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

[John.St]

While not a scientific survey, this say a lot. Based on these numbers (which were provided by expats), your chances of being a victim of crime in BA is 50%.

Not really.

A lot depends on how street smart you are and whether or not you behave or look like a victim.

Flaunt valuables, keep your money in a wallet sticking out of your pocket, move around (e.g. alone) in rundown barrios, don't keep an eye on your surroundings, don't use sensible surveillance tactics before you enter and after you leave an ATM, use any old ATM you pass instead of picking it carefully, etc. and you are much more likely to become a victim than if you are street smart - the 50% who were not victims probably are street smart - but I have met people who kept their passport and money in a backpack on their backs and similar naive or not too bright behaviour.

 

[TomAtAlki]

Dog doo on the streets- way better than 4 years ago when I got here. I see lots of people picking it up these days. In 10 years there won't be any. It a process. Seattle, Paris and new York were awash in dog s*it 15 years ago.

Great vegetables on almost every corner.

My best friends are portinos. Here, like everywhere there are good and bad people.

I am a 27 yr old dude living in Oklahoma. I've visited Argentina before and thought it was cool. Obviously, a person who visited doesn't have as good knowledge of a country as a person who lived there. So I googled "argentina expat" and found this forum.

I just wanna say I enjoy reading the posts here, both positive and negative. I'm not sure why, but you guys make me laugh. I find your arguments and discussions informative and entertaining. When I'm bored, sometimes I lurk on this forum just to get a real good laugh. So thanks, posters on BAExpats.

I wanted to say that and ask you guys to elaborate on some negative aspects of BA (I didn't wanna create my own thread so I posted here). Questions:

1. How do you guys deal with the dog doo on the streets? When I visited BA, that was a turn-off. I dunno if I could deal with it on a regular basis.

2. Some people said the food is inedible and/or bland. Coming from Oklahoma, I know what bland food is so I didn't have a problem with it. Is food in BA unhealthy? A poster here once said the food in the produce section looked like it fell off the back of a truck. Is that true? Another poster said the restaurant food was too bland. Is that true too?

3. People keep saying Portenos aren't trustworthy. I've read stories about being cheated by landlords and other businessmen. I've read people saying they are really protective of their valuables. How untrustworthy are businessmen?

 

[Aleina Dee]

If you are an upbeat guy I don´t think you will have issues with the culture or the people. I meet people every day on a fleeting basis ,people just passing the time making a comment about weather ,prices in Coto. It benefits you to be from the old world as you have at least a working recollection of shopping in small stores to find what you want and that the main meal of the day is at midday.

Crime : I live in a high crime area as it is spills over from Constitucion .So far so good. Be careful,not paranoid . Choose wisely where you want to live. If you speak Spanish I would live away from Palermo. Palermo is known for its expat community and for its yuppie local population, so it also attracts the petty crime. I am not saying it does not happen in the rest of the city though .
My track record so far : Paris in 4 months 3 purses stolen,Mexico city in 7 years one car radio,Buenos Aires in 6 months nothing . Fingers crossed...

Food has changed for the worse,but you can get really good things away from the supermarket in older style shops . I have a shop from Cordoba near and the cheese and salami is not in the refrigerator. Shock and horror until you remember the reason for the existence of cheese and salami : to preserve what cannot be used fresh. Relearn what you know which for me is the point of travelling,living somewhere else.

 

[DontMindMe]

1. It's relatively safe (shit happens, but not excessively)
2. In general and with the right attitude the Argentine people are friendly and 'befriendable'
3. Having a good income makes a major difference
4. It offers many kids-friendly facilities (altough the city itself is a bit noisy and stinky)
5. The direct (natural) surroundings are a bit boring > I'll post another topic about that one
6. But also: it's not a great, great city... I feel more 'like' than 'love'.

1. Definitely one of the safest big cities in Latin America, although over time I got paranoid. I was recently in Bogotá, and the streets are deserted after dark. There are tons of bums, and they are all cracked out on the cheap, cheap drugs that are everywhere. Metal detectors and pat downs to get into bars and even sometimes supermarkets. After experiencing that I think I could go back to BA and feel much safer than I did before moving away.

2. In the end I did not find porteños warm or particularly friendly, but that is something you would have to decide for yourself. I came from a very open, international and friendly city, so I did not like it (then again I was dealing mostly with young 20-somethings who for some reason are awfully competitive). People from colder places not known for being friendly tend to love Buenos Aires in comparison. The way people treat their inner circle of relatives and lifelong friends is not how they will treat a new friend. Be patient, and don't think it will be anything like other countries in Latin America, if you've been. With that said, people with kids seem to have it a bit easier what with the play dates and schools and all.

3. YES. Despite the free education and blah blah blah, the third world is not a fun place to be broke. Period. However, there are lots of cool free cultural activities around the city. That helps.

4. Kids are allowed pretty much everywhere at all hours. I hated this, but as a parent you will love it.

5. Unless you want to sit with your kids on a bus for 20 hours to get to, say, Salta, it's nice to have the cash to be able to fly to the big destinations, none of which are close to BA. Argentina is a great country to travel around. Absolutely beautiful.

6. Again, this is something you will have to decide for yourself. Once you get past the smoke and mirrors--yummy ice cream! Pretty architecture!--that's when real life begins, and that's when you decide if you like it as a place to LIVE, not visit. Four years is a long time, but at least you know you have an end date if things get rough.

I didn't like it in the end, but I wouldn't change a thing. I know I'll be back to visit one day. Gotta hit up Patagonia when I'm retired! Best of luck with whatever you decide. It would be the adventure of a lifetime, that's for sure.

 

[bebero]

So you are saying that more or less half the members of the expats community are lieing about their personal experiences?

This you base on ... what?

Did you read the first post with instructions of how to respond?

Nop, I'm not saying that. I don't know why you understood that. I'm saying that someone randomly said "you have 50% chance of being a victim", and that's a made up statistic.

 

[steveinbsas]

Nop, I'm not saying that. I don't know why you understood that. I'm saying that someone randomly said "you have 50% chance of being a victim", and that's a made up statistic.

Actually, it isn't a made up statistic.

As I already pointed out, it's the result of an unscientific poll.

There is a difference.

And it wasn't randomly said by someone.

It was "said" by me...and it was intentional.

There was nothing random about it.

 

[bebero]

Actually, it isn't a made up statistic.

As I already pointed out, it's the result of an unscientific poll.

There is a difference.

And it wasn't randomly said by someone.

It was "said" by me...and it was intentional.

There was nothing random about it.

It is random. You can't just throw a "50% chance" based on what you read on a forum. Especially on a thread ABOUT CRIME. That's nonsense.
To get a proper statistic you should ask among more people, with different backgrounds, different jobs, from different neighborhoods, who work at different hours, and tons of etc.

I have many expat friends here and only one of them was the victim of a crime (he was pick pocketed). That's not enough to throw a percentage out there.

 

[steveinbsas]

It is random. You can't just throw a "50% chance" based on what you read on a forum. Especially on a thread ABOUT CRIME. That's nonsense.
To get a proper statistic you should ask among more people, with different backgrounds, different jobs, from different neighborhoods, who work at different hours, and tons of etc.

I have many expat friends here and only one of them was the victim of a crime (he was pick pocketed). That's not enough to throw a percentage out there.

Your friends have been very lucky...thus far.

I was unsuccessfully pick pocketed in the subte and my girlfriend had her shoulder bag stolen by a thug on a moto. He cut the shoulder strap with a knife.

That's 100%, at least for us...especially if you include the guys who tried to get into my apartment when I was in the US by forcing my neighbors at knife point as they entered the building at midnight.

Without taking a poll I can (regrettably) say that at least half of my friends in BA have been victims of crime and everyone I know in Argentina either has anti-robo curtains or iron bars on their windows.

Not one person I know in the USA needs to live behind bars...or in that kind of fear.

 

[cbphoto]

Hey Bebero.. just curious..have you traveled much? Maybe you should try to get out of BA more often...you seem a bit tense/uninformed.
I lived in BsAs for 1 year. I was never victim of a serious crime..(got a few bad bills), but many people I knew/was friends with were.. easy 50% of them.
I have lived in 7 major cities around the world..and a couple small ones also.In those cities I could sit in a cafe with my Mac Book Pro, my phone and car keys on the table...and feel comfortable that they are in no danger of being stolen. Except for Istanbul...that comfort went as far as to leave those objects on the table outside the cafe as I went inside to use the facilities. No way in BA!! I am currently living in Los Angeles...have my mac book pro, my phone and a Mercedes (never broken into, parked on the street day and night) and still using the restroom when nature calls.

 

[bebero]

Hey Bebero.. just curious..have you traveled much? Maybe you should try to get out of BA more often...you seem a bit tense/uninformed.
I lived in BsAs for 1 year. I was never victim of a serious crime..(got a few bad bills), but many people I knew/was friends with were.. easy 50% of them.
I have lived in 7 major cities around the world..and a couple small ones also.In those cities I could sit in a cafe with my Mac Book Pro, my phone and car keys on the table...and feel comfortable that they are in no danger of being stolen. Except for Istanbul...that comfort went as far as to leave those objects on the table outside the cafe as I went inside to use the facilities. No way in BA!! I am currently living in Los Angeles...have my mac book pro, my phone and a Mercedes (never broken into, parked on the street day and night) and still using the restroom when nature calls.

I have lived in the US before and I currently travel back and forth.
I've been to Europe many times.

I'm not saying I can leave my Macbook on the table and go the bathroom here in BA, and I'm not saying it's crime free. I'm simply stating that people can't make up statistics and numbers, because that's not how it works.