Finding an apartment that is not so noisy or dirty...........

[loribuenosaires]

I live in an apartment facing the street and the noise is horrible as is the dirt. I clean and in one day everything is covered in powder. I was wondering, has anybody tried living in one of those PH's? Horizontal properties in a neighborhood like Palermo or Collegiales? Ground floor, facing the back with a long cooridor leading to the residence? I was thinking the fact that it was ground floor, and the depth of the place because you live a ways back and are protected by the rest of the building and the fact that it's not facing the street might be the solucion. Any thoughts or experiences with this? I'm going to have my maid come twice a week instead of once but still, things get dirty in one day and I have allergies and asthma, the dirt is not good for me. Thanks! PS, those PH's are also absolutely adorable!

 

[desaparecido]

A friend of mine lives in one of those and it is great. But I think the best thing is just to find a quieter less traffic-busy street.

 

[ericdharma]

You think that you have it bad. I was staying in an building in Palermo which was connected to another building which was undergoing construction. It started at 7:30 AM and they finished at about 5:30PM. It was assumed that everyone would be away at work during these hours but my schedule is exactly the opposite. It was LOUD. I'm talking about drills and hammering the walls so loudly that I thought that they might knock the wall down by accident. They also liked to crank their radio up for general ambience. Then after about 2 months of this they started to paint and the fumes were just about killing me so I had to open the windows and let the street noise (Las Heras) mix with the construction noise. I had to keep them open at night to avoid asfixiation and as a result, had a nice collection of killer mosquitos ready to spend the night sucking out blood by the pint. I would be forced to close the window at about 10PM and then I would spend the rest of the night trying to kill bugs until the morning when I would open the window again and let in the reinforcements. That place was a NIGHTMARE and I am so glad to be out of there. I just thought that I would share this with you so that you could realize that as bad as things are for you now they could definately be worse. As for ground floor apartments, I never liked them. I get the idea that they are not so secure because if they have windows someone could climb in and rob you easily and if they don't have windows you will probably bake to death in the summertime. I have to admit that for me a nice view of a wide avenue curving through the European style architecture of BA is still worth having to suffer through buses that sound like airplanes, sirens, car alarms, and drunken a capella choruses of Argentine rock hits in the middle of the night.

 

[perry]

It never ceases to amaze me how people are moving here and taking any apartment from the internet with no knowledge of the area and street noise .
Buenos Aires is a very noisy city one of the worlds loudest so make sure that the apartment you buy or rent is not facing a bus route and I also recommend the moderna range of reinfornced windows to replace yours they certainly blockout 50 percent of noise.

 

[loribuenosaires]

Oh yes, I have been there with the same building noise and connected building noise. It happened in Recoleta. One apartment was bought and completely remodeled, remiving old marbel floors, walls, ceilings etc. I thought I would loose my mind.
I have never taken an apartment by the internet, I have been here 10 years. I had to move fast last time and this place was quiet at the time. The dust of powder, dirt, or whatever it is was still a problem from the very beginning though. But the construction of this new building I had no idea and the new pizza place across the street, no idea. Luckily I am only renting. They don't put mufflers on those little moto delivery bikes and they are very loud. An avenue nearby has been cut for repairs so now all the traffic is redirected to my street.
I just want to rent a quiet PH with a nice internal garden because I have cats that are not allowed to go to the street, I like the older archetecture and I was hoping it would stay cleaner. I have had places in Miami, Santa Barbara, Punta del Este, San Isidro etc. and they all stayed so clean. I'd like to be more in the city though for now. Maybe if I get a car I could go back to San Isidro.
Changing the windows I think would be too much for a rental that I was not in love with and I highly doubt the owner will do this for me although one super rainey day that rain came in to my kitchen window flooding everything. I had to stuff trapos in it. I am sure new windows would be allot quieter and cleaner. But my cats like the balcony door open to have acess to the protected balcony.
What is that powder anyway? Pollution, dust from cars? Sometimes it's light powder, sometimes it's dark. And I have a huge population of dust bunnies. I hate to think how dirty this makes me or my lungs or my clothing and furniture. Maybe an air purifier?
Any more thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated. I enjoy reading all your posts. LOL on the early AM drunken old rock hits, hahahahahahahaha.

 

[nikad]

The problem is not renting by the internet: I made the huge mistake years ago when I rented an apartment close to Alto Palermo: I visited it during the weekend! And when I moved in... omgggggg! The noise was unbearable, I had to have the windows closed all the time or I couldn´t even hear the TV or my own thoughts

My two cents: Visit the apartment during the week and if possible close to the peak hours. Also walk around your block and check if they are building ( these days they are building everywhere! ) If you like Recoleta or Barrio Norte, do not get the apartments that face the street unless they are high floors ( 10+ ). The damn dust and dirt comes from all vehicles and the construction material where they are building.
Also, properties that are 30 years + have thicker walls ( so you are less likely to hear your neighbour when he gets up in the morning! )

Avoid the first floor ( or ground floor ) these are usually the darkest units, you will have a patio: don´t be fooled ( you will get everybody´s garbage and cigs ) they are usually the units with easiest access for burglars. The top floors are tricky: They must have ac in all rooms or you will melt in summer and freeze in winter. Also, most of them have leaks so check that the unit is in mint condition. For top floors check the water pressure ( it sucks in some buildings ). PH style apartments are nice and quiet, make sure it gets direct sun light or it will get really dark in winter, also bare in mind that at most PHs if there is a problem with the plumbing, leaks, etc you have to pay for it as if it was a house.
Feel free to ask me any questionsV

 

[donquixote]

This thread has been extreamly informative. I plan to visit Bs. As for about three months and would like to avoid the pitfalls of winding up in an apartment from hell. First, what is a PH? Are there any agencies that can look after my interest? I think the last question was reather naive, strike it. What stragegy doe's anyone suggest when looking for an apartment in Bs. As. I can't imagine all streets are noisy. I stayed in San Telmo and was on the back of the building and was not botherd by the noise from the street.
Ciao.

 

[ericdharma]

Nikad,

You just presented some information on how to choose an apartment in BA that I have never seen or heard anywhere else. I am in a 13th floor apartment now and suffering from the water pressure issue myself. Have you thought about maybe putting some of this info in a more permanent post so that it won't be buried.

 

[igor]

First, what is a PH?

PH (propiedad horizontal) - townhouse

 

[loribuenosaires]

Another hint...... Make sure they are not in the street prostitute part of town (trolas). I had that happen once to my surprise in a very nice part of town. They were everywhere!
Thanks for the hints everybody, I will keep them all in mind. I think there might be PH's without noise and without facing the street in different parts of Palermo. More quiet than Barrio Norte and Recoleta. I'll try and find one with light if that's possible. I'll put protection on the windows. I wonder if that's enough not to worry about robbers? It's really hard finding a good apartment. I found out about others trash. In another really nice part of town I ended up with trash in my balcony all the time. Amazing how people can just sit in their house and throw things out the window! I'm willing to deal with that though if I have a nice private garden my cats can't get out of.