Because you mentioned New Orleans, where we are from, I felt like resurfacing after a couple of years of not posting on this particular Argentina expats forum. We first came in 2005 and, like you, spend part of each year here and part in various work locations in North America. When I first started reading threads on this forum, they very often contained practical information helpful to living here. Other posts gave rise, as far as tolerated, to larger ideas that resembled conversations that would take place among friends gathered in person. These drew me in and I began participating. Now there is less of this kind of discussion, and more one-upsmanship and put downs. I know that world events of the past year have made incivility more socially accepted, but people don't always flock to it.
So yes, I agree with Ries that there are a lot of us still in Buenos Aires, many just no longer engaging on this platform, but rather, through PM's, other platforms, and personal contact.
And yes, we are here because we love this city. Unique in the world.
I've been reading this forum since its inception and I can tell you that there have always been put downs. They were far worse when the Kirchners were in power and expats defended everything they did and looked for excuses and justifications for every problem in the country. There's a lot more realism on this forum now than there was then.