Cons to getting Argentine citizenship for Americans?

[El chabon]

This really depends on your individual circumstances. My wife and I have a great quality of life here. There are plenty of neighborhoods that are safe and there are excellent private schools, better even than private schools in the US. You can send your children to a private international school here and they will finish speaking 3-4 languages and with a level of understanding of the world that most US kids will not achieve. The US is a very introverted country, while Argentina is a very outward looking country -- much more in tune with what is happening globally.

We aren't planning on having kids yet, but when we do, we are not worried about the quality of life they will have here.

I take Northern Europe any day and twice on sunday over Argentina, they are even worth comparing

 

[earlyretirement]

This really depends on your individual circumstances. My wife and I have a great quality of life here. There are plenty of neighborhoods that are safe and there are excellent private schools, better even than private schools in the US. You can send your children to a private international school here and they will finish speaking 3-4 languages and with a level of understanding of the world that most US kids will not achieve. The US is a very introverted country, while Argentina is a very outward looking country -- much more in tune with what is happening globally.

We aren't planning on having kids yet, but when we do, we are not worried about the quality of life they will have here.

Definitely you can have a great quality of life in Argentina. I won't argue with you there. I used to think the same way you did until I had kids. Then your outlook starts to change.

There are a lot of things wrong with the USA but there are more things right with it. And it's so darn efficient here and everything works great.

But you're right....there are certain things that you will miss. Like having a full time housekeeper/maid, a chef that cooks, someone that does your laundry full-time, etc. Even if you have a lot of $$$ in the USA very rarely will you have so much full-time help like this like in Buenos Aires where it's very normal. LOL.

 

[Amargo]

How can be wrong having also the Argentine citizenships? You get rights and have almost no obligations. Besides -and it is independently of you like the govt or not, whether the quality of life is good or not, etc - Argentina, unlike most first-World countries, is rarely in the political spotlight. It is a great citizenship to travel around the World! Everyone talks to you because of football, but never because of the killing of a wedding party by a drone or such similar atrocity.

 

[ben]

Yes, that land ownership law worried me. Also the fact that they nationalized the part of YPF that was in foreign hands instead of the part that belonged to the Eskenazi family. It shows a clear preference against foreigners here in Argentina.

While it seems everyone is in agreement on the general idea of non-citizens (potentially) ending up at a disadvantage, the example you picked is a poor one. The YPF debacle hurt the Eskenazi family at least as much, and probably much more, than it did Repsol. They had bought a big chunk of their stake in YPF with Repsol debt that was to be paid down with YPF's dividends, which are gone now. So they are in serious trouble with their YPF stake, which is now worth much, much less than they paid for it with borrowed money that they no longer have backup for.

 

[earlyretirement]

I don't think anyone is saying there is anything wrong with having Argentine dual citizenship. Only arguing there aren't too many positives unless you are in E.E.'s position of owning many assets in the country.

But no, I agree there aren't too many negatives.

 

[Johnny]

Argentina, unlike most first-World countries, is rarely in the political spotlight. It is a great citizenship to travel around the World! Everyone talks to you because of football, but never because of the killing of a wedding party by a drone or such similar atrocity.

Simple but perfect. Kudos.

 

[el_expatriado]

How can be wrong having also the Argentine citizenships? You get rights and have almost no obligations. Besides -and it is independently of you like the govt or not, whether the quality of life is good or not, etc - Argentina, unlike most first-World countries, is rarely in the political spotlight. It is a great citizenship to travel around the World! Everyone talks to you because of football, but never because of the killing of a wedding party by a drone or such similar atrocity.

Amen! People treat you much better abroad when they know you are not from the United States. The last time I was in Spain with my wife we got discounts and better treatment from the tourist operators, who charged more to people from the US. It was a different price for South Americans.

When I was in a certain communist country that doesn't like Americans too much, I had to insist I was from Canada.

When we were in Cairo (before the Arab spring) everyone offered us "South American" prices. Hahah.

Ever since Bush II, Americans are really hated abroad, including here in Argentina. I am going to be happy to have another nationality to use when travelling.

 

[kurtdillard]

There is one potentially big drawback: if your career may at some point involve dealing with national security information you may find that you are unable to obtain or maintain a security clearance. As a US citizen who worked at Microsoft for many years I had to get a security clearance, I never saw any classified information but still needed the clearance. After I left Microsoft I continued to need the clearance for some of the contract work I did at the Dept. of Commerce, once again I never saw anything classified. Had I persued Argentinian citizenship I would have lost the clearance and a lot of opportunities working with civilian agencies would have been unavailable to me.

Pursuing dual-citizenship would also make it much harder to succeed in politics. There may be other careers that would be impacted.

 

[sleslie23]

When we were in Cairo (before the Arab spring) everyone offered us "South American" prices. Hahah.

That's because you said you were from South America. If you had said you were from Mars, they would have been offering you "Martian prices."

 

[sesamosinsal]

There is one potentially big drawback: if your career may at some point involve dealing with national security information you may find that you are unable to obtain or maintain a security clearance.

I beat you to this point earlier in the thread, but it should be re-emphasized. Having dual citizenship doesn't necessarily preclude you from having a security clearance. It all depends on the situation. It certainly complicates the process, though.

As far as people hating Americans, that's not been my experience. I've always been treated with respect wherever I go. In the Latin American countries I've visited, everyone I've spoken with has been able to differentiate people and politics.