How many of you want to leave Bs As?

[ellbee]

i agree with you 100%

i can't stand the people as well. they are unbelievably rude.

one thing that made me wonder if this is civilization, is that i went to church yesterday, and someone brought in a dog..and it was barking constantly through out the mass.
i mean, out of respect , in ANY church or religion, they shouldn't do that. I have never, in my entire life or in any country i have lived in or visited, seen anything like it.

anyhow, that's just one incident, another is just really rude people you encounter everyday. women in BA seem to be "amargadas" constantly. one incident was that my husband and i went to Disco Saturday morning, and the old woman behind us kept insulting anyone that would ask her if she could move a little cause they wanted to get and item from where she was standing in the aisle.

restaurant service is horrible and i could just go on and on......

To be specific, the Argentinians, at least those in BA, don't care about their fellow neighbors in BA. I travel often, spending months in one country or another. And this is the country in which I feel people have some of the lowest amount of common courtesy for other people. Things like the habit of holding the door for a stranger are completely devoid from daily routines. The lack of the drive by the citizens to evolve socially in things as simple as walking on the right (passing on the left)...something that is fairly universal around the world (Japan and others it's the opposite: walk on left, pass on right). It's that same lack of drive to evolve that is why the people just accept the awful customer service, the long lines in which something that should take 5 minutes to do like going to a larger supermercado, take 45 minutes die to line waiting...meanwhile there are more security employees in some cases than check-out people...when the simple math tells you that it costs more to pay these security employees than what would be stolen having to be hid in ones coat (since no bags are permitted).

People are quick to point to the top, to the government, and point fingers for the problems. And they play a role. But it's the people who ultimately set the tone...and it's not a great tone in BA.

Great city to visit...perhaps not the best for everyone to live in. To each their own.

 

[Ashley]

I always want to leave BA...but when I return to the UK for my annual trip, I'm chomping at the bit to get back to Argentina again after a couple of weeks.
I think the main problem here is the economy, local salaries and that horrible feeling of "if I don't make up my mind soon (or somehow acquire a very well paid telecommute position) I'm going to get stuck here".
If I had the opportunity to move to southern Europe or somewhere (nice) in the US for a year or two, I'd probably take it.

 

[perry]

Porteños in general are rude and confrontational . Common courtesy and generous behaviour is rare .

The honeymoon definetly wears off after a year once you realise that the charm that you first encountered was mostly fake and that real feelings of friendship are rarer that one can imagine.

The best friends one can make in Buenos Aires are other expats as we understand each other and share common experiences.

 

[John.St]

After three years in Mendoza, I wouldn't dream of leaving - they'll have to carry me out, feet first and face covered. I am really happy here and have lot's of friends, mendocinas/-os (2/3) and expats (1/3).

The only thing I miss is walking through the forest in a snowstorm at minus 20-25 celtigrades, but I do that when I return to the old country a month every winter.

 

[sundae]

Argentina definitely isn't my favorite place to live, but like others, I'm here because of a significant other and family.

 

[Mitch]

Great personalities, senses of humor, and very cosmopoliton, but they have no dignity which enables them to lie and cheat with everybody on a consistent basis. They are inherently corrupt which leaves them the same miserable futures as their pasts and present. They seem better adjusted to their lives than Americans, don´t ask me why. I don´t find them arrogant as they are the first to tell you how fucked up things are here.

 

[Rae5]

I agree with much of what´s on this site - esp. Quinn´s post. I do not want to just keep focusing on the negative but until I read this website, I was beginning to think there was something wrong with me for noticing this pissy, negative attitude among many (though not all) Porteños. I figured it was my Spanish causing the problem (learned & spoke it in Peru and Mexico).

I now understand some things and feel deeply for those people I know here in B.A., who work so very hard but can barely get ahead. And I thought things were bad in the U.S. for those of us near the bottom of the middle class.

It is a beautiful city with many incredible sites and experiences. Just an attitude and demeanor among the people that is much less appealing than those of la gente en Santiago, Mexico City y Lima, en mi humble opinion.

 

[LostinBA]

Well, like most of you, I'm the kind of person who is almost always exceedingly polite. It only bothers me a little that very few people here ever say thank you or that old ladies, for the most part, here are venomous old hags, not the sweet nice old ladies we're used to in our more developed cultures.

I too have had enough and am not going to take it anymore. I will continue to be as polite as ever, to hold doors for these people, defer to others and whatever else my good upbringing has taught me. At the same time, I will make sure these Portenos realize that the great majority of their culture are uneducated savages, deserving of their 3rd world status and endemic corruption, social, economic and political problems.

Yesterday in Starbucks, a man in his mid-forties/early-fifties who was unnecessarily using 2 tables (one for his empty coffee cup) was very rude and aggressive to me when I asked to use one. In retrospect, telling him that he is an idiot was probably a poor choice but like you, I have had enough. Anger ensued and he tried to engage me in a physical altercation. Luckily for both, I kept my cool even after he struck me. What was interesting was that upon being corrected by employees, his response was that I insulted him ADEMAS I was a foreigner...ergo, there you have the problem with 90% of the Portenos...they resent our presence. We spend money, we pay taxes, we add to their economy, we provide and create jobs and by doing so, we increase security and their quality of life BUT we are resented.

Argentina and especially this city is too full of bellicose, belligerent, stupid people. What a shame. This country could be so great if not for the majority of the Argentineans.

 

[Mitch]

Well, like most of you, I'm the kind of person who is almost always exceedingly polite. It only bothers me a little that very few people here ever say thank you or that old ladies, for the most part, here are venomous old hags, not the sweet nice old ladies we're used to in our more developed cultures.

I too have had enough and am not going to take it anymore. I will continue to be as polite as ever, to hold doors for these people, defer to others and whatever else my good upbringing has taught me. At the same time, I will make sure these Portenos realize that the great majority of their culture are uneducated savages, deserving of their 3rd world status and endemic corruption, social, economic and political problems.

Yesterday in Starbucks, a man in his mid-forties/early-fifties who was unnecessarily using 2 tables (one for his empty coffee cup) was very rude and aggressive to me when I asked to use one. In retrospect, telling him that he is an idiot was probably a poor choice but like you, I have had enough. Anger ensued and he tried to engage me in a physical altercation. Luckily for both, I kept my cool even after he struck me. What was interesting was that upon being corrected by employees, his response was that I insulted him ADEMAS I was a foreigner...ergo, there you have the problem with 90% of the Portenos...they resent our presence. We spend money, we pay taxes, we add to their economy, we provide and create jobs and by doing so, we increase security and their quality of life BUT we are resented.

Argentina and especially this city is too full of bellicose, belligerent, stupid people. What a shame. This country could be so great if not for the majority of the Argentineans.

I can´t tell you how I jealous I am. He attacked you for no reason in front of numerous witnesses? What am I doing wrong ?

 

[stefano]

I read some of these comments about the Portenos being rude, self-centered, etc. but to be honest, I think that's the case anywhere a person goes. There will always be idiots and morons in every country. I think it might be be better if the original post asked people what they like about BA. BTW, the United States is, in all likelyhood, still the best place on earth for an "average" joe to live and work. Yes, the US of A is expensive but at least I know that if I get tossed in jail I stand a good chance of getting out! Peace to all!