Is Mendoza Nice?

[polostar88]

What kind of city is Mendoza? Is it worth living there for a month? And if I did live there what options are there besides airbnb to find a monthly apartment? I don't think craigslist has listings.

I guess I'm wondering how it would compare to Buenos Aires. Is it cleaner? Mountain air? Nicer people? Cheaper?

 

[r3d3]

What kind of city is Mendoza? Is it worth living there for a month? And if I did live there what options are there besides airbnb to find a monthly apartment? I don't think craigslist has listings.

I guess I'm wondering how it would compare to Buenos Aires. Is it cleaner? Mountain air? Nicer people? Cheaper?

Is it cleaner? Not really. It used to be - but not any more.

Mountain air? Metro area and east - pollution. If you live west of the city (Potrerillos, Uspallata, etc) you will have mountain air but it is pretty boring there.

Nicer people? Not that I noticed. Different but not necessary nicer.

Cheaper? I have never lived in BA so do not know for sure. Maybe a little (rent, restaurants etc.).

FYI crime has become an issue here in recent years. If you are looking for something clean and safe you might checkout San Luis. I have not lived there yet - but heard nice things about the province from people who did.

 

[camel]

I had the best choripan in Mendoza. I got a parking ticket in Mendoza.

 

[wineguy999]

Mendoza is okay, but in many ways Capital on a smaller scale. A lot of tourists, so significant petty crime in the city. We suffered an odd, aborted attack from a guy because he was a hair slower than me at the gate to our apartment. (One of those, "Did that just happen?" scenarios.)

There is some very good food, and of course, great outings into the country and surrounding vineyards.

I'll still take San Juan over Mendoza any day.

 

[r3d3]

San Juan is nice too. It is like a smaller, safer, friendlier version of Mendoza. Only negative is the heat there. Brutal in summer.

 

[toulouse]

I split my time between BsAs and Mendoza for many years, but have lived only in Mendoza for 5 years. For me it's great. Much more laid-back than BsAs and a good vibe. I have rental connections if you want to PM me. FWIW, I would never consider San Juan or San Luis compared with Mendoza...

 

[mmoon]

If you love food and wine, like a more outdoor vibe, and don't want to live somewhere that is flat flat flat and a very big city, you should consider Mendoza.

 

[polostar88]

Thanks to all the answers. I guess I wanted to live in a nice small town with nature. And not pay through my nose for it. I was just looking in Chile close to the Valdivia Puyehue national park and the prices are astronomical. I might check out Mendoza, San Luis, San Juan. If anyone has other suggestions please tell me. I was wondering if there's anything nice on the Atlantic coast but when I look online I see Puerto Madryn and Trelew have very high prices. This is surprising to me. I could live for very little on the coast of Galicia in Spain. Even a nice small medieval city like Pontevedra has lower prices than Argentina, which I don't get. I could live very well for 2 yrs in Buenos Aires around 2008-10. Now I'm tired of living in a big city and all I can find are very expensive resort towns where you have even less privacy because you're thronged by tourists.

Is there anything equivalent to the beautiful beach towns of Basque country in Argentina? The places around San Sebastian must be some of the nicest to live in the world.

 

[syngirl]

Is there anything equivalent to the beautiful beach towns of Basque country in Argentina? The places around San Sebastian must be some of the nicest to live in the world.

No.

The coast here is nothing like Spain, the water is never going to be that warm and you are never going to find towns as old or charming. The coast here is bitterly cold and mostly abandoned for about 10 months of the year. Even the more wealthy / established towns are pretty sad in the off season (and Mar del Plata is a city so I assume that would not appeal).

I am not a fan of the coast. If I were you I would look at Mendoza, Bariloche (if you want lower budget you will have to look outside of Bariloche itself) or up to Salta/Jujuy/Tucuman...

If you are only trying to find something for a couple of months you could also try Neuquen. I have not been myself but have friends who lived there and loved it.

 

[RichardP]

To me Malargue and its surroundings are nice. This is in the south of the province. An added attraction is the Reserva Natural de la Payunia.

https://es.wikipedia...ural_La_Payunia

If you want coast, go to Uruguay. La Pedrera is nice but gets windy and cold in the winter like the coast in Argentina.