Nordelta - Advice Please!

[RodalfoWalsh]

Living in a barrio cerrado like those in Nordelta is like living in denial. So it is living in a compound in the Middle East.
In my opinion, they just call for more attention and are an easy prey for inside jobs.

Says the woman living in San Isidro.

 

[el rubio]

Don't let the naysayers turn you off Nordelta. You're making the right choice. Las Canitas, as another poster suggested is a horrible idea for a family with kids. It's full of restaurants, clubs, and bars. It's a perfect place for a young couple or someone single but not a good idea for a family with small children.

Nordelta has the advantage that the interconnecting streets between the 20 neighborhoods are also private, so there is a beautiful walking/biking trail that surrounds all 20 neighborhoods that is for the exclusive use of residents and is well-maintained. People here on this forum are naturally against the "barrio cerrado" concept, but Nordelta has a level of cleanliness that you can't get anywhere else in the province of buenos aires (or the city for that matter). Even areas like San Isidro are not going to be up to the first world standards you're used to life in Australia.

Nordelta is like a first world bubble within Argentina. After 10 years living here (my case) it's nice to be able to live somewhere that feels like home. You could easily confuse Nordelta for a suburb of Southern California or Sidney.

We're not all Nordelta naysayers or against the barrio cerrado concept. Some of us are simply trying to enable the Australian to make an informed decision that will be right for her and her family in the knowledge of our personal experiences. I think anyone contemplating a move away from their home territory should ask themselves whether they want a purely expat life, to integrate fully with the locals or something in between. Where you live will have quite a bearing on the outcome.

Nordelta may be just fine for el expatriado, as his name would suggest. His choice though.

 

[ghost]

Well don't you just think you have the RIGHT idea of how to raise a family.

We have a toddler, thanks. We lived in Las Canitas. It was great, everything within walking distance, the parks are right there, there are some fantastic schools a few minutes away in Belgrano. We now live in Urquiza, we don't own, Las Canitas was getting too expensive for us -- building expenses were too high for us. In Urquiza, we have everything within a few blocks walk of our house. My almost 4 yr old now rides his bike to school (obviously with me walking behind, after all, he is not quite 4).

There's a tonne of ways to raise a family Expatriado, you just happen to be egotistical enough to think you apparently know the only right way to do it. People with that type of actitud you show in the above post are why I wonder whether I'd actually want to live in Nordelta.

You sure do have an attitude

 

[RodalfoWalsh]

We're not all Nordelta naysayers or against the barrio cerrado concept. Some of us are simply trying to enable the Australian to make an informed decision that will be right for her and her family in the knowledge of our personal experiences. I think anyone contemplating a move away from their home territory should ask themselves whether they want a purely expat life, to integrate fully with the locals or something in between. Where you live will have quite a bearing on the outcome.

Nordelta may be just fine for el expatriado, as his name would suggest. His choice though.

Helping people make informed decisions is one thing, but here it seems to be devolving a bit into jabs at people who've made different choices.

I don't know El expatriado, having only met him once in passing, but he has been part of this forum for long time and based on his posts has integrated himself quite well into life here. Nordelta is not a yanqui paradise and is infact mostly populated by Argentines.

 

[el rubio]

Helping people make informed decisions is one thing, but here it seems to be devolving a bit into jabs at people who've made different choices.

I don't know El expatriado, having only met him once in passing, but he has been part of this forum for long time and based on his posts has integrated himself quite well into life here. Nordelta is not a yanqui paradise and is infact mostly populated by Argentines.

Helping people make informed decisions is one thing, but here it seems to be devolving a bit into jabs at people who've made different choices.

I don't know El expatriado, having only met him once in passing, but he has been part of this forum for long time and based on his posts has integrated himself quite well into life here. Nordelta is not a yanqui paradise and is infact mostly populated by Argentines.

That's one of the good things about BA, there are no expat enclaves - even Nordelta - and it is relatively easy to integrate if you have a mind to.

 

[sgibson123]

I find it very hard to integrate where we are in Nordelta though my neighbors are lovely. And yes. All argentine. I find myself definitely spending more time with school moms who live in Martinez and San Isidro. Some live in barrio cerrados. Some not. But I will say in that area crime is on the rise and fast!!!

 

[el_expatriado]

That's one of the good things about BA, there are no expat enclaves - even Nordelta - and it is relatively easy to integrate if you have a mind to.

Exactly, Nordelta is by no means a yanqui enclave. However, it is a upper middle class enclave. You'll find professionals, small business owners, etc. Most are college educated and almost everyone is well-traveled. Perhaps not as much as most of us expats, but enough to have a vision of what things are like outside Argentina -- enough to know that the place we all live can be administered properly.

Oh, and everyone in Nordelta is plainly aware of the fact that private initiative produces better results than the dysfunctional Argentine government. That's why we chose to live in a private neighborhood, most send their kids to private schools, and we rely on the private security and other services. Nordelta is by no means perfect, but it is a huge improvement over the typical municipality in the conurbano.

After 10 years living and working in a number of Buenos Aires neighborhoods -- Recoleta, Barrio Norte, Palermo, Puerto Madero, Belgrano, Núñez, Chacarita, etc -- I'm ready to settle long-term in Nordelta.

I want to wake-up without the noise of colectivos, cars, motos.

I want to take a walk without having to step over trash, broken sidewalks, dog poop, etc.

I want to step outside and breathe fresh air.

And I want to be able to take a bike ride at any hour of the day or night and not worry about a motochorro.

So there you have it.

Saludos!

 

[citygirl]

In Syngirl's defense, I think she was responding to this: "[background=rgb(252, 252, 252)]Las Canitas, as another poster suggested is a horrible idea for a family with kids. It's full of restaurants, clubs, and bars. It's a perfect place for a young couple or someone single but not a good idea for a family with small children. [/background][background=rgb(252, 252, 252)]For lots of people, it is not a horrible idea at all.[/background]

[background=rgb(252, 252, 252)]To the OP - what type of environment are you looking for? Have you experienced living in a gated, more remote barrio before? Or are you coming from a city? That will make a big difference.[/background]

[background=rgb(252, 252, 252)]​There are definite plusses to gated communities. There are minuses as well. It really is up to the individual person. No right or wrong at all.[/background]

[background=rgb(252, 252, 252)]I will say if the only reason you're considering Nordelta is to make the commute easier, I would look elsewhere. As someone mentioned, there is a gorgeous gated community in San Isidro - The Boating Club - which is absolutely lovely and I saw tons of kids out playing there. [/background][background=rgb(255, 255, 255)]There are also some lovely homes and most neighborhoods do have security guards in San Isidro. You could certainly also look in the Belgrano/Canitas area if you are a city person, plenty of people happily raise kids there and there are lots of great schools[/background]

[background=rgb(255, 255, 255)].[/background]If however gated community is what you want, Nordelta is one of the biggest and yes, each neighborhood has its own feel. I've only been a few times but it has everything and if you go to town on the weekend, it's not a bad drive at all. I assume you guys will have a car here. There are also lots of great private schools out that way.

 

[jurarol]

Very well said,right on the target!! Most people that are against Nordelta, never even lived or even have a clue what its like living in ND.

 

[Girino]

I have nothing against Nordelta, I think it is definitely a better place than where I live. What I am against is the whole "barrio cerrado" approach. Very classist, in my opinion.
That said, there are barrios cerrados in the US, in the Middle East and in Africa. I am not used to gated communities in Europe, we share everything, even poverty, crime and other "social diseases", but also beautiful landscapes, beaches and towns that are accessible to all and not only to those who have a pass on their windshield.

I understand if someone staying here temporarily want to be shielded against the ugly stuff of this country. I don't understand it as a life choice, though.
What I am for is an approach where one says "how can I contribute to make my town livable?" not where the approach is "thanks god I have the money to forget what is out there!".
I don't see barrio cerrados in the long run because they are not a solution, they are a patch to consequences of various unaddressed problems. What will happen if everybody moves to a barrio cerrado? Well, crime will start reaching "lower class" barrios cerrados, "higher" class barrios will be less affordable and more elitist. So don't feel that much "safe" in there. The nasty stuff will come to you, eventually.

Ok, this is turning into a socialist pamphlet, I'll stop here.