If Not Argentina Then Where?

fifs2 said:
Before chloroform doctors used to operate without anasthetic..that doesnt mean it`s such a bright idea to do that nowadays. If we ie the world all started trying to learn and benefit from the experience of others it would be a much happier and smarter world!
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What I have learnt from this forum:
It does not make the world neither happier nor smarter.
That i am a masochist, and i keep reading to punish myself for my nosiness.
That 95% of what people say either does not apply to me, frustrates me or is just wrong.
I like provoking.
 
I mentioned Egypt as a retirement destination on a low income. I have just returned from a visit. There are hundreds of European expats living in Luxor and far more in Cairo. Cairo looks like a lot of BA - run down European architecture, dirty streets and a fading European patina. There is a good deal to do and once you get past the tourist prices it is very cheap.
 
I mentioned Egypt as a retirement destination on a low income. I have just returned from a visit. There are hundreds of European expats living in Luxor and far more in Cairo. Cairo looks like a lot of BA - run down European architecture, dirty streets and a fading European patina. There is a good deal to do and once you get past the tourist prices it is very cheap.
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It seems from your other posts that you don't like Argentina. However, comparing Cairo with Buenos is really nonsense.
 
Wade K. said:
I'm researching places to retire and like much of what I read about Argentina. I'm 49, would like to take my pension at 55, but it'll only be $13k. $16k if I wait until 60. I'll have some savings, and hopefully Social Security will be around in 13 years. I've read a bit here, and I'm wondering if costs go down considerably outside of Buenos Aires? What cities would you say provide a good quality of life on $1000 a month? I'm flexible on where I live but prefer warm and dry. And as this forum probably knows more than most, where would you live outside of Argentina if it wasn't affordable on limited income? Thanks for your help!
Wade
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I had a friend who lived OK in Buenos Aires on $1500/month. Studio apt. in Recoleta with everything included for $700 or so and he used the rest for food, going out, etc.; it wasn't a luxurious life, but definitely doable. I don't know if it will be doable with inflation, though.

I heard southeast Asia is cheap and maybe more pleasant...I have a friend who's a millionaire and the crappy Argentine bureaucracy is giving him trouble about getting a resident visa in Argentina, etc.
 
Amargo said:
It seems from your other posts that you don't like Argentina. However, comparing Cairo with Buenos is really nonsense.
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You have interpreted my comments incorrectly. I have never said that I 'didn't like' Buenos Aires. I have spoken honestly, based on many years of experience, on life in BA and Argentina. If you want a rose tinted perspective, ignore my posts and read those of others who have spent far less time in Argentina and who are not nearly as familiar with how things work.

Have you been to Cairo? Why is it "nonsense" to compare the two cities? Cairo is one of the most European cities of Africa, just as BA is one of the most European of Latin America. Egypt is obviously poorer than Argentina but both countries are hardly first world - and if you travel into the interior of Argentina you will see conditions that come close to those of Egypt. There is malnutrition in Argentina and health problems due to poor health care and living conditions.

My point, however, was not to equate the two but to point out that Egypt is in fact home to quite a few expats (Cairo especially). Cairo has its beautiful opera house, its symphony orchestra, opera company, university and cultural life. The rail system is excellent by world standards - not up to western Europe but superb by Argentine standards.

You should try to think outside the box. There are other destinations in the world outside the Americas. COL was what prompted this thread, if I am not mistaken. Argentina is now fairly expensive and getting more so all the time. Egypt is cheap. It is not a barbaric place as you might think and has extraordinary history and art to explore. My post might prompt a few people to do a little research. If you can work by distance, a stint in Egypt could be very interesting. I found the people very hospitable, especially young people.
 
Wonder why you are the only expat there.
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Probably because most ex-pats wants to accomplish their dreams of being Jim thompson in Thailand: rich and urbanite. I would have choosen Tandil (cinemas, casino, malls, small mountains, close enough to BA for a weekend in the big city), but Punta Alta or thousands of other towns are also nice.
 
And btw, it is impossible to compare BA with South East Asia or Egypt. Bangkok has everything but forget about an "European" lifestyle (I would say more American-like with a lot of pollution). And Cairo? Really? If you get out of the expat ghettos in BA you will be able to live for 1000 USD quite easily. Outside BA and some tourist spots you can rent even without warranties, for less than half of the rent in the rich expat BA areas.

People: get out of BA once in a while, even to any middle-sized town 200 km away (and no, NOT San Antonio de Areco or Tandil, that´s Palermo in the countryside).

The interior is cheap, lots of people live with less than 3000 ARS a month, and they are not poor. With 5000 ARS a month, you can do pretty much anything you want (and yes, including rent).
 
"And btw, it is impossible to compare BA with South East Asia or Egypt.."

WHY is it impossible? A lot of expats like BA - or liked it - because it was cheap and has a kind of European ambience. Cairo is a lot cheaper and has vestiges of its colonial past. I'd be happier in a big city like Cairo with lots of life and things to do than some backwater town in one of the Argentine provinces. Just what kind of life could you have in some little town in the province of BA or wherever? I often take the train to the coast and pass through these towns - ugly, run down buildings that haven't been painted in fifty years or more, gnarled tree trunks painted white, untidy plazas, stray dogs, piles of rusting junk all over the place, usually not a single cafe or restaurant in town. What expat would want to live this way? And who would s/he talk to? Are the cities -- Rosario, Cordoba, Salta so much cheaper? I have my doubts.
 
OP: I'm in the same economic range as the one you describe, and indeed things do change! When I started living this way nearly ten years ago it was Brazil for me, and now that country is not on my map; not only is the exchange rate half of what it was, but prices have (at least) doubled, which right there makes it four times what they were. Two examples: in 2001 a ticket for the subway in Rio was app. 20 US cents, and is now well over a dollar. I stayed in a small vacation town and had a nice little cabin for US$8, the high-roller place in that town was US$35. A few months I ago I happened upon the web site of the expensive place, and it was over US$120.


Something you will have to contend with if you spend time in Colombia is the reception that Immigration/Customs/Homeland Security et al will give when you make a trip to the US. Expect a lot of suspicious questions, having your bags thoroughly searched, and so on. You may not have anything to hide, but having to deal with this all the time can be wearying. Same can be expected returning from SE Asia, expect to have all your electronic data inspected (camera, computer, memory cards, etc) and know that a having something as benign as a bare-assed picture of your infant nephew on an bearskin rug may alter your future plans severely. I've lived a while in SE Asia and thankfully none of these things have happened to me, but I've heard of enough incidents.
Another is the assumptions people will draw, based on some tawdry article they picked up somewhere, and they'll project their fantasies on you. I had one friend whose wife would give me this smug and disdainful “I know what you're doing over there!” attitude. Well, when you're someone's house guest you can't say “f___ you and your assumptions, lady,” and then again this is the kind of thing where the accusation itself is a condemnation (re the tactic Nixon used against Ed Muskie in 1972).
This is all stupid stuff, but be prepared for it when it comes your way.
 
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