How Was Your Very First Day In Argentina?

[Bono estente]

Some of them fly??? Oh no!!! I still have the image of one of the them 'running out' of the gas ring on the cooker when I turned the kitchen light on. Eek! I too have an irrational fear of them (along with moths & daddy long legs!)

 

[EricLovesBA]

... and immediately met the woman for whom I would move permanently to BA and marry 2 years later.

You just never know what a day will have in store for you.

These Argentine women have a way of quickly and suddenly capturing us don't they?? And I agree with the previous poster that it's in an honest way, not manipulative or looking for something.

 

[Ries]

In April, 2007, we came down, knowing nothing about Buenos Aires beyond Borges. It was the last family trip we would take before my eldest graduated from High School, and it was, at the time, much cheaper than Hong Kong or Barcelona, the other two potential destinations.
We landed, took a taxi to our amazing 100 year old rented apartment on Coronel Diaz, and started walking around. Entirely by accident, our first meal in Argentina was at a virtually empty La Cabrera. We thought every meal in Argentina would be like that...
And, the dollar/peso relationship in 2007 meant it cost us about what eating at a Subway would have in the USA at the time.

Within 2 days, we had decided to look at apartments for sale. Within 5 days, we found the departmento we ended up buying. Built in 1908, with incredible charm, it was about what a single parking space was selling for in downtown Seattle at that time. The same price a used mobile home on a half acre in Hillbilly Heaven would have cost in my area.

We got our deposit back, in cash, for our ten day apartment rental, and put it down as a deposit with our offer to buy our department, signing power of attorney letters while the cab waited to take us to the airport.

Never looked back.

 

[steveinbsas]

In April, 2007, we came down, knowing nothing about Buenos Aires beyond Borges. It was the last family trip we would take before my eldest graduated from High School, and it was, at the time, much cheaper than Hong Kong or Barcelona, the other two potential destinations.
We landed, took a taxi to our amazing 100 year old rented apartment on Coronel Diaz, and started walking around. Entirely by accident, our first meal in Argentina was at a virtually empty La Cabrera. We thought every meal in Argentina would be like that...
And, the dollar/peso relationship in 2007 meant it cost us about what eating at a Subway would have in the USA at the time.

Within 2 days, we had decided to look at apartments for sale. Within 5 days, we found the departmento we ended up buying. Built in 1908, with incredible charm, it was about what a single parking space was selling for in downtown Seattle at that time. The same price a used mobile home on a half acre in Hillbilly Heaven would have cost in my area.

We got our deposit back, in cash, for our ten day apartment rental, and put it down as a deposit with our offer to buy our department, signing power of attorney letters while the cab waited to take us to the airport.

Never looked back.

I am curious. Who is "we" and have you lived in BA CONTINUOUSLY since your arrival in 2007?

Do you (or have you) lived in BA with children?

 

[John.St]

Re. cockroaches/cucarachas, in case you haven't been warned already: the one thing you never do is to smash them.

Half of our winged friends are females, and not only is it very rude to smash a female, but they may each contain up to 40 eggs. Smash'm and you risk to spread the eggs into every crack and cranny in the floor.

Guess what happens a couple of weeks later - or even later the same day, as the females carries the eggs round until just before the they hatch

 

[mc kenna]

Damn females!!!!

 

[Ries]

I am curious. Who is "we" and have you lived in BA CONTINUOUSLY since your arrival in 2007?

Do you (or have you) lived in BA with children?

Steve, I am a yo-yo, not an expat. I have stated this repeatedly on many threads.
I live primarily in the USA, on a 35 acre farm.
These days, I run about 80/20 north/south. I have been back and forth many times since 2007, close to twenty trips, ranging from one week to two months. Lately, we (my wife and I) spend December and January in Argentina.

My kids are grown and out of the house, one lives in Olympia Wa, the other currently in Brooklyn.

 

[Crema Americana]

May 2004, I was 23 and came to Argentina to meet my 'boyfriend' which I had met online. I had never been to any South American country before and didn't really know anything about Argentina. I wasn't sure what to expect. I remember the plane touching down and feeling the butterflies in my stomach. Would he like me? Would I like him? Things can be different in person and this was before Skype or webcams really became a thing...

When I walked out I didnt see him at first... but he spotted me and when our eyes met I knew it would be okay. He gave me his jacket (being from South Florida I didn't even own one and didn't expect it to be so cold) and took me to his place. Didn't do much sightseeing on the first day, apart from the drive from the airport. (We had our first kiss on the second day, so don't think too badly!)

That first visit was a whirlwind... romance, sightseeing, getting used to the language and customs... it was all very enchanting.

Almost 10 years later some of that enchantment has worn with the country, but still in love with my husband.

 

[garryl]

May 2004, I was 23 and came to Argentina to meet my 'boyfriend' which I had met online. I had never been to any South American country before and didn't really know anything about Argentina. I wasn't sure what to expect. I remember the plane touching down and feeling the butterflies in my stomach. Would he like me? Would I like him? Things can be different in person and this was before Skype or webcams really became a thing...

When I walked out I didnt see him at first... but he spotted me and when our eyes met I knew it would be okay. He gave me his jacket (being from South Florida I didn't even own one and didn't expect it to be so cold) and took me to his place. Didn't do much sightseeing on the first day, apart from the drive from the airport. (We had our first kiss on the second day, so don't think too badly!)

That first visit was a whirlwind... romance, sightseeing, getting used to the language and customs... it was all very enchanting.

Almost 10 years later some of that enchantment has worn with the country, but still in love with my husband.

Nice story. I like the part : "when our eyes met I knew it would be okay ". Been there.
Things like that usually do not work out well like this. Good for you, crema pie americana, you just have to do it sometimes.
Can you please tell us which website you used ?

 

[garryl]

Sept 2003, after all the crazy things happened in Argentina, I decided to give BA a try, moving down from Rio.
After I picked up the bags, I was so impressed by the duty free beauties in blue suits, even though
the products they were selling were junks. Later I found the beauties were all over the city.

I was taking cabs in the city, the car just kept going and going, and my cab fair cost nothing.
The city was beautiful and exotic.The people were so screwed by the crisis, everyone has
to work hard to survive. That was hard on the country, but great for foreign tourists(sorry
about that), I lived like a king for 2-3 weeks, did whatever I wanted to do, a nice hotel room,
great lomo/wine and other nice things .. I felt my life was better than a rock star's or Saddam Hussein son's life.
That was heaven to me.

Now Argentina is so different, every time I come here, I find that my trip measures less and less
against my first one, but I still feel like BA is my city even though I bitch about it all the time.