Is Buenos Aires Still Cheap With Usd?

[mmoon]

The good thing is that bubbles burst overnight!

I can't agree that it would be a good thing for it to happen overnight...I was in BA for the last "pop" and it was horrible...practically no one was left untouched.

 

[Girino]

I can't agree that it would be a good thing for it to happen overnight...I was in BA for the last "pop" and it was horrible...practically no one was left untouched.

How was that? I imagined it was just a change in the exchange rate, like it happened when Macri aligned the official dolar with the blue dolar.

 

[Ries]

most people lost 2/3 of the value of their savings.
that means their 1000 pesos in the bank was worth 330 the next morning.
it was not just a change in the exchange rate.
it was a devaluation by 2/3, of a lot of savings.

it was crash, by any definition, and it hurt a lot of people.

 

[nwi314]

We arrived in Buenos Aires two months ago having been transferred here from the Chicago area, not an inexpensive place to live. The company did a cost of living analysis between the two areas and as a result, we receive a $60 per diem to cover the extra costs. That's a pretty good measure of how expensive it is to live here; they don't give away money...

 

[mmoon]

How was that? I imagined it was just a change in the exchange rate, like it happened when Macri aligned the official dolar with the blue dolar.

I'm not referring to the recent exchange rate change under Macri, I'm talking about the epic crash in 2001. That was a true bubble burst. It was depressing, it was chaos, it was terrifying, and it affected everyone.

 

[Girino]

I'm not referring to the recent exchange rate change under Macri, I'm talking about the epic crash in 2001. That was a true bubble burst. It was depressing, it was chaos, it was terrifying, and it affected everyone.

Wasn't that when most expats made their real estate deals for pennies?

 

[on the brink]

Buenos Aires is now more expensive than Washington, DC., even including real estate. And of course, gas, meals, car rental, clothing, books, electronics, and grocery stores. Every time I visit there I feel WEALTHY.......!!

 

[mmoon]

Wasn't that when most expats made their real estate deals for pennies?

Far fewer than you would expect, and few who are active on this site. Even those who did buy cheap would have a hard time being so flippant. If you had been here in 2001, you would realize how horrendous that time was for all.

 

[UK Man]

Today was supermarket day. Prices do seem to be the same as they were last week thank goodness although 35 pesos for a 200gr carton of fresh cream and 28 pesos for a Kit Kat is utterly ridiculous.
Overall, supermarket prices here continue to be at least 50% more than the UK and you don't need to look hard for items that are 100% more expensive.

 

[Rich One]

I went to Kansas restaurant last night (US$25 for a full steak meal and pint of beer), high-end Rosa Negra in San Ysidro night before ($25 for nice seafood risotto dish with a glass of wine), filled the gas tank for my fiancée, ($50), paid my basic Cable TV.internet/phone monthly bill (90), bought 30 tabs of 5 mg Cialis (90 - which in US would cost 300)..... I have been coming to Bs As off and on for the past 40 years and bought an apt here 10 years ago.
Gone are the days of the $5 steak dinner and $1/ hour maid that had been prevalent in the past 20 years. Prices now approach but are still somewhat less than prices prevailing in major US and European capitols. You can still eat out well a for a lot less than in NY (where I reside part-time), Bs As taxis are still a heck of a lot cheaper and so is housing (not top end hotels). My NY maid is 25/hour. My Bs As maid is 6 (and I pay top dollar). Imported high end clothes and electro domesticos remain relatively expensive as they always were driven by import duties.
In short, tourists with USD will not find BS As expensive because things tourists spend their money on (rented apts/taxis/restaurant) are still comparatively low priced. However, if you found Spain expensive in the past year even with the very strong USD vs the euro, you might feel otherwise - but then everywhere will be expensive for you.

PRices for meals seem fair including tips?... however my 50 liter tank needs $1000 pesos to fill up with Premium. Your GF `s car has a smaller tank or uses low octane gas??