Heading out too

[Ashley]

No expat should leave over dollar troubles. Those are easy to work out with just a little bit of legwork and meeting the right people.

You, however, picked a very good reason to leave -- the security situation. It isn't going to get better anytime soon. Pretty much everyone I know has been a victim of some kind of crime here. The problem really is out of control. So far nothing has happened to me personally (knock on wood) but I know it is only a matter of time.

Here's a short list, just as an example:

1. Wife, armed robbers entered and robbed the clothing store where she was buying some clothes (Palermo).
2. Sister in law, house robbed while she was visiting my wife and I (Pilar)
3. Mother in law, home robbed over the weekend (Devoto)
4. Good friend (female), robbed at least once a year on the street (purse and cell phone)
5. Father, pick-pocked while visiting me here in BA outside the national congress.

I'm sure everyone has similar stories. It is impossible to run into someone here who has either had no personal experience with crime or doesn't know someone close to them who has had an experience with crime. Crime is everywhere here and it is only getting worse. The government, par for course, just denies everything and blames it on the media.

I think the dollar reason is a pretty darn good one to leave, to be honest. There are still a lot of expats here earning in pesos...the gradual devaluation of this currency and the constant reduction in spending power can be incredibly crippling. Not to mention the fact that if your only source of income is in pesos, then you're completely reliant on being able to exchange your money in order to save, travel, etc. Earning in pesos was never good but now it just makes living here (with family ties abroad) nigh-on impossible.

 

[TomAtAlki]

Kurt , our other home is Seattle. If you have any questions or just want to talk about Seattle contact us.
Tom & Nancy

 

[el_expatriado]

I think the dollar reason is a pretty darn good one to leave, to be honest. There are still a lot of expats here earning in pesos...the gradual devaluation of this currency and the constant reduction in spending power can be incredibly crippling. Not to mention the fact that if your only source of income is in pesos, then you're completely reliant on being able to exchange your money in order to save, travel, etc. Earning in pesos was never good but now it just makes living here (with family ties abroad) nigh-on impossible.

Earning in pesos puts you in the same boat is the Argentines (not a good boat to be in). Having your income in pesos certainly makes saving difficult. Travelling can still be done with pesos, though.

 

[GS_Dirtboy]

I was a long-haul truck driver for a couple of years and over my life and have spent time in every state on the continent. I hauled frozen food from coast-to-coast. Seattle was one of my favorite places to go! Washington and Oregon are absolutely beautiful! Best wishes on your new plans!

GSDB

 

[kurtdillard]

Thanks for all the encouraging posts There are a lot of good people on these forums, and there are a lot of good people in Argentina. Its frustrating to see how some small fraction (1%? 5%?) of dishonest, criminal, and corrupt portion of the Argentinian population have such a terrible impact on the quality of life.

I like Ghost's comment about having lots of security work to do at Microsoft! I was originally hired there in 2000, as a 'security consultant,' but after I arrived I found that they had no idea how to sell my type of expertise to their consulting clients so I ended up doing Active Directory gigs. It was scary to see things unfold with the really bad worms and viruses like NIMDA, Slammer, Slapper, etc. I feel good about my work though, I was one of the people helping the company figure out how to respond, how to make things a lot better. Granted, I was a little fish, there were much more senior people leading the effort, but I did help drive change Overall the company is much better at security now, but they still make plenty of mistakes so I think you're right, I should be able to stay busy there for years

 

[mjackson1946]

Enjoy Seattle, I´m a native Seattleite, and came here to escape the RAIN!
270 cloudy days a year are a real downer. My parent and daughter live in Port Angeles and have even less rain than south eastern oregon. Take a look at the area before you decide where you want to live.