Can I come as a tourist, stay as rentista?
- Thread starter pdxuser
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Ok, I provided the wrong Craigslist link, here's the right one:
http://buenosaires.en.craigslist.org/roo/
Should I assume anything monthly in the mid-to-low hundreds is in dollars and anything around $1000 or more is in pesos?
And this MSN article is one of the places where I got the food prices from:
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/RetirementandWills/RetireInStyle/RetiretoBuenosAires.aspx
("a multicourse lunch at a corner bistro will run less than $5")
A second site quoted the same $5 figure and I was sold.
http://buenosaires.en.craigslist.org/roo/
Should I assume anything monthly in the mid-to-low hundreds is in dollars and anything around $1000 or more is in pesos?
And this MSN article is one of the places where I got the food prices from:
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/RetirementandWills/RetireInStyle/RetiretoBuenosAires.aspx
("a multicourse lunch at a corner bistro will run less than $5")
A second site quoted the same $5 figure and I was sold.
steveinbsas
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pdxuser said:
I checked out the list and they're almost all in dollars (up to $500/month). Once you get above $500 per month you will start finding small apartments for rent, but at that price level they are likely to be in less desirable areas. If you have any questions about a specific location, just post them here. There's usually a forum member who will be able to provide more information.
pdxuser said:
I read this very article 30 months ago. The prices are about double that now, including the taxi fares. Still, BA may appear reasonably priced to the recently arrived.
"Multicourse" can be a misleading term.
Is bread one course and the chorizo sausage another? If so, add mayo and a sandwich is a three course meal!
You will find many things misleading in this country.
On the other hand, I just grilled a nice t-bone that cost less that $3.00(U$D) at Cotto.
The secret of eating very well and super cheap here is cooking at home.
Yet there are many small "hole in the wall" eateries (even in Recoleta) where you CAN get that lunch for about ten bucks.
pdxuser said:
Multi course lunch in San Telmo (ie. Menu Ejecutivo) run about A$R25, no longer the A$R12-14 quoted. I've still to find one under A$R20. But I've only been here two months. You can get main courses for under A$R20, but not Menu Ejecutivos.
Check the dates for your sources. Inflation has been quite high for a couple years now.
steveinbsas
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pdxuser said:
In the 1990's the peso and dollar were legally one to one. It stayed that way until 2002. Then, overnight, the "fixed" exchange rate was abandoned and the peso found its "true" value of over 3 to one. The consequences were disastrous for the average Argentine citizen. I suggest you learn about "the crisis" before you arrive. Argentinians still talk about it.
Also learn the history of the "dirty war" though you wont find it discussed as much.
pdxuser said:
Those article were written in English and the numbers were definitely in dollars. As previously indicated, the figures are obsolete, and about double that now. It's easy to pay even more.
I was already aware that Argentina had decoupled from the dollar, and that the resulting fall of the peso was why things had suddenly become much cheaper for tourists. And recently I read a few articles that went over the specifics. But from what I'm reading now, prices in Buenos Aires don't look much different than in my hometown of Portland, Oregon in the US. I thought it might be a cheap place to live for a couple years while I built up some savings, but it doesn't look that way anymore. After travel prices, it may be a net loss.
I don't yet live in Buenos Aires, PDX'r, but I've visited frequently over the decades, staying as long as a couple of months at a time. Moving to the city chiefly to save money is not a good idea, even though others have done so (and for those who enjoy a perapatetic life -- I don't, having moved far too often -- or who are simply extended tourists, financially and emotionally maintaining a home elsewhere while spending considerable time "abroad", this economic approach to life did work for awhile).
In deciding to stay in Portland, or anywhere else in your homeland, in preference to moving to the Cono Sur, you're deciding well for yourself.
In deciding to stay in Portland, or anywhere else in your homeland, in preference to moving to the Cono Sur, you're deciding well for yourself.
pdxuser said:
as stated above.. like any large city has its dangers... but like any other city... you just need to be careful. i am an american girl, with blonde hair and blue eyes i scream american even though i speak spanish well.. i havent have hardly any trouble at all, over the past 8 years.... but i am safe and always aware of my surrounding... i find most petty theft occurs in the tourist areas... and the tourist are an easy target...countless times i have told tourist your money is hanging out or watch out for you wallet... and if i can see it as a non-crimminal, think of how real crimminals see it... it is a lot safeer to live in an apartment here.. because you usually have a door person and it is harder to break in... i think that it would be ok to live in someones house my inlaws rent rooms and they are normal people and love the company, other people i know have had bad experiencs with renting and usually move into a dorm or their own apartment... but buenos aires has a lot to offer. it is beautiful and if you can get the chance to travel outside the city take it ... it is worth it...
Ok, admittedly I have only been living here for a month, and I'm sure your other responders are much more knowledgeable about the city than I. However, just to put it in perspective, having lived all my life in very large cities in two different continents, BsAs doesn't strike me as a lot more hazardous than many other large metropolitan areas, even those in the US. Agreed, the trash, the noise, the poverty, and the dog shit are striking. As to the crime and the traffic, I have lived in London, New York, Philadelphia, and Boston. I have already been pick-pocked here (watch out on crowded subways!!!) but I was also pick-pocked on a subway in nyc. Drivers here are WAY nicer than Boston drivers, who will deliberately try to run you over. It seems like there is a good deal of crime here, but in the two years I lived in Philly, two of my closes friends were mugged at gunpoint, and someone robbed the apartment next door to us. So I suppose what I am saying is, be very careful, and don't think you are moving to paradise, but you should be very careful in any large city, even in the US. And the good news is, unlike in Guatemala, where I most recently lived, it seems that you can actually report crimes to the police without fear of repercussions. So if you have lived your life in suburbs and rural areas, then do be careful, but if you have lived in any very large city, I think the problems here are on a similar scale.
And the prices in Craigslist are usually in US dollars. It isn’t as cheap here as it was a few years ago, so be prepared.
And the prices in Craigslist are usually in US dollars. It isn’t as cheap here as it was a few years ago, so be prepared.
Yes you can report crimes, but seeing anything done about it is an entirely different matter!
I don't think financial motivations should ever really be the prime motivation for moving anywhere -- it leaves you primed for disappointment when you realise your money isn't going as far as you thought etc. Move somewhere because you like it, not because you can save a few pennies on the dollar! Anyway I can't remember who it was (Fishface?) but someone way back at the beginning of this post gave you some wise advice -- come down and try it for a few months, 3, 6 , 9 etc. Why do you need to decide whether your moving permanently or not? You're getting a little ahead of yourself I think. You haven't visited the city yet and are trying to figure out whether it should be a permanent home.
Prices on that MSN article are laughable now. In 2005 you could get a nice lunch -- appy, main, coffee, and a water or gaseosa for about 17 pesos -- then it became 17 for the appy, main, coffee. Then just the appy, main. Then they bumped the prices etc. For the same restaurant where I used to go for a 17 peso lunch, I now pay 35-38 pesos.
Anyway, I came down for what I thought would be 3-6 months. That was in 2005. I still haven't decided if this is where I'm living permanently at all. I think you should try it first before you decide. But aren't you just a bit curious to wait it out in Portland and see how Barack's America is??
I don't think financial motivations should ever really be the prime motivation for moving anywhere -- it leaves you primed for disappointment when you realise your money isn't going as far as you thought etc. Move somewhere because you like it, not because you can save a few pennies on the dollar! Anyway I can't remember who it was (Fishface?) but someone way back at the beginning of this post gave you some wise advice -- come down and try it for a few months, 3, 6 , 9 etc. Why do you need to decide whether your moving permanently or not? You're getting a little ahead of yourself I think. You haven't visited the city yet and are trying to figure out whether it should be a permanent home.
Prices on that MSN article are laughable now. In 2005 you could get a nice lunch -- appy, main, coffee, and a water or gaseosa for about 17 pesos -- then it became 17 for the appy, main, coffee. Then just the appy, main. Then they bumped the prices etc. For the same restaurant where I used to go for a 17 peso lunch, I now pay 35-38 pesos.
Anyway, I came down for what I thought would be 3-6 months. That was in 2005. I still haven't decided if this is where I'm living permanently at all. I think you should try it first before you decide. But aren't you just a bit curious to wait it out in Portland and see how Barack's America is??
