living in Puerto Madero

[jimdepalermo]

I can have that exact lifestyle here in a part of Atlanta called Buckhead, minus the water front. Puerto Madero is an imitation of something [expensively] available in many, many other parts of the world.

Good comparison, Alexander. Other similar developments include Battery Park City in New York, Lakeshore East in Chicago, Canary Wharf in London, La Defense in Paris. There are many others that aren't coming to mind right now.

Frankly, I think Puerto Madero is the best of the "new" cities that I know, in terms of design and livability.

Still, whenever I think of living there, I stop and consider the lack of conveniences and the near necessity to drive everywhere. As I mentioned in an earlier post in this thread, the fact that you have to drive through or around the Microcentro to get anywhere else is a big negative for me. Now that most of the center is closed to private cars during work days, the main streets around it are non-stop parking lots of jammed traffic.

I have a car, but I seldom use it in workday traffic except for errands in distant barrios far from the microcentro, public transportation being much faster and less aggravating than driving in and around the center. Today's post A Simple Traffic Accident Can Be Dangerous just reinforces my aversion to driving in the city center.

I should also admit that I lived in Manhattan for many years before moving here, so the standard routine of driving everywhere - as one does in most parts of North America - is fairly foreign to me. If you're accustomed to getting into a car whenever you leave home, my reservations won't apply. In that case the only word of warning would be that traffic is both heavy and aggressive here (even compared to Manhattan), parking can be difficult (because few destinations have lots or garages, as they do in most parts of North America), and driving through the congested center is unavoidable if you're leaving Puerto Madero on workdays.