How to fall in love with Buenos Aires?

[nikad]

I lived here all my life and would not move to conurbano. It is not culturally stimulating and generally unsafe. I find a good variety of restaurants, a vibrant underground scene for clubs, shows, bands and art in the city. Sounds to me like you are stuck in conurbano and are forced to drive and bored, however you feel that the whole country is bad just because you live close to your gfs family. On people flaking out etc this must be your group of friends or inlaws. Punctuality is not the norm and I agree with you. Maybe move into the city and just go to conurbano for Sunday asado, it would help a lot imho.

 

[lostandconfused]

Bruh the congourbano is a genuine 3rd world sh!thole, this is a very well known fact. I mean, no offense but wtf are you doing there?

A lot of the stuff you're saying isn't really true about driving, food availability & security but good luck in your endeavors.

I've been thinking about buying a dashcam and starting a YouTube channel with Argentinian drivers. I could create episodes every day. Today I got blocked by someone turning left while I was trying to turn left as well. They went on the opposite lane to turn, and I "blocked" them thinking they would stay on the right lane and turn left by going around my back, but alas. I had to go past the street and turn left in the next one. One minute later a truck parked sideways in the street and completely blocked it. It wasn't planning on moving any time soon, I had to turn around. Such were my first two minutes of driving here TODAY. And then I had to enter some roundabouts...

I suppose the food is more of a personal preference, but what can I say? I've seen Argentinians cry after eating a habanero. Not all food is bad, a lot of it is actually quite similar to Polish cuisine (dulce de leche, vaquitas, morsillas, vacío, milanesas and even crepes), but it doesn't have as much taste. Argentinians simply prefer their food more filling than tasty - it is a common Argentinian complaint regarding pizzas in Italy that Italian pizzas don't fill you up. Someone recommended foreign food, but I lived in the UK, so I've had some good foreign food (let's be honest lol), and Argentina is just not it. What especially hurts me is putting phila into sushi. It completely mutes the flavour of the fish.

Regarding security, I guess that one is hard to answer as a lot of it is just down to bad luck, but have you already forgotten the bus robbery where the driver was shot and killed? And obviously much more crime happens on a daily basis. I assure you that the concept of ambushing a bus to rob it might be foreign to a lot of people.

I see that I've annoyed some of you, I apologise, that was not my intention, I simply feel a little bit depressed. My girlfriend is 100% willing to go to Europe with me, but she still has to finish uni. I guess I really think she is the one because I'm willing to stay here just to be with her. I just wish I didn't dislike the place where she and I live for now. Being like this is tiring, so I wanted to see if I could change that. I kept my answers as general as possible to avoid causing too much clout. I feel much better just knowing that it's not all just in my head and that I am not going crazy. If you like Buenos Aires/Argentina, then I am happy for you and quite jealous of you as well actually! Didn't mean to cause any bad blood

 

[argentinaorbust]

I'm not offended, friend, but I don't understand, wtf are you doing in the congourbano? Are you ok? Are they forcing you to stay there? Press the r button 3 times if you're in any kind of trouble.

This ancient advice has passed down through the gringo generations ever since our great grandfathers ran around 100 yrs ago in recently liberated Cuba doing the same stuff we do here - stay away from local women, drugs & motorbikes. It's a tale as old as time, if you follow that advice - you'll probably end up alright. If you don't - anything can happen!

You've got to get your $$$ right man, Argentina has a lot of very nice stuff but you're in the worst of it. Try to go back to Europe & come back with some more cash & seek advice on where & how to spend it. Good luck.

 

[Quilombo]

Thank you for sharing more context, I guess if there's one thing I don't quite understand, it's why you have to be here? It seems like you're unhappy here and between the lines the impression is it's your GF, and while that's sweet, is that it or something else? And if so, you have to ask yourself if you're really willing to be unhappy in the present for potential, not guaranteed happiness in the future?

I think at the end of the day any given city, state/province, or country isn't going to be for everyone. Many Argentines would dream of moving to Poland vs. Argentina, yet you couldn't pay me enough to live in place like Poland, no offense.

While the crowd here skews older, i.e. 50+ I'm only a few years older than you @lostandconfused yet my advise is to think long and hard about whatever has brought you here and whether it is worth being so unhappy for. These are the prime years of your life, and it would be a shame spending them being truly unhappy.

None of us can tell you what the right answer is, and you probably don't even know yourself (otherwise you wouldn't be here asking) but as someone who hated the city and country he lived in too, moving somewhere I liked can only help so much, I had to, and I continue to work on myself, and that has helped in how I can tolerate the things I dislike about Argentina.

 

[Greg S]

Hey, I can walk in the street without fear of being robbed or killed there!

Where the heck do you live in CABA? We've been here for five years and walk day and night without problems. Often with 200,000+ ars from Western Union in my pocket. Sitting at sidewalk cafe with my MacBook right now. Never had a problem. I've lived around the world, from Beirut to Hanoi to Port au Prince etc etc. This is pretty nice. Winter is a bit chilly so we go to Tuscany.

 

[chris]

Why not go back to Poland and have your GF visit you there during summer break? When she finishes she can emigrate to Poland - but will she like it? Difficult language, more conservative society. She may not be able to get a job if she wants one and will she fit in socially? You might be hanging around wasting time for a disastrous outcome. It's clear you aren't going to be happy living in Arg so your only hope is that she could adjust to Poland. The long miserable, grey winters there would turn off most Argentines.

 

[lostandconfused]

Why not go back to Poland and have your GF visit you there during summer break? When she finishes she can emigrate to Poland - but will she like it? Difficult language, more conservative society. She may not be able to get a job if she wants one and will she fit in socially? You might be hanging around wasting time for a disastrous outcome. It's clear you aren't going to be happy living in Arg so your only hope is that she could adjust to Poland. The long miserable, grey winters there would turn off most Argentines.

Thanks for the tips, but we will most likely go to a more civilised country like Denmark, The Netherlands, or maybe Italy or Spain since she'd fit in there more. It would also be awesome if I could convince her to Croatia. I am not considering Poland, I do not actually like Poland, I just know it's better than Argentina in a lot of aspects.

 

[aloevera]

Hello, I came to Buenos Aires around 4 months ago for the third time in my life due to personal circumstances. I never really fell in love with the city and I've actually grown to dislike it quite a lot. However, I have to stay here for a long time this time and I would like to know how I can like Buenos Aires. What are some things I could try or do that could change my perspective of Argentina or the conurbano? In my opinion the city is quite ugly, dirty and run down, the food is bland, the drivers are terrible, it's much more dangerous than anywhere I've been, I'm tired of the ever-present poverty and Argentinians are very unreliable. But is there something that can change my opinion? I'd really like to like it here, but it's so hard for some reason. I've been to Córdoba and Corrientes, but they were meh, except for Mercedes and the whole Gauchito Gil stuff, that was really cool and the only aspect of Argentinian culture I really like and find fascinating for now. Is there someone here who's been in a similar situation? I understand that it might feel like I'm trolling or something, but I guess something never clicked when I came here the first time. Thanks!

Nature and architecture wise, Buenos Aires is objectively an ugly city (leave Recoleta, folx). I recommend surrounding yourself with beauty. The beauty in Argentina is not in Buenos Aires. I recommend visiting Jujuy or Catamarca.

 

[aloevera]

I've been thinking about buying a dashcam and starting a YouTube channel with Argentinian drivers. I could create episodes every day. Today I got blocked by someone turning left while I was trying to turn left as well. They went on the opposite lane to turn, and I "blocked" them thinking they would stay on the right lane and turn left by going around my back, but alas. I had to go past the street and turn left in the next one. One minute later a truck parked sideways in the street and completely blocked it. It wasn't planning on moving any time soon, I had to turn around. Such were my first two minutes of driving here TODAY. And then I had to enter some roundabouts...

I suppose the food is more of a personal preference, but what can I say? I've seen Argentinians cry after eating a habanero. Not all food is bad, a lot of it is actually quite similar to Polish cuisine (dulce de leche, vaquitas, morsillas, vacío, milanesas and even crepes), but it doesn't have as much taste. Argentinians simply prefer their food more filling than tasty - it is a common Argentinian complaint regarding pizzas in Italy that Italian pizzas don't fill you up. Someone recommended foreign food, but I lived in the UK, so I've had some good foreign food (let's be honest lol), and Argentina is just not it. What especially hurts me is putting phila into sushi. It completely mutes the flavour of the fish.

Regarding security, I guess that one is hard to answer as a lot of it is just down to bad luck, but have you already forgotten the bus robbery where the driver was shot and killed? And obviously much more crime happens on a daily basis. I assure you that the concept of ambushing a bus to rob it might be foreign to a lot of people.

I see that I've annoyed some of you, I apologise, that was not my intention, I simply feel a little bit depressed. My girlfriend is 100% willing to go to Europe with me, but she still has to finish uni. I guess I really think she is the one because I'm willing to stay here just to be with her. I just wish I didn't dislike the place where she and I live for now. Being like this is tiring, so I wanted to see if I could change that. I kept my answers as general as possible to avoid causing too much clout. I feel much better just knowing that it's not all just in my head and that I am not going crazy. If you like Buenos Aires/Argentina, then I am happy for you and quite jealous of you as well actually! Didn't mean to cause any bad blood

okay, you're complaining a lot, it sounds like you hate it here, just leave if that's the case. Tell your girlfriend to transfer to a European university and leave. There's your solution.

 

[QuilmesSlo]

This girl is always going to have this family and generally Argie girls like to stay close to family.

Free yourself!!!