Are Expats Leaving?

[trennod]

Delete post.

 

[PhilipDT]

Holy sh*t!

A friend or mine lost his job and ended up having to pay $24000 to keep his family of four insured for a little over a year.

 

[PhilipDT]

Holy sh*t!

A friend or mine lost his job and ended up having to pay $24000 to keep his family of four insured for a little over a year.

 

[citygirl]

To be fair, we're spending over 5000 pesos a month in insurance here for our family of 4. So it's not like heathcare is a huge bargain here anymore esp if you earn in pesos like we do.

 

[arlean]

Maybe I just haven't been here long enough to be a "seasoned" expat. I've been here for going on four years in BA, came in 2005 and lived in Bariloche, for a short time, then had to be in the U.S. for family until four years ago. I think a lot depends on where you live. I don't like the garbage on the street here in Palermo right before pickup, but the residents here almost always use those bags when they walk their dogs. Plus the store owners are out before dawn scrubbing the sidewalks (or have someone else doing it). I can't remember ever having a rude taxi driver but I myself am friendly and I use them to practice castellano if I can get their cooperation, which is almost always.

I have a Swiss friend who has been here 14 years and still loves it. She likes the corruption because she says you can always get things done here. So there are all kinds here. To each his own!

I am very familiar with expats in Uruguay and it is interesting they seem to be a different breed. Mostly they believe in organic non-GMO food (Uruguay has no GMO except soy and corn--these people are savvy--and the beef is grass raised there by law. Whereas in the US you pay an arm and a leg for non-medicated, non hormone treated beef, in Uruguay you walk into any meat market and all of it is non medicated, no hormone beef. In the U.S. a farmer can go to jail for selling you raw milk. In Uruguay it is done all the time. My friend in Atlantida has the stuff delivered to her door. The taste of freedom is sweet to her.

For those interested in the educational system in the US, as one who graduated in 1955 and has since done editing of thesis papers of students in the US going for an upper level degree who could not have passed my high school senior English class, I'm not so enamored with the school system there

Many in Buenos Aires, on the other hand, seem to be here for the night life, the adventure, the experience of learning a new language. Most of the Uruguay expats I know have flat out left their home country and are determined to make a life down here. They are very aware of the political conditions in the U.S., the destruction of the constitution. I'm not sure many who come to Argentina even know what the constitution says--or care. I know some of you do but it is not really the same. But of course there are problems in South America as well. To me the bottom line is you can't move to a place that has no problems.

Personally, I like it here. However, I do live from U. S. dollars which would make a big difference.

 

[allcraz]

Thanks to several of you for reminding me how important it is to stick with my peso job as long as they're paying for OSDE 310. I constantly forget to factor that into the equation when I think about my salary.

 

[legilber]

There are many variables, like co-pay, maximum coverage limits, in-network vs. out-of-network physicians, etc...But I think US$10,000 a year is pretty typical.

I'm paying US $480 for a family of three. All well visits are covered with no Co-Pays. We do have a high deductible of $5k, but given the fact that we never use our Health insurance, its ok if something should happen. Plus, you can set up an HSA account, where all money saved there is tax free. Any money not used can be rolled over into an IRA and used for Retirement. Here its best to work with Heath Insurance advisers to see what you will need.

Dental is running us about $60/month.

We left 6 months ago and although we miss Argentina, our quality of live is way better here. We live just outside of Indianapolis, so it can get a little boring compared to BsAs, but we have top schools, recreation for kids, festivals, etc. Definitely a great place to live with kids. (even Money magazine thinks so. Carmel, IN was ranked #1 this past year).

We're also earning about 9% on our Retirement accounts, which you can't even compare to a return in Argentina. It took a few meetings with our financial adviser for my husband to figure it out (and reading Dave Ramsey's book, Financial Peace- READ IT IF YOU WANT TO LEARN A LOT), as no one in Argentina plans for retirement besides buying properties.

If anyone is planning a move to the US and has questions, send me a PM

 

[NYKate]

You got to be kidding me. Are you trying to imply that the the Taxi drivers in NY are more polite and helpful. Taxi drivers in NY are the lowest peace of s*&t I have ever come across in my life. I personally rate the BA taxi drivers politeness level as very high especially compared to that of NY or USA in general.

I can count the problems I have had with NY taxi drivers on my one hand and I lived there for 32 years. When you have to get a taxi in the rain with a baby, a baby carriage and baby things and then you see five free cabs that do not stop because they do not want a carriage in their cab, you will understand.

 

[Ries]

There are always expats leaving, and always new ones coming.
Since its not dirt cheap anymore, the bottom feeders of the mid 2000's are going somewhere else now- not sure where?
This is a constant flow, down towards the drain- Prague was big for a while, Berlin was cheap and empty in the 80's, Bali, or the beach towns in Thailand, Goa, the destination du jour for couch surfers and professional partiers changes every few months.
No big loss there.

But Argentina, and Buenos Aires in particular, has a lot of unique things to offer, and will always attract a certain number of new people from other countries. Arts, culture, music, architecture, literature, there is a lot here to attract some people. I think more film makers, DJ's, and artists have been showing up lately- the gallery scene, the music scene, the publishing scene are all still a lot more accessible and interesting than places like NYC, where the price of admission is so much higher, and the rents astronomical. It costs hundreds of thousands, at a minimum, to open a gallery in Manhattan these days. A pop up happens in BsAs weekly.

 

[trennod]

Thanks to several of you for reminding me how important it is to stick with my peso job as long as they're paying for OSDE 310. I constantly forget to factor that into the equation when I think about my salary.

Doesn´t it come out of your salary? I have OSDE 310 which is deducted from my salary, albeit at corporate rates.