Highest salaries in Argentina?

[MyArgentina]

I have referred to this site - https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-livi...2=New+York,+NY&tracking=getDispatchComparison - countless times to compare 'apples to apples' in various expense categories. The site, Numbeo, allows one to compare cost of living expenses between most major cities and (over the course of some years) seems accurate. Have used this as a 'touchstone' of sorts for some years ...

 

[Ries]

When I plug in the city closest to where I live in the USA, Seattle ( I live part time in the north and part time in the south) It tells me the prices in my part of the USA are generally 55% LOWER in Buenos Aires, if you dont include rent. If you do, its 67% cheaper in Buenos Aires. And from personal experience, I know many of their quoted USA prices are well below what you pay for organic, or decent quality.
Now, obviously, everybody in the USA has different situations, but a fair amount of metro areas are MORE expensive than Seattle.
Based on personal experience, I know my month to month expenses in Argentia are between 1/3 and 1/2 of what I spend in the USA, and thats not counting the auto expenses I dont have in BA, and various other US specific costs that you could avoid. My health care is only affordable due to Obamacare, which puts my US cost somewhat similar to a good provider in BA like Italiano- but if I lost Obamacare, my healthcare costs would jump to 5 times Argentine levels, plus there would be deductible- my current deductible is something like $2500. Add it all up, and I could, indeed, live like a king in Buenos Aires on what a Union Garbageman makes in Seattle.

 

[sergio]

When I plug in the city closest to where I live in the USA, Seattle ( I live part time in the north and part time in the south) It tells me the prices in my part of the USA are generally 55% LOWER in Buenos Aires, if you dont include rent. If you do, its 67% cheaper in Buenos Aires. And from personal experience, I know many of their quoted USA prices are well below what you pay for organic, or decent quality.
Now, obviously, everybody in the USA has different situations, but a fair amount of metro areas are MORE expensive than Seattle.
Based on personal experience, I know my month to month expenses in Argentia are between 1/3 and 1/2 of what I spend in the USA, and thats not counting the auto expenses I dont have in BA, and various other US specific costs that you could avoid. My health care is only affordable due to Obamacare, which puts my US cost somewhat similar to a good provider in BA like Italiano- but if I lost Obamacare, my healthcare costs would jump to 5 times Argentine levels, plus there would be deductible- my current deductible is something like $2500. Add it all up, and I could, indeed, live like a king in Buenos Aires on what a Union Garbageman makes in Seattle.

If it's cheap for you here, good for you. I think it all depends on a person's individual situation. For retired people on US Medicare or covered by the NHS in Britain, living here would incur a major private health insurance bill (rates are extremely high if you sign up after 65) and if you want a car like many Porteños, you are going to pay a lot more. I don't really understand your comments about health care in the US. Anyone with a decent job will get health insurance as a benefit so why is that a consideration? If you're on your $210,000 salary you aren't going to be employed without health insurance.

 

[Fiscal]

A law firm partner isn't an employee do they have to buy their own insurance. Same with many doctors that work as independent contractors at hospitals rather than as employees. They obviously make well over 210k, but still need to pay at least $1500 for health insurance.

 

[Fiscal]

Obviously health care and elite education is way more expensive in the US. And the system screwed up.

If you live in NYC or SF or LA, your day to day and housing costs will be more expensive. A nanny is $20 an hour, a dinner for two at a normal restaurant is $100, you go to whole foods for groceries and you're looking at $200. $210k is an ol lifestyle but unless you live well below your means, you will not be saving money.

If you live in a Trump red state like Alabama, I think pretty much everything will be cheaper (including housing) than Buenos Aires.

 

[Ries]

If it's cheap for you here, good for you. I think it all depends on a person's individual situation. For retired people on US Medicare or covered by the NHS in Britain, living here would incur a major private health insurance bill (rates are extremely high if you sign up after 65) and if you want a car like many Porteños, you are going to pay a lot more. I don't really understand your comments about health care in the US. Anyone with a decent job will get health insurance as a benefit so why is that a consideration? If you're on your $210,000 salary you aren't going to be employed without health insurance.

While I dont get medicare til next year, I can assure you that US medicare is not free. I have a family member I pay the medicare for every month- With supplemental, its close to $250 per month payments for medicare, and not everything is covered- another few thousand a year for various costs where the actual cost is more than medicare covers, and we pay the difference.
I have never had a "decent" job- I have been self employed (and an employer) since 1978, so nobody has ever paid my health care but me. This situation applies, currently to about 40 million US citizens- that is the number who work "indecent jobs" without any health care whatsoever. Another 50 million or so have very minimal Medicaid or Obamacare, which, a good portion of them, like me, pay premiums for. My "free" Obamacare costs me about $200 a month, copays, and a $2500 deductible. That means somewhere around $5000 a year out of pocket.

 

[Ries]

I dont see how you can compare a cosmopolitan city of 5 million with Mudflats Louisiana or West Coal Junction Kentucky. People who earn 200k dont live in those places.
If you are going to compare costs, you need to be talking apples to apples- say, cities of 2 million or more. And, in the USA, pretty much every one of those cities costs significantly more than BA.

 

[sergio]

I dont see how you can compare a cosmopolitan city of 5 million with Mudflats Louisiana or West Coal Junction Kentucky. People who earn 200k dont live in those places.
If you are going to compare costs, you need to be talking apples to apples- say, cities of 2 million or more. And, in the USA, pretty much every one of those cities costs significantly more than BA.

In the US few cities have 2 million or more. The second largest city on the East Coast is Philadelphia with under 2 million; perhaps up to five million in the metro area. Boston, Baltimore and Washington are far smaller. You may be talking metro areas of 2 + million. There are plenty of small cities across the nation where people are earning high salaries. You yourself said that $210,000 is not much. Anyway I am sure that there are people in Kentucky and Louisiana who are earning over $200,000. I don't know what your point is. You said that you are better off here and that's fine but as for medical costs, if you have been in your plan here for 10+ years you will not be hit with a whopping increase at age 65 or 66. If you're been enrolled for under ten years you'll be paying a great deal more. The high cost of medical care for those entering local plans at retirement age presents a serious problem for anyone 65+ coming from the US with the idea of retiring here. There are supplemental Medicare plans for less than $250 but even taking your price of $250, the cost of health care for someone coming here who is 65+ will be very much higher than that - if he is even accepted. Incidentally the indigent in the US are covered by Medicaid.

 

[Fiscal]

I dont see how you can compare a cosmopolitan city of 5 million with Mudflats Louisiana or West Coal Junction Kentucky. People who earn 200k dont live in those places.
If you are going to compare costs, you need to be talking apples to apples- say, cities of 2 million or more. And, in the USA, pretty much every one of those cities costs significantly more than BA.

A doctor in any one of those towns makes well more than $210k. And a mid size town in the US has a lot of great culture - major universities, opera houses, ballet, theatre, professional and collegiate sports plus all the conveniences of the first world like great immigrant food, organic produce, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, CVS.

 

[sergio]

A doctor in any one of those towns makes well more than $210k. And a mid size town in the US has a lot of great culture - major universities, opera houses, ballet, theatre, professional and collegiate sports plus all the conveniences of the first world like great immigrant food, organic produce, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, CVS.

This is absolutely true. Manhattan is not the only place where high earners live! The US does not have the concept of the capital vs the "interior". And New York is not even the political capital of the US.