Search results

Thanks, rrptownley, for an outstanding post - smart, incisive and very funny. And you are absolutely right: without Marmite, life is hard indeed. Repat Sara (back from Washington and sweating out the re-entry process)

Now, that's reliable, first-hand information. Would be good if more people took the trouble to actually TALK to the locals before making sweeping generalizations about salaries. The salaries I mentioned are earned by real people whom I personally know: my street's garbage truck crew, and...

If you want to sleep well, choose an apartment at the back of a building, facing away from the street (called "contrafrente"). They can be surprisingly quiet.

Cristina may also be trying to divert attention from the decree by which estate inheritance taxes were suspended for those who died in 2010. The notice was buried deep in the Government's "Boletin Oficial", among a myriad of smaller issues. Nestor Kirchner died in 2010, and his estate would...

Sounds like your circle of Argentine friends and acquaintances is much too limited. Broadening it a bit could make for a more interesting life...:);):)

Local garbage truck workers take home a grand three thousand pesos a month. A private school kindergarden teacher with thirty years' experience takes home twenty-two hundred. Surprising salaries, indeed...! "Better than in Europe"...! Amazing, how some love to pontificate but have no idea...

For those expats who lost a wealthy local relative in 2010, here are some good news. Buried in the "Boletin Oficial" there's a notice decreeing that the estates of people who died in 2010 be exempt from inheritance taxes. Nestor Kirchner died in 2010, and his estate's inheritance taxes would...

Amazing that no one mentions retirement fund contributions. They are mandatory for people working 12 hours a week or more (I believe it is 12, but it may have changed), and guarantees them access to free medical care and a pension upon retirement. Sara

Hello, fifs2... Thank you for your kind words. It's so nice not to be attacked...!:):) Sara

Foreigners pay twenty dollars - Argentines don't. Sara

Average locals pay 15 pesos an hour, the super-rich Real Recoleta crowd pays 18. (Plus bus fare). Sara

Last June I flew into Ezeiza with a US passport showing I was born in Buenos Aires - was classified as Argentinian, paid no fee, and got a 180-day visa.

-- First, I've never read Cronica, or watched it on TV -- Second, sarcasm is the only avenue left when faced with terminal arrogance. -- Third, why stigmatize my warnings as "your attempt to project your fears upon others". It is insulting, and it doesn't make any sense: what would I gain by...

WOW...! i'm deeply impressed: only a really macho guy/gal can feel perfectly happy and safe living in a place whilst still being aware of the crime. Congratulations on being so tough. :D

If there were any valid points made in response to my posts I'd have answered them just like I answered yours, but I did not see anyhing else. The "paranoid locals" label was used to poke fun at a poster which said locals were paranoid. They are not; what they are is street-wise. Anyway...

Being aware of crime and "living in fear" are two totally different things. If I lived in fear, I would give up my house with a large yard and move to a "safe" apartment with 24-hour security guards, and would stop driving by myself and go everywhere by remise. Now, y'all go ahead and get...

Tattoos, anyone? ...:D;):)

Thanks, erocifeller - so nice to see that my good work is appreciated. Well, "No hay peor sordo que el que no quiere oir", so I give up on trying to make some of you accept reality. So please, just go ahead and keep ignoring the media, and avoid any information on crime that may come your...

I fail to follow your reasoning. My fear or lack of it doesn't depend on my imagination, but it is an objective evaluation of what I see and hear around me. I did not feel afraid in Washington because no one in my neighborhood was burgled, held-up, or killed. But when the next door...

Not so fast.... Why do you assume I was not a long-term resident? For your information, I lived in downtown Washington, DC, for eleven years. That's long enough to qualify as a long-term resident.