How much to live?

[AlexfromLA]

Yeah. I actually thought it would be cheaper to buy than to rent. I come to find out after I purchased my first property here that that was not exactly the case.

Buying a car here is also a bigger expense than I thought it would be.

The Patente or basically ABL on the car is calculated based on the cars value. So i'm paying like $ 600 pesos every two months. Car insurance is about another $700 pesos a month. Lol and that doesn't even include maintenance and petrol. And if you don't own a parking space, that's another $ 400 pesos a month tacked onto the total for good measure.

So if you want to drive a nice car in Buenos Aires, you are looking at paying about $ 500 USD a month. Lol, I should have just stuck with taxis.

Just some things to think about when calculating your cost of living.

 

[jp]

Sure you'd be very comfy on 5k USD a month, but you could live on a hell of a lot less. Not sure if I'd even say that was middle class, only the upper echelons of society get to live in gated communties with gardners, maids, nannies, cleaners etc.

Really depends on expectation. You don't really need a car, nanny, gardner yadda yadda to live comfortably here. If you don't rent at tourists rates you can get a nice place to live for under 3000 pesos a month in a nice barrio, then another 5k pesos could cover living expenses for you and your family - its all pretty reasonable stuff. Not the life of riley, but you could be happy here on that. Depends on what makes you happy, and what you're looking for. Schools and childcare are cheap, TVs and consumer goods are expensive. Eating out cheap, foreign holidays expensive. The list goes on. I'd say somewhere between french jurists number of 8k pesos, and the fairly opulent 5k USD budget you'll find happiness, give or take a few compromises and a few reality checks. If you get offered 5k USD a month, breathe a sigh of relief and I take my hat off to you. But if you get offered half of that, its not necessarily cause for alarm.

Best of luck

 

[A&A]

If you rent unfurnished/"locals-style" how much does internet and apartment expenses cost a month

Also, just for my own edification, what is ABL?

 

[AlexfromLA]

Great post. Except for this part. Please tell me whats cheap ? A good quality Billingual ( doble escolaridad ) private school with international accreditation in Capital or in a place like Pilar is not cheap at all and depending on what grade the child is in, it can get quite expensive. You are EASILY looking at about $ 500 USD per child per month. And that doesn't include winter uniforms or summer uniforms, gym uniforms or rugby uniforms or materials or extra curricular activities. Lol.

Schools are cheap

 

[SaraSara]

If you rent unfurnished/"locals-style" how much does internet and apartment expenses cost a month

Also, just for my own edification, what is ABL?

Internet and basic cable TV start at around sixty dollars a month.

ABL stands for "Alumbrado, Barrido y Limpieza" - a municipal tax to pay for street lighting, trash removal, etc. On top of that there is the provincial real estate tax, and on top of that there's a national personal property tax on real estate, cars, and boats. AND on top of all that there's the VAT tax.

Oh, be joyful....!

 

[AlexfromLA]

If you rent unfurnished/"locals-style" how much does internet and apartment expenses cost a month

Also, just for my own edification, what is ABL?

It depends. I have 5 mbps through Fibertel. The cost is $ 300 pesos per month, but you can get 3 mbps ( if you're a tech newb ) for about half of that. Building expenses also vary. It depends on the size of the property and the amenities the building has. But roughly speaking anywhere from $ 400 - $ 1200 pesos per month. If you live in an old building with nothing but a Portero, you can pay much less.

ABL or Rentas is a tax a property owner pays to the city for the use of the cities infrastructure. It is also based on the size and value of the property so it varies. If you rent on a two year contract, you would have to pay this and not the owner.

Edit. * Exactly SaraSara

 

[petarro]

WOW! Thanks to everyone for the information!!! I think I may need to calculate very well... I still have not received an offer, is there an internet site for Jobs so I can try to calculate what my Job pays in BA?

Is it possible to live a bit outiside "in the skirts" of BA and pay a much lower rent and perhaps a nicer flat?

Is there a Really popular BA real estate website?

 

[petarro]

And, how much gets deducated by the tax system monthly..?

 

[AlexfromLA]

This is a good resource for long term rental properties in Capital and in the provinces.

http://www.argenprop.com/

 

[SaraSara]

And, how much gets deducated by the tax system monthly..?

About 30%.