Recoleta Carolina said:
Interesting but it is still the usual hype. What do they talk about?
1) Low cost of living (not true)
2) fit physiques of the people (that is up to interpretation)
3) Spanish language not necessary (absolutely not true)
4) European flair (that is an exaggeration).
Allow me to translate from an American guy's perspective:
1)
Absolutely true!
-When it comes to hanging out in a major city spending American dollars and/or earning a salary in the States that is directly deposited into your account... this place is a joke it's so cheap. STILL. Not as cheap as it was, but CHEAP!
I am making my money here, so I don't fall into the target market of the AskMen.com guys, but from dinners to bars to taxis to rent, it is extremely inexpensive for people used to American/Euro/English big city prices.
2)
TRUE... as long as you're dealing with the elite
-If you are a guy with money here on vacation and you eat at the expensive restaurants and you spend your time in the V.I.P. section of clubs or you meet up with your friends who are single guys with money in their 30s to 50s, all you are going to see are girls with nice bodies.
The heavier people on the street are invisible (obviously not my view if you've noticed photos) and/or you're always in taxis. You don't walk much and you NEVER take the subte or colectivos.
3)
Spanish is NOT necessary in Buenos Aires
I've had several friends visit who don't speak Spanish and rave about what a great time they had. These guys are blowing money and find that throwing cash at things makes everything move smoothly and people start to understand English
really quickly when that happens.
If you live here, you realize that even when you can speak some Spanish there are misunderstandings and frustration can set in. But if you visit and you go to San Telmo, Puerto Madero, Recoleta, and Palermo plus the restaurants/bars on your list that "your friends back home" gave you, then you will find that Spanish just isn't necessary here.
4)
There is definitely a European Flair as seen through the eyes of Americans
-I'm not saying that anything runs smoothly like it does in central, northwestern, and northern Europe or the food is as tasty as nearly all of Europe (this has been discussed on other threads), but Buenos Aires is definitely not like the USA.
I'm not sure if this survey is for Americans, American & English men, or all native English speakers, but from people
starting dinner between 10pm and 1am+ to the clubs & bars staying open all night, it is definitely has a "European flair". Throw in people smoking, the lack of cultural diversity (
imagined when Americans think of Europe), the architecture, and statues in the parks and this city totally has a European Flair. And when you look at the transportation with the buses, subways, small cars/ lack of SUVs, and hundreds of little motorcyles & scooters buzzing around the streets of this city, there is nothing even remotely like it in the States.
ENTONCES:
I think that each one of those 4 points is absolutely correct. Especially when viewed through the eyes of their target market.
