I have been here about 4 years and I don’t think my attitude has changed. I, along with my Argentine wife and our 2 young sons, one born in the States and one born here, live about 50 km outside of the city. I drive into the microcentro everyday and my wife drives into Palermo for her job 4 days a week. So I understand that we might be in a different situation than many of the participants on this Forum. We have never been robbed or threatened, but we know it happens often, so we take precautions.
There are certainly things that frustrate me and things I dislike about the culture here;
Driving (I do a lot) can be a little bit dangerous, daunting and frustrating. I think Argentines are extremely friendly (see below) but act ignorant and arrogant behind the wheel. Ignorant-they are not aware of the laws (which of course are often not enforced) and they are not aware of the inherent dangerous of driving automobiles. Arrogant-they think nothing is going to happen to them and they believe it is their right to put their car absolutely wherever they want; parking in front of the sidewalk ramp at the mall so you can’t push a baby stroller up, or putting their car 50cm behind yours, going 130 km/hour.
Constantly changing rules, regulations and laws make life tough.
Corruption and tax evasion, simply a way of life.
Banking System-Wow the 1.2% check tax; unbelievable. This means that for any business account (checking or savings) the government takes 0.6% of EVERY deposit (electronic, check or cash) and the government takes 0.6% of EVERY withdrawal (electronic, check or cash). Where does it go?????
But for me, the absolute worst part is the attitude of the Argentines. I know and interact with a lot of Argentines and nearly every single one (actually the word nearly is just a disclaimer, I believe it is EVERY ONE) from the taxicab drivers to the parking lot attendants to construction workers, agricultural workers, small business owners, lawyers, accountants, escribanos, successful business people, physicians, university scientists, professors, etc.) ALL of them say the same thing “I know there are many other places in the world where things run better and more efficiently and life is not a constant fight, but we can’t do that here…because we’re Argentine”. That my Forum friends is a fundamental cultural difference between Argentina and where I grew up. I want to clarify, this is not a socio-economic thing were the poor and impoverished feel there is no opportunity to improve themselves and the Country, this is across the board. I don’t want my sons to think or say that.
Now for the good stuff.
When we built our house in 2007-08, it was still much cheaper than construction costs in the States.
Beef and wine are still relatively cheap, although unfortunately the quality of the beef is declining and the price is increasing (in my opinion due to poor agricultural policies by our President).
I like how they bring you a few peanuts and some chips when you order a beer, or sweets when you order a coffee.
Obviously there is a ton of cultural and other things to do in this city and surrounding area.
Full service gas stations
Family is super important here, that is nice.
Kids are important here, that is great.
I find Argentines, when they are not behind the wheel, to be extremely friendly and genuinely interested in why we moved here and particularly if I have adjusted and what I think about this Country and the people. But the conversation invariably leads to “…but we’re Argentine…”
But for me personally, the best thing about Argentina: cheap polo!
There are certainly things that frustrate me and things I dislike about the culture here;
Driving (I do a lot) can be a little bit dangerous, daunting and frustrating. I think Argentines are extremely friendly (see below) but act ignorant and arrogant behind the wheel. Ignorant-they are not aware of the laws (which of course are often not enforced) and they are not aware of the inherent dangerous of driving automobiles. Arrogant-they think nothing is going to happen to them and they believe it is their right to put their car absolutely wherever they want; parking in front of the sidewalk ramp at the mall so you can’t push a baby stroller up, or putting their car 50cm behind yours, going 130 km/hour.
Constantly changing rules, regulations and laws make life tough.
Corruption and tax evasion, simply a way of life.
Banking System-Wow the 1.2% check tax; unbelievable. This means that for any business account (checking or savings) the government takes 0.6% of EVERY deposit (electronic, check or cash) and the government takes 0.6% of EVERY withdrawal (electronic, check or cash). Where does it go?????
But for me, the absolute worst part is the attitude of the Argentines. I know and interact with a lot of Argentines and nearly every single one (actually the word nearly is just a disclaimer, I believe it is EVERY ONE) from the taxicab drivers to the parking lot attendants to construction workers, agricultural workers, small business owners, lawyers, accountants, escribanos, successful business people, physicians, university scientists, professors, etc.) ALL of them say the same thing “I know there are many other places in the world where things run better and more efficiently and life is not a constant fight, but we can’t do that here…because we’re Argentine”. That my Forum friends is a fundamental cultural difference between Argentina and where I grew up. I want to clarify, this is not a socio-economic thing were the poor and impoverished feel there is no opportunity to improve themselves and the Country, this is across the board. I don’t want my sons to think or say that.
Now for the good stuff.
When we built our house in 2007-08, it was still much cheaper than construction costs in the States.
Beef and wine are still relatively cheap, although unfortunately the quality of the beef is declining and the price is increasing (in my opinion due to poor agricultural policies by our President).
I like how they bring you a few peanuts and some chips when you order a beer, or sweets when you order a coffee.
Obviously there is a ton of cultural and other things to do in this city and surrounding area.
Full service gas stations
Family is super important here, that is nice.
Kids are important here, that is great.
I find Argentines, when they are not behind the wheel, to be extremely friendly and genuinely interested in why we moved here and particularly if I have adjusted and what I think about this Country and the people. But the conversation invariably leads to “…but we’re Argentine…”
But for me personally, the best thing about Argentina: cheap polo!
