30 year old couple moving to BsAs...is $2,000 a month realistic?

[Ries]

the big IF is if things like the public transportation system will return to normal.
I think you can do fine on that amount.
But taking the colectivos (buses) and subte (subway) would certainly help. We often take a taxi home, if we are out after 1 or 2 in the morning, but I have ridden the bus home from clubs at 4 too. The public transport here is really good, runs 24/7, and is dirt cheap.
We also dont know which restaurants will survive- but, at least in December, there were still thousands, many quite decent, that were cheap. And even "expensive" is pretty cheap. I have had amazing meals for two, with drinks, at world class places, for 40 or 50 usd. Certainly, you can spend more, but there are still a lot of really good 20 dollar places out there.
Buy local, eat local. Bring phones and laptops, and adapt to what is cheap and local for other things.
Eat whats here. Dont expect NY pizza or Berlin currywurst, or vegemite or marmite.
There is plenty of really great local food, made from fresh ingredients.

 

[Iznogud]

Welcome!

Whose summer, yours or ours (Dec, Jan, etc)?

Are you aware that this will be a very atypical summer, usually everybody scrams and the city is empty and way too hot to be pleassnt?

Now with a lot of people stuck here and too many restrictions to count, one wonders where the fun will be.

Expect prices to go crazy, those still standing will be penny starved and struggling to stay in business.

From a local and self proclaimed pesimist, summer is not the best season to land here. God knows if there will be much of a nightlife, cultural one, if the museums will be open, etc.
Right now, traveling outside city limits requires a permit, not for everyone and in most special cases, just for 24hs.

Are you planning on spending just summer or staying a bit more?

Iz

 

[semigoodlookin]

$2,000 is around 220,000 pesos, no? You should be fine, ask most Argentine couples if they can get by on that.

 

[iggysnacks]

That's awesome, I appreciate your time. We definitely want to experience the city/country but don't see us going super high end with our lifestyle. Really happy to stay in Buenos Aires (likely 6 months or so) in general, but saving money is definitely an additional benefit to it.

Right, i think you'll be able to really experience Buenos Aires and save money at that budget. Other people have mentioned that you should buy electronics beforehand. That's true, and I'd add that you should bring any clothing you foresee yourself wanting ahead of time too. It's easy to say "i'll buy it when i get there," but the quality of clothing here is pretty low and the costs are similar to the States. If you're into fashion, or prefer investing in high quality materials/craftsmanship/etc, definitely buy ahead of time (and remember, seasons are reversed so you can take advantage of end of season sales in the states!)

For what it's worth, we're around the same age and it sounds like we have similar lifestyles - probably a little more in common than with most of the other members of this board, who I believe trend a lot older/wealthier/stodgier (sorry folks!). I moved here from Manhattan and have absolutely loved living it up in Buenos Aires for what equates to an absolute pittance. Services like personal training, tailoring, etc are especially cheap here. My personal trainer, who is exceedingly qualified and teaches courses at a local uni, charges ~$5usd an hour. I pay the same for private muay thai lessons. Private lessons of equivalent quality would probably cost me upwards of $80/hr in Manhattan. Take advantage of stuff like this when you're here! It's a nice opportunity to invest in yourselves.

In terms of neighborhoods, I'd recommend Palermo over Recoleta. It's younger/hipper. The Hollywood side is chiller/prettier, the SoHo side has more bars. If you're only here for six months, you'll probably end up spending the vast majority of your time in Palermo. If you live in Hollywood or Soho, you'll be able to walk everywhere you want to go. Recoleta is a little farther from the places you'll realistically be hanging out. If you like a more local vibe, check out Chacarita. It's more on the "up and coming" side. Has some great restaurants/bars/etc, but without the Disneyland feel that Palermo Soho sometimes has.

 

[Mira Vos!]

Welcome!

Whose summer, yours or ours (Dec, Jan, etc)?

Are you aware that this will be a very atypical summer, usually everybody scrams and the city is empty and way too hot to be pleassnt?

Now with a lot of people stuck here and too many restrictions to count, one wonders where the fun will be.

Expect prices to go crazy, those still standing will be penny starved and struggling to stay in business.

From a local and self proclaimed pesimist, summer is not the best season to land here. God knows if there will be much of a nightlife, cultural one, if the museums will be open, etc.
Right now, traveling outside city limits requires a permit, not for everyone and in most special cases, just for 24hs.

Are you planning on spending just summer or staying a bit more?

Iz

Wouldn't be until July, so United States summer. Definitely at last two months, but possibly up to six months total. We haven't been yet and are planning on travelling for the year. I'm very open to staying longer if we enjoy our time

 

[Traveler]

$2,000 is around 220,000 pesos, no? You should be fine, ask most Argentine couples if they can get by on that.

Blue peso rate of 140 now would translate to $280,000 pesos

 

[Mira Vos!]

Right, i think you'll be able to really experience Buenos Aires and save money at that budget. Other people have mentioned that you should buy electronics beforehand. That's true, and I'd add that you should bring any clothing you foresee yourself wanting ahead of time too. It's easy to say "i'll buy it when i get there," but the quality of clothing here is pretty low and the costs are similar to the States. If you're into fashion, or prefer investing in high quality materials/craftsmanship/etc, definitely buy ahead of time (and remember, seasons are reversed so you can take advantage of end of season sales in the states!)

For what it's worth, we're around the same age and it sounds like we have similar lifestyles - probably a little more in common than with most of the other members of this board, who I believe trend a lot older/wealthier/stodgier (sorry folks!). I moved here from Manhattan and have absolutely loved living it up in Buenos Aires for what equates to an absolute pittance. Services like personal training, tailoring, etc are especially cheap here. My personal trainer, who is exceedingly qualified and teaches courses at a local uni, charges ~$5usd an hour. I pay the same for private muay thai lessons. Private lessons of equivalent quality would probably cost me upwards of $80/hr in Manhattan. Take advantage of stuff like this when you're here! It's a nice opportunity to invest in yourselves.

In terms of neighborhoods, I'd recommend Palermo over Recoleta. It's younger/hipper. The Hollywood side is chiller/prettier, the SoHo side has more bars. If you're only here for six months, you'll probably end up spending the vast majority of your time in Palermo. If you live in Hollywood or Soho, you'll be able to walk everywhere you want to go. Recoleta is a little farther from the places you'll realistically be hanging out. If you like a more local vibe, check out Chacarita. It's more on the "up and coming" side. Has some great restaurants/bars/etc, but without the Disneyland feel that Palermo Soho sometimes has.

Thanks man, appreciate all this advice. I'm not arriving until July so not for awhile. Not sure if you are staying in BSaS long term, but I've actually been interested in taking Muay Thai classes. Will definitely be getting a gym membership and would probably do Muay Thai also (I've played soccer/Futbol my whole life)

 

[Mira Vos!]

the big IF is if things like the public transportation system will return to normal.
I think you can do fine on that amount.
But taking the colectivos (buses) and subte (subway) would certainly help. We often take a taxi home, if we are out after 1 or 2 in the morning, but I have ridden the bus home from clubs at 4 too. The public transport here is really good, runs 24/7, and is dirt cheap.
We also dont know which restaurants will survive- but, at least in December, there were still thousands, many quite decent, that were cheap. And even "expensive" is pretty cheap. I have had amazing meals for two, with drinks, at world class places, for 40 or 50 usd. Certainly, you can spend more, but there are still a lot of really good 20 dollar places out there.
Buy local, eat local. Bring phones and laptops, and adapt to what is cheap and local for other things.
Eat whats here. Dont expect NY pizza or Berlin currywurst, or vegemite or marmite.
There is plenty of really great local food, made from fresh ingredients.

Thank you. I haven't churipan yet but I've had some Argentinian food where I live (South Florida). Might be my favorite cuisine apart from Mexican so very happy to try other local foods

 

[Alby]

Welcome!

Whose summer, yours or ours (Dec, Jan, etc)?

Younger people can probably interpret what "this summer" means. In linguistics, this confusion arises from the concept of deixis and when two people don't share the same deictic center, communication can break down. In English, one of the most common problems is the distinction between "this" and "next". Someone might say, for example, "Your appointment is next Thursday", and there is a 50/50 that the other person will turn up on the wrong date, because the two speakers do not share the deictic center, but assume they do. That is what is happening in this case.

Deixis also causes great problems for language learners, because the deictic center is not always common between languages. Which explains, why, for example, when an English-speaker will ask "are you coming here on Thursday?" the reply might be "Yes, I am coming", whereas in Spanish the same question might be "¿Vienes el jueves?" and a native speaker will (correctly) reply "Voy" (and the poor old non-native speaker will often err and say "Vengo").

I think, given the number of replies so far, it is abundantly clear to everyone which "summer" the OP means. I, however, have not the faintest idea.

But, if the OP means the summer that will commence in Buenos Aires in three months time, everyone could save alot of time now by pointing out the borders are closed to non-residents and likely to remain so.

Pointing all this out probably makes me an old fogey, but that's fine.

 

[Mira Vos!]

Younger people can probably interpret what "this summer" means. In linguistics, this confusion arises from the concept of deixis and when two people don't share the same deictic center, communication can break down. In English, one of the most common problems is the distinction between "this" and "next". People will say, for example, "Your appointment is next Thursday", and there is a 50/50 that the other person will turn up on the wrong date, because the two speaker do not share the deictic center, but assume they do. That is what is happening in this case.

Deixis also causes great problems for language learners, because the deictic center is not always common between language. Which explains, why, for example, when an English-speaker will ask "are you coming her on Thursday?" the reply might be "Yes, I am coming", whereas in Spanish the same question might be "¿Vienes el jueves?" and a native speaker will (correctly) reply "Voy" (and the poor old non-native speaker will often err and say "Vengo").

I think, given the number of replies so far, it is abundantly clear to everyone which "summer" the OP means. I, however, have not the faintest idea.

But, if the OP means the summer that will commence in Buenos Aires in three months time, everyone could save alot of time now by pointing out the borders are closed to non-residents and likely to remain so.

Pointing all this out probably makes me an old fogey, but that's fine.

United States summer- July