My wife (Argentinian) claims you can live "well" on $1500 a month in Argentina. True?

[Fiscal]

After 3 months here and spending some time in my wife's town, I think the answer is "no" for Buenos Aires, "maybe" for a secondary city like Rosario, and "yes" for a pueblo.

 

[Ceviche]

Buenos Aires is expensive but still cheaper than Montevideo, Santiago, Panama City and Sao Paulo. But perhaps more expensive that Guayaquil, Bogota. And more or less equal to Lima, Asuncion.

Buenos Aires is definitely cheaper compared to world cities like Hong Kong, Singapore, Bangkok,Tokyo, London, New York, Auckland, Sydney.

Will not supply data or figures. Just basis my travels.

 

[Fiscal]

Panama City is outrageously expensive!

 

[steveinbsas]

After 3 months here and spending some time in my wife's town, I think the answer is "no" for Buenos Aires, "maybe" for a secondary city like Rosario, and "yes" for a pueblo.

The answer is also "yes" for a pueblo (actually a "barrio suburbano" located about ten kilometers from Punta Alta).

If I did not own my 3 bedroom (plus entrepiso) casa quinta (country house) one kilometer from the plaza of that barrio I would expect to pay at least $700 USD per month rent for an equal property and it would be extremely difficult to find a rental that would compare favorably at that price.

That would leave me $800 USD per month for everything else, including property taxes, home and car insurance, car repairs, NAFTA, propane, electricity, internet, and food.

I can do that with plenty left over to buy tools, building materials, and make gradual improvements to the house and outbuilding (which will soon be "inhabitable" as a one bedroom casita), as well as purchase "interesting" decorative and other "useful" items offered for sale on Mercado Libre.

PS: As I no longer have any desire to travel, I don't have to pay extra for 24/7 security like some of the other expats who tried "country living" have reported was necessary in a thread about "country life" in Argentina (before they moved into a "country" aka barrio cerrado where they also paid monthly espenses for security...but much less than they had to pay to "protect" their considerably more vulnerable country residences),

PS2: I also believe my "country home" will be a much better place to be with the onset of the strongest solar minimum in 400 years than any urban area, especially a densely populated city, as the price of food increases three to five times what it is today...if we're lucky.

 

[steveinbsas]

...if we're lucky and the prices don't increase even more as a result of massive worldwide crop failures due to the shortened growing seasons which have already begun.

 

[on the brink]

I don't know much about cost of living, but I do know you can't put a price on the benefits of growing up within an extended loving family. Having cousins, uncles, aunts, second cousins, in-law nieces, etc., all providing a wonderful safety net for yourself and your family.

Life in the States may be cheaper, safer, and more "convenient", but there can be a terrible price to pay in terms of isolation and loneliness. I believe that is often behind the frequent US mass killing sprees, something unknown in Argentina. Troubled youngsters alienated from their parents generally have an aunt, uncle or older cousin willing to lend a friendly ear, and provide a shoulder to cry on. Argentinian extended families provide an invaluable safety net.

 

[Ceviche]

How far your USD goes as per Bloomberg.

That top 1% you keep hearing about? According to Bloomberg, here’s what it takes around the world: 81k in India, 105k in China, 215k in France, 478k in the U.S., 694k in Singapore and 891k in U.A.E ; Brazil - 169K ( any guesses for Argentina? The discussion is income for a individual, not the net worth). My guess 70,000 usd.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...al-guide-to-what-it-means-to-be-part-of-the-1

 

[Stantucker]

I don't know much about cost of living, but I do know you can't put a price on the benefits of growing up within an extended loving family. Having cousins, uncles, aunts, second cousins, in-law nieces, etc., all providing a wonderful safety net for yourself and your family.

Life in the States may be cheaper, safer, and more "convenient", but there can be a terrible price to pay in terms of isolation and loneliness. I believe that is often behind the frequent US mass killing sprees, something unknown in Argentina. Troubled youngsters alienated from their parents generally have an aunt, uncle or older cousin willing to lend a friendly ear, and provide a shoulder to cry on. Argentinian extended families provide an invaluable safety net.

And all those that commit violence against woman here? I guess they didn't have that extended family. I bet there were more femicidios here than victims of mass shootings in the US last year. Do you know how many femicidios there have already been here this year, which is only a little over a month old? I grew up in the States with that extended family and my nephews and nieces still have it, as do the children of friends. The problem with generalizing is that it misses so much.

 

[Ries]

I bet there were more femicidios here than victims of mass shootings in the US last year.

And you would lose that bet.

Number of Femicidos in Argentina in 2018- 216
https://www.perfil.com/noticias/soc...-argentina-93-por-ciento-circulo-intimo.phtml

Number of mass shooting victims in USA in 2018- 387
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mass_shootings_in_the_United_States_in_2018

Number of Femicidos in USA in 2018 - between 1000 and 1800.
https://www.ozy.com/acumen/us-domestic-violence-murder-rate-rises/89868

It is certainly true that femicidos are disproportionately high in Argentina.
And that they are a terrible thing.
But more of them happen in the USA, and in addition to that, we have mass shootings, random shootings, accidental shootings, drunken shootings, gang shootings, and more, in the USA.

 

[Stantucker]

And you would lose that bet.

Number of Femicidos in Argentina in 2018- 216
https://www.perfil.com/noticias/soc...-argentina-93-por-ciento-circulo-intimo.phtml

Number of mass shooting victims in USA in 2018- 387
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mass_shootings_in_the_United_States_in_2018

Number of Femicidos in USA in 2018 - between 1000 and 1800.
https://www.ozy.com/acumen/us-domestic-violence-murder-rate-rises/89868

It is certainly true that femicidos are disproportionately high in Argentina.
And that they are a terrible thing.
But more of them happen in the USA, and in addition to that, we have mass shootings, random shootings, accidental shootings, drunken shootings, gang shootings, and more, in the USA.

Last year when I looked at the murder rate per capita here and in the US for 2017, the US had a lower overall rate.