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

[mybeautifulair]

http://mybeautifulair.com/2012/01/16/happy-anniversary-to-me-and-my-city/

The negative comments on this site are to scare you away so we can keep the best city in the world to ourselves!

 

[bebero]

This is simply not true. How is that trying to be helpful??
.

you said it yourself. personally, i believe you hate buenos aires too much to give anyone advise

 

[Napoleon]

you said it yourself. personally, i believe you hate buenos aires too much to give anyone advise

Maybe "advice" is not the right way of looking at it, but rather personal experiences that can be viewed as quite negative experiences.

There's little debate that LEE wouldn't be here if it were as easy as snapping his fingers, but that doesn't mean that his personal stories & experiences should be completely ignored.

There are reasons that he's so bitter. Let's hear what they are.

 

[Napoleon]

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.

Name: Xeneizes
Location: Recoleta

When I see this combination, my eyes roll and my head shakes side-to-side. And I find it difficult to digest what follows.

 

[Mitch]

Hello there, I just stumbled upon this forum from my desk in The Netherlands. I'm contemplating a move to BA for four years with my family. I have two young daughters, age 2 & 5. The job offering would guarantee a comfortable lifestyle.

The main thing right now is, trying to get a feel for the place. How enjoyable would our life be? The whole purpose is to have a good, adventurous and interesting experience. Firstly I had the impression that BA would surely deliver that. The people were supposed to be great and the city vibrant.

I had some worries about crime, but after reading a lot about it and speaking to some people I have the impression that the fear is bigger than the threat. Sure, it's not as safe as The Hague, but with a bit of common sense it's not Mexico-City either.

Let me boil it down. What I've read the last 50 minutes on this site is extremely negative. Many many posts about the arrogant Argentines, the crime, the pollution, the prices etc. How it's nice for a year, but after two years you want to leave screaming.

So what's up? Are the positive people just not that active here or is it really that bad? I would really like to hear some positive sounds! I'm a very upbeat guy myself. In The Netherlands there is also a lot of complaining about social decline and bla bla bla, but I don't encounter it at all.

I guess attitude and perspective do matter and I'd love to hear as wide a spectrum as possible. How would our lives be, for real? Thanks a million!

Something postive? Hmmm They are building bike lanes... Just don´t dare ride outside of them! Good and cheap fruit and vegetables. Soft winter. The locals are cosmopoliton and charming, but all else said here about them is mostly true. Although I find most humble in one sense. They are the first to tell you they are a completely fucked peoples. I have been 8 years and prefer living here to NYC.

 

[genialf]

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.

On that note, I never got mugged of anything while living in Mexico City, I did get mugged in europe though. There's crime everywhere, just use your common sense when taking care of yourself (avoid jewelery, don't use your cellphone on the street, watch your surroundings every now and then). It's not a particular problem in Buenos Aires as it is in other cities.

 

[header]

Well, thanks everybody, thanks a lot! Although (predictably) a clear picture doesn't arise. it does help a lot. Here's my subjective conclusion based on 30 something relevant posts:

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'.

To be continued. Again, thanks a million. A lot of people have really put in an effort, I appreciate it a lot!

Cheerio, Hedde

 

[Driftline]

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?

 

[Mano Negra]

Well, thanks everybody, thanks a lot! Although (predictably) a clear picture doesn't arise. it does help a lot. Here's my subjective conclusion based on 30 something relevant posts:

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'.

To be continued. Again, thanks a million. A lot of people have really put in an effort, I appreciate it a lot!

Cheerio, Hedde

No, its a great city if you avoid mixing with whining (mainly) yanquis!!!

 

[John.St]

to those saying that the thread about crime should tell her what to expect, that is just wrong. that's a thread about people being victims of crime, hello, of course there're gonna be a lot of stories.
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

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?