Is Argentina Still a Good Deal?

[SinPulgas]

People are saying like 'if you only care about price go here', or 'if you only care about price don't go to Argentina' but of course there's always somewhere cheaper go. Also, more expense places for that matter.

Maybe this is an unanswerable question. Right before the election people were telling me that I could live like a king in BA for 3k per month USD. I that's probably no longer the case sadly.

I wonder how Argentina compares to Columbia and Brazil now.

I don't know about living like a king, but I live here well (for me) on less than half of that. I own my apartment.

 

[oddDistribution]

Retirement generally equals fixed income. You need a place with relative predictability.

There have been bubble periods in Argentina when the country was a good deal in dollar terms. However there have been plenty of times in the last couple of decades (including today) when it hasn’t been so amazing in this regard.

Back to predictably. The only thing that’s predictable here is instability. I can understand the question of giving it more consideration than before, but unfortunately you’re never going to really know.

If your budget is tight, I’d recommend another country or be willing to adjust your lifestyle during the swings.

As mentioned above, it’s a beautiful country and culture. If you are in love with Argentina, by all means you should give it a shot because most of us here would say it’s worth it. But we’re all biased of course

I'm not sure if my budget would be tight now. Has it changed so much that it went from being able to have a very comfortable life on 3k per month to being tight?

 

[mc kenna]

You also should keep in mind that Argentina is a pretty large country and it doesn't end in Palermo or Recoleta, there are plenty of places in Argentina worth checking out way cheaper than what expats are willing to pay.
The further away you are from BA the less people you'll find speaking English, which in term will help you learn the local lingo.
The cultural shock can be overwhelming at the beginning but if you overcome that then it'll get easier as you go along, and this applies to the whole country.

 

[Johnny]

I'm not sure if my budget would be tight now. Has it changed so much that it went from being able to have a very comfortable life on 3k per month to being tight?

It has changed, but you should be OK with 3k a month unless you are splurging at every opportunity.

 

[tilkaratnedil]

Just to give the counter argument and whilst noting that budgets/situations are all relative. But I would say the uncertainty would make me consider deeply moving here permanently (i.e. selling my home country property, packing up things and moving).

Since October, inflation is roughly 100% and the currency has actually appreciated against the dollar. I think there is some acceptance that in the very short term this trend is likely to continue (inflation being greater than currency depreciation) but in the medium term who really knows.

I think those who will successfuly move to Argentina long term will be ok with this uncertainty for one of a few reasons: price insensitive, able to change spending habits, enjoy uncertainty.

To summarise: don't move to Argentina if certainty is incredibly important to you -- which is perhaps the least controversial thing ever written on this forum . There are 100 reasons to move to Arg though, and you have to weigh it up.

 

[oddDistribution]

Just to give the counter argument and whilst noting that budgets/situations are all relative. But I would say the uncertainty would make me consider deeply moving here permanently (i.e. selling my home country property, packing up things and moving).

Since October, inflation is roughly 100% and the currency has actually appreciated against the dollar. I think there is some acceptance that in the very short term this trend is likely to continue (inflation being greater than currency depreciation) but in the medium term who really knows.

I think those who will successfuly move to Argentina long term will be ok with this uncertainty for one of a few reasons: price insensitive, able to change spending habits, enjoy uncertainty.

To summarise: don't move to Argentina if certainty is incredibly important to you -- which is perhaps the least controversial thing ever written on this forum . There are 100 reasons to move to Arg though, and you have to weigh it up.

Wow, then prices have more than doubled in USD terms since October? That's totally insane.

 

[AdrianB]

Wow, then prices have more than doubled in USD terms since October? That's totally insane.

More or less this is the case yeah.

 

[JeffR]

One of the big attractions of Argentina is (or was) the ability to arbitrage the USD against the peso to get more 'bang for your buck.' I'd be very cautious of assuming that a country's weak currency or comparable low cost of living will always remain that way, not just in Argentina, especially for those retiring on a fixed income.

 

[sergio]

If you are not already established in Argentina I'd say it is not a good choice for retirement. I remember when the COL was relatively high under Menem (though property was cheap and salaries were closer to an international level). All that has changed, along with increased crime, poverty and social problems. The way things are going, parts of Europe may be just as or more affordable with far more to offer culturally. And there is also expat Mexico where you'll find a large support group in places like San Miguel d'Allende and Ajijic. Much more predictability as well.

 

[Ries]

I have owned my apartment here for 15 years, so I am totally out of the loop about rent. But everything else is still much cheaper than NW Washington State, where I live in the USA. my utilities and "taxes" here are much much less. (ABL is not really a property tax, its the fee for garbage, street cleaning, and sewage) the amounts you would pay for sewage and garbage pickup where I live are more than my entire ABL bill.
I find almost everything I buy in Argentina is cheaper than in WA- cleaning supplies, groceries, lunch, dry cleaning, office supplies, books, concert tickets, clothing, bus fare, tools, sewing thread, you name it. BUT- I buy industria argentina whenever possible. If your desires are name brand multinational products, like Nike or Dior or Izod or Patagonia, those things are imported, and they are much more expensive, usually more than in the USA.
Shop local, live like locals, and things are pretty reasonable.
If I go to Target, in the USA, and buy Windex its 4.00 USD. If I go around the corner to the guy who refills my bottle with generic window cleaner, here, its something like 1200 pesos.
You have to learn to shop here, you have to take more time to go to specialist vendors, and you find usually higher quality, lower prices, than the mass market chinese stuff at big box stores in the USA.
Depends on your lifestyle, of course. You could be buying 40 dollar bottles of wine every night, although my guess is those would be 80 dollar bottles in the states.