Hi!

[JHB1216]

Hahaha it has been slowly decaying since 1900s and now with Mauricio Macri at the city mayor helm this trend can only accelerate even faster, expect more destroyed footpath, huge street craters, graffiti galore, dog poo and less of that French flair misconception, not even the Recolecta will we spared from this and that is including the cemetery, la rive gauche of the Thames will be, and not even that.

Welcome to Polo country.

Seriously, Macri is the problem with the broken sidewalks and the graffiti and the dog poop. IMO it is the culture here that basically just does not respect others and their property. No politician is responsible for this nor is any politician going to fix this. It is a cultural. That being said I think that there was a time in Paris that it was a lot like Buenos Aires, but it was not the best of times in Paris.

 

[CoutureGirlNYC]

Uh oh! Here comes the feminist. <<rolls eyes and yawns>>>

.. Just because you can do something eg. opening a door for yourself etc., does not mean that men shouldn't do it for you. There is something that is slowing ebbing away called chivalry.

The people here (women included) are much less mannered than those people of many European countries, other SA and CA countries etc. Yes, the well educated men here do open doors, let women enter first, but I am talking about the average here, not the outlier. Men always whistle at me and honk when I am walking down the street (which I find to be hilarious and true of many cities around the world), but have also had men yell crude things at me in front of my husband, which I find totally inappropriate and disrespectful.

Unfortunately, it is because of women like you that the younger generations of men do not have the manners they did before. I hate when women can't let men be polite and courteous. You must be one of the women that also feels the need to split every bill, and make sure everything is perfectly equal.

I have a younger brother who would be appalled at the idea of a woman paying for dinner or anything for that matter while on a date. Clearly you didn't grow up with a family or friends that were huge on proper manners. Just because a man opens the door for you out of respect, does not mean that a) you are not capable or b) that you are incompetent. I have plenty of female friends that are doctors, lawyers, bankers etc., who clearly are more than competent to take care of themselves, however, have husbands and boyfriends that love and appreciate them and WANT to treat them as women e.g. doors, standing up at the table, etc etc.

But then again, I think there is nothing worse than a whining feminist.

As for your remark that you find it disrespectful that I listed the redeeming qualities of Paris, while claiming Bs. As. is the opposite-- the truth hurts and I don't think many people would disagree with my thoughts re: Paris v. Bs. As.

 

[DontMindMe]

i find it really strange that you experienced a lack of respect for women because you didn't have the door opened for you.
men constantly opened the door for me, men waited for me to get in the bus before them and men let me do things first.

i find it extremely disrespectful as a female to have men open the door for me, to stand when i get up for a table or to let me do something first! i am completely competent to do all above things without the aid of men!

my main concern of moving to ba permanently is the fact that i will experience these things on a daily basis. to be honest i have no sympathy for you because i think your views on "respecting people/women" are archaic.

When I first started dating my boyfriend, I was uncomfortable for about the first two months since he insisted on picking up the check. I didn't want him to think that I was dating him for his money, and all those feminist ideals that had been drilled into my head made me think I shouldn't accept this. As a guy from Latin America, he truly could not understand why I was uncomfortable with him paying. (I was quite happy with him opening doors and the like). I caved, and after a year together I have to say there is something to be said for traditional gender roles. He makes me feel like a woman, and I make him feel like a man. If you meet a modern man who isn't machista but has old-school manners, well, you have hit the relationship jackpot.

A lot of those men opening doors for you think you should be able to have a career and equal pay. A lot of them think women are equally as intelligent as men. A lot of them would kill for a great girl who is also intelligent. But yes, some of them will be the same ones who hiss at you while you walk down the street, or ones who cheat on their wives every Thursday night. There are all types of men here. Regardless, once you experience enough rush hours, I'm pretty sure you won't mind being let on the bus first!

While it is my opinion that BA isn't an ideal climate for women in some senses, if your opinion of the men is already bad just because you've experienced some chivalrous behavior, well...There's a good chance you'll feel worse as time goes on. Let's just put it that way.

 

[Lucas]

Seriously, Macri is the problem with the broken sidewalks and the graffiti and the dog poop. IMO it is the culture here that basically just does not respect others and their property. No politician is responsible for this nor is any politician going to fix this. It is a cultural. That being said I think that there was a time in Paris that it was a lot like Buenos Aires, but it was not the best of times in Paris.

I don't know how long you've been here but a can assure you that this city never was as bad as in the last five years and this fellow do nothing but sit on his ass doing real state dealings with his cronies and what is worse the people of this city voted him in ....again, as always they do this city voted contrary to the wishes of the rest of the country, pathetic as usual but not uncommon. Never ever I saw this city so run down, rubbish everywhere, footpath completely destroyed and not maintained, corrupted inspectors, buildings are literally falling apart, every buildings and monuments totally covered in graffiti and this clown most of the time on holidays elsewhere, an inutile bump who never had to work for a living like his father and all his family of delinquents, crooks and freeloaders.

 

[stefano]

Paris streets and no dog poop? C'mon! I went to Paris and it was "slip n' slide" time everywhere I walked! The original poster should stay in England or Paris or somewhere else to learn to speak Spanish. PLEEAASE!!!

 

[Crema Americana]

My fiance went to Barcelona... when he came back I asked how he liked it. His response?
"There's dog caca everywhere!!"
I think it's a city thing.


As for the men, having doors opened for you is not rare here. I've found men to be quite courteous. The days of my boyfriend walking around and opening my car door for me are over, but that's another matter!

 

[fifs2]

Uh oh! Here comes the feminist. <<rolls eyes and yawns>>>

.. Just because you can do something eg. opening a door for yourself etc., does not mean that men shouldn't do it for you. There is something that is slowing ebbing away called chivalry.



Couturegirl I agree with most if not all of the points in your posts to date so its been fun to read them. Dare I say I arrived like you in Bsas 8 years ago with a spirited attitude and full of self-confidence and opinions on what a disappointment the city was after so much hype. What I have learnt from my dear Argentine friends and associates is that people here are by and large full of joy. I have learnt not to be so damningly black and white in my criticisms and to really adore my children and my life. Noone has asked me to deny myself my right to an opinion but life seems better now that I'm more appreciative of the simple things and less critical of the obvious flaws that btw most Argentineans are aware of but chose to ignore so they can be happy people. I hope you get to meet great locals and get that sense of warmth and caring that I have found unique to this place.

 

[CarverFan]

The dog shit should be the least of your worries. I'm just happy to be dodging the bullets - - - -