Comebacks

[Cecil Fox Palmer]

That's exactly the point here. I came back home because I found myself missing my hometown for whatever reasons and complaining about everything in Argentina (mostly trivial stuff like the horrible napkins and lack of spicy food).

I was always like: in Mexico I can buy whatever I want, import/export things, order from the web, pay with whichever currency I can think of, and no one will charge me extra 35%. But in the end, I'm back here and I'm not even doing any of those things.
I missed mexican food, and as soon as I got back here I decided to become a bodybuilder and stopped eating all those things altogether.
I was also like: I miss strolling around La Condesa or Polanco, and now I'm here and never do that. Everything is oh so far away and I need to use my car (which I hate), and frankly I like Recoleta and Palermo better (they're livlier, there's peaple in the street all the time as opposed to as in their cars).
I think I "matched" better with the lifestyle in Argentina than in Mexico... I have friends that have the opposite opinion. They love using their cars for everything, when going out they love paying hefty fees for getting a table and a waiter serving them drinks all night long (me, I prefer to go to the bar and buy my beer or my cocktail myself). They love that they can buy stuff from reknown brands (Armani, Hugo Boss and the likes) which for me isnt' really important.
For going out, everyone here is super busy. You can't call someone and say: hey, let's go see a movie or grab a cup of coffe. They'll always replay: no, I can't... I already have plans but what are you doing on Sunday August 25th? I can squeeze you in between dinner with my in-laws and my relaxing spa massage thing. I've always been bad at making friends but it's become impossible from me here (whilst in Argentina I was always surrounded by friends).

And then there's the subject of love... my significant other lives in BA, so my decision was pretty much logical.

Sorry for the rant!

Oh, this I understand. My country is also very car-obsessed. Everywhere exept bars, shopping malls and restaurants and close at 5 pm. No one ever walks anymore. No taxis, hardly any buses, scarce street lights. A woman gets run over when crossing the street to get to her house at 1 in the morning and the police want to know why exactly was she alone and outside at that hour. A person like myself who does not own a car and never bothered to learn how to drive gets weird looks and can't even get a decent job. A pesar de todo, public transportation in Buenos Aires is very functional. And for some reason, just getting together and sitting at a café to have a chat over coffee hardly ever happens in my country. I assume this is because there aren't many cafés out in the open because no one walks around. Yes, I don't think Buenos Aires is for me but I'm going to miss the independence of this city when I'm gone.

 

[genialf]

Public transportation in BA is pretty decent, I think. More subway lines would do good (how does one go from Congreso De Tucuman to Virreyes without having to go all the way to the center?). Mexico city has a great subway with kids and lots of lines and stations, but the city is so huge that it doesn't get you everywhere (no station close to home or work for me). Buses here are horrible, they have a few new routes that have bigger, cleaner and better buses but that's it... The rest of the city is stuck with inefficient, old and noisy buses. Hence the excessive use of the car... Have I mentioned traffic here is he'll???

What Cecil said is totally true. Argentina has a much more relaxed style... Couldn't have put it better.

 

[ajoknoblauch]

Public transportation in BA is pretty decent, I think. More subway lines would do good (how does one go from Congreso De Tucuman to Virreyes without having to go all the way to the center?). Mexico city has a great subway with kids and lots of lines and stations, but the city is so huge that it doesn't get you everywhere (no station close to home or work for me). Buses here are horrible, they have a few new routes that have bigger, cleaner and better buses but that's it... The rest of the city is stuck with inefficient, old and noisy buses. Hence the excessive use of the car... Have I mentioned traffic here is he'll???

What Cecil said is totally true. Argentina has a much more relaxed style... Couldn't have put it better.

The Subte is pretty good, but Santiago's Metro is much better - serves much more of the city, including poorer neighborhoods, and is even graffiti-free. Transantiago bus system has its shortcomings, though.

 

[Noruega]

Everything is oh so far away and I need to use my car (which I hate), and frankly I like Recoleta and Palermo better (they're livlier, there's peaple in the street all the time as opposed to as in their cars).
I think I "matched" better with the lifestyle in Argentina than in Mexico... I have friends that have the opposite opinion. They love using their cars for everything, when going out they love paying hefty fees for getting a table and a waiter serving them drinks all night long (me, I prefer to go to the bar and buy my beer or my cocktail myself). They love that they can buy stuff from reknown brands (Armani, Hugo Boss and the likes) which for me isnt' really important.
For going out, everyone here is super busy. You can't call someone and say: hey, let's go see a movie or grab a cup of coffe. They'll always replay: no, I can't... I already have plans but what are you doing on Sunday August 25th? I can squeeze you in between dinner with my in-laws and my relaxing spa massage thing. I've always been bad at making friends but it's become impossible from me here (whilst in Argentina I was always surrounded by friends).

I have spent some time in Mexico City and while there are some great things there, nice people, tons of stuff to do - exactly what you point out is why I wouldn't want to live there. Such a huge city, and such a love for cars - horrible combo! Definitely the kind of place where moving into the middle class means buying a car ASAP. I read somewhere that there are more cars added than babies born every year in Mexicy City. And because of the traffic and distances, I found that people were reluctant to leave their area, which is very understandable - once it took me two hours to get to a dinner and nobody seemed to think that was strange.

Oh, this I understand. My country is also very car-obsessed. Everywhere exept bars, shopping malls and restaurants and close at 5 pm. No one ever walks anymore. No taxis, hardly any buses, scarce street lights. A woman gets run over when crossing the street to get to her house at 1 in the morning and the police want to know why exactly was she alone and outside at that hour. A person like myself who does not own a car and never bothered to learn how to drive gets weird looks and can't even get a decent job. A pesar de todo, public transportation in Buenos Aires is very functional. And for some reason, just getting together and sitting at a café to have a chat over coffee hardly ever happens in my country. I assume this is because there aren't many cafés out in the open because no one walks around. Yes, I don't think Buenos Aires is for me but I'm going to miss the independence of this city when I'm gone.

Not sure where this is but totally agree, public transportation here is quite functional and makes it a liveable city a pesar de todo, as you say. (Knock on wood - I'll probably finish writing this, get on the bus and then get annoyed about something, haha.) For me, living in a walkable city with good public transportation is so important. And walkable in all the ways - there are places that are technically walkable in that they are safe and have sidewalks etc. but if nobody else is walking, it feels weird!