Is Argentina Still a Good Deal?

[Rich One]

My landlord refused a Dollar contract.
Now it's been pesos contrato with quarterly IPC adjustment since July.

If you enjoyed the roller coaster upswing tighten your belt for the faaast downswing

 

[dlish]

If you enjoyed the roller coaster upswing tighten your belt for the faaast downswing

I keep waiting and waiting for the drop but the roller coaster sure does seem stuck

 

[msachen]

Hey Expats. We just returned to the US after a three week visit. We met some of you at the Pinot Cafe last week. Granted, we were tourists and doing tourist things, but we spent way more than I thought we would. The Palermo Airbnb was $1,000. The airfares were $1,000 each. I didn’t think there was any possible way that we’d spend another $3,000 while we were there, but we did. Our meals, with two drinks, were $35-$55. Coffees, beers and wine were $4-$7. Ubers $4-$15, depending on the time of day. Bottles of wine $10+. Water and sodas $1-$2. Smokes $4. The best deal was the subway <$1, the delta boat tour ($14) and the hippodromo (they paid me!).
Our most expensive outings were a soccer match in Velez ($140), a concert at Teatro Colon ($120), an equestrian day in Capilla Del Senor ($320) and the Palacio Barolo ($100).
It was an outstanding trip. The weather was perfect. The people were friendly. The culture, the vibe of the city, the neighborhoods, the transportation and the way it all works is impressive.
It was a slight discount compared to current Arizona prices, but certainly not a screaming deal. That said, if it wasn’t for the air travel, I’d be a regular visitor. Mike

 

[steveinbsas]

Sounds too good to be true (but I won't complain, I just don't think I can get that... I assume your own your place?)
That said, it seems to be a very good deal. Thanks for the figures.

I itemized my basic COL of $400 which is 50% of my total monthly income in response to your target amount of $700 per to spend each month, excluding rent, which I do not pay.

At this moment, $400 USD is enough to pay for all the food I eat (beef and eggs cooked in lard), drinking water, coffee, electricity, LP gas, wifi, Netflix, bank account and credit card fees, nafta (petrol), insurance (the maximum available) for my house and car, monthly municipal fee for street maintainence. I also pay annual vehicle inspection and driver's permit renewal fees and the required medical exams for the renewal, as well as property taxes (all divided by twelve with that sum included in the monthly total.

As a short term renter, you will not have most of these expenses and won't have any car expenses, either. As I have previously indicated, I rarely eat in restaurants (twice in the past ten years) and I only had one cup of coffee in one of those resturants (about five years ago).

PS: The cost of the food I consume does not include fruits or vegetables or any dairy products or any highly processed foods (anything that comes in a package with the exception of lard).

I have not consumed any alcohol in more than ten years and I know I "should" stop drinking coffee because of all of the "natural" pesticides it contains.

 

[NiKo2b]

I itemized my basic COL of $400 which is 50% of my total monthly income in response to your target amount of $700 per to spend each month, excluding rent, which I do not pay.

Thanks. That’s very useful. I indeed won’t have most of these items to spend on. Mostly food (probably a lot of street food tho if I find something to my taste), and a few taxi rides here and there (maybe once every two weeks). I also don’t watch Netflix but I’ve my own digital services expensive which I didn’t include in my 1500 usd budget (mostly work related).

 

[SinPulgas]

Hey Expats. We just returned to the US after a three week visit. We met some of you at the Pinot Cafe last week. Granted, we were tourists and doing tourist things, but we spent way more than I thought we would. The Palermo Airbnb was $1,000. The airfares were $1,000 each. I didn’t think there was any possible way that we’d spend another $3,000 while we were there, but we did. Our meals, with two drinks, were $35-$55. Coffees, beers and wine were $4-$7. Ubers $4-$15, depending on the time of day. Bottles of wine $10+. Water and sodas $1-$2. Smokes $4. The best deal was the subway <$1, the delta boat tour ($14) and the hippodromo (they paid me!).
Our most expensive outings were a soccer match in Velez ($140), a concert at Teatro Colon ($120), an equestrian day in Capilla Del Senor ($320) and the Palacio Barolo ($100).
It was an outstanding trip. The weather was perfect. The people were friendly. The culture, the vibe of the city, the neighborhoods, the transportation and the way it all works is impressive.
It was a slight discount compared to current Arizona prices, but certainly not a screaming deal. That said, if it wasn’t for the air travel, I’d be a regular visitor. Mike

You got a discount compared to home, but it looks like you lived the tourist life to the fullest. I'd call that a good deal.

 

[ihano]

I'm not the party type guy. I work a lot, have less time to spend money outside anyway. I just want life to be confortable at home, and not feel like I have to count any penny...

Maybe you should have a look at other provinces, Córdoba, Mendoza, Salta? Rent will be way cheaper and you can get better quality of life overall, if you don't need all the luxuries and entertainment of BsAs.

 

[msachen]

You got a discount compared to home, but it looks like you lived the tourist life to the fullest. I'd call that a good deal.

No argument there. We clicked a lot of boxes!

 

[NeoWonk]

With the incompetent and corrupt government in the USA, it only makes sense that the Argentine peso will continue to gain ground against the US dollar.

 

[steveinbsas]

Do you live in a minor city or in a very rural area?

I live on calle Argentina in the zona de las quintas, one km from the plaza of Villa General Arias in the provincia of Buenos Aires. My property is about 2km frim ruta 229. At the closest corner of the plaza to my house is a well stocked pharmacy and directly across the street from the pharmacy is the police station which is always staffed. They arrived very quickly after I was assualted with leathal force three times in about 15 minutes by a 19 year old "neighbor" in 2017.

At the opposite corner of the plaza is a building which incldes a public clinc. There is at least one nurse on duty on weekdays from 8 am to 4 pm. One of the ambulances from the hospital in Punta Alta is often parked in front of the clinic, providing quick acess to the surrounding community. The doctor is there during the morning on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday and it is almost always possible to get a next day turno for those days. On a slow morning it is possible to see the doctor within 39 minutes.

The orriginal ReMax listing for my property included the expression "semi-rural" and even though I only have one hectáre to take care of, there are no houses directly in front or on either side of me for hudreds of meters.

There are some photos of my place as well as how I found it and what it's like to live here in this thread:

Is Argentina Still a Good Deal?

This is an interesting discussion but it's from March. Wondering if someone might be able to share an update here? For folks who want to compare current prices & trends to previous years... Hoping to come again in 2 months. Like BA. But at least for medical or dental it may not be as good as...

baexpats.org

PS: When I use the expression "country life" I am using the Noth American definition of the word country. I don't live in a private or gated "country" which is what Argentines mean when using the word in this context.