Another pickpocket scam ...

[EvanB]

on the lonely planet thorn tree forum there is an extensive thread about the same experience. this is all too common, I spent some time in Lima where this happens a whole lot more to foreigners than it does here in BA. search for the post on there, its interesting because it seems that 5 or 6 travelers described the same exact situation as yours, maybe with the same assholes? my advice? get equally aggressive and punch one in the face =0)

 

[Recoleta Carolina]

HDM, I think age/appearance has an effect as well. We've been here since 2005 and have not been pickpocketed, except for a silly attempt once by some kids at Abasto shopping. We're both in our mid 30s, and usually look like we don't have a penny to our names.

Our neighbor has been here much less (months; he comes and goes), but he is 60 and smart dresser. He seems to have a target on his back; being a victim of the mustard scam twice just a few weeks apart, among other attemps, and even lost his backpack to a thief at jumbo.

In India, it was four of us together. They singled out our friend who is also 60 for the monkey poop scam.

Napoleon, that's hilarious about your brother and grandfather. Reminds me of that funny scene from Death at a Funeral.

It is not just the age thing. I have been to a couple of expat luncheons. All of the women that I met in their 50's and 60's who had lived so extensively around the world were the wives of husbands that work for international corporations. Why is this important? Because, people who are here for work have everything paid for by the company. Rent in luxury apartments, residency permits, etc. etc. In other words, the person who is an extended tourist as part of a work arrangement has no idea what the expat or new immigrant goes through in dealing with the system. Because they don't have to deal with anything. They are free to just enjoy the country they are in. Ergo, they are clueless about the issues that property owners face.

 

[criswkh]

RC- not everyone that is here for work get things pay for by the company. We only got our move paid for by the company. We have to pay for everything and both of us live of pesos. We deal with the system almost every week. We have gotten use to standing in lines for hours we always bring a book. I do agree that some people, especially expats, tend to dress more for the pickpockets than others.

 

[diego7david]

any city or town has some crime and often of the same type of scam. ba seems much safer then most places.

the only one that so far has hit me in ba, was a taxi ride to the retiro train station. i gave the taxista two ten peso notes and he handed them back to me saying they were falso (fake) and he wanted me to give him real money, so i gave him two other tens. well when examined they did seem fake. but i got mine at the bank atm (which may not mean they werent fake) but i presume on hindsight that he quickly switched the bills and had been waiting for the opportunity. afterwards, i put the two fake tens visiibly in a wooden bowl inside my apt by the front door. and some one visiting me took them without permission. unfortunately i didnt see and dont know which one of my "friends" helped themselves ........smile

 

[Recoleta Carolina]

RC- not everyone that is here for work get things pay for by the company. We only got our move paid for by the company. We have to pay for everything and both of us live of pesos. We deal with the system almost every week. We have gotten use to standing in lines for hours we always bring a book. I do agree that some people, especially expats, tend to dress more for the pickpockets than others.

Fair enough. But, it is just my experience that practically everyone that I have met who works for an international company in Buenos Aires and has been relocated to Buenos Aires from some other place has EVERYTHING paid for. They don't deal with residency issues, accountants, taxes, migraciones, etc. etc. It is an interesting topic because the happiest foreigners that I know living in Buenos Aires are people who are renting. And, they have nothing to do with the system. And, I think that is why on this forum there is so much bantering back and forth about what life is really like in Buenos Aires because some people can truly just enjoy their life here but others are constantly stressed out by the perpetual list of things to be done that somehow never goes away.

 

[bigbadwolf]

An account by Lucy Kellaway in the Financial Times of how her handbag was nicked in London.

 

[tangobob]

Seems to me there are three types of people on this forum:

Those who work here and make the most of the situation.

Then there are those who come here because they love the place, despite the beauracracy, dog s**t, and holey roads. Don't make the mistake of thinking everyone is on some sort of gravy train. I know many who live hand to mouth, doing what they can to survive dealing with the crap (figurative and real) but stay and enjoy.

Finally there are those who for whatever reason prefer to stay and bitch every day, probably because they would not be happy anywhere.

 

[criswkh]

fourth type: those who move here for love

 

[HDM]

tangobob, expats bitch and moan everywhere, I have read it in every country I've lived in, it's as common as dirt. It mystifies me, because I am personally not inclined to hang around and whine in places I do not enjoy or where I do not fit, but still, it is not uncommon. I am used to it, and will admit to a certain fascination with reading how much the same it all is, no matter what city, no matter what continent. There should be a book in this.

All I can say is that I really enjoy living in Buenos Aires; it is one of the finest cities I have ever lived in. If I had more to complain about or more to hate, you would not be reading me here, because I would not be in this city any longer.

Regardless, it will probably never cease to amaze me. That is the fascination with websites like this one.

Besides picking up a lot of very useful information about daily life.

 

[Napoleon]

fourth type: those who move here for love

I was going to ask "What is love?"

But then I realized that I wouldn't be the first person to ask that question:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kedsC5UfeWA