How many of us are still here?

[Redpossum]

...
Speaking from my own household, our largest expense is rent. If we owned our home (or could access a mortgage to be owners) we wouldn't be looking to leave, and I think is a common experience with our retired (but not tired) members: those who rent while receiving SS are struggling, not as bad as in the US or Argentines collecting ANSES pensions, but the inflation in dollars has hit them the hardest. Our members who receive SS but own their home, while having their incomes impacted by the high dollar inflation, have more ability to absorb such an increase since they're not paying rent, and if things get really bad, they could in theory sell their home (I don't think reverse mortgages/home equity loans are a thing here, but I could be wrong).

This is a problem the world over, and why I believe so fervently in ensuring people have homeownership. Sure, it wouldn't fix every problem Argentina, the US, Europe, etc. have, but if you have that security, you're able to better adapt to what life and the economy throw at you, but at some point societies decided to commodify one of humanity's basic needs and now we live in the world both Adam Smith and Karl Marx warned us about.

Exactly the same for me. Rent now consumes half of what I get from Social Security each month, for a one bedroom apartment in Villa Urquiza.

...and it will go up again at the end of May.

 

[Rich One]

Exactly the same for me. Rent now consumes half of what I get from Social Security each month, for a one bedroom apartment in Villa Urquiza.

...and it will go up again at the end of May.

Perhaps the answer is to fight for a SS increase.

 

[Redpossum]

Perhaps the answer is to fight for a SS increase.

Yes, of course, that's a brilliant solution!

The very next time I talk to the President or the Speaker of the House, I'll be sure to mention that.

 

[dlish]

What do you see? While cuevas may operate in cash allowing a premium, the majority of the dollar market operates on MEP. Your western union transfers, credit card exchange rates, etc follow MEP (or CCL), not blue. For most expats, this will be the rate they will get unless they have physical bills. This MEP rate will not go higher than $1400. That is the peg.

Fair enough. Luckily I worked out a system so that I can operate on the blue the past two years; I've never needed to transfer via WU or with the MEP rate. So I hope it won't affect me. Also worth pointing out that expats can always transfer with crypto and so even if the MEP gets "pegged", the Dólar Cripto would become the expat way of transferring.

 

[sergio]

Americans need a total of 40 credits, roughly 10 years or work to collect Social Security. While the IRS allows a foreign income tax exclusion for federal income taxes, self employment taxes (which include social security contributions) are not exempt. This is a mandatory contribution not voluntary.

You misunderstood. If you are living abroad and not working for a US employer that pays into Social Security you CAN NOT make contributions to Social Security, hence if you work in Argentina and are working for anything other than a US employer you will not get credit for those years. Some countries have an arrangement with the US regarding pensions. Argentina does not have this with the US. British citizens MAY send in voluntary contributions to their pension scheme while they work outside the UK. That's the point I was trying to make. I am surprised few on this forum who are US citizens are not concerned about their retirement future and loss of Social Security benefits.

 

[sergio]

Perhaps you are referring to my post about what I am paying to live in Argentina compared to what I would have to pay if I was living in the USA. I made that post with the title of the thread in mind...and as an expat with a desire to explain why I am still here.

While I am deeply concerned about my Argentine friend who is struggling to support his family on a monthly Argentine salary in pesos which is.only about $450 USD and post about the problems he is dealing with, my posts about my current cost of living are meant to explain why I would not be able to return to the US to live.

I indicated that my current monthly cost of living is very close to $600 USD and that includes food, utilities (electricity, nafta, LP gas, water), car maintainence and insurance, as well as house insurance. I combined annual taxes, government fees and medical exams and divided by twelve.

I have only researched the present cost of food in the USA, and rhe cost of almost everything that I consume on a daily basis costs significantly less here. My exclusive source for US prices is Walmart and most of the prices are for the Great Value brand, which is apparently the cheapest Walmart has to offer.

I have not recently researched the costs of utilites, insurance, medical exams or car maintainence in the US, but I seriously doubt that car insurance would be less than the $20 USD per month I am currently paying or that my house insurance would be less than the current rate which is lesd than $50 USD per month.

PS: I recently had some work done on my car for the annual VTV inspection. The repairs included completely replacing the exhaust system (no converter), replacing some front suspension, steering, and brake components, an oil change, and "completely rebuilding" the carburador. The total cost of the parts was about $300 USD and the total for labor was about $150. The mechanic also cleaned the motor so it would look better for the inspection. I shudder to think what the cost of the same repairs would be in the USA today, even if the parts for a 30 year old car were still readily available (of course they aren't).

I was not referring to you however a person can live in many US cities without a car. I know several people living on very low Social Security in good subsidized housing. If Medicare does not cover all costs, Medicaid steps in. Public transportation is either free or 1/.2 fare for seniors. There are many other benefits depending on the city and state. I am aware that there is a lot of US bashing on this forum but I know personally several people who manage on limited incomes in this way. The US is not without a social umbrella. Finding out what is available and how to get it can be challenging, however. This is all I will say. I am not going to get into a debate about how awful the US is supposed to be.

 

[Gringo80]

Anybody found a potential new home for when Arg becomes too difficult (besides Colombia)?

 

[Che1990]

Anybody found a potential new home for when Arg becomes too difficult (besides Colombia)?

X/Twitter keeps showing me lots of stuff about Paraguay.

Very cheap, decent infrastructure, low taxes and capitalist economy, just maybe not so much to do and the cities look a dump.

Asuncion, from what I can tell, isn’t a walkable city.

I want to visit to see what all the fuss is about and why the algorithms keep showing it to me.

 

[MarshallE]

X/Twitter keeps showing me lots of stuff about Paraguay.

Very cheap, decent infrastructure, low taxes and capitalist economy, just maybe not so much to do and the cities look a dump.

Asuncion, from what I can tell, isn’t a walkable city.

I want to visit to see what all the fuss is about and why the algorithms keep showing it to me.

Coming from BA you'll be sorely disappointed. BA is pretty much the gold standard in terms of a walkable city. A couple neighborhoods in Mexico City can compare, but I haven't been anywhere else in Latin America that has the same combination of walkability, good climate and relative safety that gives BA its charm

 

[FxF]

Thank you to all of you who posted and shared your insights! I have been wondering how expat life in BsAs would change with Millei's policies and after hearing you all, things are a lot clearer for me now!

I expected the geo-/economic arbitrage that expat digital nomads had been conducting with the Blue dollar rate was unsustainable but even so, the lifting of the currency controls earlier this month was a bit of a shock.

In retrospect though, I should not have been surprised that the chainsaw-wielder did this as soon as he possibly could, and in reality the severe currency value distortions caused by those controls are really bad over the long run.... my complaint is that the way he's done things has inflicted significant pain on millions of people, in the form of increased poverty rates and a lower quality of life at higher costs.

My personal feelings is that if economic arbitrage (in the form of earning dollars while paying for living expenses in local currency) is an expat's primary reason for living in BsAs, that day has passed and won't be coming back soon. It's past time to move on, and there are better places for that arbitrage play. But that's OK and can be even good for expats in Argentine. Fewer digital nomads could mean less demand for the kind of housing that expats want, which could mean lower rents over time.... IF inflation isn't too high. Sadly, U.S. tariff and trade policy will not only push up inflation in their country but world-wide (e.g. there will be more demand for Argentine beef worldwide as a replacement for U.S. beef, which will push up prices for Argentines, unfortunately.)

What I'm thinking about is BsAs real estate. Even if the cost of living in Argentina is just as high as it is in the U.S., if I can purchase a place to live at a third or less of the cost of a comparable abode in the U.S., it makes sense to do that, right (assuming that it's where I want to settle)? The only thing that makes me hesitant is the economic instability Argentina has had over many years.