Are Porteños Immune to Noise

[Joe]

The first week I arrived in Buenos Aires, it was a sunny day and saw people relaxing in an outdoor cafe. I sat down and immediately felt consumed by the road noise. I quickly retreated inside. It felt like eating next to Highway 101 in LA. But the locals were talking to friends, pausing a few seconds as another bus passed by, but appearing thouroughy relaxed.

I've stayed in five apartments in almost three months and all had significant noise problems, especially at night. Neighbors watching TV very late, parties til early hours on weekdays, high heals upstairs, etc.

I've stayed at two fancy new towers and they are the worse, the walls are so thin you can hear someone tinkle next door. If you go into a new condo development in the US, they will often have a physical cutout of the insulation between walls and floors, so you can be confident that most noise will be muffled. I wonder if the Argentine buyer of a new luxury flat has no interest in this.

I guess if you grow up in an extremely noisy environment, you become immune to the noise...

 

[HDM]

I am also aware of the high level of noise, but do not find it unexpected. When it comes to noise, I do not think of Buenos Aires as a city like Los Angeles, but as a city like New York (or, for that matter, Madrid, Milan, Lisbon, Rome ... ) which is an endless cacophony. I believe this is the inherent nature of life in a massive city like this (or like those), and I just accept it as part of the package. It has taken a while (especially the gurgling water in pipes every time one of the toilets above me flushes), but I think I am used to it; so maybe that's what happens with locals or people who live in cities like this for long periods of time -- it just becomes sort of cacophonous white noise. But I do think Portenos have an almost erotic relationship with the horns in their cars -- they lay on them for no obvious reason, and stay on them long beyond reason.

 

[tangobob]

I've stayed at two fancy new towers and they are the worse, the walls are so thin you can hear someone tinkle next door. ...

Tinkle???

 

[Grazie]

also known as going "wee-wee" (or pee) (this time referring to it NOT as a noun but as a verb - little kids lingo). very funny tangobob!

 

[steveinbsas]

. But I do think Portenos have an almost erotic relationship with the horns in their cars -- they lay on them for no obvious reason, and stay on them long beyond reason.

While this is certainly true (especially regarding taxis) in The Center, Palermo, and Recoleta, it is not so much the case in Belgrano...even when streets are closed and traffic is backed up. I was in a taxi in just that situation on Amenabar near Jurimento this week and made a comment to the driver that no one was using thier horns. As soon as he said, "Not in Belgrano" one driver gave a weak toot, but that was all.

 

[Bianca]

I enjoy the sounds of a city. For the most part. I could do without the honking and dogs barking at 5AM, but the busses and cars driving by, the whistles (wherever they come from), the horses clomping down the street (policia?), the conversations and parties... I find it comforting and nice background noise. It's constant. I guess the honking and barking are loud, isolated sounds and they're more intrusive. But the constant city sound... I love it.

 

[jantango]

A survey done a few years ago rated Buenos Aires as the THIRD noisiest city in the world. Go to Nueve de Julio at evening rush hour, and you understand why. Or ride the E-line subte. I carry earplugs for the subte and the milongas.

You learn to rent/buy an apartment that is "contrafrente" and at least a block from streets with heavy traffic and bus lines. You learn to deal with noisy neighbors or speak with them about it. That's all you can do.

New construction is more expensive but not necessarily better than the old.

That's life in BA! I've been here more than ten years, and nothing would convince me to return to the USA.

 

[jp]

On the road that goes out to jorge newberry, families picnic by the side of the motorway. Not on the river side, on the side of the motorway next to the airport. Drive up there, unload their deckchairs and picnic tables and presumably spend the day relaxing by the side of a motorway underneath a flight path. I can't get my head around it...

 

[dsc]

On the road that goes out to jorge newberry, families picnic by the side of the motorway. Not on the river side, on the side of the motorway next to the airport. Drive up their, unload their deckchairs and picnic tables and presumably spend the day relaxing by the side of a motorway underneath a flight path. I can't get my head around it...

Yeah, I remember this (and got a laugh out of it) on the way to and from EZE my first time down a couple years ago.