I'm on my way out, but not as an "expat" but as an Argentine pushed out due to the cost of living crisis. I don't want to leave, hell, I naturalized as an Argentine citizen after all, but I don't see a future here anymore, and my husband has finally come to his senses and is willing to move abroad.
Salaries are flat in pesos (you maybe get a 1% a month increase if you're lucky while monthly inflation is almost 4 times higher at 3.7%, remember folks, this is worse now than the 12% inflation but 6% increase with Alberto because at least then you recouped half your salary, now you only recoup 25% if you're lucky), and way down if you earn in dollars. Inflation remains out of control despite the chainsaw, and even though the dollar is flat/decreased since the cepo was eliminated, prices are still increasing. The Economist has the Big Mac Index which is fine (Argentina remains in 2nd place vis a vis the most expensive Big Mac in the world), but I personally prefer the Coca Cola Index due to it simply being water, sugar, and CO2 with a rockbottom overhead for labor costs unlike McDonalds.
Take a look at Coca Cola prices in the region/developed/broader world and tell me how well the Milei Miracle is going...:
Developed:
US @ Walmart: $2.74
Canada @ Walmart: $2.01
France @ Carrefour: $2.75
Australia @ Woolworths: $2.69
Japan @ Aeon: $1.44
UAE @ Lulu: $2.18
Broader World:
South Africa @ Shoprite: $1.17
China @ Epermarket: $1.10
India @ Dmart: $0.82
Malaysia @ Aeon: $0.75
Region:
Brazil @ Pão de Açúcar: $1.81
Colombia @ Exito: $1.37
Chile @ Jumbo: $2.37
Peru @ Wong: $2.34
Mexico @ Walmart: $1.82
Wait for it...
Argentina @ Carrefour (CABA): $3.96 USD
VAMOSSSS, GOLLLLL!!!, AGUANTE MILEIII!!! PREMIO NOBEL YA!!!
Joking/sarcasm aside, someone please tell me how this is sustainable? How do you look at this and think, "Yes, sugar water being $4 is a sign of a healthy economy." While I realize this is one metric alone, it speaks to something fundamentally broken in Argentina's micro and macro economy: it doesn't add up. Someone shared loan offerings from BNA IIRC online today and the interest rates were beyond usurious, something like 240% TNA. So what is it? Are things going well and fine, or not so much? How come very few mortgage applications are being approved, yet there's in theory tons of dollars available? What is all the chainsawing for if nothing is being gained?
Couple this with the fact that very few companies have taken advantage of the RIGI and the continued, sustained brain drain of highly educated Argentines outwards to Spain and the US and I can't think of better (worse?) ewigen Wiederkehr; it's 2015 all over again, and anyone who says so is labeled a K, even if you were militantly anti Alberto and Cristina even before 2019.
But I digress, to my fellow forum members, I lament that my time amongst you all appears to be growing shorter like these autumn days, and I have already begun to study Portuguese and look for a home amongst the beaches of Brazil. I was truly hoping this time would be different, but I think all the Argentine Millennials might be right: the only exit is Ezeiza, and should things continue as they are, we'll be headed there by Christmas for warmer and stabler shores...