life as an adventure, family, company and pets are moving to BA!

[robertstrong]

Hi Everybody!

My name is Robert Strong, my family and company are looking to move
to BA in the next few months. I posted an album to introduce us, take a
look if you want. We traveled on a sailboat for ten yrs ended up in
Isla de Margarita about 5 yrs ago. We started a medical tourism company
which has done really well despite Chaves being on CNN every 5 days or so!

We are looking to make new friends and gather information about BA, as
only xpats can filter it!

If there are people with start up business experience on the forum please
drop us a line.
Also I have twin boys 14yrs old who play 6 hrs a day who want to go pro
in tennis, so I really need the low down on the tennis Scene there.

Thanks and look forward to meeting some of you in person, in BA Soon.
Cheers
Robert Strong

 

[syngirl]

Well you've come to the right place for tenis. It is all clay here and they're producing some of the best on the circuit now (Nalbandian, del Potro, Cañas, etc). Cañas and del Potro I think both trained with Guillermo Vilas at his club: http://www.vilasclub.com. If you read their blog when they discuss players they usually list what club they play out of. There's a tonne of tenis clubs around, Vilas' is obviously going to be one of the most expensive, but it depends onwhat you are looking for. Just start reading that blog and you should be able to source some more. You don't say where you are living -- there are other clubs in the Northern Zone that may be more convenient.

 

[robertstrong]

Thanks, for the tennis heads up, I checked out the site, no prices...love tennis
with twins..double. I have no idea where we will live... we like bigger apts, coffee shops
old world Vs new world...a little funky is good for us. Any suggestion? We will probably
have to live close to the tennis as we will work from home. Our business is totally online
or in hospital.

 

[syngirl]

Old world vs new world? That's the entirety of the GBA!

The only thing in your description of what you want that allows for any narrowing is the tennis. If your kids just want to play and get to a high standard but not pro there's a million and one courts in BA. If they want to be on the pro circuit ASAP then you'll need to start reading more from the AAT (Associacion Argentino de Tenis) etc and find a club appropriate to what you're looking for.

Bigger apartments here is 1000 sq ft. Without a DNI you'll be paying fairly hefty sums (for here) for something larger that's near to any tennis. I'd say look in Nunez, Olivos, Martinez -- you should be able to get a nice PH with garden or terraza for the same price as an 80-100 m2 (800-1000sf) place in town. However then you are in the northern zone and may have to rely more on getting a car or remise services, unless you're very close to train lines.

Las Canitas is right near the Vilas club but apartments over 80 m2 can be few and far between, it's luck of the draw, and the short term rentals tend to get snapped up very quickly (without a DNI you will have to sign 6 month rentals -- which means every 6 months you may end up paying the one month commission to the agent, and since it is the start of a new contract they can up your rent every 6 months rather than according to the terms layed out in 2 year contracts).

suerte

 

[DA]

Old world vs new world? That's the entirety of the GBA!

The only thing in your description of what you want that allows for any narrowing is the tennis. If your kids just want to play and get to a high standard but not pro there's a million and one courts in BA. If they want to be on the pro circuit ASAP then you'll need to start reading more from the AAT (Associacion Argentino de Tenis) etc and find a club appropriate to what you're looking for.

Bigger apartments here is 1000 sq ft. Without a DNI you'll be paying fairly hefty sums (for here) for something larger that's near to any tennis. I'd say look in Nunez, Olivos, Martinez -- you should be able to get a nice PH with garden or terraza for the same price as an 80-100 m2 (800-1000sf) place in town. However then you are in the northern zone and may have to rely more on getting a car or remise services, unless you're very close to train lines.

Las Canitas is right near the Vilas club but apartments over 80 m2 can be few and far between, it's luck of the draw, and the short term rentals tend to get snapped up very quickly (without a DNI you will have to sign 6 month rentals -- which means every 6 months you may end up paying the one month commission to the agent, and since it is the start of a new contract they can up your rent every 6 months rather than according to the terms layed out in 2 year contracts).

suerte

Most of syngirls information is NOT correct. Syngirl If you are going to give someone information make sure you know what is going on in the real world not what you read somewhere. ....1. You do NOT need a DNI to enter in to a 2 year contract. ......2. You do NOT always need a garantia to enter in to a 2 year contract; if a garantia is needed they can be obtained for a fee without a DNI. ......3. All 2 year contracts can legally be “broken” after 6 month. ......4. Bigger apartments are much bigger than 1000 sqf. ......5. Old world VS new, there is definitely BOTH here. ........6. There is barely any price difference on Canitas, Nunez and Olivos on old world bigger apartments, Martinez gets cheaper but is far away. A 2 year contract in Las Canitas would be my suggestion for what you want! Let me know if you need any help with obtaining the 2 year contract, they are much cheaper than short term leases.

 

[criswkh]

You can find some place to rent in Olivos near the square and the club de Olivos (tennis). The train is a 23-25 minute ride into Retiro. There are markets around that are within walking distance. The area is quiet. Check on http://www.reynoldspropiedades.com/?change_lang=eng

 

[syngirl]

Most of syngirls information is NOT correct. Syngirl If you are going to give someone information make sure you know what is going on in the real world not what you read somewhere. ....1. You do NOT need a DNI to enter in to a 2 year contract. ......2. You do NOT always need a garantia to enter in to a 2 year contract; if a garantia is needed they can be obtained for a fee without a DNI. ......3. All 2 year contracts can legally be “broken” after 6 month. ......4. Bigger apartments are much bigger than 1000 sqf. ......5. Old world VS new, there is definitely BOTH here. ........6. There is barely any price difference on Canitas, Nunez and Olivos on old world bigger apartments, Martinez gets cheaper but is far away. A 2 year contract in Las Canitas would be my suggestion for what you want! Let me know if you need any help with obtaining the 2 year contract, they are much cheaper than short term leases.

DA -- my information is not incorrect -- you are right, you can BUY your way into a 2 year contract, but if you do not PAY for a garantia and you do not HAVE a DNI then you have to weasel your way around the system. EVERYTHING in South America can be obtained for a fee -- this guy is coming from Isla de las Margaritas, he probably already knows that.

I never mentioned anything about 2 year contracts being broken, so I don't know how I even provided information on that.

Bigger apartments bigger than 100 sq m are hard to come by, and you do have to step up to paying a lot more for them, so again, I'm not incorrect there. I don't know any families that live in apartments much bigger than 100 sq m in the city, and in the "prime tourist zones" I know of none. I guess it's because I know "real world" people and not the wealthy ones you must hang around with. Anyone I know in places bigger than 100 sq m live further out of the tourist zones and to have their 100 sq m they don't live in apartments, they live in PHs or in houses.

Old world vs new -- I said there was both, perhaps you are hispanohablante and didn't understand my phrase "that describes all of the GBA" as in in any barrio in the GBA you will encounter the old world arquitecture and PHs as well as the new shiny glistening (though often poorly built) towers.

DA I'm sorry, but I'm not giving false information, I think that if you read back you will see. Perhaps it is a difference of wealth -- you see, I'm living in the real world, you must be living in an expat fantasy one.

 

[robertstrong]

Thanks for the active feedback, everybody. I have to admit that doing your homework on BA is hard. To get a car seems hard, to get a good apt at a good or fair price seems hard. Etc. But like syngirl mentioned I have been doing business in Ve for about 5ys now and the strange is the standard here. I still have to watch my A type habits as they tend to piss people off if I am not careful. to be honest. I try to remind myself ....why leave the Rat race, but still be a Rat?...lol. I am rambling sorry.

I am a little worried to not learn all the ropes fast enough...and have the move negatively impact our finances. Do you guys think that the country is stable enough
at this point? Ve is different than Arg, here people are so passive that very little
happens whatever the political machine is doing...Mostly

Thanks Robert

 

[DA]

DA -- my information is not incorrect -- you are right, you can BUY your way into a 2 year contract, but if you do not PAY for a garantia and you do not HAVE a DNI then you have to weasel your way around the system.

You do NOT have to weasel your way around the system, these are legitimate and legal insurance companies issuing garantias for people with or without DNI. And you do NOT have to BUY your way into a 2 year contract if you don't have a DNI, you are just as legal and legitimate with a passport of any nationality.

 

[robertstrong]

DA your Benjamin Quote is great...best one I heard in a long time.
last good one i saw was..
If you are reading this , thank a teacher
If you are reading this in English , thank a soldier..something like that.