Kansas USA to Buenos Aires early 2023

[Aguas]

Early in 2023 my Venezuelan boyfriend and I are planning to move to BA. We met three years ago when we were both living in Aguascalientes Mexico, and we both speak fluent Spanish.

Neither of us are materialistic, we both prefer the basics of life, although we are travel junkies. I am a retired engineer and currently work in corrections. I will bring $2500 USD guaranteed pension income per month, and he will eventually work, as he is from a Mercosur country.

I have no expectation whatsoever of living an American lifestyle in Argentina, nor do I have the desire. We are both well acquainted with the difficulties of living in Latin America, such as government inefficiency, high taxes on imported goods and dubious infrastructure.

All that being said, I would appreciate an opinion or two on what kind of lifestyle we can expect on $2500 USD monthly. In Mexico, it’s a small fortune, depending upon which city one lives in, of course.

Thanks.

Jeff

 

[jblaze5779]

Pretty much the same here. Depends on where you live. But 2500 usd can go a long way if you live like you describe.

 

[Quilombo]

All that being said, I would appreciate an opinion or two on what kind of lifestyle we can expect on $2500 USD monthly. In Mexico, it’s a small fortune, depending upon which city one lives in, of course.

Thanks.

Jeff

It's over half a million pesos currently which is very good here, and the dollar is traveling in one direction only, you guys will be able to afford a comfortable life here.

That being said, I'm guessing you're going to try for a rentista visa to obtain legal residency here? I know some people have reported issues/delays with this lately, might be easier to just get married and have your boyfriend sponsor you as his husband for residency since he's a citizen Mercosur.

 

[Aguas]

It's over half a million pesos currently which is very good here, and the dollar is traveling in one direction only, you guys will be able to afford a comfortable life here.

That being said, I'm guessing you're going to try for a rentista visa to obtain legal residency here? I know some people have reported issues/delays with this lately, might be easier to just get married and have your boyfriend sponsor you as his husband for residency since he's a citizen Mercosur.

I appreciate your perspective, and I particularly intrigued about having Ronaldo sponsor me, as I’ve never considered that angle before. We are planning on marrying as soon as our feet hit Argentinian soil, so that may be the best option. The dollar went up and down constantly in Mexico (not by much) so having a stable currency will definitely make life easier. Again, thank you for taking the time to reply.

 

[Alby]

IThat being said, I'm guessing you're going to try for a rentista visa to obtain legal residency here? I know some people have reported issues/delays with this lately,

Looks to me as though the category would be pensionista. Which ought certainly to be much easier than rentista, for which the OP probably wouldn't in fact be eligible.

But, as you (and I, and others) have repeatedly pointed out, people need to remember that Argentina is a country; we can't just move here. Like anywhere else, there is a migration system we have to investigate and respect (no matter how poorly it functions and how badly staff like Cristal treat us on their bad mood days).

 

[another]

stable currency is the last thing you'll find here. dollar goes up long term, but short term it's a yoyo that can last for months and you'd find that dollar in june might be 20% down from the previous december value and prices in pesos are up 50% to a 100% in the same time frame. Your biggest expense will be rent and if you rent as foreigners ( at least for the first few years ), it might very well have to be in dollars and might be in a $1000 barrio if you want a reasanobly comfortable ( albeit small ) place in a relatively pleasant & safe location. As for the residency, my 3 cents would bid on both of you applying separately as soon as you hit the ground here - you for a 'pensionado' category and your BF as a mercousur citizen. That is less complicated than applying as a couple in terms of paperwork, and since "migraciones work in misterious way" so to speak, one of you might get the status weeks months or even years before the other - at which point you can decide how to continue with the process for the other. If you go that route you can have all the papers needed for the application ready before departure from US ( at least for yourself ) and even translated them while you are still there ( sending a copy by email to a legal translator here ), so all you have to do once here is to certify the translation which takes a few hours of wait in the college and you can apply within a few days.

 

[Aguas]

stable currency is the last thing you'll find here. dollar goes up long term, but short term it's a yoyo that can last for months and you'd find that dollar in june might be 20% down from the previous december value and prices in pesos are up 50% to a 100% in the same time frame. Your biggest expense will be rent and if you rent as foreigners ( at least for the first few years ), it might very well have to be in dollars and might be in a $1000 barrio if you want a reasanobly comfortable ( albeit small ) place in a relatively pleasant & safe location. As for the residency, my 3 cents would bid on both of you applying separately as soon as you hit the ground here - you for a 'pensionado' category and your BF as a mercousur citizen. That is less complicated than applying as a couple in terms of paperwork, and since "migraciones work in misterious way" so to speak, one of you might get the status weeks months or even years before the other - at which point you can decide how to continue with the process for the other. If you go that route you can have all the papers needed for the application ready before departure from US ( at least for yourself ) and even translated them while you are still there ( sending a copy by email to a legal translator here ), so all you have to do once here is to certify the translation which takes a few hours of wait in the college and you can apply within a few days.

I agree with your “3 cents”, being a pensionado in latin America has its perks, and that is likely the route that I will take. Panama has a very good pensionado program for Americans with guaranteed incomes and I have read that Argentina offers some of those perks as well. By the time that we are ready to move, we will have everything sorted out as much as possible. I’m not sure what you mean by “$1000 barrio” though. From my experiences in Mexico, I am aware how arduous it can be to find an apartment that checks most of the boxes. We don’t require much, but safety is always a top concern, like it is for most everyone. Thank you for taking the time to share your advice, it is much appreciated.

Jeffrey

 

[another]

I agree with your “3 cents”, being a pensionado in latin America has its perks, and that is likely the route that I will take. Panama has a very good pensionado program for Americans with guaranteed incomes and I have read that Argentina offers some of those perks as well. By the time that we are ready to move, we will have everything sorted out as much as possible. I’m not sure what you mean by “$1000 barrio” though. From my experiences in Mexico, I am aware how arduous it can be to find an apartment that checks most of the boxes. We don’t require much, but safety is always a top concern, like it is for most everyone. Thank you for taking the time to share your advice, it is much appreciated.

Jeffrey

 

[another]

UW. sent you a PM as well.

 

[steveinbsas]

I’m not sure what you mean by “$1000 barrio” though.

"$1000 barrio" means you can expect to pay $1000 per month to rent an apartment in a desirable neighborhood, as you will be "restricted" to temporary furnished rentals of three months (possiby six) at a time as opposed to long term unfurnished rentals of two or three years.

I am not certain about the current legal time limits for either.

You may not have heard about the need to provide a "garantia" to secure a long term rental.

This can be done by using another (local) property as collateral or buying a "garantina" from a bank.

The garantia from a bank requires two sources of income and I am not sure if foreign income woud be accepted as one of them, even though migraciones grants teemporary residency based on foreign income.

Long term leases always include provisions for rent increases.

Here is a list of threads that deal with the guarantia:

Search results for query: garantia

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