are you happy there?

[djlinse37]

Most people make the most of it but are not truly happy.

But doesn't this describe most people in the world? And doesn't it (at least partially) describe why they are here in the first place? They were not truly happy where they were before? For some people, they will never truly be happy anywhere. *That* is their destiny. There are very few places that are paradise.

 

[Recoleta Carolina]

2003 was a rough time for sure. I just wonder if it has gotten any better..

The issues we face are inflation, medical, isolation, I have made many good friends and some of them Argentine. I do speak Spanish and enjoy the easy life. Not being able to get anything done an being ripped off time and time again.

And the medical, the cheap medical is not so cheap. granted it is cheaper than the states but still costs. I am here for good the next tiem, falling into the immigrant status, I have no money to live in the states and have a place way out in the outback of Mndoza. Talk about a change.​

Could you comment on how you have been ripped off time and time again? It seems like I am the only one who has experienced this (or, is willing to admit it).

 

[rmartinbuenosaires]

As usual, Recoleta Carolina is right about everything. Has anyone seen the latest "scam" listed in the ArgentinePost website about now chargeing $3US for every bank transaction PLUS the fee your bank charges? It never stops. Everyday is more BS.

By the way, 2003 was WONDERFUL here! Prices were reasonable, people more courteous and actually WANTED to do their jobs as they were thankful they had them.

I love Telefonica. They have cut my phone off at least four times in six years for no reason. YES I paid the bills. You call the number on the back of the bill, it is incorrect. They direct you to another number. Then you go to the main office...they have no record of you ever calling about a problem., look at you with complete indifference (Because you never hear the word "SORRY" in Argentina) and say MAYBE it will be restored in ten to fourteen days (That would be IF there is no holiday, strike or any possible way of getting a day off work).

In summation, this place really does suck in just about everyway.

When people say they are happy here, can you please give specific reasons. I would love to get on the bandwagon.

 

[BlahBlah]

What stops you from leaving?

 

[rmartinbuenosaires]

BlahBlah-
Now and in the future...I have no inclination to engage with you or explain to you my reasons for anything. If you do not like my posts, then ignore them. I plan on doing the same with yours.

 

[HDM]

Regardless, isn't that an obvious and worthwhile question? Why do people on this forum who chronically complain, often in the most horrendous tones, continue to live here? Are you all trapped somehow? It just surprises me that people who hate living in a place as much as two or three of you hate Buenos Aires, that you keep living here and vent your hatred on some website. Frankly, I cannot imagine remaining in a place, any place, that I hated as much as you folks hate this place.

Anyway. Put me down in the column of people who find living in Buenos Aires to be interesting and not at all unpleasant. I could offer a short list of far worse places to live, but I think that would be pointless with the few of you who are so bitter and ruined. I hope that new readers here, readers who aren't already familiar with the usual folks and the usual litany will see the balance of comments posted here and realize that some people are soured and they are going to reflect that anytime they can, while others are just living their lives and happen to be living them here, and some (that would include me) find Buenos Aires to be quite a fine place to live, considering its size and history.

So what is the answer to blah blah's obvious question?

 

[djlinse37]

In summation, this place really does suck in just about everyway.

I'd have to say given this summation that I have the same question as BlahBlah and HDM at this point.

When people say they are happy here, can you please give specific reasons. I would love to get on the bandwagon.

I'm happy here because I can walk a block or two any day of the week and buy fresh-baked facturas for 1 peso (or less) each.

 

[HDM]

I see from djlinse37's comment that, since I wondered why Martin (who even adds Buenos Aires to his name ... ?) was unwilling to answer blah's obvious and natural question, that I should have answered Martin's question.

Here's my answer, in brief: My favorite cities are in Europe, but because of work, I need to live in Buenos Aires; BA is as close as I've found to a traditional European city (especially, e.g., Milan, and Rome without the history) anywhere outside Europe. So if I can't be in Europe, this is close enough for me. I am a fan of cafe life and culture, and I have found a solid version of that here. It is much cheaper for me to live here than some of the places I've lived recently -- London and Washington, to name two -- so I am enjoying restaurants more than I am usual able to. I can drink good wine for half the price of good wine in most of the places I've lived. I find the parts of the city where I spend the majority of my time to have strikingly beautiful sections and an endless variety of things that interest me. The people I have met (the real people, not the cyberspace denizens) to be on the whole friendly and accessible. Those are the high points, although a trivial list could go on for pages.

I do make a commitment to living the rest of my life in Buenos Aires. It isn't necessary. And as a matter of personal principal, I do not like to own things -- property, cars, big ticket things -- because I discovered a very long time ago that one does not own things, things own you. (Which may account for the cement holding some posters here solidly into a place they hate.) That means I am free to come and go virtually by whim. That is a choice I made a long ago. That also means I am able to fall in love with the place I am living and thoroughly enjoy by day to day life there, regardless of what city it is. Buenos Aires is a perfectly fine city to live in. Maybe part of the reason I feel that way is that BA does not own me, does not control my destiny.

I feel sad, sorry, for those of you who are trapped here, imprisoned in a place you hate so vehemently. But it's not my fault your life turned out this way, and there isn't anything I can do to fix it for you.

That's my answer. The short version.

 

[HDM]

Excuse me. There is a serious typo in my piece preceding. The first line in the 3rd paragraph should have a NOT after do ... I do not make a commitment to living the rest of my life in BA ...

Oh, and maybe I should have added the things I do not like about living here: dog shit, having to keep an eye out for bogus bills, the jammed Subte, and most of all the f***ing car and bus horns. These drivers are in serious need of growing up; they can't all be 15 years old!

 

[HDM]

I just noticed something that made me smile ...

About 15 years ago, living for a time in Paris, I was asked what I didn't like about Paris, and I wrote: Dog shit, currency rip-offs, the smelly crowds on the Metro, and all the damn car horns bleating all the time.

Ummm.