Am I a little nuts to choose BA? Help.

[sleslie23]

Read the papers, if you can talk to some locals. I really would recommend not making major decisions based on what anonymous posters on the internet tell you!

I agree wholeheartedly with the second sentence. However, talking to locals probably won't give you much more than what you get on this forum. They, similar to the posters here, generally fall into two categories:

The pessimists: who would leave today if they had the opportunity. They generally complain about Argentina as much or more than anyone on this board.

The optimists: who love Argentina, wouldn't consider living anywhere else, and think the current government is helping improve the condition of the poor.

Of course these are generalizations, but most Argentines I know fit more or less this description. There aren't too many in the middle.

 

[trennod]

I dont like the forum bashing. I would be surprised if most people have not benefited in some way from the information available on this forum and its posters. Yes, at times it can appear negative, but there is plenty of positive things said about the country as well. Its natural there will be a breadth of opinions, both positive and negative, and remember they are that most of the time, opinions.

Having said that, if you think this forum is an overnegative representation of Buenos Aires, how about you hop out there and speak to the locals, I dont hear many speak positively about where things are at and heading either from my colleagues, friends, girlfriends friends or family. I think many expats can atleast find positive things to say about the country, which is more than I can say for the majority of Argentines.

 

[steveinbsas]

I agree wholeheartedly with the second sentence. However, talking to locals probably won't give you much more than what you get on this forum. They, similar to the posters here, generally fall into two categories:

The pessimists: who would leave today if they had the opportunity. They generally complain about Argentina as much or more than anyone on this board.

The optimists: who love Argentina, wouldn't consider living anywhere else, and think the current government is helping improve the condition of the poor.

Of course these are generalizations, but most Argentines I know fit more or less this description. There aren't too many in the middle.

Most Argentines don't know jack about expats living in Argentina and even if they did what difference would it make?

Perhaps I'm an optimist because I still choose to live in Argentina, but perhaps I'm also a pessimist becaue I believe the "government" (those in power) actually perpetuates the poverty and then pretends to help the poor as a strategy to maintain power.

At least Argentina is one country where poverty cannot be blamed on individual liberty or capitalism.

 

[Macanudo]

Start taking Tango lessons in L.A. and go to Buenos Aires during Jan, Feb and March. The weather should be OK then and there are tons of beautiful women from all over the world at the milongas. You don't need to know much Spanish to get by. Expect to blow your 5 grand and don't expect to earn any money, do that before you leave and after you return. You won't be bored and you will make lots of friends. Find a place to rent on Craigslist. If you end up staying over 90 days, take the ferry to Colonia and stay there for a couple of hours and return, that will give you another 90 days.

 

[NickBA]

Nicoenarg..I don't know why you're on some mission to bring everyone down to your pessimistic level that hates this country. Maybe you had a bad experience that made you this way, but most people are able to look beyond the flaws of a country and focus on the reasons we came here in the first place. You're welcome do drive yourself crazy complaining about everything that is wrong with this country, but if it's that bad then you should move. No need to whine and criticize every positive post you see on a thread.

 

[nicoenarg]

Nicoenarg..I don't know why you're on some mission to bring everyone down to your pessimistic level that hates this country. Maybe you had a bad experience that made you this way, but most people are able to look beyond the flaws of a country and focus on the reasons we came here in the first place. You're welcome do drive yourself crazy complaining about everything that is wrong with this country, but if it's that bad then you should move. No need to whine and criticize every positive post you see on a thread.

Many here and myself have said this multiple times that moronic statements like "if you don't like it, move" don't apply to most people here. Not everyone is here to party or learn Spanish or pick up and leave.

You can be positive all you want, what I am criticizing and will criticize (too bad if you don't like it) is that people like you get their little panties in a twist if they read anything that paints a not so grand picture of Buenos Aires.

There is nothing extra special about Buenos Aires, get real already. Like any other city in the world, this city has its bad and its good. And I repeat, at this point, its bads outweigh the good it has to offer.

And on that note, anyone thinking of coming here now is nuts. They should wait at least till August and after that things may normalize. And if not by then, then clouds should lift after the elections next year.

Unlike the OP, if you're coming here for a couple of days or a couple of weeks, then none of what I said affects you but if you're like the OP who wants to "live" here for a while (assuming the post was an honest one to begin with), you really would be crazy if you decided to come here now, especially with a meager $US5000.

 

[Mark2012]

Personally think that nico could belong to one of those many groups of latins wich hate Argentina mostly by jealousy to the etnic diversity of the country beetwen other things, and he attempts to repel the foreigners as he can from here (this forum).
If we are gonna start to be jealous, then Argentina should hate latins countrys becouse they have caribean sea, or somethink like that. But we never do that.

 

[steveinbsas]

Personally think that nico could belong to one of those many groups of latins wich hate Argentina mostly by jealousy to the etnic diversity of the country beetwen other things, and he attempts to repel the foreigners as he can from here (this forum).
If we are gonna start to be jealous, then Argentina should hate latins countrys becouse they have caribean sea, or somethink like that. But we never do that.

I wonder why some locals don't have the sense to use the spell check feature of this site while claiming their English is better than my Spanish.

Simple spelling mistakes may have the power to make at least one of them look like a bafoon (aka idiot)...or should I say a brigadier (another alias along with Mark2012).

Just wondering...

 

[sleslie23]

Most Argentines don't know jack about expats living in Argentina and even if they did what difference would it make?

Perhaps I'm an optimist because I still choose to live in Argentina, but perhaps I'm also a pessimist becaue I believe the "government" (those in power) actually perpetuates the poverty and then pretends to help the poor as a strategy to maintain power.

At least Argentina is one country where poverty cannot be blamed on individual liberty or capitalism.

I think you misread my post, though maybe it wasn't clear. I did mean anything about what Argentines think of expats, but rather what expats think of expats.

What I was really trying to say is that many Argentines complain about Argentina MORE than anyone on this board. It's almost a national pastime.

And maybe you "can't" blame poverty in Argentina on capitalism, but a lot of people here DO blame it on capitalism, yanqui empirialism, etc.

 

[steveinbsas]

And maybe you "can't" blame poverty in Argentina on capitalism, but a lot of people here DO blame it on capitalism, yanqui empirialism, etc.

I think Lenin called them useful idiots.

And to this day they mindlessly worship a stone cold killer like Che Guevara.


That may be very useful to the leaders of the next (totalitarian) revolution.

Even if they don't blame the yaquis, the have nots in Argentina will indeed cite Capitalism as the reason for the existence/success of those that have more than they do.

Capitalism does indeed result in some having much more than others.

But Capitalism is not the reason that many of those (relatively few) that have much in Argentina have so much more than others.

And that's the real problem.