New in BsAs from Dubai

[nicoenarg]

Hey everyone,

Moved to BsAs recently (about a month ago) from Dubai (the hell-hole of the world) with my wife (awesome woman!) who is Argentine (in name only though, she knows about Argentina about as much as I do since she left here when she was a kid).

I was in Buenos Aires two years ago and it has changed dramatically. I have been in a lot of cities in the world and never have I seen a city change so dramatically, and sadly, most of it is not for the better.

However, no matter how bad it gets here, it is not as bad as it was in Dubai. If people here think they're frustrated and want to pull their hair off their heads one painful pull at a time in frustration, well try living in Dubai. You will buy yourself a blunt knife and start cutting your body so you bleed to death slowly, finally cutting your throat to finish the job, only after being in Dubai for about six months.

Anyway, before I start moaning on here, I just wanted to introduce myself.

PS: I came here on the "permanent, marriage visa" thing so I think I will write a post on that here so others can get some information about that. I also went to apply for a DNI today so I will write about that too.

 

[jb5]

Other than the prices getting higher, crime a bit higher (but that's hard to see) what's gotten worse in the last 2 years?

 

[nicoenarg]

Sorry, I should have made it clear that I was, in fact, talking about financial situation here. Whether the crime level has increased or not, I don't know, except that the other night someone tried to break into our building (but was unsuccessful).

There is also a feeling of uncertainty among some people I have talked to (which is not a lot since I don't speak Spanish very well).

And of course, the fact that the day we got here, we were told about the changes in subsidy policies, restrictions on dollar exchange etc etc.

All that matters to us in terms of government trying to increase their control over what people can or can't do (oh, also restrictions on imports, I freakin' can't buy ink for my canon printer :-D).

It might not seem like a lot to a lot of people but seeing that we wanted a change from what we experienced in Dubai (lack of freedom in everything), seeing things that remind us of Dubai are not a very good start for us here.

But like I said, not as terrible as Dubai, not by a long shot...and that is always a good thing.

 

[buddha]

Hey nicoenarg,

My buddy from USA is moving to Dubai in 2 week for a work project. He will only be there for 3 months. Any words of advice? Thanks if you do.

 

[jb5]

You've spent time in AR and are surprised the govt wants to control things?

In all honesty take a hard look around before deciding to settle down.

Things ARE uncertain here, everything will consider to get more expensive. Imports will become fewer.

I was surprised at your original statement because the city has actually been getting better in may respects. Bike lanes in BA? Some are trying to beautify it and there are areas they're patrolling more. But BA is now like NY or Dubai or any big city, it has become very expensive to live well there. And the subsidies that used to make it affordable are going away one by one.

 

[nicoenarg]

Hey nicoenarg,

My buddy from USA is moving to Dubai in 2 week for a work project. He will only be there for 3 months. Any words of advice? Thanks if you do.

Well, seeing that he's only going to be there for 3 months, I am sure he will have a good time there. Also, I think his company will take care of most of the things for him (when it comes to paperwork of any kind, Dubai can be a real B***h) so he won't need to worry about that too much.

Three months is a good time to enjoy a city, except, I always used to tell people that I would come across that you only need 7 days to get to know this city as all you have is malls and they all look the same.

As for what he should be careful about (serious stuff): Do not, under any circumstances, criticize either the government (Sheikh Mohammed is the ruler of Dubai, he is also the prime minister of the UAE. Sheikh Kahlifa, the ruler of Abu Dhabi, is the president of the UAE. The UAE is not a democracy) or government institutions in any form. He can get in serious trouble. Also, do not criticize, make fun of, or appear to disagree with anything that Islam institutes, either through the Shariah or just accepted Islamic tradition (after all, it is a constitutionally Muslim country). These rules are strictly followed and your friend would do well to know about all of this in advance. Do not take loans at all (which he probably wouldn't, being that he is there for three months) but if you can't repay your loans, you go to jail. No argument about it. Also, the police can arrest you without having to give you a reason and they can detain you, without having to give you a reason. Torture in jails (not sure about prisons) is common. In fact, it was either early last year or late 2010 that a British citizen was murdered in his jail cell as a result of torture. The family is still pursuing the case against the Dubai police but to no avail (as far as I can remember). Oh, try not to get drunk as you actually need a license to be able to drink (not enforced) and if you're caught drunk outside a club/bar, you will go to jail (enforced). Also, you can not buy alcohol outside hotels without a license (only two stores that sell alcohol that I can remember: A&E and M&M). Don't dance in public. Don't hug/kiss anyone of opposite sex (I got in trouble for hugging my wife).

Other things that he should know are (not so serious): He should not wear shorts above his knees. This is a law, however, it depends from person to person, some enforce it and some don't. A lot of the times, the law is not enforced until a Muslim complains to the police that they are offended (sad fact of life there, non Muslim complaints don't matter too much, unless you are complaining about someone not following Islam). This law applies everywhere except the beaches though. You can wear swin suits on beaches. You see women in bikinis and no one (but Paki/Indian workers staring at the women without blinking) does anything. It is also a very safe city when it comes to street crime. I lived there for over 6 years and never had anything stolen from me. Murders do happen but your friend only needs to worry about them if he is part of the Russian mafia, the Indian mafia, Hamas/Hezbollah/Al Qaeda/Taliban (whose money is funneled via Dubai) or a very rich person who has pissed either of these groups off.

Now that I think I have written about things that he needs to be careful about, I can tell you what he can maybe enjoy: The Ski-Dubai is a pretty cool touristy thing to do. It is this ski slope thing within Mall of the Emirates. It is especially enjoyable during the summer when the temperatures outside reach for 50 degrees celcius and you're freezing your butt off inside the mall in the Ski Dubai. Apart from that, there is a cafe called "Chill-out cafe" (I think, they changed their name from Ice cafe) where the furniture is made of ice. Its pretty cool too but you can only spend about 20 minutes in there before your balls start to feel numb. This is at the place called "Times Square Center". Since he is going there during the "nice" time of the year, he could take the Big Bus tour in which they will tell him the whitewashed history of Dubai. But the advantage of the tour is that he can hop on and hop off as he likes. The whole city is safe, no problems. He can walk around at night, its all good. If he just wants the nice picture of Dubai (most of Dubai is very new), then he would do well to avoid areas like Deira, BurDubai, Satwa and Karama. Except, if he likes Indian food, then Satwa and Karama have some nice Indian restaurants (like Ravi). I would advice that he goes to Ibn Batuta mall and eats at India Palace there (only if he likes Indian food, that is).

Honestly, I can't think of much else right now since I lived (and grew up there) as a resident and didn't do a lot of touristy stuff. However, your friend can contact me here or whatever he prefers and I can answer any questions he's got regarding Dubai.

Hope this helps.

 

[nicoenarg]

You've spent time in AR and are surprised the govt wants to control things?

In all honesty take a hard look around before deciding to settle down.

Things ARE uncertain here, everything will consider to get more expensive. Imports will become fewer.

I was surprised at your original statement because the city has actually been getting better in may respects. Bike lanes in BA? Some are trying to beautify it and there are areas they're patrolling more. But BA is now like NY or Dubai or any big city, it has become very expensive to live well there. And the subsidies that used to make it affordable are going away one by one.

Well, in that respect, we are only here for 6 months to see if we can/want to live here long term. Another plan is that if my wife gets a job in the field she wants, then two years is when we're out or maximum three (depending on whether I apply for citizenship here or not). We are not here forever, which makes all the craziness, whatever that might be, not too serious for us.

If we decide Argentina is not for us, we will move to Scotland (where we can speak English and avoid the overcrowdedness of England: Manchester, London and Birmingham--SCARY!!). Or some other place in Europe.

For now though, we are still trying to see if there is anything positive Argentina has to offer us.

We also need to think about the future, things like, whether we would want our children to grow up in Latin America or Europe (or elsewhere). We know that the Middle East is a no no, so we will see how Lat Am goes.