Argentine re-immigration

[byrnepaulj]

Hi All,

I know we hear a lot of talk on here about the flow of expats coming and going from Buenos Aires and how it has become a good fall-out location for those hit by the global financial crisis but do any of you know any Argentines that have been living in Europe or the US that have been forced to return due to the effects of the crisis?

Would really appreciate any suggestions/contacts.

Thanks,

Paul

 

[gunt86]

Watch or read the news from Spain...lots of stories and interviews of ARG's and other LatAm's forced to return from Spain b/c of lost job.

 

[gouchobob]

Hi All,

I know we hear a lot of talk on here about the flow of expats coming and going from Buenos Aires and how it has become a good fall-out location for those hit by the global financial crisis but do any of you know any Argentines that have been living in Europe or the US that have been forced to return due to the effects of the crisis?

Would really appreciate any suggestions/contacts.

Thanks,

Paul

I'm sure there have been some people who have returned because of the situation, however I believe most would stay where they are as wages are low and unemployment high in Argentina.

I don't quite get your point that Argentina would be a good place to ride-out the economic crisis. Wouldn't most people just stay home, if money is tight?

 

[perry]

I'm sure there have been some people who have returned because of the situation, however I believe most would stay where they are as wages are low and unemployment high in Argentina.

I don't quite get your point that Argentina would be a good place to ride-out the economic crisis. Wouldn't most people just stay home, if money is tight?

Unemployment is much lower in Buenos Aires than USA and most of southern europe. In regards to wages being low I like to know compared to what? Argentina has the highest minimum wages in Latin America as well as the best workers conditions.

 

[ssr]

When I was living in the south of Spain in 2002-2003, unemployment was already pretty high in the south and amongst people 25 and younger it was something like 25%. Now the entire country is at 20% so in the south and for young people it must be very difficult to find work.

Is Spain still paying illegal immigrants to leave? If they are, any Argentines who fall into that category might want to take that deal (they'd get locked out of Spain for a while, though). Think they were handing out something like 3000 Euros which would certainly go further in Argentina than in Spain.

 

[gouchobob]

Unemployment is much lower in Buenos Aires than USA and most of southern europe. In regards to wages being low I like to know compared to what? Argentina has the highest minimum wages in Latin America as well as the best workers conditions.

Well you must be basing this on official unemployment numbers from the government which aren't credible. Wages in Argentina are extremely low compared to North America or Europe. Even with the crisis the vast majority of Argentinians that have immigrated overseas would still be better off in their new country.

 

[fedecc]

Not really gouchobob. Low salary + family > No salary + alone.

 

[perry]

Well you must be basing this on official unemployment numbers from the government which aren't credible. Wages in Argentina are extremely low compared to North America or Europe. Even with the crisis the vast majority of Argentinians that have immigrated overseas would still be better off in their new country.

Goucobob do you know what the minimum wage is in Spain , Greece, Italy . If you lucky to get work it is 700 euros a month barely 3500 pesos and with a cost of living twice as dear as Argentina I hardly believe people live better.

Argentina has the highest minimum wages in South America as well as the best worker conditions . If you go to immigraciones there has never been such an influx of new immigrants since the boom years at the turn of the century. For many Argentina is the land of oportunity and per capita we take more immigrants from neighbouring countries than any other in the Americas.

 

[marksoc]

Believe it or not, there are people (and it seems is not a few crazy ones) coming back. I did it myself in 2007, and I got a job which in the end paid near 1000 Euros, which it is worth some 40% more in BA than in Spain (if you don´t live in Palermo or its kind, of course). For me it was an automatic bump inmy quality of life. Go figure!

 

[perry]

Thanks for your reply Mark and I know many people here that have a much better lifestyle than Europe and the USA . Propaganda presented as truth by the likes of Gouchobob is laughable.

I have many relatives in Europe and Australia who have to work two jobs just to survive and they certainly do not have the holidays that Argentina is famous for . I believe that the USA has 2 weeks paid leave a year and 10 days public holidays while in Argentina its 4 weeks and 21 days public holidays .

People of the middle and upper middle classes in Buenos Aires are much less indebted than their US and european counterparts and have more real wealth than those citizens. Over 90 percent of all properties are paid for in cash the first in the world per capita . Many foreigners are absolutely shocked that this is so as they have this image of Argentina as a country where the people are desperate for dollars. I can assure you that the opposite is true in most cases.

In Europe the figure is less than 10 percent for ownership of Property outright meaning that many will lose their properties in the coming years with the downturn of the world economy.

For many of us who call Buenos Aires home we find it offensive to be delegated as a third world city . Yes Buenos Aires has social problems and rising crime , It has dirt and grime and a bureaucracy that is frustrating but there is also many positives that make other large cities seem backward and boring.

We have world class architecture, a vibrant culture that is alive 24 hours a day with a theatre district that is equal to any other as well as a thriving music scene . There are 24 hour coffee shops and clubs that have their doors open at 7am in the morning .We have Restaurants are on every corner and in my barrio there is over 700 alone serving mostly traditional fare but of late there has been a great improvement with Thai, Indian, Mexican , Peruvian restaurants opening their doors.

For those who wish to broaden their education Buenos Aires offers many free courses at the UBA or other courses at low cost . This is a city that has given many people a much better education than in other societies where costs are astronomical and non accessible to the lower classes.

Buenos Aires is for many myself included a beacon a hope in a troubled world.