living in Puerto Madero

[HeyBA]

In Puerto Madero your neighbors will also be the money class here, rather then generally the upper middle class in Belgrano.

I wouldn't live there without a car, because you really won't be experiencing Buenos Aires much if you have twins.

 

[trennod]

Puerto Madero isn't really convenient. You should give Belgrano a second thought

I agree its not overly convenient for accessing the rest of capital due to lack of public transport, but it may be convenient for the OP depending on where he is working? Are you and your wife planning on having a car? (if so that will make the rest of the city more accessible).

I think there may be a slight bias here against Puerto Madero, in my opinion I think the fact it doesnt really feel like BsAs (that may appeal to some!), it is very quiet and expensive is why I prefer other areas.

Here are my thoughts:
- its one of the newest and probably most expensive area of Capital Federal. Generally much cleaner and much quieter.
- plenty of open spaces and depending on where you live you may have water views (albeit dirty).
- architecture / apartments very different to rest of Capital and remind you more of a first world city.
- plenty of cafe and dining (including ALOT of fine dining). Generally of decent quality, albeit well above average prices for here.
- very little to no public transport. I think this one is important, if you and your wife arent planning on having a car and its not close to work, personally I would probably live somewhere else.
- you will definitely find a few americans and expats there (I know a cpl of Americans and Australians that work for multinationals and living there and there are a few on this site as well).

I am being biased here, but I think you should consider Palermo Chico as well as other areas of Palermo and Belgrano. Palermo is large and its sub barriors have a different feel. Chico is quieter (but not a dearthly Recoleta or Puerto Madero quiet), has lots of parks, very close to heaps buses, really clean (by Capital standards), walking distance from subte, plenty of restaurants, cafes etc and I have pretty much always felt much safer here.

Good luck!

 

[ElQueso]

My pick would be Recoleta/Barrio Norte.

Pick a quiet street (fairly easy to find in there). There are some little parks in the area, though nothing really big, maybe the one drawback. Although the Palermo parks are closeby, even for a walk if you feel like it. There's a walk/bicycle path along Alcorta that runs to the Palermo parks for an extended walk/sightseeing, with a couple of big ponds, planetarium, and other stuff to do.

Recoleta/Barrio Norte is close to tons of shopping, through the area to Libertador (higher-end shopping between Puerreydon and the freeway bridge) and along Santa Fe (middle-level shopping, the whole length of Santa Fe well past into Palermo) and all kinds of stuff in between. It's also fairly close to the Microcentro. Restaurants, kioskos, laundries, grocery stores, fruit stores, butchers, hardware stores, everything you need.

Lots of expats living and visiting in the area as well.

Palermo and Belgrano are even quieter and have many of the same amenities as far as everyday needs, but do have more park space as well.

Personally, if I'm going to live in the city (I prefer the country air!) I like being closer to the center for some reason.

 

[jb5]

My pick for an expensive, safe, green part of CF is Barrio Parque. As safe as PM, but close to everything.

 

[Eduardo Canicoba]

I lived from 2008 to 2010 in Puerto Madero and I completely recommend it.
Specially if you come with a family.

 

[AlexanderB]

If Puerto Madero is exactly what you want, and you've got the money, then don't let what anyone says stop you from living there.

That said, what the other posters have indicated about it is accurate. While it is most definitely safe and fancy, it feels like a very isolated Green Zone that has no visible relationship to the rest of BA whatsoever, which just makes one want to ask: if you're going to move all the way to BA, why go there? From where I'm sitting, 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.

As others have pointed out, it greatly decreases your ability to leverage one of the best things about BA - its very comprehensive, if imperfect public transit system.

Also, it's not very lively. Although there are some places to go there, it feels kind of contentless, eerily quiet, almost like the deafening roar of silence you feel when you walk into a museum gallery or a funeral home. Personally, I don't think that's what most people that come to Argentina are seeking; aesthetics with that kind of temperament are signature hallmarks of rigid Anglo-American and Teutonic civilisation. However, if it's what you're seeking, by all means, go for it.

 

[Maria E.]

The word for Puerto Madero, as Starlucia is "artificial".
Check the north: San Isidro, Olivos, Vicente Lopez, Florida, Martinez, Acassuso. Beautiful neighbours, lot more quiet than downtown , gardens, houses, the river and maybe not very expensive compared with an appartament in P. Madero.

 

[mariposa]

If Puerto Madero is exactly what you want, and you've got the money, then don't let what anyone says stop you from living there.

That said, what the other posters have indicated about it is accurate. While it is most definitely safe and fancy, it feels like a very isolated Green Zone that has no visible relationship to the rest of BA whatsoever, which just makes one want to ask: if you're going to move all the way to BA, why go there? From where I'm sitting, 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.

As others have pointed out, it greatly decreases your ability to leverage one of the best things about BA - its very comprehensive, if imperfect public transit system.

Also, it's not very lively. Although there are some places to go there, it feels kind of contentless, eerily quiet, almost like the deafening roar of silence you feel when you walk into a museum gallery or a funeral home. Personally, I don't think that's what most people that come to Argentina are seeking; aesthetics with that kind of temperament are signature hallmarks of rigid Anglo-American and Teutonic civilisation. However, if it's what you're seeking, by all means, go for it.

i agree 100 percent!! well put!

 

[jimdepalermo]

My pick for an expensive, safe, green part of CF is Barrio Parque. As safe as PM, but close to everything.

I agree that the Barrio Parque (aka Palermo Chico) is really beautiful, but it suffers many of the same problems as Puerto Madero, in terms of isolation, transportation, conveniences, etc. Not to the same degree as PM, but similar. Plus there are very few restaurants or cafes within close walking distance.

As for safety, the difference with PM is that it's policed by the coast guard ("Prefectura") rather than the Policía Nacional ("Comisaría). Agents of the prefectura are serious, operate like military, and arrest people who offer them bribes. Other than the riverside areas in the northern suburbs that are also policed by the prefectura, there are no comparable barrios in GBA, in terms of security.

 

[AlexanderB]

*Agents of the prefectura are serious, operate like military, and arrest people who offer them bribes.*

That they are. I hired a Radiotaxi for a casual car tour of Puerto Madero one Sunday morning, and the prefectura wanted to know exactly what we were doing just casually driving around at a slow clip. They were omnipresent and rather attentive to the goings-on.