Move to Buenos Aires?

[Juanderlust]

Go to Buenos Aires, you will love it. I have been there 6 times from 2 to 5 months at a time. The city is alive and exciting. And if you dance tango, even more fun. I have just returned from BA about a month ago, and I miss it.

 

[bruceg]

New yorker looking to move to BA. retired (58 yr male) looking for high end luxury living. No not a snob . want nice things. ex wall street so main question do the numbers work to buy or rent . Thanks new to blog any advice would be helpful. Not afraid of crime grew up in Brooklyn New york

 

[Davidglen77]

New yorker looking to move to BA. retired (58 yr male) looking for high end luxury living. No not a snob . want nice things. ex wall street so main question do the numbers work to buy or rent . Thanks new to blog any advice would be helpful. Not afraid of crime grew up in Brooklyn New york

The biggest things you will miss about New York City (I am a native of NYC) are: 1) The lack of high quality and variety of foods, no bagels, no mexican food, very little chinese food, no middle eastern food, no indian food, hard to find certain ingredients to cook with, very limited fish and seafood available 2) Businesses are not open very late, many only 1/2 a day on Saturday and many are closed on Sundays. 3) Poor customer service in most places, no or very limited return policies EVEN when the product is defective.

 

[trennod]

Hi trenrod, I live in an area where (almost) NO ONE else speaks English, but I didn't move here for total immersion.

I simply moved here to be happy.

And it's hardly in the middle of nowhere.

Even Mormon missionaries are here...and I love surprising them by greeting them in English.

My post was more a general comment for people that claim BA/Argentina is not true immersion - my opinion is that people want immersion but maybe not at the cost of other things as well. Argentina has a lot to offer (than just Spanish) which in my opinion makes it an all round great option (ahead of many other Latin American cities).

You seem the happiest out of anyone here Steve and all power to you.

 

[steveinbsas]

New yorker looking to move to BA. retired (58 yr male) looking for high end luxury living. No not a snob . want nice things. ex wall street so main question do the numbers work to buy or rent . Thanks new to blog any advice would be helpful. Not afraid of crime grew up in Brooklyn New york

Have you ever been to BA? Of course you'll have to visit for a while in order to see if you like it and find the area you would prefer to live, so you will rent at first. One month at a time starting in Recoleta or Palermo will make it easy to shop around. If you plan to be in BA for fa significant number of years buying will be much better then renting. There are many threads on these subjects. High end furnished luxury apartment that are availlable for rent to foreigners would probably be in the $3400 to $5000 per month range and you would have to renew your lease very six months. It is difficult to rent an unfurnished apartment (two year lease) without a guarantee of another property) and unfurnished apartments often do not include curtians, a/c, light fixtures or fridge.

I think $500,000 would be the minimum for a high end luxury apartment in a desirable area, so I just did a search on the ReMax website for apartments in Recoleta in the $500-$750KUSD range. The first apartment I really liked for the price and the location is this one:

http://www.remax.com.ar/181059-108

I walked on both sides of this block hundreds of times when I lived in Recoleta and I was thinking of this area before I made the search (I lived four blocks from this location in from 2006-2009 and just about everyting you would want or need is within walking distance. Coincidentally, it's is listed with the ReMax agent who I know from my own property transactions. It is also "reservado" so you get an idea what is actually selling now in that price range. Obvioulsly, you get a lot more for your money in BA than NYC. Even before you come to BA I suggest you contact Pericles. He can also help you find a desirable rental for your initial visit and keep you up to date on new listings prior to your arrival. He can work with all of the other ReMax agents. Of course he speaks perfect English.

There are many luxury apartment available in Retiro and in Recoleta near Libertador but I would avoid these areas.

If you actually retire in BA will you bother to get legal resdiency? Are you willing to pay taxes in Argentina on your income and property from the USA? If you sell property here without being a resident you will pay more in taxes and it will take longer to finalize the sale. You will also pay more in annual taxes on the property while you own it. You will be able to get private medical insurance here until age 70 at a much lower rate than the US. Cost of premiums have doubled in the past two years and will certainly increase in the future. If you can afford "high end luxury living" it will be small change to you.

Do you speak Spanish or are you willing to learn? That will greatly affect the "quality" of your life in the city. Do you like nice clothes and shoes? You will not be happy with what is available here if you buy ready to wear. If you are over 6' tall and bigger than a men's Large, you will find it difficult to buy clothes that are long enough or big enough. I wear size L 16 1/2 34/35 shirts sold in the US. At Zara I needed to buy 2xxl to get the same fit. If high end luxury living includes custom tailoring you will be able to have clothes made for you...shoes, too. There is a boutique in Recoleta that sells Brioni and other high end labels...or at least there was a few years ago.

 

[citygirl]

IMHO, if you want a high end lifestyle, don't come to BsAs.

The food is nothing compared to NYC. Great that a high end restaurant is cheaper than NY - the novelty of your (no longer) very inexpensive meals wears off after about month 2 of steak and potatoes. Or pasta. Let's just say BsAs is lightyears behind when it comes to food options. Rental or purchase costs for apts here *are* significantly lower but if you're buying - you're paying 100% in cash if you didn't know. If you're renting, be prepared to deal with the headaches of trying to take out money in ARgentina. Furnishing an apt is significantly more expensive (and a lot less options). You're a 10+ hour flight from Europe or the US if you want to get away for a while and an economy flight is going to run you 1500USD + on average. If you want a nice car, it's at least 2x more expensive than the US and oh by the way, you prob don't want to drive it around anyway. Shopping here in general is the suck - there's a reason every Argentine that can is off to the US or Europe on their annual shopping trips. Electronics are crazy expensive, clothes are not cheap and the quality is not good. If you have a nice watch or laptop. you shouldn't bring them on the street. If you have female guests, they won't (or shouldn't) wear expensive jewelry - esp gold - out in public either. It's not about being "afraid" of crime - just understand that the things you take for granted in NY don't fly here.

Honestly, BsAs wouldn't be at the top of my list for luxury living. Too many uncertainties here.

I'm from NYC by the way.

ETA - Just realized this sounded terribly negative. I'm not negative about Buenos Aires. I think there are a million reasons one could come here & have a great experience. Just saying that if you're looking for a "high-end lifestyle", I wouldn't recommend you look for it here.

 

[jimdepalermo]

New yorker looking to move to BA. retired (58 yr male) looking for high end luxury living. No not a snob . want nice things. ex wall street so main question do the numbers work to buy or rent . Thanks new to blog any advice would be helpful. Not afraid of crime grew up in Brooklyn New york

If you enable private messages, Bruce, I can send you some stuff. Or send me a PM with your email.

 

[PhilipDT]

New yorker looking to move to BA. retired (58 yr male) looking for high end luxury living. No not a snob . want nice things. ex wall street so main question do the numbers work to buy or rent . Thanks new to blog any advice would be helpful. Not afraid of crime grew up in Brooklyn New york

I don't agree that you can't have a high end luxurious lifestyle here in Buenos Aires, I just think you should expect it to cost as much as in New York, and taking housing out of the picture, much more than New York.

 

[PhilipDT]

Or that last one about editing posts. Guess I should have put this in that one so as not to triple post. Oh well..

Let's just say BsAs is lightyears behind when it comes to food options.....

I just wanted to say that while I agree with most everything else in your post, I have to say that fine dining in Buenos Aires is one of the city's strongest suits and one of the last few bargains.

I had an absolutely fantastic meal the other day at Le Mistral and it cost quite a bit less thana comparable meal in nyc.

 

[steveinbsas]

I have to say that fine dining in Buenos Aires is one of the city's strongest suits and one of the last few bargains.

I had an absolutely fantastic meal the other day at Le Mistral and it cost quite a bit less thana comparable meal in nyc.

If my information is correct, the ladies of the night are also (still) a lot cheaper in BA than NYC. Prostitution is legal in BA and there are websites with many dozens of beautiful women who can be "at your door" within an hour...especially if you live in Recoleta.

I'm not sure if that is essential to a luxurious lifestyle in BA, but it might be for a 58 year old man who has a lot of money, doesn't know anyone, may not speak Spanish, and still has a healthy libido.