Hopefully soon to be expat living in Buenos Aires - LOTS OF QUESTIONS.

[JG]

I promise that these suggestions will not anything to do about pets.
1. The Buenos Aires International Newcomers - a group of foreigners who live in BA
that meet once a month, They have lots of activities. A good and easy way to
meet people.
2. Websites - Good Morning Buenos Aires
Paddyinba.blogspot.com
My Buenos Aires Travel Guide
theargentinepost
3. Newspaper - The Benos Aires Herald - daily English paper
4. Magazines - Time out Buenos Aires- Just like the ones in other major cities
ba insider - great magazine for expats, published several times a
year.
5. Guia "T" - book of street maps. Also list corresponding bus routes.

If all you're planing to do is eat beef and drink wine, be rest assured that health are in Buenos Aires is excellent.

 

[thuy.ashtango]

Hi Sharyn,

I hope you do move here. My boyfriend and I decided over a weekend to make the move. Then we spent 9 months selling everything we had for a nest egg, and we've not looked back. We've been here for almost two years and love it.

Of course BA has it's problems. But so does every place else.

My experience pertains mainly to running my own business in a forum country and also searching for ethnic foods. The beef and wine are amazing, but you'll be surprised how starved you get for a salad or curry after a few weeks.

Also, if you're a tanguera, I could probably help point you towards milongas of your preference.

Feel free to ask me anything.

thuy
[email protected]

 

[LiXueLee]

We moved here with our family a couple of months ago. If you have direct questions, feel free to ask. Baires is fab, but not without trials and tribulations, as with any expat experience!! (I agree with Thuy, we love the steak and wine, but the carb-heavy diet here is very short on spice and fresh produce which requires some creativity.)

You can contact me through our blog, www.micheleandtom.com. I try to post frequently about experiences that may be relevant for other expats who want to move here. (We had the problem of trying to find an apartment on short notice in high season that was big enough for 5!! Everyone's advice to start early is spot on.)

Good luck!

 

[mysharonany]

Wow everyone!! Some really great advice and suggestions. I plan on following up with each and every link, website and suggestion.

Living in Costa Rica we are used to the "way things are done" which in the end make absolutely no sense (I tried to post that as politely as I could ;-)) But there is soo much on the other side of the scale in BA to even things out (culture, food, wine, food, wine, food, wine. .. ok, now you get the gist of what we are all about ;-)). Also having made the initial move from NYC to Costa Rica, I have a feeling there won't be too much that was really surprise us!

Thanks again and I look forward to hearing more from all of you. Thanks again for taking the time to reply!!

 

[miamiman]

I have been visiting Buenos Aires since 1968, almost yearly...sometimes a month at a time.
Two years ago, I sold my business in Miami and made the worst mistake of my life. I know the city better than its natives and in addition to being a polyglot (7) languages and haivng the same look as any white person in Buenos Aires...dad is from Northern Spain and Italy...Mom was Russian and Polish, the criminals in this lovely city are experts in picking us out of the crowd. In less than one year,. I have been mugged three times..twice I ended up in the hospital. Mind you, I wear no jewelry, can imitate the porteno accent flawlessly, and the places I've been mugged are considered the best areas of the city...Recoleta and Palermo.
In addition to the muggings, my house, which I bought, was broken into the day after cable was installed by Cablevision. Everything was stolen...from cash to watches, notebooks, etc. There were two men working and it is very obvious that one of them duplicated the keys while
I was not looking. There were no signs of a forceful entry. Upon returning home, I could not even find my dog, who is like my child, a 7 year old Schnauzer, who was so afraid....hid under the bed and would not come out. I had to pull him from under the bed...it was that scary.
It hurts me to have to be so honest, but even my own Argentine friends, who are lovely people, have asked me if I was crazy when I moved to the city that has changed so much and to me and to my family, it's like living in hell on earth.
I used to attend religiuous services twice a week and I'm in the process of becoming a deacon. Taxis refuse to even take me to church because of the fear of having to go through two questionable neighborhoods....
There has not been a single taxi person to warn me.
Choose another place in the world. I tell you this even though my business is medical tourism and tourism is 36% down from last year.
May God bless you and your family.......Go elsewhere, for the love of God.

 

[mininspace]

I'm surprised they don't allow dogs to live in many of the places, considering all the dog poo I have to navigate around on the sidewalks! I'd love to actually walk and look at the city, instead I'm constantly looking down. IT'S BAD. These dogs are living somewhere...

 

[kurtdillard]

After visiting here 15 times since 2001 I moved hear a year ago. We signed a 2 year lease, since we couldn't provide a gaurantia (real estate offered as collatoral) substantial enough for the landlord we are pre-paying 6 months every 6 months. The most annoying thing is dealing with unscrupulous and incompentent technicians. For example, the 2 split AC units we purchased were installed incorrectly and its been a nightmare trying to get them fixed over the last 12 months. Problems with our DSL line were also never properly resolved, I finally canceled the service and rely on cable from Fibretel with wireless service from Telmex as backup.

Also note that while major retailers accept credit cards you have to pay for many things with cash, such as our rent. Until you have a trusting relationship with someone I suggest that you record all of the serial numbers of the bills you will use to pay rent, buy property, or whatever before you meet with the other party. Another landlord tried to switch my legitimate bills with counterfiet $100 bills a few years ago when I was renting a short-term apartment.

Even with these hassles we love living here, the good things outweigh these annoyances by a very large amount!

 

[soulskier]

I have been visiting Buenos Aires since 1968, almost yearly...sometimes a month at a time.
Two years ago, I sold my business in Miami and made the worst mistake of my life. I know the city better than its natives and in addition to being a polyglot (7) languages and haivng the same look as any white person in Buenos Aires...dad is from Northern Spain and Italy...Mom was Russian and Polish, the criminals in this lovely city are experts in picking us out of the crowd. In less than one year,. I have been mugged three times..twice I ended up in the hospital. Mind you, I wear no jewelry, can imitate the porteno accent flawlessly, and the places I've been mugged are considered the best areas of the city...Recoleta and Palermo.
In addition to the muggings, my house, which I bought, was broken into the day after cable was installed by Cablevision. Everything was stolen...from cash to watches, notebooks, etc. There were two men working and it is very obvious that one of them duplicated the keys while
I was not looking. There were no signs of a forceful entry. Upon returning home, I could not even find my dog, who is like my child, a 7 year old Schnauzer, who was so afraid....hid under the bed and would not come out. I had to pull him from under the bed...it was that scary.
It hurts me to have to be so honest, but even my own Argentine friends, who are lovely people, have asked me if I was crazy when I moved to the city that has changed so much and to me and to my family, it's like living in hell on earth.
I used to attend religiuous services twice a week and I'm in the process of becoming a deacon. Taxis refuse to even take me to church because of the fear of having to go through two questionable neighborhoods....
There has not been a single taxi person to warn me.
Choose another place in the world. I tell you this even though my business is medical tourism and tourism is 36% down from last year.
May God bless you and your family.......Go elsewhere, for the love of God.

MiamiMan, may I be the first to say I am sorry to hear about your issues. Perhaps you might consider another part of the city?

Suerte, SS