Officially Done with BA

[Mitch]

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...

My intention was not kick him when he was down, just to point out I have not a lot of sympathy for him in this situation. The criminal could have been lurking in the staircase and when he came out the criminal could have pushed him back in his apartment and robbed him the same way. It happens. But he made it to easy for the guy. When my doorbell rings without having buzzed down stairs. I start screaming at the door in an angry voice "Quien es" from about 20 meters away all the way till I get there.

One time, a water cooler delievery guy buzzed a bunch of apartments under false pretenses and got in by buzzing another apartment claiming to be ¨the electric company¨ His client wasn´t in he just wanted to leave the bottles by the clients door. I went out in the hallway after seeing what he was doing through the peephole, I forced the guy to take him and the bottles out of the building called his company and reported him.

Sure I feel bad for the guy, but only to the extent I would for someone getting hypothermia that walked out into a snowstorm in a tee shirt.

The sad thing is, I would suspect it is an Argentine that was aware of all electronic goodies.

 

[trennod]

Yanqui this is terrible to hear what happened to you. I hope you find greener and safer pastures in Santiago or whatever place you end up.

 

[trennod]

My intention was not kick him when he was down, just to point out I have not a lot of sympathy for him in this situation. The criminal could have been lurking in the staircase and when he came out the criminal could have pushed him back in his apartment and robbed him the same way. It happens. But he made it to easy for the guy. When my doorbell rings without having buzzed down stairs. I start screaming at the door in an angry voice "Quien es" from about 20 meters away all the way till I get there.

One time, a water cooler delievery guy buzzed a bunch of apartments under false pretenses and got in by buzzing another apartment claiming to be ¨the electric company¨ His client wasn´t in he just wanted to leave the bottles by the clients door. I went out in the hallway after seeing what he was doing through the peephole, I forced the guy to take him and the bottles out of the building called his company and reported him.

Sure I feel bad for the guy, but only to the extent I would for someone getting hypothermia that walked out into a snowstorm in a tee shirt.

The sad thing is, I would suspect it is an Argentine that was aware of all electronic goodies.

Arent you just the model citizen on how to avoid a robbery.

You did kick him when he was down, if you think you didnt mean to then you must be stupider than you appear.

They might have got in anyway. Happens all the time. Surely you have learnt that about Argentina.

 

[sylvie]

Someone previously asked if you had Find My Mac turned on, and you didn't answer.

If you have iCloud set up on either your computer, iPad, iPod, or iPhone, you might have the app enabled. Even if you're not sure, use a friend's Mac product to sign on to iCloud and tell it to find your Mac. If you had the app enabled (it is built in to iCloud), you will find out exactly where your stolen machines are located. This system really works!

Of course, the trick then is convincing the police to go pick it up... but it's worth a shot.

 

[GS_Dirtboy]

Yanqui G - I'm really sorry to hear about that incident. Having a threatening a$$hole invade your place of residence and point a gun at you takes a while to get over - no matter where you live. I'm speaking from experience. You might want to consider getting some professional assistance in processing that.

And yes, the "rules to live by" here are not the rules to live by in Alabama, or in Philadelphia (most parts) and those rules might be a bit more particular for "Yankees." Many of these suggestions have already been posted here. When I first came to Argentina from my comfortable middle-class US suburbia I thought the rules were the same. My Brasilian wife quickly re-oriented my brain-housing-group to how life is here and in Brasil.

We don't live in fear, but we have a very specific set of behaviors that we follow in order to mitigate threats and we train our kids the same way. Those rules might be similar if I lived in certain parts of Queens, or London, or Bangkok.

The only time I've ever had an issue in BsAs was when I didn't follow our procedures. Fortunately, I came out with the upper hand. But, it could have easily gone the other way. For me, that incident was my fault and after the adrenaline wore off I was very angry with myself as you might be with yourself.

As was said earlier, if you have renters insurance in the US they will often cover the loss to your property. I had my laptop stolen here a couple of years ago. My insurance company, USAA, direct-deposited a check within 24 hours of my filing the report.

You've been a great contributor to this forum, YG. We've appreciated having you with us and we wish you the best wherever you end up. Valparaiso has some amazing sea-food!

 

[Argento]

sorry to hear this. I lived before in Barcelona where robbery -"tirones"- are common in the centre but the difference is that violence while the robbery is much more common in Argentina.
Strange that I never felt so unsecured as in BsArs in so called dangerous countries like El Salvador and Colombia. This and the outrageous prices in BsArs made me leave Argentina. Good luck in Santiago!

Condolences as well, and please do, after you've had time to regroup, eventually update us on the comparisons & contrasts of Santiago & BA (costs, vibes, safety, order, resources, availability of rentals, people: friendly, open, snobby, cold, miserable, etc, etc). Some others may consider there as well, especially in light of recent aspects of BA.

Quoting Mariano because I found the same thing when staying in those 2 places. They have a very high stereotype of being very dangerous, and not to discount the reality of danger there, I actually found them less than they were hyped. It's interesting the irony of things at times.

I do have to add though for BA, for a concentrated region of over a dozen million people, all considering, crime could be a lot worse.
But yes, when a person is not tied down and can consider living in other locations, places where they are actually more safe, then sure, move on.

I too was one who considered BA foremost as a lower cost choice that was still not some rundown pit of a place, but when that main positive tends to become less (rising costs), then the negatives can begin to outweigh that positive. Time to consider other places. But how many are out there these days that are both lower cost and decent areas to live?
I heard Santiago is also costly, maybe not. Montevideo as well. That's why it'll be nice to hear from Yanqui as they have experience in BA as well.

Yanqui, best to you. Thanks for your contributions.

 

[TheBlackHand]

I don't understand why you wouldn't report this. Who cares if the landlady has to get the locks changed. The building administration also needs to know about this. If there is a chance someone from the security company was involved the property owners needs to change companies asap.

And if the building is a high rise " luxury " tower, it should have plenty of cameras. It shouldn't be that hard to get the video from that night and try and identify who the robbers came in with. Then it's just a matter of getting their names. Good luck in Chile. Sorry that you left on such a bad note.

 

[davonz]

To those people who think crime in BA isnt bad compared to world standards:

How many people actually report the crimes here. All the locals i know here dont, they tell me its a waste of time, and that the police either a) dont come. b) come to see what they can steal.
Just look at what happened after the train crash earlier this year, where 70 people died, it was out of the news a couple of days later, and what was done about it ???? So whats going to happen when someone gets robbed or killed here ???? What happened in relation to the french tourist that was killed for his camera ??? I know in my home country it would have been all over the news for weeks, and the police would have not stopped until the killer was found. But here: it was his own fault for not handing over the camera !!

I spent 4 1/2 months in colombia earlier this year. Before i went argentine friends were telling not to go because its too dangerous, lots of crime, i will be robbed etc. The only experience i had of crime there was: The hostel i stayed in in medellin had a button that could be pushed if there was a problem. Someone accidentally pushed it one day as it was beside the button that opened the front door, and within 5 minutes there were 4 armed police at the front door wanting to know what was going on. The other time 3 girls were held up at gun point, from what they say the guy wasnt interested in their possessions, he wanted money, they gave him 20,000 pesos (about US$12) and he went. This was 50 meters from the place i was staying at. They told reception what had happened and again withing 5 minutes the police were all over the area looking for this guy. I walked to the supermarket 30 minutes later and the cops where still checking the area 5 blocks away - i dont know if it was for this guy or not, but i guess it was..

Would this happen here ? NO. I have a friend here who owns a hostel in recoleta, the hostel was held up at gun point by 3 guys, he called the police, 2 offices turned up an hour later, and they werent even interested in looking at the video footage he had of the robbers.

So the big difference between here and alot of other countries, is you are basically on your own here to protect yourself, your family, your possessions. I have lived/worked/traveled all over the world, including a year in south africia studying, and i think this is probably the most crime ridden and corrupt place i have been (from the view point of a non-local). Not that i personally have had anything particularly bad happen to me in 6 years of being here, but i base this on the things i have seen, or had happen to people i know personally.

 

[Argento]

I have lived/worked/traveled all over the world, including a year in south africia studying, and i think this is probably the most crime ridden and corrupt place i have been (from the view point of a non-local).

Wow, interesting. Anyone else have anything to say in regards to that? Just wondering.

 

[el_expatriado]

It just may be. The police here just don't like working and solving crimes.