Officially Done with BA
- Thread starter YanquiGallego
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The guy admitted it wasn't the smartest move he'd ever made, opening the door to someone who came to his apartment without his invitation. So he got lax and wasn't thinking - the mistake he made was being comfortable in his own home, thinking he was away from the streets and all the crap he has to deal with and be on the lookout for when conducting business outside, and he slipped for a moment. The trappings of security in a place like Yanqui mentions can be deceiving to an extent.
But for crying out loud - if you can't be safe in that environment, where can you be safe? When can you let your guard down for a few hours?
Apparently not here.
But to kick him when he's down because he lapsed behind (what seemed like) a layer of security he thought he could feel comfortable with?
To compare his situation with someone strutting around in the open with an extremely valuable piece of working jewelry, obviously vulnerable and easy to access? Not even any sympathies.
You're a hard man, Mitch.
Someone else in some other thread at some other time had mentioned that he doesn't feel like he has to keep his guard up here, that it sounded paranoiac.
What happened to Yanqui is one reason I've considered moving as well. I have to admit I do let my guard down significantly when I'm at home. I live in a one apartment per floor building, with 13 floors. We don't have a lot of traffic in and out and I know the people who live here are worried enough about intruders to be careful about who they buzz in, and who they let accompany them in when entering. Of course, that doesn't account for people coming in with guests, but it's lessened because the level awareness of people that visit others in our building are usually high enough to watch out for unknowns entering without being buzzed in as well.
We also have a 24 hour portero, the same guys always on shift.
But all that doesn't stop someone determined to enter a building, when they find the slightest hole in security.
If I'm going to live in constant fear in my own house, I'll move to a country where I can afford to hire and house my own security detachment...
But for crying out loud - if you can't be safe in that environment, where can you be safe? When can you let your guard down for a few hours?
Apparently not here.
But to kick him when he's down because he lapsed behind (what seemed like) a layer of security he thought he could feel comfortable with?
To compare his situation with someone strutting around in the open with an extremely valuable piece of working jewelry, obviously vulnerable and easy to access? Not even any sympathies.
You're a hard man, Mitch.
Someone else in some other thread at some other time had mentioned that he doesn't feel like he has to keep his guard up here, that it sounded paranoiac.
What happened to Yanqui is one reason I've considered moving as well. I have to admit I do let my guard down significantly when I'm at home. I live in a one apartment per floor building, with 13 floors. We don't have a lot of traffic in and out and I know the people who live here are worried enough about intruders to be careful about who they buzz in, and who they let accompany them in when entering. Of course, that doesn't account for people coming in with guests, but it's lessened because the level awareness of people that visit others in our building are usually high enough to watch out for unknowns entering without being buzzed in as well.
We also have a 24 hour portero, the same guys always on shift.
But all that doesn't stop someone determined to enter a building, when they find the slightest hole in security.
If I'm going to live in constant fear in my own house, I'll move to a country where I can afford to hire and house my own security detachment...
YanquiGallego
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thanks guys, and yes, elqueso, you are absolutely correct. i am currently kicking myself in the butt for daring to feel safe and comfortable in my own home, a ¨secured¨ luxury high rise building in a ¨secure¨ neighbourhood that is Palermo and opening the door, assuming it could have been my neighbour wanting to borrow something, as per the usual. The point is that in a typical city, you should be able to generally do stuff like that, without having to second guess your every move, especially when you are at home, relaxing, and not the most ¨on guard¨ as you would be if say you were crossing Carlos Pelligrini at midnight.
In most normal cities, again generally speaking because anything can happen anywhere, you CAN indeed wear a Rolex or talk freely on the street on an Iphone without worrying about having a gun pulled to your head or MOTO CHORROS whizzing by and yanking it from you.
BA obviously does not fit into this criteria and I have learned the hard way. More than anything, I also feel very cheated as I was at one point BA's number one fan and took great pride when friends came from the States or Europe in showing them around, not so much the case anymore, I dont know that I'd even want to return in the near future for a vacation.
In most normal cities, again generally speaking because anything can happen anywhere, you CAN indeed wear a Rolex or talk freely on the street on an Iphone without worrying about having a gun pulled to your head or MOTO CHORROS whizzing by and yanking it from you.
BA obviously does not fit into this criteria and I have learned the hard way. More than anything, I also feel very cheated as I was at one point BA's number one fan and took great pride when friends came from the States or Europe in showing them around, not so much the case anymore, I dont know that I'd even want to return in the near future for a vacation.
steveinbsas
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I was just thinking almost the same as Mitch...but with a somewhat different emotional response.
When someone actually knocked on the door of my fourth floor apartment in Recoleta I always asked, "Quien es?"
The portera was the only one in three years that got that close without a key...when she came to collect the monthly espensas...except for the two men who entered the building at midnight with two girls who lived on a floor above me by telling them they were there to "visit" the yanqui who lived on the fourth floor.
They pulled a knife on the girls in the elevator. I was in San Franciso (CA)at the time and instead of robbing me they forced the girls into their apartment. The girls didn't really have anything worth stealing except for their keys to the building and their apartment. The men took the keys and then they left.
The portera had the lock to the front door of the building changed the next day.
I seriously doubt she was involved.
I lived in the building for about a year after that without any additional incidents, but it was clear I (as a yanqui) was the target of the robbers from the start.
When someone actually knocked on the door of my fourth floor apartment in Recoleta I always asked, "Quien es?"
The portera was the only one in three years that got that close without a key...when she came to collect the monthly espensas...except for the two men who entered the building at midnight with two girls who lived on a floor above me by telling them they were there to "visit" the yanqui who lived on the fourth floor.
They pulled a knife on the girls in the elevator. I was in San Franciso (CA)at the time and instead of robbing me they forced the girls into their apartment. The girls didn't really have anything worth stealing except for their keys to the building and their apartment. The men took the keys and then they left.
The portera had the lock to the front door of the building changed the next day.
I seriously doubt she was involved.
I lived in the building for about a year after that without any additional incidents, but it was clear I (as a yanqui) was the target of the robbers from the start.
Crema Americana
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Wow, I'm so sorry this happened to you. What a frightening experience... 
Crime is a real problem in Buenos Aires whether people want to admit it or not... even in the "nice" areas. I feel really sorry for people who don't know what it's like to feel safe in their own home or walk down the street with semi-valuables, but I suppose that's a "luxury" one can't afford in BA.
Hope you find greener pastures in Santiago or elsewhere. Best of luck to you from here on out!
Crime is a real problem in Buenos Aires whether people want to admit it or not... even in the "nice" areas. I feel really sorry for people who don't know what it's like to feel safe in their own home or walk down the street with semi-valuables, but I suppose that's a "luxury" one can't afford in BA.
Hope you find greener pastures in Santiago or elsewhere. Best of luck to you from here on out!
pompeygazza
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I'm very sorry to hear what happened to you Yanqui and I can't imagine how I'd feel if I were in your situation. I had a rucksack stolen in Barcelona a few years back and it took me weeks to get over it, but to have a gun at your head...I hope you recover soon.
But if I can just try to put things into perspective:
Here I am living in BsAs, constantly on the alert, inside my apartment and outside, being careful what I say, what I do and where I go and at what time. That takes up a lot of energy but so far (touch wood) I've been ok.
Then I call my daughter in the week and she tells me that she was woken up last Sunday by a man who was shouting at the top of his voice in the street at 11pm. She looked out of the window and saw that the man was naked from the waist down. She called the police and a few minutes later a patrol car arrived but the man had disappeared. The next day, it transpired that a 16 year old girl had been raped in the park opposite my daughter's house just before midnight.
Where did this happen? In the leafy, genteel county town of West Sussex, England: Chichester.
These days, you ain't safe anywhere.
But if I can just try to put things into perspective:
Here I am living in BsAs, constantly on the alert, inside my apartment and outside, being careful what I say, what I do and where I go and at what time. That takes up a lot of energy but so far (touch wood) I've been ok.
Then I call my daughter in the week and she tells me that she was woken up last Sunday by a man who was shouting at the top of his voice in the street at 11pm. She looked out of the window and saw that the man was naked from the waist down. She called the police and a few minutes later a patrol car arrived but the man had disappeared. The next day, it transpired that a 16 year old girl had been raped in the park opposite my daughter's house just before midnight.
Where did this happen? In the leafy, genteel county town of West Sussex, England: Chichester.
These days, you ain't safe anywhere.
steveinbsas
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Perhaps that's true, but hundreds of millions of Americans live in houses and apartments without bars on the windows...and most of them probably don't own guns, either.
Anyone got the latest figure for Argentina?
(I'd usually use the stick out the tongue icon here, but I'm not being flippant this time.)
I'm dead serious.
I have had two attempts to get into my home and I know how scary it is. I have been lucky (and extremely cautious) for two and a half years and have not had one single successful robbery or pickpocketing here, despite MANY attempts that I have caught in the act...knock on wood!
A month ago someone rang our doorbell claiming to be Telecom, but we don't even use that phone company. I didn't open the door but I can only imagine what they wanted. It's awful that we have to be so cautious in our own homes.
A month ago someone rang our doorbell claiming to be Telecom, but we don't even use that phone company. I didn't open the door but I can only imagine what they wanted. It's awful that we have to be so cautious in our own homes.
