Is Argentina a good idea?

[Ries]

everybody is different, and some people really like argentina. you would have to come back and live for a while to see if you are one of them.


by the way- seltzer bottles are a big fad among foodies in the USA- fancy kitchen stores sell stainless steel seltzer bottles, along with old timely looking ones, for $80USD and up. In some bigger cities like NYC, there are seltzer bottle delivery services again.

 

[French jurist]

everybody is different, and some people really like argentina. you would have to come back and live for a while to see if you are one of them.


by the way- seltzer bottles are a big fad among foodies in the USA- fancy kitchen stores sell stainless steel seltzer bottles, along with old timely looking ones, for $80USD and up. In some bigger cities like NYC, there are seltzer bottle delivery services again.

Yop, and it would definitely work in Europe.

Also, another market --> Has anyone wondered why there are so few postcards for sale here?! If you're a good photographer, launch your own postcard business, place them in kioscos & such.

 

[Iznogud]

Maybe because the Postal Service is a Black Hole?

 

[Napoleon]

Yop, and it would definitely work in Europe.

Also, another market --> Has anyone wondered why there are so few postcards for sale here?! If you're a good photographer, launch your own postcard business, place them in kioscos & such.

Maybe because the Postal Service is a Black Hole?

There are TONS of postcards for sale here, it's just they're in the tourist areas. Calle Florida & La Boca are overflowing with post cards for sale, but when it's not easy to buy stamps and you don't know if the card is ever going to make it to it's intended destination, people don't buy & send as many as in other countries. I think that you can find postcards near the Recoleta Cemetery as well, but other than that (and Plaza de Mayo), you're just about out of the definite tourist locations. Even San Telmo doesn't have that many postcards, because Antique Shoppers aren't usually postcard senders.

 

[cipriana]

Camberiu is right when she questions how come Argentinians have mostly good general education but lousy record as voters. Well, I am Argentino but living in USA since 1986, and the possibility of having Obama reelected in november scares the hell out of me. I certainly will return to Buenos Aires once I get my S
retirement

Argentina has gone steadily downhill since the Peron era. It´s a lot like the rest of Latin American countries that are going downhill, there are too many bitter poor people who vote for politicians that are the most generous and make lots of promises. The same thing happened with Lula, but Brazilians were luckier because he maintained the policies of the previous president. The middle class and upper class are used to suffering and being ignored because they just don´t produce enough votes and they don´t have options. Politics in Argentina is for the criminal minded. Few good politicians survive (I have been studying this phenomenon for years). So the middle class and the rich just vote for the best of the worst based on the semi stability the politician is offering. The truth is, they have no option. When I ask my middle class friends why they voted in such a bad president, they just don´t answer. It´s not something they like to discuss. But I can tell you one thing with absolute certainty. I saw the candidates that wanted the presidency and we are all lucky they were not elected. These men are dangerous and they have been rejected by the population for years. In summary, there is no option and good people stay away from politics because it´s just too corrupt and nasty. If you were Argentinian, who would you have voted for of the candidates?

 

[fifs2]

"Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got til it's gone
They paved paradise and put up a parking lot"[/quote]

Good Malbec has not yet forsaken us and "I could drink a case of you and still be on my feet!

 

[Johnny]

"Silky veils of ardor" from fifs.

 

[fifs2]

"Silky veils of ardor" from fifs.

Think we may need to provide a translation for these posts..the 20 yr olds are now scratching their heads!

 

[earlyretirement]

While things have gone downhill and become more expensive in Buenos Aires and Argentina over the past few years...it will still seem dirt cheap compared to cities like Rio or Sao Paulo.

It's terribly expensive to live in those cities. I'm not sure how people even do it. You will have a MUCH higher quality of life IF you are in the situation of having lots of savings or dollars and living off of those dollars in Buenos Aires vs. Rio or Sao Paulo.

Everything is just horribly expensive in those cities now. I remember many years ago the Peso and Real were on par with one another and Brazil was cheap. But it's just horribly expensive now. I looked at a nice apartment in Sao Paulo last year and a nothing special one bedroom apartment in a great neighborhood was over $300,000 US with no great view and expenses were horribly high. You can still get a really nice apartment in Buenos Aires in one of the best areas for less than half that price and expenses will be much lower.

Also, in Rio and Sao Paulo crime is MUCH higher. While crime has increased in Buenos Aires over the years, it's NOTHING compared to cities like Rio and Sao Paulo. Anyone that tried to pretend like it is..doesn't know Brazil that well. The problem in Rio is really great neighborhoods can have slums or ghettos right next to them. I've been on the beaches of Ipanema in really expensive neighborhoods and watched black kids from the ghettos robbing people right in broad daylight.

Buenos Aires has it's fair share of problems but if you have lots of dollars, you can still live like a king compared to the prices of big cities in Brazil.

 

[cipriana]

Thank you so much earlyretirment. Many people that have lived in both cities (São Paulo and Buenos Aires) have said the same. Buenos Aires (Argentina) is still cheaper than São Paulo. Living expenses here are soooo high it´s almost suffocating. Most people owe like crazy here, which is new to Brazilians. I am glad you have sensed the same as my Argentinian friends who know Brazil well. It´s a relief although I know I will have to see Argentina with fresh eyes after so many years in Brazil.
Thank you all for your kind and very helpful advice. And yes, I also need a translator for those last comments. No idea what you were all chatting about but it seemed like fun.