Arriving in June...

[anabeeare]

... Although I'm not an expat! I'm a student who will be studying political science as well as Spanish in Buenos Aires for five months.

Been reading this site for a while for information on how things work and it's a fantastic source of information! Having lived in Bogotá,Colombia for a few years, I can see that Argentina is a different kind of craziness of its own!

Is there any practical advice you'd give to a student about to plunge herself into the porteño way of life?

Cheers!

 

[HowardinBA]

Hi Ana ,welcome to the forum.Well don,t bring anything expensive,mobile fone etc as they are the targets for motochorros(motorbike robbers)few and far between but it does happen.Come well stocked with your favourite sauces,gravy,custard etc as you may have difficulty in finding your favourites here.Yes it,s crazy here but it,s also a fabulous place to live with so much to do,good luck and let us know when you,re here as we arrange many meet ups,regards Howard

 

[Big_m]

Good advice from Howard about cooking.

My advice would be to stay somewhere cheap and temporary for up to a month. Look around for a barrio that you like and spend some time looking for a good place to live. You will feel much better living here if you are happy at home.

Other advice would be to look at groups on Couchsurfing.com for lots of good things to do and of course this forum.

There are cheap and free things to do here so look around on websites like the Argentine Indpendent etc that have listings.

Bring lots of money. BsAs is not cheap anymore.

Develop some groups of friends of 'westerners' and argentines. Essential to get the most out of the city.

Enjoy!

 

[Cuevas77]

Hey there!

I definitely second Big_m's advice.
Make sure you look around before you rent a permanent place.
As far as expensive, yes, it's more expensive than it used to be so I'd make a budget and bring a little bit more!!! Money goes fast here (and everywhere).

We've got an iphone, blackberry, cameras, Mac laptops.... etc. Never had a problem, I guess it depends what part of town you roam and what time as well.
If you do bring any of the above, don't openly carry them at the edge of the sidewalk... that's where the motochorros" come in!

Good luck on your trip!