Hello Everyone

[grahamTO]

New here... thought I'd introduce myself...

My name is Graham and I am 25 years old from Toronto, Canada. Will be coming to BsAs on the 18th of October for 7 weeks. Main goals are to improve my spanish, see the city and figure out if its somewhere I could see myself living, and get a break from the Canadian winter

I do online marketing, so one of the perks of the job is I can work from anywhere. I am finally going to take advantage of this, and hope to get some work done while I am there also.

If anyone knows any good schools to learn spanish that would be great. I can speak a little to get by, but definitely need a lot of work.

Also, which are would you recommend looking for an appartment... Palermo or Recolleta?

Any other tips would be appreciated. Obviously I will read the forum and use the search feature, but I figured if anyone had any tips that would be great also.

All the best,

Graham

 

[tangobob]

My tip is avoid Recoleta and If you choose Palermo go for the perimiter. Restaurants and shops in Recoleta are ridiculously expensive and you will be surrounded by tourists. Palermo is a little more moderate, but again more tourists than locals.
Almagro is easy to reach from the town centre and you can walk to Palermo if you want. Belgrano is well served with transport safe and relatively quite. Villa Crespo is also within walking distance of Palermo, quiet and on the B subte line.
Also if you spread your view further you can find some bargains.

 

[grahamTO]

Thanks Bob for the advice! Money isn't really a huge factor... I guess ideally we would like to be in a "happening" part of town where there is a lot to do both during the day and at night. From the research I have done, most things point to Palermo as being one of the best places for someone my age. Would you agree with this?

 

[RWS]

I'm not Bob, but I'd agree with your assumption, Graham. Living long-term in Bs.As., I'd go for another neighborhood, but Palermo Soho or Hollywood should suit you well short-term. Some parts of Palermo are less attractive (I spent a month in Las Cañitas and wouldn't recommend it for you).

 

[steveinbsas]

My tip is avoid Recoleta and If you choose Palermo go for the perimiter. Restaurants and shops in Recoleta are ridiculously expensive and you will be surrounded by tourists. Palermo is a little more moderate, but again more tourists than locals.
Almagro is easy to reach from the town centre and you can walk to Palermo if you want. Belgrano is well served with transport safe and relatively quite. Villa Crespo is also within walking distance of Palermo, quiet and on the B subte line.
Also if you spread your view further you can find some bargains.

TB has made many accurate and helpful posts, but I disagree with his assessment of Recoleta. There may be a lot of tourists around the cemetery, but you wont notice them very much in the streets (also true in Palermo). There are TONS of cheaper eateries in Recoleta as well as a far better selection of "finer" restaurants than any other part of town. The major grocery stores charge the same prices everywhere. Avoid the area of Recoleta between Av Santa Fe and Cordoba as well as the La Herras corridor. Search the web and you will find that the best temporary apartments (available by the month) are in Recloeta and are not significanlty more expensive than other areas. (I do not rent my apartment.)

I recently walked from Recoleta to Almagro and found the latter quite undesirable by comparison. It's pretty "scruffy" compared to most areas of Palermo and all of Recoleta. The best bet is to stay on the "river" side of Linea D of the subway. Linea D is by far the "best" line, but in the past six months it has become incredibly crowded during rush hour and even in the middle of the afternoon. You will find taxis cheap in spite of about a 100% increase in fares in the past two years.

 

[tangobob]

I guess it is all about perception, persoally I have never found prices in Recoleta anything but expensive.
I would agree that Palermo is definately more happening, but again, look like a tourista and you will pay more, everywhere. You hear time and again on this forum about people being ripped off.
Almagro can appear scruffy in parts, but this is mainly because it is almost all in a state of rebuild.
If by undesirable, you mean fear of crime, then anywhere that there are tourists you will find pickpockets and oportunist thieves, and this is the problem; it is not the tourists per se but the hawkers and thieves they attract.
So if you choose Palermo I would say stay on the East side of Scalabrini where it is quieter and cheaper, and you can easily walk to all the happening stuff.

 

[DA]

There are TONS of cheaper eateries in Recoleta

I would love to know where they are?

 

[DA]

And if you know of any cheap eateries in Recoleta with decent food I would be very happy to know where?

 

[JohnTo]

Hi all,

My name is John and I will be coming to BA with Graham in just under 2 weeks, can't wait. Thanks for all the recommendations for accommodations, I'm guessing it's just going to be one of those things where we get there and see which area seems best. We are planning on staying in a hostel/hotel for the first week to get acclimatized and then start looking for a place for the next month.

The one thing I am wondering about, and I know it has been talked about tons is banking in BA. From what I have read, we would be best advised to bring a good amount with us to avoid the per day limit and subsequent fees from our home banks. Is this correct? I was going to open a bank account there but now realize this is probably not possible so thinking this is the best option. Does anyone have experience with travelers cheques, are they accepted, ridiculous fees, etc?

Thanks very much for all the help thus far, this is a great community and I look forward to becoming a more active participant once I have had some experience in BA.

Cheers,

John

 

[DA]

I would not recommend walking around with a ton of cash, neither leaving it in hostel or hotel.
The ATM's here will give you 600 pesos per day and the small fee's they charge are really worth the convinience and security.