are you happy there?

[steveinbsas]

BA is my Paris. I love both cities, but Paris is too expensive, too cold in the winter, and it is too difficult to immigrate.

I have lived in Chicago, Park City, Utah, Sayulita, Mexico, Marina Del Rey, California, and spent a number of months in Paris.

After six months in Palermo and 32 months in Recoleta I have moved to Belgrano.

I have never been happier.

 

[HDM]

See? We agree on the important matters.

 

[steveinbsas]

On this one, absolutely!

(Thanks!)

 

[Annilma]

I´m happy here, mostly. I´ve realised that it´s really a question of one´s own attitude and philosophy of life and how good you´re at knowing and doing what you really want. We´re just so forgetful or confused at times.

And I do miss my family and friends, but as I have an Argentinian family here (because of my boyfriend), life becomes a lot easier. And of course, when you´ve got love in your life, it makes a huge difference.

But yes, or should I say oh no nononnooooo, I greatly dislike Personal, Claro, Telefonica etc. Like someone else here said, they make you want to leave. So I try (hard!) to concentrate on other things and enjoy life the best I can. And sometimes I suck at it, sometimes I feel like Cinderella.

 

[rmartinbuenosaires]

For whoever posted it makes them happy to walk to buy facturas everyday....good for you. I am not being sarcastic. If that is what makes someone happy, then so be it.

I have lived in Italy for eight years and Germany for two as well as DC for many. There were good and bad things about everywhere else I lived. Although I was cushioned a bit with work and did not need to expereience some of the ordeals in Italy and Germany that the locals do.

I moved here willlingly and looked forward to an enjoyable place that in my twisted mind, would be very similar to Italy. WRONG. Argentina couldn't be farther from Italy than Alaska. No comparison whatsoever. In fact you cannot (as the locals desperately do on a daily basis) compare Buenos Aires with ANYPLACE. It simply is Buenos Aires for whatever its worth.

I admit I whine and bitch on here because this is my forum to do so. Generally, in public, I try to keep my big mouth shut, however difficult, and mind my own business.

In summation, I am here. I put myself here and blame no one but myself. I have tried the "Little Miss Sunshine" attitude here and the positive mind game, it just falls short for me.

I do forsee biting the big bullet sometime and dealing with the ordeal of selling my apartment, "trying" to ship off my personal belongings back to the U.S., and dealing with what to do with my pets. Perhaps pets are a small thing to some people, but I really do not want to put them through that process again. Stupid to stay somewhere and let pets rule your life, but it is what it is. THEN there will be the whole process of relocating all over again. Do keep in mind that people in the U.S. with Masters Degrees are fighting for a job at Starbucks right now.

 

[citygirl]

What is happiness? And if you are basing your happiness on an external factor (location, belongings, etc.) - well, that's probably going to come back to haunt you in the long run.

Enough of the philosophical stuff - there are things I love, things I hate - true of everywhere I've lived. My friends and I have a saying "That makes this possible". So when we've waited in line for 4 hours to pay some bill and no one seems in any rush to help us and we are ready to go insane, we remind ourselves that mentality also translates to lovely afternoons spent in cafes where no one is trying to rush you out the door.

Sometimes I have bad days and I want to pack up and go home. But I also have days when I'm having a great glass of Malbec on my balcony and watching the sun over the water and it's all worth it.

When the bad days start outnumbering the good days, I'll go somewhere else.

 

[Bianca]

Perhaps pets are a small thing to some people, but I really do not want to put them through that process again. Stupid to stay somewhere and let pets rule your life, but it is what it is.

I feel the same as far as pets being a major thing to me. I wouldn't have come here if I couldn't bring my pets. And they will be coming back with me when I go home. What do you mean by not wanting to "put them through that process again"? Do you mean the flight? Did you have to ship them as cargo? I'm just being curious. Fortunately my two kitties will go as carry on and I can bring them with me in-cabin when we're ready to go home. I don't think they'd survive being shipped as cargo.

 

[Bianca]

Ultimately, happiness is nothing more than a state of mind. You can be happy anywhere, it's internal. Likewise, you can be unhappy anywhere (even in a so-called paradise). It's totally subjective and you really can't go by any else's point of view. One's happiness is an issue you can't debate. I am a happy person, I wake up that way. If I step in dog poop on my way to the bank to get monedas that don't exist, 9 times out of 10 I will still have a good day. (My husband, however, would be seething for a week!) I see the corruption and failed bureaucracy all around me, I'm not trying to down-play those issues, but I won't put my efforts into focusing on the negative. I will be happy no matter where I am, who I'm with, the circumstances I encounter... because it is inherent in who I am. And that trait doesn't make one person better or worse off than another, it simply makes them happier.

 

[peri-eco]

Happiness is such an elusive term and one that is fleeting for most people . You will have periods of unhappiness in life and you will grow from these experiences . To feel real happiness the pain of deep unhappiness must also be present like a pendulum .

People say that Argentines are more unhappy than others for the simple fact that they do not smile on the streets . Yes Porteños are gruff and carry their emotions on their sleeves but I do not believe that they are less unhappy than USA or European citizens.

In Buenos Aires it is ok to be sad or melancholic . This is not prohibited here and is even encouraged within Tango. In Australia where I grew up we were taught to cheer up and cheer up . At times you do not feel like cheering up and wish to feel miserable .

Sadness can be a beautiful emotion as well.

 

[tangobob]

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.

See, it is the Paris of the South.