Living in Buenos Aires

It´s the law that you report your residence if you want to change dollars.
But that coming from someone who is promoting Child-abduction, so that gives you an idea
 
"Granadaiscool" said:
Get an DNI and stop crying or don´t get it and stop complaining
Probably it is the very first time I agree with Paul on something.

Auntieapple, if you show your passport with expired visa in any official institution in Russia, you will spend your night in a cell at police station with some lowlife forms and be on the plane to London in the morning.

Once I was renewing my driving license in Maryland and DMV clerk woman at one of the windows screamed "Officer, I got an illegal alien here!". And some guy was taken out in handcuffs.

And it is all the same in like 90% of other countries in the world. Argentina is one of the few exceptions. Here they just refused to provide you with regulated service because they could not verify your home address and you are making a fuss about it.
 
"igor" said:
Get an DNI and stop crying or don´t get it and stop complaining
In Brasil you will be sent to jail and deported.
I am sure it´s like that in Chile and Uruguay as well

Probably it is the very first time I agree with Paul on something.

Auntieapple, if you show your passport with expired visa in any official institution in Russia, you will spend your night in a cell at police station with some lowlife forms and be on the plane to London in the morning.

Once I was renewing my driving license in Maryland and DMV clerk woman at one of the windows screamed "Officer, I got an illegal immigrant here!". And some guy was taken out in handcuffs.

And it is all the same in like 90% of other countries in the world. Argentina is one of the few exceptions. Here they just refused to provide you with service because they could not verify your home address and you are making a fuss about it.
 
Auntieapple,
On a more constructive note, my advice would be: get a DNI and ask the notary to use the provision made to this effect by the Argentine Constitution in article 25, which specicfically states "The Federal Government will foster European immigration". You should have no trouble at all.
I hope this helps
Cheers
Ernie
 
I doubt many here are fugitives, i know I'm not. in fact, i was living very nicely before i packed it all up and left and came here. I worked 5 days a week, showed up somewhere between 9am and 10, travelled each weekend, went around the world in 99, and lived alone in a quiet apt. with a garden view.
I stay here at the moment for several personal reasons, none of which I'll talk about now. But dont get confused or see a contradiction like some of the bullies that haunt this site. All the things I've written about are true and often overwhelming, because there isnt "some" polluting busses, your day will be full! of incredible noise and big clouds of pollution often before you get out of bed. You will have noise, garbage, arrogance, and pollution off any scale you were accustomed to before. think of a line to cross, a limit, now imagine its a free for all, where a bus can actually sound as loud as a jet airplane taking off. i kid you not.
Yes, we should all remember to include good concerts, etc. when we have fun here. not sure always going to a concert makes a worthy and good post. some people leave their luxury high rise, go in a remise to a luxury restaurant, then come home.
We expats all live very separate lives here. that is so obvious from talking to expats.
Whats living in BA like? well, its a big city and can be exciting if you're from a boring place where the bars close at 1am, etc. But like i said when you actually LIVE here the unescapable noise and pollution can get to you down. You can be inside a thick walled building with double-paned glass like i was today downtown, roar after high pitched roar, shaking. you cant escape it even inside. that is how they live here, including me.
Argentina is often dirty, lots of garbage and litter (i travel alot, been to lots of places), stray dogs, noninspected busses, trucks, and cars can and often are appalling. often i find it too much, even my room is no refuge from the noise or fumes.
I dont have a blog, so when things happen, i post them here. should be interesting to some trying to ponder "living in buenos aires". i hope some expats out there are writing some books. i know i could if i werent so lazy about it.
 
There are a lot of positive things going on, but of course forums are driven by negativity -- JG is right, we live separate lives, so I guess the forum is a place to shout about things that drive you crazy.
BA is a great city, if you're into big cities and can deal with conditions that you would not see in many parts of the US -- for example, the dog poo, the broken sidewalks and potholes (think DC ca. Marion Berry to a factor of 10), the runaround to get things done that at home would take a few minutes -- suddenly a simple act of paying your internet bill turns into a 1hr + excursion (oh the irony that you cannot pay your internet bill via the internet! not when you don't have a bank card or credit card from a local bank)
Anyway -- good things here:
Excellent free cultural programs (wha? I hear some people asking) -- there's free cinema, design fairs, children's activities, concerts, etc etc etc every week. Look it up - La Nacion puts out a guide on Thursdays and the city web site is an excellent source.
Excellent not-for-free cultural programs -- there's something new going on ALL the time. Concerts, theatre, tango festivals, cinema festivals, book fairs etc.
A very social atmosphere -- you can never be bored here -- if you're bored it's because you are boring (a great way to learn the difference between estoy aburrido and soy aburrido ;)
Late night dining (my saviour!) -- back home I was always late for dinner, and never ready to go eat until after the restos had closed. Here, a 10pm reservation is early amongst my friends, ok, well I still always show up late... but at least here no one expects me on time!
The food is yummy / cheap -- ok, the "cheap" is not so true as 2 years ago. Also, when I say yummy I'm referring to specific restaurants I go to and food that myself and my friends cook, and not to the Modongo my BF's mum made last week (sorry, cow stomach and sheep feet with garbanzos and what seemed like 1kg of salt are not my idea of fun) But, grocery bills are still a lot less then at home, and there are some very good quality restaurants where you can eat and drink for a hell of a lot less than an equivalent restaurant at home (this is of course, assuming you are paying for your night out using dollars from home, if you are earning pesos, it is an entirely different story, however there are a lot of cheap deals to be had). The food thing is a personal question, and you definitely have to know where to shop (not just trot off to Jumbo or Carrefour and then complain that your bill is soaring through the roof). This also means you have to be prepared to spend hours traversing the city to get a specific type of cheese, a certain type of sauce, the best fruit, good cuts of beef etc etc etc
Fantastic book stores -- (unfortunately accompanied by fantastically high prices for books). This is a city for reading -- get your Spanish up to par and you can join in.
Beautiful parks -- this is again, referring to specifics and not the entire city -- there is a large renovation project going on for the entire city, although I'm not sure what will happen to that now, nor how long the renovations will endure -- how quickly will people just be walking into the parks and plazas with their dogs etc. Parque Centenario looks fantastic now though, see it while you can, now, free of poo!
Great sailing - we do live right by the river, and the delta -- take advantage.
Great tennis -- but the prices are high in comparison to salaries -- 30 pesos an hour at most well maintained clay courts.
Polo -- ok, haven't been to a match yet, maybe next season. But how many cities can you go to a Polo match? It's shameful that I haven't been... must resolve to fix that...
Interior Design -- the Argentines aren't so great at the web design, but the interior design they've got down. A whole mall dedicated to interior design (never buy there though, you can get the same stuff for much cheaper in other locations around town)
Do I have to go on? I'm tired of my own voice (as are others, including Granada who is only reading this so that he can take it apart and attack everything ;)
I could write just as long on the negatives, but can't be bothered... others will do that for me (watch for the dissection of this post for proof)
 
my passport has never expired neither has any of my visas so what are you talking about? do you have a problem reading english?
where did I say my passport had expired? I showed my perfectly legal visa. I gave the address of the sheraton because I did not want to give that wanker in the bank my details
secondly,
it is not the law that you have to give an address to exchange dollars, you have to show ID. So granadaiscool yet again you are talking out your arse, go to any forex exchange in a Sheraton and they do no need an address so you are talking bollocks.
It seems granadaiscool, you have a real complex here and just have to say anything because you have a real issues.
lets all hear what you are doing here sweetie
quote granadaiscool"
Easy and sometimes cute girls, stupid people you can laugh at, nothing that works. nice people, realitive cheap, more European looking girls then in the rest of South America, good weather"
what a loser,
I notice you need EASY girls,
what a loser,
and as for you igor its not about how much one pays for the theatre or a concerto its about being exploited.
The bank story was not about changing dollars the bank story was about the attitude in this country.
I have a banking system here as do not forget my husband is Argentine. But then again its only the guests here speaking English as a second language that always misunderstand my posts.
I think the "fugitives" here are the ones that resent me bitching about the place. Obviously if you are a fugitive or are living here because you can not aford to live a good lifestyle elsewhere I understand why you are so defensive of the system here because not only are you sooo gratefull but its the only option you have!
get it!
 
"auntieapple" said:
my passport has never expired neither has any of my visas so what are you talking about? do you have a problem reading english?

where did I say my passport had expired? I showed my perfectly legal visa. I gave the address of the sheraton because I did not want to give that wanker in the bank my details
secondly,
it is not the law that you have to give an address to exchange dollars, you have to show ID. So granadaiscool yet again you are talking out your arse, go to any forex exchange in a Sheraton and they do no need an address so you are talking bollocks.
It´s called fraud and it´s illegal. Just like child abduction is illegal
It seems granadaiscool, you have a real complex here and just have to say anything because you have a real issues.
How many times have you been divorced again?
lets all hear what you are doing here sweetie
quote granadaiscool"
Easy and sometimes cute girls, stupid people you can laugh at, nothing that works. nice people, realitive cheap, more European looking girls then in the rest of South America, good weather"
what a loser,
I notice you need EASY girls,
No I don´t.
what a loser,
and as for you igor its not about how much one pays for the theatre or a concerto its about being exploited.
The bank story was not about changing dollars the bank story was about the attitude in this country.
I have a banking system here as do not forget my husband is Argentine. But then again its only the guests here speaking English as a second language that always misunderstand my posts.
I think the "fugitives" here are the ones that resent me bitching about the place. Obviously if you are a fugitive or are living here because you can not aford to live a good lifestyle elsewhere I understand why you are so defensive of the system here because not only are you sooo gratefull but its the only option you have!
get it!
 
Hello Auntieapple,
The law states that we, as Argentinians must provide an address when exchanging money. It DOES NOT apply to tourists, and therefore the berk at the bank , sorry "the clerk at the bank" should have exchanged your money in a jiffy and sent you off on your way. The whole incident was totally uncalled for. He was probably just having a bad day, which is a very likely contingency in this corner of the world.
Since you married a native Argentinian, getting a DNI should be a walk in the park for you. May I elaborate on my previous posting. Article 25 of the Argentine Constitution reads as follows:
"Artículo 25- El Gobierno Federal fomentará la inmigración europea; y no podrá restringir, limitar ni gravar con impuesto alguno la entrada en el territorio argentino de los extranjeros que traigan por objeto labrar la tierra, mejorar las industrias, e introducir y enseñar las ciencias y las artes. "
An informal translation would read something like this " Article 25 - The Federal Government will foster European Immigration; and will be unable to restrict, limit or in any way tax the entry into Argentinian territory of those foreign nationals whose objective is to farm, improve the industries, or introduce and teach the sciences and arts."
If you ask your notary to use this provision you will have become a resident before you can say DNI. You will see that once you do, a lot of problems will just fade away. Having said that, I must warn you, we a have a huge pile of new ones ready for you :))
The bottom line is: join the gang and just be happy. :))
Cheers
Ernie
 
Darling Ernie,
Thank you so much for your support in what I know to be the law here, That as a tourist I do not need to give proof of address. Granadaiscool always has to say SOMETHING, ANYTHING to the contrary of anything and everything I post here.
I did write before that it is by personal choice that I do not want a DNI. It serves me better this way for other reasons.
But thank you again
besos
 
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