How much to live?

[gouchobob]

About 30%.

This sounds a little low to me, of course it depends on how much you make. I had a friend working there as a well paid engineer building a power plant, he complained it was over 40%.

 

[perry]

You can survive on US $ 2000 a month but to live and enjoy life in Buenos Aires I believe that US $ 3500 a month is about right if you want to have a similar lifestyle to the west . Inflation is very high now and with the dollar to peso equivalent showing very little change I believe that prices have reached USA standard except for food and public transport.

 

[French jurist]

Well, as I stated, my 2.000 USD figure is just to live in the city without extras (car, trips, plane tickets) and after you pay your taxes (with two kids you might get significant deductions). So yes, the gross income including vacations, RT tickets to Costa Rica and taxes should rather be 3.500 at minimum.
With 5.000 you can enjoy a very comfortable life but it really depends how you spend.

The rule of thumb here is that what you pay 100 you may also pay it 10.

Depends too if you cook by yourself or not : example, if you buy a tiny portion of tiramisu at Franco-Parma (famous delicatessen stores here) it will cost you 12 pesos, while you can buy 1 kilo of mascarpone for 35 pesos, 10 eggs for 3 pesos (I buy 36 eggs for 8 pesos), sugar and 4 pesos of vanillas and I have a 1.5 kilo tiramisu. Bon appétit !

Bilingual schools can be expensive (although you have babies so you don't need to pay for that yet) but for instance, french citizens can send their kids to the french bilingual highschool for free (that's quite new in fact), so depending on your nationality you may find good deals for highschool.

I now live near Pilar in a barrio cerrado, big house, two floors, 2.400 sq meters of garden (20.000 sq ft), 10x5 meters pool (30x15 ft) and I pay 2.000 pesos + 430 pesos expensas. It's a house that could rent too for 2500/3000 but since I have no garantia I offered to pay 1 year in advance and by doing so I explained that the LL would gain because of inflation so they lowered the rent by 20%.

As for the question about if it's cheaper to live outside BS As : Well, the only viable option (middle class life) are the northern suburbs but it is either quite expensive (Vicente Lopez, etc...) or you may find lower rates (Florida, ...) but the barrios are a bit more insecure.

I would not buy a car here, taxis are quite cheap and if needed, better rent a new one once in a while.

Internet is quite expensive, true but my own solution is to use a tethered iphone : I get unlimited internet + cell phone for 229 pesos a month. Bandwith is like a half mega but I still can watch live TV.

Anyway the first year, be ready to pay a bit more for everything until you settle and know better how to spend wisely.

 

[AlexfromLA]

Great post French.

I agree with most of it. The only thing I would say is it might be hard for the TS to go around in taxis if he has two babies. That means two car seats right ? Kinda hard to do in taxis.

If he was single or if he had older children that didnt require car seats I would agree. But with two babies, I think a car would be very important to have.

 

[French jurist]

Well, it's true that with two babies, a car could be a good thing but as you explained it's damn expensive to own a car here.
Even used ones are very expensive.

Furthermore having a car a bit too new, too fancy and you are likely to find it scratched by some weirdo.

 

[AlexfromLA]

I agree, people drive and park here as though they were playing a game of bumper cars. If the car doesn't fit in that parking space, you " make it fit ".

That's why full coverage insurance is a must. You might also want to make friends with a good chapista.

In hindsight I wouldn't get a car. It's not really necessary. Especially if you're single. Taxis, collectivos, trains and the subways are readily available. But if you have babies it will be hard to use public transportation.

 

[katti]

A car is complicated if you don't have a garage, renting one is quite expensive.
With 2 babies and stuff, walking 1 or 2 blocks to your car, it might be faster and a lot easier to take a taxi.
It's often cheaper to take a taxi then to drive yourself and put it in a parking lot (if there is one close where you have to be). And faster.
I would say you only need a car if you intend to leave town regularly.

I think a car is quite safe here, but true, don't get a fancy one. Most people find driving here crasy and dangerous

 

[billsfan]

Most people find driving here crasy and dangerous

You betcha!
I drive my car looking for expats in the city... roll over them... to then throw cheap pizza, chocolate, bad local sushi and dog shit over them.
Then I leave them there screaming "Welcome to Argentina, yanqui!!"

 

[katti]

You betcha!
I drive my car looking for expats in the city... roll over them... to then throw cheap pizza, chocolate, bad local sushi and dog shit over them.
Then I leave them there screaming "Welcome to Argentina, yanqui!!"

jaja that's nice of you!

I love driving in BA, I find it easier and even 'calmer' then driving in Belgium. So no, never rent a car in Belgium!!!

 

[AlexfromLA]

I'm still wondering how you would lug around TWO car seats from taxi to taxi ?

Or is the TS supposed to risk the children's lives and sit in a taxi with the kids on their lap.

In California it is illegal to have a child in a car without a child seat because you are putting the child's life in danger.

Car accidents here happen very frequently and the way most taxistas drive, they are usually the ones getting into car accidents. If you have a small child in your lap when an accident occurs, chances are the child will be flung from the vehicle. You can put a seat belt on an adult but not a baby, not to mention many taxis here don't even have seat belts ( don't ask me why ).