Newbie Introduction And A Couple Questions

[Ries]

I guess it depends on what you eat in the US.
Personally, I find food here to be a lot cheaper, for anything FROM Argentina.

Of course, anything imported is expensive.

But I eat a lot at home in Buenos Aires, and I buy a lot of things here that are much cheaper than the same things cost in the Seattle area. Obviously, meat is cheaper here. I buy organic chickens, and eggs, from a little store a few blocks from my apartment, in Barrio Norte, and they run about half the price of similar stuff in Washington.
Fruits and vegetables, in season, are quite cheap here.
Local cheese and fiambres are cheaper- I can get the BEST salami from Tandil for a quarter the price of Salumi in Seattle.
Obviously, wine is dirt cheap. Beer is not bad, for swill- 12 pesos a liter for Quilmes. I used to pay that for a quart of Rainier, in the early 80's, but beer in Seattle is more like double or three times that price. Easy to pay ten bucks for a liter of microbrew in the northwest.
Local liquor is cheap- I buy Amargo Obrero, a liquor somewhat like Fernet, for 38 pesos a liter- in Washington State, if it was available, it would be 38 dollars. My wife likes Campari- its around 40 bucks a bottle in Washington, about 7 dollars here.
I eat out here, and it blows me away how cheap it is for what you get. I can go to a really good restaurant, and pig out, for 250 or 300 pesos a person. At the blue rate, thats what you pay for midrange or below in Washington. I was at La Cabrera the other night , 250 each. A restaurant of similar quality in Seattle would run you 4 times that for what we ate and drank.
I eat quite well here, I dont think its expensive at all.
Of course, if you demand imported stuff, you pay a lot. I eat local.

Rents are high here because real estate is a place to park money in a way unknown in the USA. And, its a big city, and the fun places to live are more expensive- you can find cheap places an hour bus ride out from the center, sure, but who would want to live there.
Public transportation is dirt cheap, safe, and runs 24/7. I ride collectivos all the time, and, even after the Jan 1 price increase, they are still going to be about 1/10 the cost of buses in Seattle.

Oh, and music, art, theater, dance, cinema- all very cheap.
Check out my thread about seeing bands.
Juana Molina was somewhat expensive, at 80 pesos, most concerts I go to are more in the 40 to 50 peso range.
Again, you pay ridiculous prices for "imported"- American metal bands can run you 30 or 40 dollars for a ticket, but stick with the local music scene, and you can have a great time for five bucks.

 

[Matiasba]

Beer is not bad, for swill- 12 pesos a liter for Quilmes. I used to pay that for a quart of Rainier, in the early 80's, but beer in Seattle is more like double or three times that price. Easy to pay ten bucks for a liter of microbrew in the northwest.

Obviously I will offend somebody with taste for beer, and I find that reasonable, but yesterday we bought "cerveza Dia" at Dia supermarket. 2.5 pesos a can.

And I liked it!!!

 

[og505]

Hmmm $650 for an apartment does sound astronomically expensive. I currently pay about 250, and I'm sure you can find good stuff between 200 - 350 (although even 350 is pretty damn high). I found an awesome place on Craigslist, I live with two Argentines. My tip is to come here and book a hostel, then search online for potential apartments. Don't go for something expensive! And don't get roped into something without seeing it first!

With regards to whether it's cheap, I think both yes and no. Yes, you'll notice that fruits and vegetables, meat, wine, public transportation, eating at restaurants, and things like getting your hair cut can be pretty cheap (extremely cheap compared to some places in Europe in particular). You'll also learn how to economize. HOWEVER, some things cost about as much as in other places (e.g. a lot of stuff in supermarkets like dairy products, cereal, etc.). Another thing to keep in mind is that whereas the prices may sometimes be 1/2 of what they are in, say, Northern Europe, your wage will most likely be more like 1/3 of what people in Northern Europe make. My point is that it's extremely hard to make a living here, and so even though things may seem super cheap to you when you first arrive, if you're here for a long time you'll see how it's expensive because of how low your income is.

Oh and with regards to Spanish, it's not suuuper necessary. You can get around pretty freely with English, and there are enough expats here that you won't feel isolated, surrounded by people who only speak Spanish. That said, of course you should learn Spanish, throw yourself into it, and make Argentine friends, and it's a hell of a lot easier living here when you speak Spanish, but I wouldn't stress about it.

 

[germano]

Obviously I will offend somebody with taste for beer, and I find that reasonable, but yesterday we bought "cerveza Dia" at Dia supermarket. 2.5 pesos a can.

And I liked it!!!

Any indicator on the can who actually brews it?

 

[Wilson]

Argsteve: Your two cents are a treasure, thanks for the thorough reply! I'll spend some time on SpareRoomsBA.com and see if I can find a good base of operations for exploring the city. Would not have thought of staying with another person in order to better understand Spanish, so thanks for the tip!

Ries: Ah, but the beer in Seattle is also 3x better than anywhere else in the world! Though I have no doubt Argentina has the edge on wine. And 80 pesos is nothing to see Juana Molina, I was close to flying SEA-->SFO to catch her in concert a few years ago. Anyway, thanks again for the insight!

og505: Thanks for the reply! Fruits, vegetables, wine, transportation and haircuts is my usual budget. I've been a near-starving artist for years, so I'm practiced in economizing. My income will be mostly US-based illustration gigs, I'm not even thinking of getting a work visa for Argentina. Can I ask how big your place is if you're only paying $250? The $650 place is in a pretty nice-sounding location in San Telmo with everything (wifi, electricity, heat, A/C, etc) included. I'm paying $1050 for a similarly-sized place, and that's before utilities, etc.

In all my research this is the first I've heard of the blue rate. Siiigh, still so much to figure out.

 

[glasgowjohn]

Obviously I will offend somebody with taste for beer, and I find that reasonable, but yesterday we bought "cerveza Dia" at Dia supermarket. 2.5 pesos a can.

And I liked it!!!

Matias , you should advise that this is a special - normal price is 5 pesos

And I agree it is decent beer !!

 

[Matiasba]

Any indicator on the can who actually brews it?

Some ASSAL company or something, no idea.

Matias , you should advise that this is a special - normal price is 5 pesos

And I agree it is decent beer !!

The price is 5 pesos the can. But if youre a member of Club Dia, thing we did a few days ago and which is pretty easy, the price goes to 2.5.

 

[Ries]

I grew up in Seattle, and the beer there, although good, has heavy competition from many locations.
Not a decent Gueze to be had there, for example.
There is more and more microbrew here in Argentina, and it runs relatively expensive- perhaps a bit cheaper than Seattle, but not too much.

Again, you need to make an exploratory trip.
I know, the airfare is a big chunk, but it will pay off in many many ways, letting you understand what is good and bad about argentina, what things actually cost, and whether you really want to move here.
If you want to see music, come after the end of January, though- January is dead, as everyone is at the beach.

 

[Balvanera82]

Hola Wilson!

Spanish is crucial for making a long term stay in Argentina work. As a first time visitor you will get by with basic Spanish skills, but if you are planning on staying, you should consider spending much of your time learning it fluently. Argentinians are extremely self-confident, and as they won't feel as confident speaking English, some often choose not to speak it at all. Many don't know a word of it.

I came here years ago, when it was dirt cheap, and I have watched prices (and salaries...) skyrocket. I don't know much about the US, so I can't tell you whether or not it is cheaper here. However, I know people who have travelled in the US, and have spent less there than here. At the same time, you can find a great flat here, and pay three less than what you would in another capital elsewhere in the world. Electricity and gas is really cheap too.
Altogether, compared to Europe, it is cheaper than the West and North, but equal to the South, and far more expensive than the East.

Groceries can be more expensive than what you are used to, and vegetable prices are seasonal, but hardly ever cheap. The range and quality of vegetables can also be rather disappointing. And very often you will be looking for something, only to find it at a ridiculously high price. That goes for a lot of products in Argentina, from furniture to electrical appliances and food, you'll find yourself paying many times more than what you would do in your own country for certain things.

So, basically, I don't really know where one would save money living in Argentina today. Then again, I don't really know the US that well, so I can't make a comparison. My main expense is food. I hardly ever go out to eat anymore, and it's been a long time since I had a proper steak.

That said, for a European at least, Argentina is an extremely normal country, with normal people, and with a more or less identical culture. It's a fairly safe place, and probably less corrupt than much of Eastern Europe. And great nightlife, beautiful parks and architecture makes Buenos Aires a great place to live. Then you'll have the occasional unfortunate happenings, like this summer's power cuts, just to remind you you that you are actually still in Latin America. Also, bureaucracy is of Russian proportions.

I would advise you to try a three to six month period here, see if you like it. After years here, my problem with Argentina is that it actually bores me. I don't find it to be such an adventurous and exotic destination, but I remember well how much I loved my first two years here. Now I am stuck here, and, like you, hoping to make it as a writer.

So all the best, hope you'll give Argentina a try! And maybe you'll let me read some of your stuff when you get down here

 

[argsteve]

Im not looking for a discussion but, the same prices than in the US? I know a lot of people here that make 7000/8000 pesos and live very well (without rent). Do you think you can live as well as here with 700-800 dollars? I dont think so.

I am saying many things are the same price here..... food and clothing and basic home goods and electronics household items are basically the same price or even more expensive than the USA.... something I can find at a 99 cent store is 50 pesos here.... just saying..... yes you can live on 7000-8000 pesos......and it depends on your lifestyle...........I know people who make 9000-10000 pesos... and are just getting by but they are paying for better insurance, have a child and live in a building with 1000 peso expenses..etc all depends on how you live
I am glad you are living so well... and you know people who are living very well on 7k pesos that is a tribute to them....all I was just trying to tell the OP is that many things many times here are the same price as the USA.... I think that is very obvious if you live here