Unfortunately Palermo/Recoleta/Belgrano are considered "tourist ghettos" but I promise I am not trying to offend anybody with this statement. It just takes quite a high grade of proficiency in Spanish, confidence and adventure to live in other neighborhoods in BA. I will recommend that for anybody...some parts of Centro,Caballito,San Telmo and other neighborhoods are great places and you will be able to get immerse in the culture in a more genuine way live...personally I tell my students to avoid living in those areas. As with anything else, it all depends on what your goal is with being in BA. Buena suerte
Is BsAs that dangerous??
- Thread starter EufemiaEudoxia
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Well, when I first moved here I lived in a hostal in La Boca. When I lived there I did know people who had problems with theft or crime. When I moved out of that area it seemed like there wasn't so much going on.
I am not saying Palermo is the only place to live, it's just where most tourists seem to end up. I think caballito and almagro are great places to be, especially if you want to be more around locals than tourists. But I really wouldn't recommend anybody the hostal de la boca experience, especially if they don't know the city that well.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g312741-s206/Buenos-Aires:Argentina:Health.And.Safety.html
I am not saying Palermo is the only place to live, it's just where most tourists seem to end up. I think caballito and almagro are great places to be, especially if you want to be more around locals than tourists. But I really wouldn't recommend anybody the hostal de la boca experience, especially if they don't know the city that well.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g312741-s206/Buenos-Aires:Argentina:Health.And.Safety.html
Well i go with all the others some street smartness works 99%. Nevertheless try to be not alone on the street during the nights and in doubt take a taxi, they are pretty cheap...
...anyways, crime happens here, so watch out. i got robbed once in san telmo, at night, two guys with a gun (maybe fake, but i didn´t want to gamble...), but basically i don´t feel or experience more danger here than in other huge cities.
...anyways, crime happens here, so watch out. i got robbed once in san telmo, at night, two guys with a gun (maybe fake, but i didn´t want to gamble...), but basically i don´t feel or experience more danger here than in other huge cities.
nlaruccia
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I've been living here for many years and have lived in various neighborhoods around the city from Recoleta to the red light district near Constitucion. Buenos Aires is dangerous: especially neighbourhoods like Mataderos or Liniers, but then again, no tourist ever travels to those areas. I've only been robbed in Recoleta. However, I've had friends kidnapped in their own car and taken for a ride then left naked in the street, to those who have been kidnapped in taxis, to those robbed using the ATM machine downtown, to my Argentinian family whose house was broken into by armed robbers who held them hostage. The worse part is that they didn't even bother going to the police. The whole neighborhood was being robbed. Several restaurants have been robbed in Palermo. Many Argie friends of mine only go to restaurants that have hired security. The intruders just walk in and rob everyone at gun point. 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. Crime is a serious issue here and it's not to be taken lightly. The perpetrators are often on drugs and won't hesitate to shoot you even if you give them what they want. Always take radio taxis at night, look behind you when you enter your building at night to make sure that you're not being followed, and be aware of who's around you. Please leave your iPhones and cameras at home, or at least in your apartment.
Napoleon
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I was just at a bar. I bought a liter bottle of Stella. I poured about 350ml in my glass. I was talking with a friend and stuff. I was looking to my right. I showed some picture to my friend on my iPod Touch. I turned back towards the bar and my liter bottle was gone. The bartenders didn't take it.
If people are stealing your beer from right under your nose, then you're damn straight this city is dangerous!!
If people are stealing your beer from right under your nose, then you're damn straight this city is dangerous!!
EufemiaEudoxia
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Thank you so much for so many honest responses. It is true one has to be careful practically everywhere, because it's an opportunity that makes a thief. I now know it's about precautions. I will live in a safe district and I will have my lessons in a city center, so I should be fine. 
EufemiaEudoxia
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I was considering Barcelona as well, because I am in love with this city. However, the dates of the course at the univesity there do not match my schedule, so I chose Buenos Aires. I know there are some differences between Spanish Spanish and Argentinean Spanish, like the form "vos" for example. I am looking forward to discovering them as well as the city itself.fred mertz said:
I think the time for saying Buenos Aires is "as safe as any other large city" is over. Buenos Aires in my opinion is far less safe than a large city such as NYC, London, or Paris but is still safer than Jo'burg, Mexico City, or Rio.
Pickpocketing and petty crime may be on par with other cities, but violent crime here is on the increase and although tourists want to ignore it, it is an issue. Fortunately for the Ministro de Turismo, so far no foreigners have been the victims of the previous few weeks headline crimes, which include:
1) The Carolina Piparo (I think that's apellido) assault at the bank in La Plata -- she was heavily pregnant, a week before due date, shot in the chest, her unborn child has died and she still seems to be in unstable condition.
2) The taking of various hostages in a building on Araoz and Soler -- one block from Scalabrini Ortiz in a very touristy area. Delincuents assaulted the doorman (actually woman in this case) at 7am and entered the building, taking hostage various residents of the building and resulting in a police standoff that lasted more than 6 hours -- it was on every news channel so don't know how anyone could have missed it.
3) Yesterday in Caballito three assaults in 8 hours -- at a quinela, at a church, and then a large group of men entered a parking garage and stole a number of vehicles (Caballito is not much of a tourist area for those of you panicking)
4) Yesterday the MacStation store in Prime Tourist Area of Palermo Soho was robbed -- two delincuents entered and threatened staff with weapons, in the end one of the them was shot and killed by a policeman, the other ran off and escaped.
5) Yesterday the hostages taken first thing in the morning on Arenales, as mentioned by a previous poster.
And these are only things reported in the news, there are always tonnes of cases of people being mugged, having their cars taken at gunpoint (my husband had his taken by 3 guys with guns pointed at his chest and head a few months back), and tonnes of petty crime. Abasto Shopping is terrible for this -- wait at the taxi stand out front and you're almost guaranteed being robbed by someone.
I don't know what cities you people are all from, but I don't think in NYC you're getting hostage takings and assault with weapons that you get here on a daily basis. NYC is actually ridiculously safe these days. I've certainly never encountered a guy with a scope-mounted rifle in NYC, and I have come upon one here when we were headed off the Riccheri past Villa 31.
I've also never lived in a city where almost everyone I know who lives here permanently has either been directly affected, or had a loved one directly affected by a violent crime or a robbery at gunpoint.
In fact the last time that I lived in a city that had daily occurences of violence reported on the news was London before the end of the Troubles -- and that's because there were still bomb-threats going on all the time, most of which didn't even result in more than a threat by the time I was living there.
You can walk around here and be fine, that's true. And probably your perspective on how "safe" Buenos Aires is won't change until you yourself become the victim of a crime, but this city is facing a growing violent crime problem and to say it's just as safe as any large city now needs to have some clauses attached.
Pickpocketing and petty crime may be on par with other cities, but violent crime here is on the increase and although tourists want to ignore it, it is an issue. Fortunately for the Ministro de Turismo, so far no foreigners have been the victims of the previous few weeks headline crimes, which include:
1) The Carolina Piparo (I think that's apellido) assault at the bank in La Plata -- she was heavily pregnant, a week before due date, shot in the chest, her unborn child has died and she still seems to be in unstable condition.
2) The taking of various hostages in a building on Araoz and Soler -- one block from Scalabrini Ortiz in a very touristy area. Delincuents assaulted the doorman (actually woman in this case) at 7am and entered the building, taking hostage various residents of the building and resulting in a police standoff that lasted more than 6 hours -- it was on every news channel so don't know how anyone could have missed it.
3) Yesterday in Caballito three assaults in 8 hours -- at a quinela, at a church, and then a large group of men entered a parking garage and stole a number of vehicles (Caballito is not much of a tourist area for those of you panicking)
4) Yesterday the MacStation store in Prime Tourist Area of Palermo Soho was robbed -- two delincuents entered and threatened staff with weapons, in the end one of the them was shot and killed by a policeman, the other ran off and escaped.
5) Yesterday the hostages taken first thing in the morning on Arenales, as mentioned by a previous poster.
And these are only things reported in the news, there are always tonnes of cases of people being mugged, having their cars taken at gunpoint (my husband had his taken by 3 guys with guns pointed at his chest and head a few months back), and tonnes of petty crime. Abasto Shopping is terrible for this -- wait at the taxi stand out front and you're almost guaranteed being robbed by someone.
I don't know what cities you people are all from, but I don't think in NYC you're getting hostage takings and assault with weapons that you get here on a daily basis. NYC is actually ridiculously safe these days. I've certainly never encountered a guy with a scope-mounted rifle in NYC, and I have come upon one here when we were headed off the Riccheri past Villa 31.
I've also never lived in a city where almost everyone I know who lives here permanently has either been directly affected, or had a loved one directly affected by a violent crime or a robbery at gunpoint.
In fact the last time that I lived in a city that had daily occurences of violence reported on the news was London before the end of the Troubles -- and that's because there were still bomb-threats going on all the time, most of which didn't even result in more than a threat by the time I was living there.
You can walk around here and be fine, that's true. And probably your perspective on how "safe" Buenos Aires is won't change until you yourself become the victim of a crime, but this city is facing a growing violent crime problem and to say it's just as safe as any large city now needs to have some clauses attached.
bookgirl531
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Urgh, I am from Brooklyn and I am so sick of hearing people complain about Buenos Aires being dangerous. It's a city. There are like 13 million people. Sometimes there is crime. That's life. But in general, walking around both in the daytime and in the wee hours of the morning, I have never felt unsafe. I would say it's definitely safer than NYC in the 80s, and is probably about the same as any other big city that has distracted tourists who can be easily robbed.
You just need to be smart and use common sense. Don't wave your iPod around or flash a 100 pesos bill if you're walking by yourself at 2 am. If you're in a crowded place like the subte or the crafts fair in san telmo, keep a close eye on your bag or wallet. Basic safety.
You just need to be smart and use common sense. Don't wave your iPod around or flash a 100 pesos bill if you're walking by yourself at 2 am. If you're in a crowded place like the subte or the crafts fair in san telmo, keep a close eye on your bag or wallet. Basic safety.
Definitely do not listen to the people who say it's safe to walk around here late at night. If you are a woman, you should not be walking around alone outside from 3-6 a.m. because the streets are empty. Everyone thinks they're safe until something happens to them. A friend of a friend was recently raped while waiting for an early morning train to work. She waited there on a daily basis and never felt worried, but clearly it isn't safe. I'm not saying that happens all the time, but it does happen.
This city is definitely not as safe as NYC. People can say that as long as you're thinking ahead you'll be fine, but that's just not true. When you get into a Radio taxi and then some kids come up to it with guns and rob you, how could you have prevented that? When you're walking down the street in front of your apartment and kids come up and rob you, how could you have prevented that? Every expat I know has been the target of crime, and many Argentinians have told me crime is out of control as well and that they've been robbed as well. You can't avoid crime here even if you're on your guard all the time. People who have lived here without any problems are just plain lucky. At this point, I feel incredibly lucky that I haven't been robbed since nearly everyone I know has, but I've had someone else's hand in my pocket and had my pockets felt up while I was at a large event.
This city is definitely not as safe as NYC. People can say that as long as you're thinking ahead you'll be fine, but that's just not true. When you get into a Radio taxi and then some kids come up to it with guns and rob you, how could you have prevented that? When you're walking down the street in front of your apartment and kids come up and rob you, how could you have prevented that? Every expat I know has been the target of crime, and many Argentinians have told me crime is out of control as well and that they've been robbed as well. You can't avoid crime here even if you're on your guard all the time. People who have lived here without any problems are just plain lucky. At this point, I feel incredibly lucky that I haven't been robbed since nearly everyone I know has, but I've had someone else's hand in my pocket and had my pockets felt up while I was at a large event.
