Since 2003, I adapted a lot here.
Housing :
- Initially rented some kind of last floor penthouse, 5 rooms, 50 sq. meters terrace, at the border of Recoleta --> Was 1.200 pesos back in 2003 (now I guess this place rents for 5/6.000 pesos). (Also, back in 2003, a dinner in a parrilla de barrio for two with a bottle of Château Vieux was costing 17 pesos back then... lol! Now it would be 220/250 pesos minimum!).
- I've moved now to a house in the great BA, some of the reasons being the reduced costs (other reasons : dogs, divorce, etc.) --> Paying 3.000 pesos for a two floor house (badly built though) with a big garden (2 acres 1/2) and a big pool. That way my dogs are happy, no need for a paseador, can park freely motorcycle/car, etc.
Food :
- I don't avoid Jumbo at all costs but I take advantage of the many promos (at least in Pilar, Jumbo runs a few monthly promotions, like a 100% cashback on certain products, etc.) so I'll buy there the washing powder, toilet paper, packs of water/coke (not a significant difference from other places + the promotions are quite attractive for as long as you come to buy certain things only). For instance, it would be ridiculous to buy fruits & such at Jumbo (crazy prices) --> oddest thing is that the frozen vegetables produced in Argentina sell at Jumbo for about the same price as the "Bonduelle" brand (French vegetables, grown in France and imported here : better quality control, no bad surprises with GMOs, etc.) = Something does not compute here...
- Vegetables/fruits : small Bolivian shop (last year, they were selling Rucula for like 1 or 1.50 peso a pack while it was nearly 10 pesos for the same quantity at Jumbo!).
- Meat : local butcher in a small & poor village (Manuel Alberti). Meat is damn great. Owners know me and cut the meat the French way for me. They don't buy the meat from Mercado Central but rather directly from local small producers. Bife de chorizo (top quality really) = 31 or 32 pesos per kilo (Bife de chorizo is a cut close to what we call in France Cote de bœuf and this latter cut in France costs likely around 20/25 Euros/100-130 ARS per kilo now = furthermore most of the cows we eat in France are usually the ones that served to produce milk the years before and that got too old, it's not like here where they raise cows to be specifically eaten, miummy!). Also they sell like 30 or 36 eggs for 9 pesos.
- Clothes : I buy NOTHING here, I'm waiting to go to France (cheaper, better quality furthermore I'm tall & skinny unlike most of the Argentineans so it's often tricky to find the right size). Same for shoes (anyway, I'm like 46/47 Eur shoe size so it's also tricky to find those sizes in stores).
- Electronics : it's good enough for me to use what was the best about 18/24 months ago. I buy those here, the price difference does not justify importing from abroad.
All in all, Argentina is still way much cheaper than France for me. And let's be honest, I benefited a lot from the years 2003/2007 here (in terms of cost of living) so if life is getting more expensive now, fine with me, like we say in France "on ne peut avoir le beurre, l'argent du beurre et le cul de la crémière" (hard to translate ;-p... Like said a great philosopher : You can't always get what you want / And if you try sometime you find /You get what you need).
In terms of adaptation to the inflation, I also changed a lot the way I make my living & I sincerely can't complain : I can work in a bathing suit, nearby my pool, with my dogs playing around, I can say I'm happy with what I have!
There are so many opportunities in Argentina, furthermore it's a generous country acting as an example on quite many subjects, we are quite lucky to live here imho (and let's not forget to give back too like many of us do).
Te quiero Argentina!
