Hola and a pregunta...

[RachinBA]

Since when is Palermo of parts of it cheap? And you forgot to add posh, yuppies & brainless to the qualification of people living there.
Though: Palermo is a very typical porteño place: people living there think they r special and therefore they r arrogant and conchetas.
Shops there think they r trendy and therefore they think they may ask first world prices for crap and old services and goods.

Wow talk about generalising. I live in Palermo and I am neither arrogant nor a concheta, just happened to find a nice place for a decent price.

To the OP, I lived in San Telmo when I first arrived in 2008 and I'm very fond of the area, I think it's a great place to start here. Palermo suits me better for convenience to my work place,and I do love this area but it can be expensive. Also, although people say it is safer, the majority of people I know who have been robbed have been robbed in Palermo!

 

[switcheroo]

I'm probably reasonably well qualified to answer this as a Sydneysider from Surry Hills who now lives in Palermo...

To me, Palermo is hard to characterise because it's like there are 3 or 4 different 'Palermos'. I would say you have a range of Surry Hills, Darlignhurst, Paddington and Elizabeth Bay within Palermo depending on which part you're in. San Telmo I agree is more like Newtown, but scuzzier. Maybe throw in a bit of Redfern/Darlington and you're getting closer.

Personally I prefer Palermo for the variation and yes, it feels a lot safer too.

Good luck with your search!

I've just moved to Palermo from Newtown on Monday... and I'd agree with Andy on Palermo... it's nice regardless of where you end up. I don't know about Redfern/Darlington - it's getting pretty schmancy there now, the block is actually safe these days