Arriving in July..

[houstonguy]

Hello everyone,

Just found this group and wanted to introduce myself. I will be moving to BA from Houston in early July and will be here for at least a 3 year assignment. I'm a 34 year old single male moving alone so this is definitely an exciting time for me.

I've been to BA 3 times for business trips but this will by my first extended period of time here. I know virtually zero spanish so that has me a bit concerned.

My office location will be in Puerto Madero along the docks so was trying to figure out where to live. Obviously living in Puerto Madero would be ideal since I could walk to work but from what I have read and seen there isn't much nightlife in this area. My biggest concern is having an easy commute to work via either bus or subway.

Does anyone know how difficult/long the commute would be from either recoleta or palermo to puerto madero?

Rob

 

[SteveO87]

You need to start learning Spanish now then. I had a friend come and stay at my apartment about a month ago. I was only around for about 5 days, and then I went to Bariloche and El Calafate for adventures and he stayed at my place and explored BA by himself for another 9 days without me. He relied on me for Spanish, and once I left he was in a world of trouble. He said his biggest regret about this trip was not learning at least some basic Spanish before he came. The commute from Recoleta or Palermo would take about 45 minutes to an hour on bus. The closest subway stop to Puerto Madero is the green line near Plaza de Mayo, and from there its about a 15 minute walk to Puerto Madero.

 

[Roxana]

If possible, let us know if you are going to work near Avenida Cordoba, Avenida de Mayo or Avenida San Juan, so we will be able to tell you more about the public transportation.

 

[elhombresinnombre]

You don't have to pick somewhere now and live there for the next three years. The usual advice given to newcomers is to fix up something temporary then once you are in Bs As, get to know the neighbourhoods and then choose a place to live. Are you working for a multinational or have you been hired by a local firm? Either way, let their HR department do as much for you as possible. If they have been recruiting employees from overseas before, they should know the ropes by now.

 

[houstonguy]

My work office is near Avenida Cordoba and I will be working for the same multinational corporation that I currently work for in Houston. The issue I have is that I have temporary housing for only 30 days once I get there and after that I have to find a place fairly quickly since I will be shipping most of my home furnishings and need to have a permanent place once it gets here. I'll have to lock myself into a 2yr lease.

 

[houstonguy]

My work office is near Avenida Cordoba..

 

[Staszekfc]

Welcome!

Agree with Elhombre: rent a furnished apartment in the area that appeals most to you from where you are now.

Your 30 days expectation to receive your goods might be a bit optimistic. I had a container shipped with my household from Chicago mid December last year and had it unloaded at my house in Palermo in the last days of February...

 

[houstonguy]

Thanks. Oh I totally agree with you on the 30 days to get my goods. From others within my company it has taken 3 or 4 months. My company will only pay for 30 days of temporary housing so realistically I may have 1 or 2 months at a furnished apartment before I have to fully commit. I may do as you mentioned and try a couple of places.

Another question... I've noticed that several of the newer apartments that I've looked at online do not have light fixtures and/or all of the appliances installed. Is that normal for the landlord to provide these?