Considering A 2 Year Move...some Questions.

[ElQueso]

I know of no one who has imported items from their homeland and had an easy time of it. That's why I mentioned you may be better off buying stuff here. Don't forget, BTW, that if you return (assuming you will after 2 years), you still have to get it out of Argentina later, as well.

I have heard a number of horror stories about the way customs here treats people bringing in their belongings. You may spend 1/4 of your time here or more actually getting them in, or the equivalent price in duties to buying stuff here (whether you are supposed to be able to bring them in duty-free or not) by the time all is said and done.

However, if you know people in the company who have done this successfully, and they know someone to use who can make the process slick (or the company does so itself), then it would be good, obviously to bring in your own stuff.

But I am reminded of the somewhat recent Olympic Games, when the Argentine teams couldn't practice and prepare for the games properly (at least for months to begin with) because their own government wouldn't approve the importation of their equipment

And that doesn't count the few people I know who have tried to import their belongings after being granted permanent residency, when you are supposed to be able to import your stuff duty free for 6 months Let's just say that it wasn't the case for any of them.

As far as negotiation on any lease, be it permanent or temporary, there may be some wiggle room, but not much at best. Argentinos when renting property usually have a set price in mind and I haven't seen much negotiating. I have had some success with some terms - for example, I hate the idea of my rent going up every year - typical here that AT LEAST a 20% increase every year built into the contract, but in the last year or so 30% annually or 15% semi-annually has become common due to the weakness of the peso and the high inflation, political and economic uncertainty, etc. I have been able to offer to pay my rent in dollars and not be subject to the usual rate increase as a result. But I've seen owners not rent a place that's been empty for months even when someone offers them a reasonable price in negotiation. But who knows, maybe you'll have luck.

 

[Girino]

ElQueso, so we were very lucky with our shipping! It went as smooth as possible, and our impression was that it all depends on how smart is your guy at the shipping company handling the custom part here in Argentina.
Our shipping from Italy took slightly more than a month, of which 22 at sea, less than a week in Italy (the ship left on Thursday only, and we lived near Milan, which is not by the sea), and about a week in Argentina. We used one Italian company to ship, but then shopped around for the handling company in Argentina (our shipper didn't know any in particular). It wasn't just a matter of cost but of street smartness.

As for rent... the kind of negotiation is ridiculous, like 5%. About the rent increase: we were one of the "lucky" ones to arrive when the dollar was sky-rocketing and a 15% increase every 6-mos. seemed doable. Then after the dollar was artificially stalled for several months in a row and the inflation increased, we ended up paying 40% more after one year (price in € at the time of the agreement Vs. price in € after 1 yr.). We tried to switch to paying in USD but the landlord didn't accept, so we called it off and moved to a smaller and cheaper place, with just a yearly 25% adjustment.

I know that the old contract meant 32% annually, but you cannot rescind a contract within the first 6 months, and then you have to pay a penalty of 1.5 mos if less than 1 year passed, or of 1 mo. if more than one year passed, plus a 60-day notice. So it's not like you can jump from place to place following the economic craziness of the moment.

That said, I think the OP is pretty backed up by his company, so he won't be concerned by these things.

 

[WheezyB]

Thanks interesting to hear the comments regarding shipping from abroad. Two people I know from work have relocated from UK to BsAs and both shipped their furniture so I'll delve deeper into how long it took them and how much support they got from the company.

Also to mention no option of taking the money from shipping I either use it or I don't.

 

[thorsten]

You want to check when the two other people relocated - a few years ago importing stuff was way easier than now...

 

[sleslie23]

Also to mention no option of taking the money from shipping I either use it or I don't.

That's too bad. I got a pretty decent pile of cash by not shipping anything!

 

[Illinoisjoe]

my two centavos: I lived in Belgrano (without kids) but I was always impressed by what a child-friendly place BA seemed to be when I went out for walks. I think Belgrano is beautiful, safe, quiet-ish, and comfortable, but I've never really considered living anywhere else; it's where my girlfriend's apartment was.

I just want to say that language classes were, for me, a highlight of any day. I was pretty lonely here because I had basically zero spanish skills at first and it was wonderful to work on Spanish with people in the same boat. I did them through the University of Buenos Aires (UBA) in microcentro. I think it's a great way to meet expats without completely insulating yourself from the local culture, because, you know, you're ostensibly trying to learn spanish

 

[WheezyB]

Both the people I know with work shipped this year and both had a smooth process of around 4 - 6 weeks so hopefully to Serafinas point it's a lot to do with whom you have handling for you and hopefully work has a good firm in hand.

Although things may change if and when we are there I feel sold on Recoleta now, from what people have said on here in terms of safety, plenty to do etc coupled with the fact I'd be walking distance / short taxi away from the wife if she needed me during the day gives me a sense of comfort and would for her also. I think we will just have to shop around for a rental that we are both happy with. We both agree location is key but for me the next is having something with 24 hour security and for the wife it's having somewhere with a child friendly terrace. Independently both exist in Recoleta within what I believe would be affordable for us but getting somewhere with both I've not found yet but I get the impression that new properties come on the market very often so it may be a case of going short term initially and biding our time.

I've told work I'll give them an answer this week, I'm sold now, but I think the hard part for the wife is knowing that once we've said yes there is an element of no turning back. I know she wants to do it I just think she is concerned she won't be able to.

I just want to say that language classes were, for me, a highlight of any day. I was pretty lonely here because I had basically zero spanish skills at first and it was wonderful to work on Spanish with people in the same boat. I did them through the University of Buenos Aires (UBA) in microcentro. I think it's a great way to meet expats without completely insulating yourself from the local culture, because, you know, you're ostensibly trying to learn spanish

How long did it take for the loniless to subside or do you still feel that way now?

 

[citygirl]

2 years will completely fly by. Tell your wife the great thing about Buenos Aires is that it is one of the most child-friendly places in the world. Seriously - Argentines adore children and generally they are welcome absolutely everywhere. There is an a group of expat parents on FB that your wife can join - it's great for meeting other parents. Will your kids be in school? Also easy to meet people through that.

FWIW - I would not worry about shipping my stuff over for such a short term assignment besides personal things. Depends how attached you are to things of course.

Many of the things a lot of us complain about (and we do won't even affect you with such a short term stay. Enjoy the adventure and go out and experience all the travel possible. Argentina is an absolutely amazing place and between trips to Mendoza and Patagonia and Salta and Missiones and, and and - you'll not get bored!

 

[Robette]

Am no expert as we only arrived a month ago, but we have found it great to live walking distance to the school where my kids are going. Ive felt safe enough walking around in daytime, being vigilant and not carrying much. We found a '2 year' apartment to rent fully furnished. It has been amazing. We have a porter only part of the day, not 24 hours but the building is very secure and has steel doors, only one apartment per floor too.
Some of the furniture items are not our choice but we came on the plane with 46 kg each and that it. Bikes, rollerblades, a food processor and stick processor, electronics and clothing, 1 quilt cover each and towels was pretty much all we bought. Wish we had bought a ton of good tea.
The internet, cable TV and phone were already connected in our apartment and have been so easy to transfer. I imagine that if we had not found this we would be living without internet or phone or furniture for quite some time as we do not speak spanish well yet.
I definitely recommend if you are only here for a few years considering a furnished apartment. Other expats warned me it was expensive to buy stuff, but I really thought "it can't be that bad".... but it is!

 

[prettejohn]

3 years ago we asked the same information to the forum here. We had a 2 year old and 3 year old at the time. We came on a 2 year contract and then extended it by another year. We are now returning to the UK at the end of the year. Having reread my original post I realise it quickly became a place which descended into a very polarised argument of lovers and haters. Argentina is a constant paradox but then it does make it an interesting place to live.

We live a long way out of the city in Hurlingham which is lovely for about two blocks but not very pleasant beyond that. This is significant. You'll be living in amuch more pleasant area than ourselves however we live in a house with a small swimming pool which is great however it is covered in bars from a security point of view.

We're returning for a variety of reasons mostly because we miss our family but also because we used to like going for walks in the beautiful English countryside at the weekend , not having to worry about our security each time we go out, ability to get post from Grandparents (forget about getting parcels - they don't get through), difficult to buy quality goods unless they're exorbitantly priced, the need to drive for hours to see anything of geographical interest (However there are some stunning sites to be seen but it's best to take a plane), bureaucracy, and the urban living can grind you down when you have kids . Also the economy really isn't great as I'm sure you're aware.

So why did we stay for longer than our original 2 years? Having young kids is an open invitation to meeting many lovely Argentine people who really love the family lifestyle. We can go to a parilla every weekend with friends if we wanted to. Also in the space of two years our children were bilingual and for us that has been really important as the benefits of growing up bilingual are significant. Also the food is good and you can eat out very reasonably but watch your weight and don't expect much variety. Pasta, malbec, meat, pizza, empanadas, milanesa, chicken. And of course the climate which is really pleasant most of the year.

We arrived with 8 bags on the aircraft and are trying to leave with 8 bags. It's the best way to go. Do not send over loads of stuff. You'll spend most of the first year trying to get it into the country and most of the second year trying to get it home again.

Feel free to PM me if you want any more info.

Good luck!