Lopez look and feel far more modern now than in 2019, for example. Things like eco-parque and Ezeiza airport modernisations have been also completed and look good.... but these are just specks in a metropolis of over 13,285 square kilometres. Regardless of this, at times, grim reality, there are still plenty of nice and new things to get to know since 2019 and the soul, lifestyle and culture of Buenos Aires are the same as always.

Thanks for this thoughtful answer!

 

[perry]

Well...I came back to BA after having spent the previous three months in eastern Europe, mainly Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and Ukraine, the four before that in the midwestern US, and the four years before that in Brazil (Porto Alegre). Poland blew me away with it's clenliness, organization, public transportation and infrastructure. Porto Alegre was doing fine until last week.

When I got back to BA the contrast with aforementioned places was striking, and that has really surprised me. I'm not "whining" about anything, but rather asking for verification from the community if it is just my perception, or if the city really does look run down compared to 2019.

Greg, I'm not trying to single you out, but your messages seem very angry and directed towards a conversation that you have invented in order to wave your fists at. From one Californian to another, chill out dude. It was just a harmless question.

I fully agree with you . Have been living here since 2003 and life in 2024 is much worse than back then . The city seems very unclean and many busineses are using the minimum electricity creating a dismal ambiente . Those who support Milei will of course say things will get better but meanwhile every day its a little worse . The destruction of the middle class is very sad to watch and just in the last 5 months 3 million argentinians have entered into poverty . The rest of Latín America is doing much better especially Chile Brazil and Uruguay

 

[antipodean]

Well...I came back to BA after having spent the previous three months in eastern Europe, mainly Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and Ukraine, the four before that in the midwestern US, and the four years before that in Brazil (Porto Alegre). Poland blew me away with it's clenliness, organization, public transportation and infrastructure. Porto Alegre was doing fine until last week.

When I got back to BA the contrast with aforementioned places was striking, and that has really surprised me. I'm not "whining" about anything, but rather asking for verification from the community if it is just my perception, or if the city really does look run down compared to 2019.

Each time I go away to Europe or Asia for a month or so, where the things you mention advancing so rapidly, and come back to Buenos Aires I feel exactly the same. Especially during autumn and winter when the cities physical imperfections shine brighter.
It is nothing new, been this way for me for a decade or more.

After some weeks or months back on the ground here, everything quickly goes back to being "normal" with the business of daily life and your personal bubble that you quickly stop seeing all the things we are "missing out on" in more developed parts of the world.... instead I find myself getting excited about seeing a former carpark turned into a shiny new office building with a wild garden built into it, seeing a late model taxi drive past, or stumbling across a single solar powered street lantern and thinking to myself Buenos Aires is positively glowing... until the cycle of "why can't we have nice things" disillusionment repeats all over again with another trip abroad.

 

[malandro]

Yeah I’ve also lost track of who’s dissing who and whose city here. I suspect many of you will remember the immortal wit Tom Lehrer. Recall then his remark: “We’re all go together when we go.” Tom, BTW is 96 and lives in NYC.

 

[on the brink]

The rest of Latín America is doing much better especially Chile Brazil and Uruguay

I don't know about Chile and Brasil, but Uruguay is definitely not doing better. I know first hand, as I have a country place in Colonia and know how my friends and neighbors are struggling.

 

[perry]

I don't know about Chile and Brasil, but Uruguay is definitely not doing better. I know first hand, as I have a country place in Colonia and know how my friends and neighbors are struggling.

Uruguay has 3 times the minimu wage of Argentina and prices while higher are not three times more . In Argentina today the amount of people falling into abject poverty is most distressing for those with social conscience.

La Argentina sumó 3,2 millones de nuevos pobres en el primer trimestre del año

La pobreza alcanza al 48,3% de la población urbana según los cálculos de la Universidad Di Tella. Proyectado al total del país arrojó un fuerte salto en los primeros tres meses del 2024

www.infobae.com

 

[mrverde]

Each time I go away to Europe or Asia for a month or so, where the things you mention advancing so rapidly, and come back to Buenos Aires I feel exactly the same. Especially during autumn and winter when the cities physical imperfections shine brighter.
It is nothing new, been this way for me for a decade or more.

After some weeks or months back on the ground here, everything quickly goes back to being "normal" with the business of daily life and your personal bubble that you quickly stop seeing all the things we are "missing out on" in more developed parts of the world.... instead I find myself getting excited about seeing a former carpark turned into a shiny new office building with a wild garden built into it, seeing a late model taxi drive past, or stumbling across a single solar powered street lantern and thinking to myself Buenos Aires is positively glowing... until the cycle of "why can't we have nice things" disillusionment repeats all over again with another trip abroad.

Thanks for that.

 

[jbeas176]

malandro, this site has alot of different view and prospectives. we all see the same thing and experience it in a different way. i just had to suffer through liking a fishing village bs a tourist filled city in colombia. they liked crowded streets and beaches and i liked a rocky beach good for swimming and fishing. go figure