How many of you want to leave Bs As?

[JoeGillis]

Right on, redrum! Your "2 cents" is worth a million bucks. A most succinct summary. Many thanks for your honest and (unfortunately) appropriate appraisal.

 

[French jurist]

Many of you know that I have already left BsAs. I just wanted to post here to say that after living in Buenos Aires for nearly six years, and though I will always have a nostalgia for certain parts and aspects of Buenos Aires, having been gone for almost a month now I must say that I am not looking back and do not miss it! Santiago, while a temporary stop for me (minimum of 6 months) is green, clean, and efficient... a breath of fresh air.

Cheers to those of you who are still enjoying BsAs for what it is, good luck to those of you who want to leave but are unable to for now, and kudos to those of you who wanted to leave and left.

You need to tell us more about Santiago! (if you wish). I'm curious

 

[MikeMike]

You need to tell us more about Santiago! (if you wish). I'm curious

I spent a significant amount of time in BsAs from 2008 to 2010. I moved to Santiago mid-2010 and just recently returned to BsAs.

The pros (imo) for Santiago include that the city is safe, clean, stable, the gov't is trying to "do the right thing", there is solid economic growth, relatively high pay for office-type jobs, low corruption, people are generally well mannered, racism was much less "in your face", you have easy access to the mountains, beach, desert, etc.

Cons include air pollution, architecture from the 80s/90s that is less elegant than what you find in BsAs, somewhat higher cost of living (rent, bills, food is more, but electronics, cars are much cheaper) and earthquakes (lots of 'em!).

Overall, I think BsAs is "more sexy", but less practical. You have great architecture, the people have a certain style, you get a Southern European vibe, the food is good (I like empanadas, pizza, pasta and beef), etc. However, you also have a "questionable" government, instability, corruption, low wages, high inflation, significant social strife/issues and most importantly, no sign that things are likely to improve.

Chile strikes me as much more stable, with a brighter future, and as a better place to live, if you're looking to do business or simply want to have a sense of stability similar to what you might experience in the US, Europe, etc. It's less "cool", but better imo in terms of the day-to-day.

 

[jojoinba]

Ah the BA world.. been there a few times. I do not like BA for more than 3 or 4 day visist, so perhaps that is what this thread really comes down to... outside of BA there is another Argentina. An Argentina with humble caring human beings that have honor and are fun to be with and around...good honorable sincere kind hearted people. DO NOT judge Argentina based on BA... you will be in error.

I just did a whole tour of the north of Argentina by motorbike...and I have to say, that while Argentines in and out of BA are different, people outside of BA, don't necessarily have more honour, nor are more caring. There is just as much garbage and just as much drama (which I just experienced).
Aesthetically, outside of BA, there are beautiful landscapes and places...but unless we eradicate human presence, it will never be perfect. It's always tainted by a dirty diaper...
People are not more sincere, or kind-hearted...they lie just as much and care only about themselves (and yes, it's like that in other parts of the world). There are exceptions to the rule, but towards tourists and expats, the attitude doesn't change.
I think that if the whole country would clean itself up and people learned more about keeping their land beautiful, it would emmanate more positive vibes to everyone.

 

[jojoinba]

Yes, but it is not called CiudadBAexpats. I've never seen anyone who posts here crticized for living in San Isidro or Vincente Lopez or anywhere in Greater BA. I lived in Ciudad Buenos Aires for four years. I wasn't unhappy there, but having read posts by obviously happy individuals like Tom, John.St, and a few others who were living in other parts of Agentina I started looking (on line) for an alternative to living in the city. I had already ruled out the Zona Norte, including Pilar and Tigre.

I looked at homes in several provinces, particulary Mendoza and Cordoba, but the house the attracted me the most was in the south of Provincia Buenos Aires, two KM from the ocean and ten and tewnty minute drives from population centers of 75,000 and 350,000. To make a long story short (and as I've previously posted), I bought the 4 bedroom house for less $ than I sold my one bedroom apartment in BA. That was almost two years ago and that's long enough to know I have no desire to leave...Provincia BA...or Argentina.

Okay but most of us don't come here to buy houses let alone be able to afford buying any kind of property here!

 

[TomAtAlki]

Okay but most of us don't come here to buy houses let alone be able to afford buying any kind of property here!

That's true, but some of us do.
Nancy

 

[HowardinBA]

Okay but most of us don't come here to buy houses let alone be able to afford buying any kind of property here!

but I,like Steve, am an EX_PAT..not a tourist

 

[El chabon]

Small heineken bottle and one of the most exclusive restaurants in Gran BA - 11 peso
Burger and fries at the Same place - 56 peso
Speed con vodka at the most exclusive after office in BA - 25 peso
Quilmes beer at the same place - 15 peso

Who can really say it's expensive or it was à 30% in 2005?

If you know where to go you can eat and drink for about 100 peso and drink only for about 50-70, that is definitly not expensive

 

[steazy mccloud]

Reading through this thread I am feeling even more grateful for the good experiences I have had so far. I am 20 and came here 6 months ago with my girlfriend who is from here. I have a network of people here and since Im living with them, and will be moving to an apartment that they already own I have had things very easy. I live in La Matanza just outside of Capital and to be honest Ive found the people to be even more friendly than in the US. I actually spend most of my time in a villa where due to my association with the family I am known and respected in one of the more "dangerous" places, that you cant even get a remis to go in to.

I currently teach english just out of my house and make enough money to get me by, and while I will end up back in the US someday I see no reason to want to at this point.

I think obviously I have lucked in to a good situation, but just couldnt be more grateful seeing what life has unfortunately become for alot of people.

 

[Napoleon]

Reading through this thread I am feeling even more grateful for the good experiences I have had so far. I am 20 and came here 6 months ago with my girlfriend who is from here. I have a network of people here and since Im living with them, and will be moving to an apartment that they already own I have had things very easy. I live in La Matanza just outside of Capital and to be honest Ive found the people to be even more friendly than in the US. I actually spend most of my time in a villa where due to my association with the family I am known and respected in one of the more "dangerous" places, that you cant even get a remis to go in to.

I currently teach english just out of my house and make enough money to get me by, and while I will end up back in the US someday I see no reason to want to at this point.

I think obviously I have lucked in to a good situation, but just couldnt be more grateful seeing what life has unfortunately become for alot of people.

You are definitely living in a different world than most expats who use this site. For a while my social life was heavily in the world of porteños. From playing soccer with them on a weekly basis to going out with them Friday and Saturday night. Then around the same time I started hanging out in Sugar and meeting a variety of expats with various interests and living situations, I got screwed over a time or two from different people in "my Argentine group". I realized that in the States, I wouldn't continue to be friends with people who acted like that, and so why should I here.

Since then I've been living HEAVILY in the English/Spanish speaking expat world. Most of the native Spanish speakers in our group are not Argentine. And the few who are, are dating expats or aren't from Buenos Aires. I guess that we're all outsiders in some form or another. And this influences our connection to the city.

It's great that you've found such a comfortable situation here. I'm sure that your parents would absolutely S*** BRICKS if they knew what the villas were really like that you're visiting on a regular basis.

I would suggest that you take extra precautions using birth control your last two months here, because as I've personally witnessed with a close friend as well as another girl I used to be friends with, "accidents" happen frequently here.