Considering BA as an early retirement option

Regarding safety. Assuming you would live in nicer neighborhood in CABA or a nice town in Regional Argentina:

For those coming from "safe" places or bubbles like North America there can indeed be moments of frustration when one realizes they need to think twice about doing something / going somewhere / trusting someone etc. However, I cannot say it is so bad that it creates paranoia, unlike living in the nicer parts of Rio or Bogotá, for example. Perhaps this would be different if one lived in a house in the suburbs outside of a gated community or a "less desirable" area.

Living in nice neighborhoods in CABA you rarely need to go to a less nice neighborhood. You make your bubble where you live. In the nicer neighborhoods, there is good police presence and a lot of movement on the street. You don't really see or feel crime in air, but would you leave your phone sitting on a sidewalk café table, tote a Prada bag around your should or leave said bag sitting on the front seat of your car? No way in hell. To be honest I see and feel less petty crime on the streets of Palermo and Microcentro than in Barcelona where every week (at least) I would see a grab and go robbery and myself having suffered a few lost phones. You can get a better feel for reported crimes in different neighborhoods here:
https://mapa.seguridadciudad.gob.ar/

Fortunately, my only "crime" incident here to date was the robbery of all of my possessions inside my apartment at the time. A blanket. You, see when I got my apartment I spent a few weeks having painting and refurb etc done. I had a blanket in the living room that I would use to sit on while waiting for tradesmen to arrive etc. One day after being away for a week I discovered it had gone. One of those m*******s stole my blanket!

That said crime here does traditionally increase when the economic situation is bad. There is a real fear amongst many locals about people who sneak into buildings or accompany occupants from outside at gunpoint to rob apartments. Apparently it has even happened in my building twice in the past during the bad years around 2002/3 (right next to the US embassy residence..) and there have been a few cases on the news in Recoletta lately of criminals going in through the garage. Given the current deepening crisis, it is likely we will see a few years of relative insecurity again where incidents in nicer areas become more commonplace.

Regarding general peace of mind. Forget it. Things change 20 times in a week usually without anyone telling you. It is incredibly frustrating and time-consuming to get anything done. This includes both getting money and spending it. The quality of work and goods (construction, appliances, furniture, etc.) is generally terrible meaning you are always paying to get things fixed or replaced. Complaining achieves very little here. There are fewer options for anything you want than in the outside world and prices can be crazy expensive for some things that you would not expect, while other things can be far cheaper than you would have ever imagined. You will either accept this inconsistent reality and find a way to deal with things or end up having a nervous breakdown and retreating to wherever you came from with some serious mental trauma.

Aside from the downers above, there is little else likely to ruin your experience down here as a retiree. The rest is actually quite OK (assuming you view local politics as a spectator sport!)
I agree with almost all you said whole heartedly. EXCEPT, local politicas being a spectator sport. In the country many presidents have tried and successfully changed or disregarded the constitution. Unfortunately this can be so risky and impactful that in unfortunate and extreme circumstances can impact everyone. EXAMPLE 2001, CORALITO and the TAKE OVER recently of a public company by the government. This very well could affect your House or Money. I recommend ALWAYS be on top of politics to have an immediate reaction prepared to protect yourself and loved ones.
 
I have a theory about it. If I am migrating into a country and I have to go and live in slum neighborhoods and poverty stricken / crime ridden neighborhoods, I am better off staying back at my home country where I originally come from, which is full of extreme poverty/ extremely violent crime. No need to jump from dangerous tree and fall in in a dirty pothole.

Its worse to migrate to a country and live a low quality life there or be dependent on the local government of a country which is not yours.
I agree, but unfortunately statistically Argentina is around 40% impoverished, so trying to only isolate yourself in a "GOOD NEIGHBORHOOD" is virtually impossible
 
International calling plan is damn cheap here. One of the best I have seen in world travels... I highly recommend "Personal Black" plan.
Wow, PERSONAL BLACK????....Maybe we live in a parallel Argentina, horrific customer service terrible coverage and VERY expensive per minute cost. ONLY if I buy the more than $1000 per month plan will I receive a per minute break.
 
Sorry to hear about the robbery and your misfortunes. Still, I believe what you are describing is not typical here for most expats (you also mention this). It is more dangerous than most parts in the US and in Europe; if you can afford to live in capital, there are a lot relatively safe neighrbourhoods (although anything can happen). Personally, I would only live in capital or in a very rural area, never in Buenos Aires outside capital.

Regarding the social interactions: I found it extremely easy here to socialise. I have a lot family, Argentinian friends, I know the people of my neighbourhood, some Expats; so this aspect is even better than back in Europe.

My experience is (and I have a big project behind, restoring a complete house). Most professionals have extremely poor work ethics, most of them are even work shy. I began doing some stuff on my own now, not because I am particularly good at it. But just if you are trying to make something well, you are already better than most professionals here (obviously electrician and gas man you still need). So it is poor quality you are getting. But I was never robbed or anything. (I must also admit that never expected anything else, so my personal frustration about this was not really high).

For me key of living here in Buenos Aires is to have - one way or another - the ressources (savings, expat contract, working remotely) and don't have to get into the local job market. Those expats I know here and which belong to this priviliged group, they are mostly doing ok (I would even say that most of them probably never would leave Argentina again). The other group who were trying to make a living here are struggling and leaving; the exodus already started even before the Covid crisis.
I agree, but as I mentioned before in another thread, Argentina isn't SAFER or MORE DANGEROUS than other countries. One big difference here in Argentina is the judicial system is almost non-existent. That is what makes here very difficult to live in as a migrant. NO JUSTICE SYSTEM. Ask CFK, and daughter, they'll tell you first hand.
 
Wow, PERSONAL BLACK????....Maybe we live in a parallel Argentina, horrific customer service terrible coverage and VERY expensive per minute cost. ONLY if I buy the more than $1000 per month plan will I receive a per minute break.

I have to comment here. Who is international calling over the telephone anymore? talk to grandma over wifi. prepaid data in Argentina is super cheap like a 60 cents a gig from claro. I could see this being an arguement if you were talking about Australia, New Zealand or maybe even Canada.

Cheap cell data is one of the high points of living in Argentina. Took my $100+/mo US cell phone plan down to essentially nothing.
 
I have to comment here. Who is international calling over the telephone anymore? talk to grandma over wifi. prepaid data in Argentina is super cheap like a 60 cents a gig from claro. I could see this being an arguement if you were talking about Australia, New Zealand or maybe even Canada.

Cheap cell data is one of the high points of living in Argentina. Took my $100+/mo US cell phone plan down to essentially nothing.
What'sAp / Face Time / Etc ... Long distance providers are D E A D! (So are the calling card companies.)
 
Read in today's paper that the Police disbanded a Sweet Fifteen birthday party for 400 people, held in a Rosario car wash. Only in Argentina.

As Admiral Farragut said during the Civil War; "Damn the torpedoes, full. speed ahead....!"
 
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How realistic is that option of taking a trip out of the country for a stamp? (once we're past this Covid situation) I'd have a child in school so ... i'm thinking it may put me at greater risk of them taking issue of gaming the tourist visa stamp. Additionally, is renting a home substantially more difficult without residency? What i've found on this site and others suggest that there is substantially more challenges to maintaining residency on a tourist visa. but coughing up 2.25% of my savings (or whatever it will be in the future) on an annual basis seems like a high price to pay to avoid gaming the tourist visa process.
Zero chance. The Colonia run is dead.
You have to apply for residency or citizenship. Nobody caree about taxes in the citizenship process and they are for free. The only expendichure is an edict in a newspaper and lawyer’s fee if you hire one.
 
I'd say if the gov remotely thinks they can squeeze some money out of you they will. Esp if you are a gringo trying to live in BA. You have a target on your back as you must have dollars, everyone will do their best to separate those precious $$$ from you.
 
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