Is it all that bad? Please say it isn't!

[El Duderino]

and 50%? please don't make up statistics. i know MANY expats living here that never suffered from a mugging or anything like that.
it seems that people like to scare the newcomers here

I don't know. I've spent 10 months here and haven't been victim to anything, but I'm a male and pretty tall. The expats I know, most from parts of Latin America, have been victim to crime here. I'd say 75%. Hell, one of my friends from Chile was only here for 5 days and he got pick-pocketed in the subte.

If he's planning on spending 4 years here, it will happen.

 

[gpop]

heyyy...what would life be without some challenges .

 

[Hop]

It seems like most defending Buenos Aires' greatness qualify their statements with "If you earn in dollars or euros" or "if you earn a good living." Of course Buenos Aires is great if you have money!

But I earn in pesos and it's not an impressive salary. I'll admit, I don't earn a bad living for a local. It doesn't break the bank if I take a taxi now and again, but I'm still living month to month. Saving is impossible. Even more impossible in pesos and the hoops to jump through to buy dollars.

Buenos Aires is a great city to visit or to live in for a time. But honestly considering the future and my economic stability and it's just not a gonna work out for me.

 

[walkingtwig]

aapietje: I think that you have misunderstood the reasons why so many people have given their advice to Header. People are not wasting their valuable time posing comments in order to bash your country, but rather are trying to offer up their experiences so that Header might understand how it is to live as an EX-PAT in Argentina, rather than as you may see it as a NATIVE.

In the same way I expect that argentines looking to move abroad would seek advice from other argentines already living there.

We as expats know from our own experiences that there are some wide gaps in-between the living standards of Argentina and Europe (both positively and negatively), and maybe we want to tell Header some things that we wish some-one had told us before we came!

Wither you like it or not Argentina IS a less developed country and it is not always easy for a person to make the move down the scale rather than up it, especially if they have a family and children. However it is possible to make the move, if you are well informed and have appropriate expectations, otherwise it can be extremely frustrating.

 

[wolfy]

I'm argentine, married to a british, she talked to me about this community, it's my first time here.

I'd advise you to contact the dutch embassy in buenos aires upon entering the country so you get assistance on how to get around and so on, making some expat friends will also be very helpful as they will tell you straight how the deal is around here better than any argie can tell you, including me! haha.

There's crime yes, but it's not bagdad or mexico city. its slightly safer.. haha.
Now seriously: There's bad areas and good areas, as long as you stay around the good areas you'd never have a problem.

Theres towns like the ones we live in, you can leave the car keys and the doors open while you walk into the shops and noone touches your stuff, where there's other places that are not THAT SAFE.

Then again, the areas I consider safe (or unsafe) might not be the ones most of expats do, so make some friends here and ask them to help you get around.

The farthest away you move from ba city, the cleaner and normally safer, also more boring. Most of the population is concentrated in ba city and greater buenos aires area, past that, it's country.

Last but not least:

Argentina is a very big country you can spend several days driving from one end to the other, if you have a decent income here, exploring argentina is such a beautiful experience.

Me and my wife discovered a beach called Mar De Las Pampas just a couple of months ago, it's hidden deep inside a big forest of evergreens and sand hills. Recommended, super safe and clean.

 

[Xeneizes]

I agree that it really depends on what kind of person you are and the expectations you set.

I am a 22 year old recent college grad who had a lot of good options in the US but chose to take an interesting job paying in pesos to move to a huge city on the otherside of the world. I chose to do this to be able to live abroad in a big city, learn a new culture and language, see if I like this type of career, and learn more about myself. I wanted to continue improving my Spanish rather than lose it. I wanted to see where my father grew up. I wanted to travel the world. I knew that it would be difficult to save on my salary coming in, and I made a budget to set expectations on how much I could spend entertaining myself, and traveling around South America.

Based on my planning, Argentina has completely met those expectations. I am having a great time, learning a lot about this country and myself, and not saving any money. It doesn't bother me because I knew this going in, but it does give me perspective on how long I should continue this lifestyle before thinking about beginning to save, etc. No situation will ever give you exactly what you want, but you only need to make sure you get what you need.

Prepare well and if afterward, you decide to come, you will have a great time.

 

[cbphoto]

Xeneizes.. good for you...and good luck with your discoveries! I am nearly twice your age..have had your perspective (with the usual up and downs) for as many years for sure. Take it all in...the good and the bad... when you are sure you have had enough..really had enough "experience"... you move on. Simple as that.

 

[Fabe]

Bebero , the INDEC could use someone like you ...

 

[bebero]

but rather are trying to offer up their experiences so that Header might understand how it is to live as an EX-PAT in Argentina, rather than as you may see it as a NATIVE.
.

no: they're doing it to handle their own frustration. most people writing here are not trying to be helpful.