steveinbsas said:
English tourist takes a cab from palermo, driver rapes her, AND robs her.
http://edant.clarin.com/diario/2008/10/09/um/m-01777927.htm
Foreigners Complaining about Higher Prices
- Thread starter anabeeare
- Start date
English tourist takes a cab from palermo, driver rapes her, AND robs her.
http://edant.clarin.com/diario/2008/10/09/um/m-01777927.htm
@dennisr
Yeah, you're right! I stand corrected, and myself could have been one of the objects of that in NY without knowing it.
@steveinbsas
Nothing in particular that is tragic or even worth mentioning. It's just the standard verdularia high prices, taxis taking a wrong turn here and there, a bill being a bit higher than it should be, etc. I'm not even sure if it's happening more, but now I have more knowledge of how things should work and a good command of castellano. I'm also spending more time with locals who inform me of when I'm getting taken advantage of. If I call someone on something, it's not that I can't make the situation right, there's just this a vibe that I don't have the right to push back, that's what gets to me sometimes.
As far as taxi drivers being involved in real crimes against people, that's admittedly second and third hand, some of it from this forum, but I constantly get warnings from locals about being careful with taxi drivers.
Yeah, you're right! I stand corrected, and myself could have been one of the objects of that in NY without knowing it.
@steveinbsas
Nothing in particular that is tragic or even worth mentioning. It's just the standard verdularia high prices, taxis taking a wrong turn here and there, a bill being a bit higher than it should be, etc. I'm not even sure if it's happening more, but now I have more knowledge of how things should work and a good command of castellano. I'm also spending more time with locals who inform me of when I'm getting taken advantage of. If I call someone on something, it's not that I can't make the situation right, there's just this a vibe that I don't have the right to push back, that's what gets to me sometimes.
As far as taxi drivers being involved in real crimes against people, that's admittedly second and third hand, some of it from this forum, but I constantly get warnings from locals about being careful with taxi drivers.
I don't think it's much different for a foreigner than it is to an Argentino. The ripoffs come in various shapes and sizes.
For the tourist they often may revolve around the owner of the apartment they're renting giving false details such as a working air conditioner that doesn't and never gets fixed although the price of the aprtment doesn't change having been charged more because it had an airconditioner. Or hot water that is tepid and never gets hot. Or the rental company that they do business with returning some fake bills they happened to need to get rid of when the deposit is returned. Trumped up costs taken against deposits, or deposits withheld.
For the person who lives here, it's pretty much the same for all, whether foreigner or Argentino.
It's in the crappy work that is done, the bad service, the I-don't-give-a-rat's-ass attitude when you don't get what you're expecting. The guy that you call over 4 times to fix an electrical circuit that never gets fixed. The car shop that repairs your left front tie rods but you find out they just changed the parts with cleaned used parts and they go bad in a couple of months. The taxi driver that takes your 100 peso note, looks in his wallet and claims he can't change it, and you find out that he switched it on you when you go to the nearby kisko to buy something to get change for the fare.
Trying to pay a bill by credit card and having them charge twice and then call the following week and say they still havent' received payment. Trying to get the internet working because it's been failing for a week straight, intermittently, and it's some stupid switch that the techs just seem too lazy to replace or think about possibly being the problem.
Having a DirecTV box that that's supposed to be able to record shows but won't, and the technician on the phone swearing there's nothing wrong with the box and that you're just using it incorrectly. Refusing to come out with a replacement and make things right.
The people that step out of doorways without looking and stop in the middle of a busy sidewalk, without a thought of anyone near them. Insane drivers that cross from the left lane across traffic in an intersection to make a right turn and vice versa. Buses that bull through an intersection as they turn, scattering pedestrians who had the right of way and were trying to cross the road. Taxis that stop right in the middle of the street to pick up or let out fares with no regard to how much traffic they're blocking when 5 feet up ahead was an opening on the side of the road, a driveway or an empty space, that could have been used just as easily.
There are plenty of stories, all of them true, and the ones mentioned above have all happened to me over the years I've been here, and continue to happen. Does it happen in other countries? Sure. But on a continual basis? Not where I'm from.
You learn to live with it, but it doesn't mean that learning to live with it is the same as enjoying it. There are enough other things in life here to enjoy to usually set off the crap that happens on at least a weekly, and often daily, basis.
But this ain't Paris. That's something that always cracks me up when people talk about the cost of living here compared to Paris, or New York, or London. Buenos Aires, in my humble opinion (and I've spent sufficient time in all cities listed above to have an opinion) doesn't match up to any of those cities and the comparison is not straight and valid.
Buenos Aires is expensive, and even most of the locals who live here will tell you that it is full of irritating crap (that can be felt as ripoffs), as well as culture.
I can't get the same quality food, clothes, whatever, for anywhere near the same price as I can in many of the cities listed, QUALITY being the operant word. The price for a meal here SHOULD be cheaper than in Paris, even if by half or more, because I can't get nearly the kind of meal here I can in Paris. But when I do find something of EQUAL quality, be it good or service, it is almost invariably as or more expensive than in other cities in more economically advanced countries.
The comparison made about the level of pay for the local population vs what they pay for QUALITY goods and services is extremely valid. If I'm in Paris, I am surrounded by a much lighter, cleaner, comfortable ambience than I am when I'm in BA for exactly that reason. Although the people sometimes may be as crotchety
It's all about what you're willing to give up to live in a place that ain't where you growed up.
But don't make excuses for it.
For the tourist they often may revolve around the owner of the apartment they're renting giving false details such as a working air conditioner that doesn't and never gets fixed although the price of the aprtment doesn't change having been charged more because it had an airconditioner. Or hot water that is tepid and never gets hot. Or the rental company that they do business with returning some fake bills they happened to need to get rid of when the deposit is returned. Trumped up costs taken against deposits, or deposits withheld.
For the person who lives here, it's pretty much the same for all, whether foreigner or Argentino.
It's in the crappy work that is done, the bad service, the I-don't-give-a-rat's-ass attitude when you don't get what you're expecting. The guy that you call over 4 times to fix an electrical circuit that never gets fixed. The car shop that repairs your left front tie rods but you find out they just changed the parts with cleaned used parts and they go bad in a couple of months. The taxi driver that takes your 100 peso note, looks in his wallet and claims he can't change it, and you find out that he switched it on you when you go to the nearby kisko to buy something to get change for the fare.
Trying to pay a bill by credit card and having them charge twice and then call the following week and say they still havent' received payment. Trying to get the internet working because it's been failing for a week straight, intermittently, and it's some stupid switch that the techs just seem too lazy to replace or think about possibly being the problem.
Having a DirecTV box that that's supposed to be able to record shows but won't, and the technician on the phone swearing there's nothing wrong with the box and that you're just using it incorrectly. Refusing to come out with a replacement and make things right.
The people that step out of doorways without looking and stop in the middle of a busy sidewalk, without a thought of anyone near them. Insane drivers that cross from the left lane across traffic in an intersection to make a right turn and vice versa. Buses that bull through an intersection as they turn, scattering pedestrians who had the right of way and were trying to cross the road. Taxis that stop right in the middle of the street to pick up or let out fares with no regard to how much traffic they're blocking when 5 feet up ahead was an opening on the side of the road, a driveway or an empty space, that could have been used just as easily.
There are plenty of stories, all of them true, and the ones mentioned above have all happened to me over the years I've been here, and continue to happen. Does it happen in other countries? Sure. But on a continual basis? Not where I'm from.
You learn to live with it, but it doesn't mean that learning to live with it is the same as enjoying it. There are enough other things in life here to enjoy to usually set off the crap that happens on at least a weekly, and often daily, basis.
But this ain't Paris. That's something that always cracks me up when people talk about the cost of living here compared to Paris, or New York, or London. Buenos Aires, in my humble opinion (and I've spent sufficient time in all cities listed above to have an opinion) doesn't match up to any of those cities and the comparison is not straight and valid.
Buenos Aires is expensive, and even most of the locals who live here will tell you that it is full of irritating crap (that can be felt as ripoffs), as well as culture.
I can't get the same quality food, clothes, whatever, for anywhere near the same price as I can in many of the cities listed, QUALITY being the operant word. The price for a meal here SHOULD be cheaper than in Paris, even if by half or more, because I can't get nearly the kind of meal here I can in Paris. But when I do find something of EQUAL quality, be it good or service, it is almost invariably as or more expensive than in other cities in more economically advanced countries.
The comparison made about the level of pay for the local population vs what they pay for QUALITY goods and services is extremely valid. If I'm in Paris, I am surrounded by a much lighter, cleaner, comfortable ambience than I am when I'm in BA for exactly that reason. Although the people sometimes may be as crotchety
It's all about what you're willing to give up to live in a place that ain't where you growed up.
But don't make excuses for it.
expatinowncountry
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sergio said:
It was 5am in the morning...hope you never have a typo my friend. Plus I said it was in Economics, not in English ;-)
And yes, there was something orange...
ElQueso said:
That is true. In Argentina -most Argentines learn it from a young age- one has to show determination and not let others think one might be a potential defenceless victim. It is a kind of preventive attitude, which helps a lot.
Lamb
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Once i walked away from an arguement i had in the middle of the street, at 3 in the morning. I looked pretty upset, had almost no money on me and a pretty long walk to go home. I asked a taxi how far hed take me for the bit that i had, he told me not to worry and get in. I got in, he brought me all the way to my place for not even half of the price of the ride, and told me to sleep and feel better in the morning.
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