Hello everyone

[Serenisimaa]

I'm actually an Argentine person who wants to know the perspective of expats living here and what they find attractive about my country. I'm interested in being in international communities but most of the times foreigners I talk with can't point Argentina on a map, so I would be interesting to talk and read people who has a very personal experience with my country. My dream is traveling and/or living abroad some day so I could know other cultures as well, but with the current geopolitics climate I may be safer here for now, maybe. Anyway hope Argentines are welcome here and not only a forum for expats (sorry if it was not allowed)

 

[AMLC]

Hi! There are many expats who live in Argentina, some for many years now. Come to the Coffee Chat group every Tuesday in Palermo. It’s very interesting. Group coordinators: Neil and Gracielle.

 

[sts7049]

it has some of the most beautiful places on the planet, in my opinion. the patagonia, ushuaia/beagle channel, you can see everything in argentina. people are generally friendly, and of course for those who don't rely on local incomes the cost of living is pretty good (especially compared to most US cities)

the rest of the craziness, inflation, how complicated basic things can be, market controls, etc all put a real damper on things. at least in my view. that stuff would keep me from wanting to stay long term.

 

[Quilombo]

Hi and welcome! I know there's a couple other Argentines active here, so you're not alone, and I've personally randomly encountered people talking about the website in Spanish on social media, so other Argentines definitely checkout what people here are saying.

Argentines tend to express a lot of Cultural Cringe in general, and especially online, which isn't surprising considering the correlation between internet usage, wealth, and English proficiency, so perhaps our outsider turned insider prospectives will give you an idea of the many redeeming qualities Argentina has.

Nature

Argentina is, without a doubt, one of the most beautiful countries on Earth. I've been fortunate enough to visit several dozen countries and Argentina has so much unrivaled natural beauty. Whether it's the desert and the remains of the Incan Empire in the North, the jungle and waterfalls in Iguazu, the vineyards of Mendoza, the estuaries teeming with life in Argentine Mesopotamia, Buenos Aires' cultural and architectural jewls, the raw, unspoiled nature of Patagonia, or the quiet beach towns on the coast there is so much to do and see here. The only thing we're missing is tropical beaches like Brazil, but otherwise we have it all.

We also have an incredible amount of biodiversity too. Capybaras, parrots, toucans, llamas, caimans, piranhas, boa constrictors, pumas, condors, dolphins, whales, penguins, shrimp, flamingos, etc. Argentina is home to them all

People and Culture

I married an Argentine guy so obviously I think there are good people here, and I'm lucky to have several Argentine friends too, so for me one of the appeals is the people. I will often hear Argentines lament about their fellow countrymen and my response is that Argentines are neither lazy, nor manipulative/scammers, nor bad people, but rather these problems exist everywhere, and if you take in to considerations just how messed up the country is politically/economically it's a testament to just how resilient people here actually are.

Cost of Living

If you can either earn in dollars, or peg your salary to it you can beat Argentina for the cost of living. My old apartment was ~350sqft/35m2 and my landlord would have sold it for 50K USD. A nice lunch can be had for under 10 bucks, a subway ride is 15¢, I have 15GB of 5G data, unlimited local SMS/incoming calls, and 150 mins of outgoing calls for $3 a month. While this isn't the reality for most Argentines of course, it's hard to beat for retirees from wealthy countries, people with lots of savings, people with good jobs here/remote jobs, or the like.

Safety A Changing World

Finally I'd say one of the overlooked pros of Argentina is the fact that it's one of the safer places to be in terms of climate change, nuclear war, and famine. Even natural disaster wise we're lucky here. We don't get hurricanes, tornados/flooding/drought/yellow fever/etc. do occur, but all have a limited impact on the population as a whole, and there's only 16 people per squared KM, and most the country is habitable thanks to modern technology so we have room for literally millions of more people. We also basically have no need for an army as defense from our neighbors since we get along well with Chile, Bolivia, Paraguay, Brazil, and Uruguay and see them as family.

Unlimited Potential

While we may go from crisis to crisis economically, Argentina still has unlimited potential as a country which was true at the turn of the 20th century and is equally true now. We have a young population, quality higher education (primary and secondary not so much), incredible natural resources (lithium, uranium, oil, gas, freshwater), millions of KMs of arable land, and we're strategically located as Africa increasingly develops (it's a 9 hour flight from Buenos Aires to Cape Town for example) and for global trade with Asia and the Pacific via Cape Horn.

All these reasons and more are what I would pitch to someone who is looking at Argentina as a place to live with the giant caveat that the country has yet to figure out how to properly/efficiently run it's macroeconomy, but everything else locally and globally has been going in our favor so we should remember this when doomscrolling about how awful Argentina is, because I wouldn't want to live in the Baltics or even most of the US these days all things considered.

 

[jblaze5779]

Argentina needs to recognize that there is a whole modern world out there and they need to be a part of it. Sitting at home and doing things the way they've always done it or only promoting Arg industry is not a way to advance as a country.

Its time to move into the next century on many fronts.

 

[Alby]

Which is no doubt true, and fine as a comment, but not much help to Serenismaa, who wants to know what the attraction of Argentina is for foreigners. For some of us, it is precisely the fact that Argentina, in terms of its culture, and customs is so slow to change, so habit-bound. The place (or at least Buenos Aires) retains a degree of authenticity that has been lost in many other places. And it hasn’t changed too much from when I first visited thirty-five years ago. It doesn’t feel very global, which can come as a relief to some foreigners.

 

[Johnny]

Which is no doubt true, and fine as a comment, but not much help to Serenismaa, who wants to know what the attraction of Argentina is for foreigners. For some of us, it is precisely the fact that Argentina, in terms of its culture, and customs is so slow to change, so habit-bound. The place (or at least Buenos Aires) retains a degree of authenticity that has been lost in many other places. And it hasn’t changed too much from when I first visited thirty-five years ago. It doesn’t feel very global, which can come as a relief to some foreigners.

Yes, years ago I mentioned the "time warp" to my friends. It can be a very appealing phenomenon on one hand and so annoying on the other. Overall I approve.

 

[KMB_19]

Which is no doubt true, and fine as a comment, but not much help to Serenismaa, who wants to know what the attraction of Argentina is for foreigners. For some of us, it is precisely the fact that Argentina, in terms of its culture, and customs is so slow to change, so habit-bound. The place (or at least Buenos Aires) retains a degree of authenticity that has been lost in many other places. And it hasn’t changed too much from when I first visited thirty-five years ago. It doesn’t feel very global, which can come as a relief to some foreigners.

Excellent comment.

 

[toast]

Hi and welcome! I know there's a couple other Argentines active here, so you're not alone, and I've personally randomly encountered people talking about the website in Spanish on social media, so other Argentines definitely checkout what people here are saying.

Argentines tend to express a lot of Cultural Cringe in general, and especially online, which isn't surprising considering the correlation between internet usage, wealth, and English proficiency, so perhaps our outsider turned insider prospectives will give you an idea of the many redeeming qualities Argentina has.

Nature

Argentina is, without a doubt, one of the most beautiful countries on Earth. I've been fortunate enough to visit several dozen countries and Argentina has so much unrivaled natural beauty. Whether it's the desert and the remains of the Incan Empire in the North, the jungle and waterfalls in Iguazu, the vineyards of Mendoza, the estuaries teeming with life in Argentine Mesopotamia, Buenos Aires' cultural and architectural jewls, the raw, unspoiled nature of Patagonia, or the quiet beach towns on the coast there is so much to do and see here. The only thing we're missing is tropical beaches like Brazil, but otherwise we have it all.

We also have an incredible amount of biodiversity too. Capybaras, parrots, toucans, llamas, caimans, piranhas, boa constrictors, pumas, condors, dolphins, whales, penguins, shrimp, flamingos, etc. Argentina is home to them all

People and Culture

I married an Argentine guy so obviously I think there are good people here, and I'm lucky to have several Argentine friends too, so for me one of the appeals is the people. I will often hear Argentines lament about their fellow countrymen and my response is that Argentines are neither lazy, nor manipulative/scammers, nor bad people, but rather these problems exist everywhere, and if you take in to considerations just how messed up the country is politically/economically it's a testament to just how resilient people here actually are.

Cost of Living

If you can either earn in dollars, or peg your salary to it you can beat Argentina for the cost of living. My old apartment was ~350sqft/35m2 and my landlord would have sold it for 50K USD. A nice lunch can be had for under 10 bucks, a subway ride is 15¢, I have 15GB of 5G data, unlimited local SMS/incoming calls, and 150 mins of outgoing calls for $3 a month. While this isn't the reality for most Argentines of course, it's hard to beat for retirees from wealthy countries, people with lots of savings, people with good jobs here/remote jobs, or the like.

Safety A Changing World

Finally I'd say one of the overlooked pros of Argentina is the fact that it's one of the safer places to be in terms of climate change, nuclear war, and famine. Even natural disaster wise we're lucky here. We don't get hurricanes, tornados/flooding/drought/yellow fever/etc. do occur, but all have a limited impact on the population as a whole, and there's only 16 people per squared KM, and most the country is habitable thanks to modern technology so we have room for literally millions of more people. We also basically have no need for an army as defense from our neighbors since we get along well with Chile, Bolivia, Paraguay, Brazil, and Uruguay and see them as family.

Unlimited Potential

While we may go from crisis to crisis economically, Argentina still has unlimited potential as a country which was true at the turn of the 20th century and is equally true now. We have a young population, quality higher education (primary and secondary not so much), incredible natural resources (lithium, uranium, oil, gas, freshwater), millions of KMs of arable land, and we're strategically located as Africa increasingly develops (it's a 9 hour flight from Buenos Aires to Cape Town for example) and for global trade with Asia and the Pacific via Cape Horn.

All these reasons and more are what I would pitch to someone who is looking at Argentina as a place to live with the giant caveat that the country has yet to figure out how to properly/efficiently run it's macroeconomy, but everything else locally and globally has been going in our favor so we should remember this when doomscrolling about how awful Argentina is, because I wouldn't want to live in the Baltics or even most of the US these days all things considered.

I was lazy and just looked at expedia for flights to Cape Town RSA, but no nonstop flights came up in the search. The quickest flights were Cape Town via Amsterdam or Frankfurt.

 

[Quilombo]

I was lazy and just looked at expedia for flights to Cape Town RSA, but no nonstop flights came up in the search. The quickest flights were Cape Town via Amsterdam or Frankfurt.

SAA used to fly EZE-JNB but they ended the route in the mid 2010s. Still an easy enough option to pickup again in the future if Argentina economically gets it shit together (big if). Pre-COVID fastest route was AEP-GRU-JNB to South Africa but I think that's still on hiatus.