Is BsAs that dangerous??

[perry]

Buenos Aires over time will show you its ugly face. I have seen a lot of crime in the years and I like many was enchanted at first by its glitzy feeling and general european ambience. Always remember that there are over 1 million people living in villas miserias and also other professional gangs that look for richer targets.

Nine Queens is a excellent film that will show you the reality of Buenos Aires . Watch it before you come.

 

[polostar88]

I don't believe Buenos Aires is dangerous. It doesn't even compare to cities like Sao Paulo or Rio. I think Argentinians are a strange people with various nervous disorders that make them overreact to very small problems. For example when it's "cold" (50 F) you see them wrapped up as if ready for a polar expedition and most have their mouths covered. I was jogging back in T-shirt and shorts from the gym on a 40F night and people were looking at me as if I was insane.

Crime is something else they overreact to. BA is one of the safest cities I've lived in. I've livedin BA for over a year and walked at 2-4AM relatively long distances in San Telmo, Centro, Recoleta, Palermo, and never had the slightest problem. One time I walked back with my mom who was visiting me, from Centro to Recoleta at 1 AM. Does crime happen yes, read the newspaper, but it's nowhere NEAR what crime is in certain Brazilian cities where if you walk long distances at night you're near GUARANTEED to be mugged or worse. By contrast if you walk on Santa Fe at night in BA I would guess you're going to be OK more than 99% of the time and ditto for most neighborhoods that you'd want to be in. As for going to Once or Constitucion at night...WHY??

But the Argies overreact to whatever problems they do have, hence restaurants in nice neighborhoods with locked doors/security (which you don't even see in Rio), people paying over the top to live in Puerto Madero because it's got "good security," people complaining about crime all the time, and so on...it's bullshit as far as I'm concerned, more Argentinian neurotic fretting. Maybe it's worse than what they were used to before, but it's really not that bad at all.

Finally...when crimes DO occur, like the hostage-taking in Palermo last week, etc. ....are we allowed to notice what the criminals look like and talk about it here, or is that off-limits? Argentinians certainly do talk about it.

 

[citygirl]

Well eternalnewbie - I had an attempted mugging at 3:00 p.m. in the afternoon by a kid on a bike on a non-touristy yet relatively crowded street. So yes, it can happen even if you live a "safe" lifestyle.

I'll reiterate - and again - these are all personal friends
The friend who was stabbed in his ear while they stole his watch on Libertador by the hipodromo at 8:00 in the evening.

The friend who had her house broken into near San Isidro and was held at gunpoint for 12 hours until her husband came home and went to the ATM to pay them off.

The friends who were jumped on Juan B Justo and beaten up at 5:00 in the afternoon.

The friend who had her car stolen from Matienzo and Liberatdor while visiting me.

The friend who was stabbed in the leg when they attempted to steal her bike at 3:00 on a Sunday afternoon in San Isidro.

And I could go on and on and on.

When I moved here in '07, I used to say "Ohhh..the portenos are just being dramatic - it's not that bad here." But you know, after one and another and another of my friends was a victim of a crime, I stopped thinking that.

Like I said, it's not the most unsafe city in the world but yes, for me personally, it requires a lot higher level of street smarts and awareness than in New York or London or Paris. It just does.

And for those of you who are taking (IMO stupid) risks like walking alone at night, well, just count yourself lucky that nothing has happened yet but I wouldnt play those odds.

 

[Eternalnewbie]

All I can say, then, is Jesus loves me and keeps an eye on me hapless soul.

Or maybe I haven't been here long enough (just less than 2 years) and my time is just around the next corner? Nothing bad (even the bird poop washed off in the washing machine) has happened to me here. Thank you, Jesus.

I rather agree to some extent with Polostar. I have lived in some awfully dangerous places (Johannesburg, Mexico City, to name two) where I would never, never, never walk around the way I do here, take taxis as freely as I do here, or leave my stuff on a cafe table (inside) to go to the toilet, the way I do here. Maybe it is a brutal, crime-ridden cesspool ... but that might be relative.

I live a normal life here, the same life I have lived in NYC, LA, and DC. I did not live a normal life in Jo-Burg and Mexico City, or I would not be here now writing this.

Not to diminish anyone's impressions based on their experiences, but to point out that other people, well me, anyway, have had no problems with crime here at any level.

So, thank you Jesus. I always knew you liked me.

 

[LAtoBA]

I have to admit I've found the back and forth "arguing" over this topic quite amusing. The problem with the OP's title, "Is BAs dangerous?", is that there is no objective way to answer this. It depends on what a person's ideals of danger really are. He/she did briefly mention something about muggings and hanging out on the street, but it was so vague as to be helpful in what he/she considers safe. For me, pickpocketing and petty crime do not equate to "danger" but to others it may.

Someone from Rio or Salvador would find Buenos Aires to be a peaceful sanctuary compared to the paranoia and fear that permeates the cities there. While someone from Montevideo would probably find BAs to be a very dangerous place. There is no right or wrong answer to this question! The OP really should've started off by saying what he/she "considers" dangerous. I think the responses to this thread would've been more useful.

Also, although I'm not from NYC I've visited a few times and have friends there. Many people have made it out to be this super safe city. I think that may be true of Manhattan and of gentrified areas in Brooklyn and Harlem.....but lets be real. There are still many parts of Bronx, some parts of Brooklyn and Queens that I really wouldn't want to be in at night. Come on.

Personally, I don' find Buenos Aires to be that dangerous, at least for a developing country. I think the only way you'll know for sure if it's dangerous for you is to come and live here!

 

[Liam3494]

Like most, I am not going to say that BA is safer, or less safe than City X, City Y or anywhere, one can only really judge by what happens to you, where you live etc., as has been reiterated....

One thing that I would like to say, I lived in Dublin, Ireland, for the last 6 years, and within 100 yards (or metres for those more accustomed) to my apartment, there were three murders in that time, (two with guns), numerous muggings (usally involving knifes which got used), and a fair amount of petty crime. Obviosuly I must have lived in a rough neighbourhood, or so you would think... I lived in the New Docklands area (on the South Side for those in the know), in truth, much like Puerto Madero here, and supposedly an upmarket area. Is Dublin unsafe? - No, of course not, but if you looked at the figures, you'd be surprised at how much crime there is, and yes, most of it is drug related, rather than poverty related, but it stills affects thos epeople who are murdered, robbed, mugged etc....

Point is, all cities can be dangerous, and BsAs is teh same. I live outside teh tourist areas, in Avellaneda, outside teh city boundaires, and so far, I have not been afraid to do anything, and do not feel threatened or otherwise - Maybe one day I will, and I will answer differently, but the advice (or advise) on here, about being sensible, are good, true everywhere, and if followed, reduce the risks.....

Come to BsAs, enjoy the lifestyle that has brought all of us that post on here to the place - We aren't making a huge daily exodus because teh place is terrible, so maybe, its not all bad.... I love it here.....

 

[Liam3494]

Apologies for my spelling mistakes in the post above - I type far too fast for my fingers!

 

[pauper]

Put another one down to Jesus.

Christ, and I've been bagging him all these years (oops there I go again).

Buenos Aires is dangerous: especially neighbourhoods like Mataderos or Liniers, but then again, no tourist ever travels to those areas.

...except for all the tourists that go to the gaucho fair every weekend.

I think as always there are a lot of newcomers who are here saying "Oh, it's so safe." Then there are those of us who have been here longer who have a slightly different viewpoint.

Umm, no. Here for three years and nothing has happened (to me, my wife our circle of friends, when you get to three degrees of separation I know a few stories but that's it). I've walked this amazing city extensively (all 48 barrios except 1, apologies to Villa Real) with a large a camera taking pictures and nothing, I'm not saying nothing will ever happen to me but if it does that doesn't necessarily mean I will call this a dangerous city or modify my behaviour greatly. We all have our own tolerances and our own ideas of what constitutes dangerous based on our experiences and the information we have at hand. So if you want to call this a dangerous city and modify your behaviour accordingly feel free, I don't mind (I think you're missing out on a lot). What I do object to is the tendency of those who think this city is dangerous to dismiss any experiences to the contrary. Unless you want to get into statistics we only have our own anecdotes and these can't be extended to give a valid picture of a city of 14 million people, you would need a slightly larger sample size than that to talk with any credibility so please stop pretending that your personal experiences carry more weight than anybody else's (ie - when you call us 'chosen ones' lucky, have you ever stopped to think that you may be unlucky - what makes you the ultimate arbiters of objective reality?).

To the original poster, I do think from how you described what was said to you at the embassy that they were being a little over the top. The best advice with coming to any new city is play it safe within your comfort zone in the first few weeks or months, then as you meet more people and learn more you will find what constitutes your middle ground between being too paranoid and taking too many risks - this will be different to just about everyone else on this forum but if it works for you then great, but don't let what was said to you put you off coming here.

But...

I've only been robbed in Recoleta.

Several restaurants have been robbed in Palermo.

Last year there was a man going around Recoleta entering apartment buildings and stores and raping women.

When I used to live in Recoleta my building was broken into several times and the robbers sent one young woman to the hospital.

Oh, I did get the bird poop scam once near Japanese Gardens

the hostage-taking in Palermo last week, etc.

The friend who was stabbed in his ear while they stole his watch on Libertador by the hipodromo at 8:00 in the evening.

The friend who had her house broken into near San Isidro and was held at gunpoint for 12 hours until her husband came home and went to the ATM to pay them off.

The friends who were jumped on Juan B Justo and beaten up at 5:00 in the afternoon.

The friend who had her car stolen from Matienzo and Liberatdor while visiting me.

The friend who was stabbed in the leg when they attempted to steal her bike at 3:00 on a Sunday afternoon in San Isidro.

...I will concede that I rarely venture into the crime ridden ghettos of the north.

Odd that someone mentioned a few stories heard about La Boca and it becomes a no go zone but on this very forum it seems to be a never ending torrent of criminal activity in the tourist barrios and y'all keep moving there.

 

[citygirl]

Shrug - to each his/her own. Maybe its just my circle of friends (portenos and extrajeros alike) that have all been affected. And to those that haven't been, I say that's fantastic for you (and no, I'm not being sarcastic).

I don't live my life in fear and I'm not here screaming that BsAs is the most dangerous city in the world - far from it. Nor would I ever advise someone not to come here because its too dangerous. But my personal experience is that there is a fair amount of crime here.

As I've posted several times, I find most of the crimes to be non-violent - pickpocketing, purse-snatching, etc. It's a big city, take precautions and the odds are you'll be fine.

And again, everyone's definition of dangerous is different. And everyone takes their own level of precautions. I went to a futbol game here with a porteno and he forbade me to bring a cellphone, camera, etc. There were extanjeros sitting near us with a 1000 dollar camera. Whatever works for you and your tolerance.

 

[Eternalnewbie]

Shrug - to each his/her own. Maybe its just my circle of friends (portenos and extrajeros alike) that have all been affected. And to those that haven't been, I say that's fantastic for you (and no, I'm not being sarcastic).

I don't live my life in fear and I'm not here screaming that BsAs is the most dangerous city in the world - far from it. Nor would I ever advise someone not to come here because its too dangerous. But my personal experience is that there is a fair amount of crime here.

As I've posted several times, I find most of the crimes to be non-violent - pickpocketing, purse-snatching, etc. It's a big city, take precautions and the odds are you'll be fine.

And again, everyone's definition of dangerous is different. And everyone takes their own level of precautions. I went to a futbol game here with a porteno and he forbade me to bring a cellphone, camera, etc. There were extanjeros sitting near us with a 1000 dollar camera. Whatever works for you and your tolerance.

I went to a Boca Juniors / Hurican game a few months ago, and I was the guy with a nice camera and a Blackberry. No problem. Good game. Although Hurican won. It's that Jesus thing again.