How many of you want to leave Bs As?

Ashley said:
British people actually secretly enjoy misery! I'd shudder at the thought of being described as cheerful!
Ashley
(You might want to check out my new blog which explores the British psyche in considerable detail www.elquenosaltaesuningles.com)

In earlier post I was wondering if there was something different with the Brits, seems my observations are being confirmed. Somebody said that the English and Americans were two people separated by a common language. In reality I think its two very different cultures connected by a common language.
 
citygirl said:
Mmmmm...given that 90% of the clientele of the Kansases (Pilar, San Isidro y Cap Fed) are porteños and all three restaurants are full every day - I hardly think liking Kansas means Bs As isn't your type of town;)
McDonalds is also always full - and everywhere!!! Doesn't mean going to McDonalds is "experiencing BA".
 
fvrconst said:
And those people who are from the US - if you had saved up money before you come here + you don't live a more expensive life (and I may even add, if you work here, so have income as well, not just live up the money)...then I in this bloody life cannot imagine how could you live worse here than in US.
Actually, to be honest, there are many places where you can live more cheaply than in BA. Even in San Diego, hardly the cheapest place in the US, and with a gorgeous beach & climate, you can rent an apartment as an individual for under $1 for a studio, even less if you share, and going out drinking and eating can be done cheaper than BA. This would be even more so in smaller towns away from the coast ...etc.

Many things in the US/Australia that are "free" - beach, beautiful parks - are not available in BA in quite the same way.

I'm not saying that justifies all the complaints about BA, just wanted to point out some facts.
 
deeve007 said:
McDonalds is also always full - and everywhere!!! Doesn't mean going to McDonalds is "experiencing BA".

Your point is? My comment is that liking Kansas has nothing to do with whether Cap Fed is your type of town. I quite like Kansas myself and go there frequently with my BF who loves it (and he's porteño). So do the huge majority of people who go there regularly. I also like Buenos Aires. Seriously, one has nothing to do with the other.

Guess what, I've eaten at Kansas, at McDonalds, at filthy parillas on the side of the highway in the campo where they slaughtered the food out back, at high end restaurants in Cap Fed, at nice parillas, done asados at home - all of them are "experiencing" Buenos Aires.
 
citygirl said:
Your point is? My comment is that liking Kansas has nothing to do with whether Cap Fed is your type of town.
It may do if someone is saying they like Kansas above all else and don't like BA. It suggests that for them they may not enjoy true Argentinian culinary experiences, one of the main elements of liking life in any location.

Hence your original comment that you and some portenos like Kansas has no bearing on the previous poster who likes Kansas but hates BA.

And I would beg to differ that American chain restaurants are "experiencing" BA. It's "escaping BA" if anything, same as going to similar restaurants in Asia, Middle East ...etc. Christ, I was gobsmacked to see a TGIF's in BA!! BA's seeming less like "the Paris of the Americas" and more like "little USA".
 
angelskywalker said:
It is a widely known truth that Baires has always been inhabited mostly by foreigners. So, if the "aliens made up the majority of the lineage of the city'' does that mean that their customs, good and bad habits come not entirely from native Argentines but from foreigners and their descendants? And that their rudeness and bad manners are not entirely theirs?

My post was not about ‘’ tucking tails between…’’ but about ACCEPTING that every society, from the first to the third-world one, has advantages and disadvantages. I believe Argentina is somehow a young country, which as so, is not mature yet. Their people, melting pot, hotties and other positive epithets many people have used here to describe them, doesn’t seem to fit into this image of uncivilized society that tuck their tails between their legs and don’t embrace evolution or change that’s been said quite recently. I guess it’s a matter of time for the change to happen which as someone said, should come from the individual, but again, I don’t think people from the UK, the USA, France, Germany and so on, were always civilized and proper, were they? Rules and order came from above, after learning from the past and compelling people and instilling in their new generations certain customs and laws. Many of you came here in a quest for LESS CONTROL AND RULES from the government, in a quest for a more laid-back society, less consumerism-orientated society, blablabla……. right?

Is really meaningless drivel to point out that one man’s meat is another man’s poison? The good and the bad things of the Baires’ society are simply different to what ails other big capital cities. Crime, selfishness and lack of common courtesy are commonplace here. People who want to change it knows that it takes time and convincing others that change is possible and perhaps most importantly, necessary. If you take that path, give the example and get ready to have people staring at you for being different. Have some of you tried that instead of whining here? Or moving outside Baires?

If you’re a foreigner and focus on the bad things of a place and their people, dine out with your fellow expats, give your vote to surveys about things you dislike about the place where you live, the things you miss from your country, exchanging personal cards with other expats and keep poking your nose at whatever post that comes up on the expat site, then I guess you’ll end up being just another Johnny-no-argie-mates.

I’ve met some of you and to be honest, you didn’t strike me as being particularly Argentinian-friend-prone. Perhaps more like party animals, seeking for company to enjoy the Baires nightlife, meeting ‘hottie childish women’, finding restaurants where you can find tasty food instead of boring pasta, talking about politics from your own countries, feeling great because you live in a very European city, etc., etc., etc. I’ve seen Argentinians posting and getting no replies to get together. Any ideas why that happened?

Living in a society like this is a cross to bear that many should think about before coming to settle down. I simply thought that it was more constructive to accept that a wrong decision was made when coming here, than pointing out at all the bad things this society has, which by the way, has allowed many expats to live comfortably, happily and profitably.

So when visiting Somalia, one should just accept that women should be circumcised? Of course not. There is a big difference between opinions like "I like beef, you like fish" and "common courtesy is right, common courtesy is wrong".
 
Quinn said:
So when visiting Somalia, one should just accept that women should be circumcised? Of course not.
No, but at the same time you don't go into a society like that saying that "I'm right, you're wrong". You need to work with locals to change culture that has grown over time and guide them into seeing where change is needed. Real change comes from within, not forced on them from outsiders.

I've seen first hand outsiders coming into traditional cultures with this "I'm right, you're wrong" attitude, and it doesn't usually result in a positive outcome.

But we're going on a tangent now.
 
jb5 said:
You bring up an interesting point Lee. IMO, if you're attracted to restaurants like Kansas, BA probably isn't your town. It's the most corporate American restaurant I've seen in BA.

I think those that will last here are most likely to be searching out the city's best choripan, bandiola and the parillas with no tourists!

Gotta agree. Places like Kansas are fine a couple times a year if for only one thing: they do bring in decent seafood like swordfish, which is not easy to find in BA. And that it's one of the only places where one can get decent Southern US BBQ ribs. Granted, they're baby back, but they aren't awful, which is the case in 99% of the restaurants here, sadly including newer US BBQ places that have opened this year.

But it's definitely a change-of-pace type of locale. Wouldn't think of going there for beef when it's the one culinary offering this city has to offer that is superior to most in the world.
 
fvrconst said:
Jeez man. Everyone knows that US is the center of the Universe and the bestest of all the bestest places on this planet, but come on: don't you think you shouldn't compare it to any other country - but measure that country in itself, with its own history, culture, nature, landscape, economy, ecetera?

Just thinking...

The issue is not that BA does not compare with cities in 1st world countries like US, Australia, Germany, France, etc. The problem is that BA is more and more on par with some of the worst cities on the continent and that there are a number of better environments in other south american cities. BA was once a crown jewel in the region. It's lost that. And it's the responsibility of the people, all it's inhabitants both short and long-term, to make it a better place. Recognizing that which is wrong is the first step in making it a better place for all. Denying problems just adds to the decay.
 
Driftline said:
I'm not an expat. I was a college foreign exchange student who lived a few months in Buenos Aires back in '07 and loved it!

But I plan on moving there some day soon. Funny thing I noticed: Brits are usually the most cheerful expats of any place. I've met many in places here in the States like Portland, OR., Oklahoma City, OK., NYC, etc. and they virtually all of them seem to trash-talk their life back in the U.K.

I've always hated living here in Oklahoma City, but my Brummie neighbor sometimes gets vexed when I moan about how crappy it is here.

Plus, I've been looking at expat sites about expats in various Latin American countries that I want to move to, and it's always the Brits who are the most cheerful. British expats generally talk about how terrible life in the UK is. Is it really that bad?

While other expats will moan about a particular place, Brits will be happy as if they've died and woke up in paradise. Again, is the UK really that bad?

Sorry to get a bit off-topic. On topic: thanks for the real posts about the negatives of Buenos Aires. I was thinking it would be mostly positive.

I think one thing everyone can agree with you on is that Oklahoma city does indeed suck ;)
 
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