My Divorce From Argentina

[trennod]

Good luck Cordobese. I think long holidays in Argentina or a split between here and somewhere else are definitely the answer in the long run!

 

[GS_Dirtboy]

It is true that there is no place like home. Even in the US, as much as I loved living in Philadelphia I missed Alabama ... venison roast, black-eyed peas, corn bread, green beans, the sound of the screen door spring, church singings ... no matter how happy I am where ever I'm living at the moment I'll always miss those things.

Good luck on your return trip!

 

[Davidglen77]

It is true that there is no place like home. Even in the US, as much as I loved living in Philadelphia I missed Alabama ... venison roast, black-eyed peas, corn bread, green beans, the sound of the screen door spring, church singings ... no matter how happy I am where ever I'm living at the moment I'll always miss those things.

Good luck on your return trip!

I miss Alabama too! I am a native New Yorker, born and raised in NYC and lived there most of my life. I had a co-worker from Opelika, Alabama, that would always talk about her grandma "Jonnie Mae". So one year I drove to Florida from New York and on the way went to Opelika, Alabama. I loved the Mt. Zion AME baptist church, the catfish fry, red rice, black eyed peas, collard greens, red velvet cake, the dirt roads and the shotgun houses. I will never forget that visit and grandma Jonnie Mae, it was one of the warmest, most hospitable and memorable visits I've ever had. Whenever I meet people from Alabama and I tell them I was in Opelika they can't believe it.

 

[Cordobese]

I have been relaxing today thinking of all the things I am going to eat when I get back. 1st, crap and lobster 2nd. mexican food!, 3rd. pepperoni pizza (yeah, the dirty greasy Pizza Hut kind), 4. good southern BBQ brisquet, and 5. Chipotle. I think I will probably keep repeating that order for a couple of weeks!!

 

[lamarque]

I have been relaxing today thinking of all the things I am going to eat when I get back. 1st, crap and lobster 2nd. mexican food!, 3rd. pepperoni pizza (yeah, the dirty greasy Pizza Hut kind), 4. good southern BBQ brisquet, and 5. Chipotle. I think I will probably keep repeating that order for a couple of weeks!!

Trust me you will miss Argentina but still if you can come from time to time you will be allright, When i went back to Dublin for 1 year and a half i end up missing Argentina more than i could think, well now i'm back. Now that i'm back off course i hate the price increase but i already know that this is my place, maybe is not the same situation for you or maybe if you have the posibility to revisit from time to time you will not miss.

 

[trennod]

Trust me you will miss Argentina but still if you can come from time to time you will be allright, When i went back to Dublin for 1 year and a half i end up missing Argentina more than i could think, well now i'm back. Now that i'm back off course i hate the price increase but i already know that this is my place, maybe is not the same situation for you or maybe if you have the posibility to revisit from time to time you will not miss.

Lamarque, of course you missed Argentina, you were in Dublin

Jokes to the Irish, I love you guys I really do

 

[GS_Dirtboy]

I will never forget that visit and grandma Jonnie Mae, it was one of the warmest, most hospitable and memorable visits I've ever had.

Yep. The people will do that to you. We never even locked our doors. Friends just walked in, sat down at the table, and (after grace) started eating. Just like buenos aires.

 

[arlean]

Regarding few U.S. people who come here being successful in business, it is a fact that few people who go into business anywhere are successful, including the U.S. The failure of new startups is something like 80% in the U.S. in good times. Probably it's partly because people dream of being in their own business and don't go and work for someone first to learn the business--or whatever they need to prepare. There is more to running a business than doing the job.

Also for those who believe things will get worse in Argentina before they get better, I think we are going to see the same in the States. The economics for real recovery just are not there. Nothing has changed! BUT . . . the buying opportunities are fantastic. Conversely, the time to buy in Argentina is not now. I think it will get to the place where the U.S. is right now, with fantastic opportunities--that is, if the country remains free. A lawyer that I know told me he normally takes the crises here in stride but this time he is seeing some things that raise his concern--they are measures that are more like the military dictatorship and that is worrisome, he says.

 

[arlean]

GS_Dirtboy, I only met you once, but reading your post I thought I should have known he was a good ol' Alabama boy! I'm not from Alabama (but kinda close) and I loved just reading about those venison roasts, blackeye peas and . . . well . . . sounds to me like a New Year's celebration in the Old South!

 

[Dr.Rade]

I totally agree with this statement. I always believed that Americans were some of the most fortunate in the world. Sure it has it's fair share of problems but the quality of life is MUCH higher there in most major cities vs. Buenos Aires.

I think the biggest reason before to have moved to Buenos Aires was if you could have taken advantage of an 'arbitrage' type of situation. After the previous crash in 2002 there were several opportunities but for the most part all of those arbitrage situations have totally vanished. Life was not only much cheaper but much easier without all the controls/restrictions/regulations in place now.

Very few ex-pats are truly successful in Argentina these days (especially the ones operating in white). There are several ex-pats that are here illegally. Operate their websites and market to other ex-pats but they don't contribute very much to society in Argentina, they don't pay taxes, etc. To do everything legally in Argentina, while attainable is not really the norm for expats.

From living in Argentina many years I've mainly seen these groups that move there:

1) People that fall in love with someone from Argentina and their significant other can't move to the USA so they are stuck moving there to be with the one they love.

2) People that were laid off or lost their job. They figured they would take a sabbatical and move to Argentina because they heard good things about it or the cost of living was much lower (not now). But the vast majority in this group didn't even take the time to learn Spanish, mostly partied and wasted a possible opportunity to come to Argentina and improve themselves.

3) People that might have lost their jobs but don't even pretend to want to do anything productive. They want to party, they want to goof off and they want to stay here until their money runs out. Then they know they are back to the USA (or wherever they are from).

4) People that are determined to create the next "widget" and get rich in Argentina. They try to start some business but then figure out how brutal it is to do business in Argentina and end up moving back.

5) People that do provide some service but never get their DNI or get legal. They are a perma-tourist and just staying in Argentina year after year. Many of these people are able to work over the telephone or internet so they can earn foreign income and still live here.

6) People that are retired or drawing some stable cash flow in foreign currency or pension and moved here when it was cheap but now that it's more expensive they are having second thoughts. A few bought several properties in Argentina after the crash and although things are more difficult they are still earning very stable income renting out their properties. They truly love Argentina and will probably ride things out there as they have lots of cash flow, no debt and plenty of assets.

7) People that work for a multi-national company or a company that had a division in Argentina where they had the opportunity to transfer to Argentina and get paid in dollars/euros/etc.

There are I'm sure other groups that I'm forgetting but probably 98% of the people I met fell into one of these groups. And most of the people I met already left. Only a small handful of ex-pats I met were truly successful in Argentina in business. A few (including some on this website) but not too many when you look at a city the size of Buenos Aires one of the largest cities in the world.

By reading your comment I was wondering which group you belong?And in which group would you put me?I am a doctor from Serbia, permanent employees,but a great devotee of Argentina,with a great desire to move into this exciting and friendly country.
You are wrong, when people are grouped, like as documents are forgotten in dusty drawers...People are much more than statistics and percent!
People are simply humans.
Regards from Serbia!