My Divorce From Argentina

[ghost]

Well that depend on what kind of business, thinks change fast here if you are good taking advantage of that you do a lot more money here that you wold be able to even dream in a more stable country , is a matter of risk, more risk you are willing to take more rewards all depend on your risk profile for investment

That is some generalized text book pablum. I'm still laughing. I think I'll run out and open a business in Somalia, that's pretty damn risky. Or maybe I'll just open my high risk business in a civilized country and concentrate on the business risk and not location risk.

 

[lamarque]

That is some generalized text book pablum. I'm still laughing. I think I'll run out and open a business in Somalia, that's pretty damn risky. Or maybe I'll just open my high risk business in a civilized country and concentrate on the business risk and not location risk.

Maybe you should if that what you want and you are prepared for that then who know you can become the next millionaire lol or just loses your money that is more probable

 

[earlyretirement]

That may be true but having managed businesses in multiple countries, I will say that Argentina is probably one of the hardest places in the world to make a go of it. Between gov't intervention, high COL, high taxes, restrictive laws, the adversarial relationship between employer and employee (and the lawsuits that are a given here), the inflation, the 20-30% raises, the ineffective banking system, the inability to get your funds out of the country or imports in, etc, etc - this is not a place I would ever recommend for starting up a business. People are far better suited looking at other locations in LATAM.

Citygirl,

Your post is so very spot on target and correct. I also do business all over the world and I've never seen such a difficult environment like Argentina. Everything is backwards, filled with red tape, doesn't make sense, not efficient, etc.

Besides everything that you mentioned Citygirl....even taking account of those things you still have to deal with the fact that there isn't a working judicial system. So if there is a problem and you are in the right....then you have no recourse. And mostly other businesses and individuals know that the judicial system doesn't work so they use that to their advantage.

 

[bomber]

Yep, I know of a number of expat run businesses that are currently looking at other locations in latin America to relocate too. I wonder how many there are that I don't know doing the same thing?

 

[EBA]

Have a great trip back, I know many who have left for the same reason...they all want to come back though, but just for vacations. Hopefully someday the situation here will improve.

 

[gieryp86]

Hi, this is my first post to BAexpats. I came here to BsAs last year and studied for four months, during which time i met a girl and fell in love. She came to the US after to visit me for 6 months untill i graduated and now we moved back together to BsAs three months ago and i plan to TRY to study in a masters at the UBA. Now, for my issues and gripes...

While studying here last year all the other americans thought ¨wow argetina is sooooooo great!!!!¨ but the truth is that they were mostly all very young rich kids who dont really know what life is like or the ways of the world. After moving back i have realized that this country is nothing compared to living in the US. Although governments all over the world are corrupt, here in Argentina they excell in their level of government corruption to a level that disgusts me completely. Economically, they have basically cut the country off from outside investors through means of import and export regulations. Upon entering into argentina by the thousands, peruanos and other inmigrants from the counties of MERCOSUR are greated with smiles and legal documentation and then sent into the city to sell drugs, kill, steal and occupy empty houses while an american college graduate and army veteran like myself comes and gets shitted on with no help for finding a job or obtaining residency. My specific case is very small but is a perfect example of how this country runs on a very short scale. The vice president was named one of the worst/corrupt vice presidents in the world, the president runs the country to the ground so that she and here gang of goons can keep getting richer. They look at people like evit and peron who, although they MIGHT have helped the country here and there were essencially what screwed up the country in general. And ok, maybe they have love for these figures, but that was along time ago so you know how about continuing to improve and move on.

The majority of the people here, the good citizens that love their country are very nice people. The culture is strong and profound and the women are beautiful. There is alot of great art, literature, music, dance etc. here in argentina and some pretty architecture that you cant find in many places in the US. The food is also fairly good. I dont want people to think i hate the country as a whole, but the government is horrible and its just not a safe place to live.

Anyways, i needed to get that off my chest because i am here for at least a couple more years, untill my girlfriend finished with her degree at the UBA and hopefully if they accept me into the masters program i will leave here with something valuable along with a very good level of spanish.

 

[expatinowncountry]

Upon entering into argentina by the thousands, peruanos and other inmigrants from the counties of MERCOSUR are greated with smiles and legal documentation and then sent into the city to sell drugs, kill, steal and occupy empty houses while an american college graduate and army veteran like myself comes and gets shitted on with no help for finding a job or obtaining residency.

WTF!! Why (i) you make such a general awful statement about Latin American immigrants (ii) you feel entitled to a better treatment? cause you are American, cause you have a college degree or cause you were in the army saving us from the bad guys?

 

[camberiu]

Upon entering into argentina by the thousands, peruanos and other inmigrants from the counties of MERCOSUR are greated with smiles and legal documentation and then sent into the city to sell drugs, kill, steal and occupy empty houses while an american college graduate and army veteran like myself comes and gets shitted on with no help for finding a job or obtaining residency.

The Argentinian immigration policy is one of the few things I agree with the current government. I think any country benefits from receiving immigrants with open arms and make it as easy as possible for them to become citizens. I find your generalization and characterization of those immigrants very inaccurate and unfortunate. The vast majority of them are trying to escape extreme poverty and looking to earn an honest dime.

 

[sleslie23]

Giery86, I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that you didn't communicate well what you were trying to say. Or, at worst, that you have listened to your suegros talk about how all the Peruvians and Bolivians commit all the crimes.

However, if you even remotely believe what you wrote, you should stay very far away from Puan (Facultad de Filosofia y Letras). You will probably hate it. And they will probably hate you.

 

[ElQueso]

Giery86, I don't mean to jump on you at all, but if you get most of your information regarding what you mention related to poor MERCOSUR citizens residing here from your girlfriend - a word of caution. Many Argentinos are quite prejudiced against poor people from other MERCOSUR countries. Take what she tells you with a grain of salt until you meet some of these immigrants yourself and get to know them.

My wife is Paraguayan, moved here about 7 years ago. Since she and I married, we have brought about half of her immediate family here (6 here - another 6 back home) and many cousins, aunts and uncles, from Paraguay because as screwed up as things are here, there are better (all relative) opportunities here than there for the very poor. I know MANY of these poor immigrants through meeting their friends, and family of friends, in all walks of life here. Only two of all we've brought over I've found to be worthless, and those returned to their poor-prison in Paraguay. The rest are honest, hard-working people.

During our life here together, I've seen many cases of plain, open prejudice directed against them, and many cases that were questionable - i.e., reasons giving for denying them something didn't really make any sense.

As in the States with Mexicans and other poor immigrants (legal or illegal), poor MERCOSUR residents here work their a**es off to make a better life for themselves and send money home to their families. Are there drug dealers and thieves amongst them? Absolutely!

But look beyond the "conventional wisdom" here and understand a little more about what goes on. Believe me, there are plenty of Argentine thieves, drug dealers and other criminals. Plenty. And the laws, the lack of good police protection/prevention and of a fair and equitable justice system make their lives pretty damned easy.

There are TONS of good, hard-working LEGAL immigrants/residents from other MERCOSUR countries contributing to the country as a whole, even though many Argentinos, who don't want to admit that they have a lot of aboriginal blood running through their veins, don't want to admit it.

BTW - I should correct some of my statements - when I mention Argentina here, I really mean Buenos Aires. I'm not qualified to comment on anything outside of the city of Buenos Aires and to the north in the suburbs, between the two where I've lived for 6 years.

And I agree with Camberiu to a certain extent related to immigrations policy here. It is as well about the only thing with which I fairly strongly agree with the government on. Also, the government being a part fo the MERCOSUR, they don't have any choice - that's a MERCOSUR privilege.

Here I am, a citizen of a country that was built on immigrants, and I can't bring my wife to the States for a visit on a tourist visa. I have to spend a lot of money and time to get her a spouse immigrant visa just so my wife can see the country her husband comes from. I don't live in the States any more (I am still a citizen - the only time I'll renounce my citizenship is when Texas secedes ) and I don't want to go through all of that hassle just so my parents can meet their daughter-in-law (they've never met her - they are getting old and frail and my father is going through cancer treatments).

Why won't they let her in just to visit? Because she's from a poor MERCOSUR country, isn't rich herself, immigrated to Argentina and even though married to an American they told her that they fear she might continue her immigration pattern to the US and stay there illegally. Even though she did EVERYTHING 100% legal here to gain her permanent residency and live and contribute here.

How freaking stupid! WHY would she stay illegally in the States if we were going to move there, when I can get her into the country as an immigrant legally??? The US makes less and less sense every day, at least to me.

If Argentina would follow its own laws a little better, they wouldn't have such a crime problem to begin with. If they opened their economy to allow it to perform the way it could, there would be a lot less crime as well because there would be fewer poor people thinking they have a right to take stuff from others - because they would understand better what owning something means and would have opportunities too boot.

MOST Argentinos (just like in the States) would not work where the majority of the poor MERCOSUR immigrants work - what do they do when they feel like they don't have opportunities at the level they think they should be?

In the meantime, in my opinion, Argentina is way ahead of the US in terms of immigration policy. And as many people on the forum could probably tell you, I'm a critic of Argentina in many things, but not this.