Recently, Hybrid-san made a number of posts and asked many questions as he considered the possibility of buying land and building a country home in Argentina. I promised to start a thread about "country living" in Argentina and here it is. I'll provide a few details of how I got where I am now and what it's like to live here. I will be happy to answer questions and I hope anyone else who is living in a rural or semi-rural setting will share their experiences in this thread. I am referring to life in the "open" country, not in a barrio cerrado or a ""gated" community.
When I arrived in 2006 I began searching for apartments in Capital Federal as well as houses in Tigre with a maximum price of $100K USD. At that time and at that price, it was possible to buy a 100 sq meter apartment near Jardin Botanico or a 75 sq meter apartment in Recoleta. A relatively small house in Tigre could also be found in that price range. As I searched on line I also found a very nice "casa quinta" in Tortuguitas for just under $100K, but I was strongly advised against buying there as it might be even more "dangerous" for a foreigner than an Argentine. I heeded the advice.
Within six months of my arrival in BA, I bought an apartment in Recoleta but I continued to check on line from time to time to see what was available in all provinces of the country. I also searched for country homes in all of the provinces of France, something I started doing even before coming to Argentina in 2006. By 2010 I had permanent residency in Argentina and I had enough of city life, especially Ciudad Buenos Aires. Moving to France was no longer a realistic possibility so I renewed my search for a casa quinta in Argenitna. Using google I found over two hundred listings in a number of websites. The ReMax site had dozens of properties in the casa quinta (residential farm) category and one in particular captured my attention.
Based on the photos, the house and the land were exactly what I was looking for and the price was right. Even if it meant selling my apartment quickly for a "lower" price than I might get if I held out longer, I decided to make an offer to buy the house. I had absolutely no idea what the area was like but I asked a lot of questions and did some on line research about the nearby towns and cities. The fact that it was not a destination for foreign tourists was something I considered to be a positive. Neither was the fact that I would be the only North American living on the outskirts of the "suburban" village of 1500 inhabitants, none of whom speak English.
To make a long story short, I offered the seller $2000 for a 60 day option to sell my apartment. It took just over 60 days to get the first offer for the sale of my apartment and I accepted. The boleto took place ten days later and the next day I flew to the closest city to the house that had direct flights from BA. The seller met me at the airport and drove me to the property. Thirty minutes later, in the kitchen of the house (where i am sitting at this moment) we signed a boleto. Six weeks later the escritura for my house took place in CF and I rode to my new home in the cab of a "shared mudanza" that was owned by a friend of mine in CF. We arrived at the house at nine AM and the seller's two sons unloaded my furniture from the truck.
I once posted that I did not move here to assimilate, but, to a great extent, that's exactly what has happened and I'm very happy to be able to say it. In the four years I have lived here my ability to speak and understand Spanish has improved a great deal and I have developed wonderful friendships with a number of Argentines, including the family I bought the house from. It's amazing how helpful and protective everyone has been, making sure I know the best (and most trustworthy) mechanics to take my car to, the best electricians and plumber, the best places to buy meat, bread, veggies, household goods, etc. One example of how nice the people are here is the mechanic who took my car to get the VTV inspection and would not accept payment for doing so, even though it meant leaving the shop (and work in progress) for over an hour (I "forced" him to accept two liters of beer).
I could share many stories like that. I do enjoy answering the one question asked by almost every Argentine I meet for the first time (often incredulously): "What are you doing
here?" As I previously wrote, I am the only North American living near the village, but folks in the nearby towns are just as curious. I tell them the story of how I came to Argentina and how I found the property on line. They find it hard to believe anyone from the USA would want to live where I do, but when I explain that when I am at my property, it doesn't matter where in the world it is, they seem to understand. The fact that life is also very good here when I am not actually at my house is an unexpected but very welcome bonus.
