How locked down is life there now?

[florence]

My husband and I have been in the US since February. But we are getting our covid vaccinations now and are thinking about returning to Argentina for a couple of months. We are wondering if it is worth it. Is life there still very locked down and limited? He is an Argentine citizen and I’m a permanent resident, so we believe we can get in. But what we are wondering is what life might be like when we get there.. We have an apartment in the city of BA, and he has family and a home Tigre. Can we freely go back and forth between the city and the province? Are stores and restaurants open? Can we use public transit? I recognize that the situation is very fluid, but any info would help us decide.

Also, can anyone point me to a blog or website about daily life in Argentina where most of the questions might have already been answered? Mil gracias.

 

[antipodean]

My husband and I have been in the US since February. But we are getting our covid vaccinations now and are thinking about returning to Argentina for a couple of months. We are wondering if it is worth it. Is life there still very locked down and limited? He is an Argentine citizen and I’m a permanent resident, so we believe we can get in. But what we are wondering is what life might be like when we get there.. We have an apartment in the city of BA, and he has family and a home Tigre. Can we freely go back and forth between the city and the province? Are stores and restaurants open? Can we use public transit? I recognize that the situation is very fluid, but any info would help us decide.

Also, can anyone point me to a blog or website about daily life in Argentina where most of the questions might have already been answered? Mil gracias.

Life is “normal” at the moment in AMBA and most touristic parts of the country despite high rates of COVID infection. (Apparently) you need a permission to travel between provinces outside of AMBA, but after 4 provinces and 24 hours of road-tripping the permission has not once been checked.
Everything one needs or does on the day to day is open with minimal inconvenience.

Of course we have seen how “severe” a lockdown can be in the past months - it is anyone’s guess if and when strict restrictions will be back.

 

[florence]

Life is “normal” at the moment in AMBA and most touristic parts of the country despite high rates of COVID infection. (Apparently) you need a permission to travel between provinces outside of AMBA, but after 4 provinces and 24 hours of road-tripping the permission has not once been checked.
Everything one needs or does on the day to day is open with minimal inconvenience.

Of course we have seen how “severe” a lockdown can be in the past months - it is anyone’s guess if and when strict restrictions will be back.

Exactly what we wanted to know. Thank you!

 

[Fiscal]

I am in a pueblo in the interior now and life is 95% normal. A few people where masks but do not cover their nose. Otherwise people are dining out, shopping, gathering for parties, etc. Just prior to getting here, I was in Buenos Aires for several weeks, in Palermo. Life there also seemed totally normal, with sidewalk cafes and bars full of people. The only difference, again, is people mostly wore masks. Which I don't mind since it is good protection from the sun.

 

[rickulivi]

Florence asked "we are wondering is what life might be like when we get there." I also have the same question, but part of the answer, I think, lies on what you like to do when in BA. On the one extreme, you can continue the typical life of USA: go to bed every night at 10 pm, get up early, make breakfast, be busy till lunch, be busy till dinner around 7 pm, and go to bed at 10. In this case, i think life in BA would not be different at all.

On the other hand, if while in BA, you plan to go out for dinner at 9 pm, and stay at the restaurant till 11, and then walk home while stopping to grab an ice cream at midnight, going to bed at 1 am, up at 8 am and out for breakfast, read the newspaper, walk back home around 11, get busy at till lunch at 3, then a nap and out at 5 pm for a beer and chips, home again to get ready to go to hear music at some venue, or to the theater, and dinner at 11 pm, and so on. All the while transporting yourself from one place to the other in public transportation and walking everywhere, at any time, all day long . . . I don't know if this type of life is possible today in BA. I suspect it's not possible for two reasons: covid and the horrendous levels of poverty, but I don't know because not in Argentina now, nor have been since over a year ago, thanks to covid.

Maybe some of the locals can give us better "intelligence" as to how's life in BA these days.

 

[toongeorges]

Except for tango (there still are no milongas except for some underground ones) and people wearing masks, Buenos Aires appears to be more or less normal. People circulate in buses and trains, you can take the car to go elsewhere (I have not gone out of the province). Shops, restaurants and parks are open.

 

[UK Man]

As long as case numbers don't start heading up the way then daily life will more or less be 'normal'. Your biggest problem might be getting here.

 

[D.B. Cooper]

Florence asked "we are wondering is what life might be like when we get there." I also have the same question, but part of the answer, I think, lies on what you like to do when in BA. On the one extreme, you can continue the typical life of USA: go to bed every night at 10 pm, get up early, make breakfast, be busy till lunch, be busy till dinner around 7 pm, and go to bed at 10. In this case, i think life in BA would not be different at all.

On the other hand, if while in BA, you plan to go out for dinner at 9 pm, and stay at the restaurant till 11, and then walk home while stopping to grab an ice cream at midnight, going to bed at 1 am, up at 8 am and out for breakfast, read the newspaper, walk back home around 11, get busy at till lunch at 3, then a nap and out at 5 pm for a beer and chips, home again to get ready to go to hear music at some venue, or to the theater, and dinner at 11 pm, and so on. All the while transporting yourself from one place to the other in public transportation and walking everywhere, at any time, all day long . . . I don't know if this type of life is possible today in BA. I suspect it's not possible for two reasons: covid and the horrendous levels of poverty, but I don't know because not in Argentina now, nor have been since over a year ago, thanks to covid.

Maybe some of the locals can give us better "intelligence" as to how's life in BA these days.

Things are “almost“ back to normal. I put almost in quotes because you still have to wear a mask in public. All the city bus lines are up and running. And so are the trains. I had to go to the suburb of Merlo last week. I took the train from Once train station. Nobody stopped me to ask if I was an “essential worker” or not. There's a lot of police presence there, and also they have a thermal camera set up to see if you have a temperature as you walk to the train terminals. A few weeks ago I was in midtown, I stopped at my favorite pizzeria Bancheros. They’re open and doing business as usual, all the waiters wear face coverings. Patrons are required to wear them when going in but you can take them off when sitting at a table or standing. All the pizzerias on Corrientes seem to be open. One extra positive feature is that they’re allowed to set up tables and chairs on the sidewalk. I chose to sit inside because the AC was on. I saw groups of people sitting together eating Inside like old times. I'll be happy to do “intelligence“ work, If anybody has any questions feel free to ask.

 

[momjade]

If you're going in Feb-Mar you'll still be OK with the warm weather keeping things "normal". Later, with colder weather moving in, you can expect a probable return of restrictive measures like in the upper hemisphere in fall and winter.