Palermo vs Recoleta

[jb5]

When I first came to BA I disliked Recoleta and liked Palermo much better. Within a few months I completely changed my mind. Palermo is really short on real neighborhood food shops and conveniences. When I got tired of eating out every meal I realized Recoleta had a lot to offer.

But in all of these neighborhoods, which are large, choose your area well. I like the area of Recoleta in and around la Isla. But there are a lot of noisy streets which are deserted at night. I like the restaurants in Palermo Hollywood, but living with the late night clubs wasn't so much fun.

 

[ElLatingo]

Just to add another wrinkle, and expand a bit on what @El Duderino said, Palermo is HUGE. I think when people say "Palermo," they're referring to Soho and/or Hollywood. But there are many areas of Palermo: Soho, Hollywood, Chico, Viejo, Queens and, I heard recently, Cementerio?!

I live in Palermo Chico and I love it. It's COMPLETELY different from Soho and Hollywood; there are tons of restaurants, supermarkets, parks, museums, etc. Plus, Argentines way outnumber foreigners, which definitely helps me feel like I'm in Argentina. This isn't a slight against Soho or Hollywood; I definitely like those areas but as others have said, they feel pretty touristy.

As for Recoleta, it's quite beautiful and definitely swanky. But if you're from NYC and in your 20s (I lived in NYC for 10+ years), you should go with Palermo Soho/Hollywood. It's definitely like the Village (more West than East), with a bit of Nolita thrown in.

Of course, you could add some (NYC) Soho and go for Palmero Chico

 

[trennod]

How long are you planning on staying? I am in my mid 20s also, living with my girlfriend in Palermo Chico. Since I have been here I lived/stayed in Recoleta and in Barrio Norte each for a few weeks.

Like most have said, Palermo is a huge barrio with many different sub barrios. They are quite unique. Like ELLatingo, I love Palermo Chico and for my situation its perfect (including the fact I can catch a bus to work very quickly). It is definitely less touristy, definitely has plenty of restaurants, parks, supermarkets however is probably lacking in a bar scene.

However, if I was going to be here shorter term and would be going out much more etc etc, I would probably set up in Palermo Soho. Personally, I think you may find Recoleta a little boring (unless you stay near the Cemetary, but personally I would prefer Soho).

I think even if you are planning on staying longer, Soho would be a great place to start and then when you get here you will get more of a feel for what would suit you best.

Good luck!

 

[Ashley]

Just to add another wrinkle, and expand a bit on what @El Duderino said, Palermo is HUGE. I think when people say "Palermo," they're referring to Soho and/or Hollywood. But there are many areas of Palermo: Soho, Hollywood, Chico, Viejo, Queens and, I heard recently, Cementerio?!

I live in Palermo Chico and I love it. It's COMPLETELY different from Soho and Hollywood; there are tons of restaurants, supermarkets, parks, museums, etc. Plus, Argentines way outnumber foreigners, which definitely helps me feel like I'm in Argentina. This isn't a slight against Soho or Hollywood; I definitely like those areas but as others have said, they feel pretty touristy.

As for Recoleta, it's quite beautiful and definitely swanky. But if you're from NYC and in your 20s (I lived in NYC for 10+ years), you should go with Palermo Soho/Hollywood. It's definitely like the Village (more West than East), with a bit of Nolita thrown in.

Of course, you could add some (NYC) Soho and go for Palmero Chico

I think you have to be careful to pinpoint the exact part of Palermo you want to live in as they do differ vastly and some Palermo-whatevers are actually nothing but a ploy by real-estate agents to Palermonize other parts of the city. Palermo Queens is Villa Crespo, Palermo Cementerio is Chacarita...NOT Palermo at all. Having said that, both V Crespo and Chacarita are right on the border of Palermo Soho and living there I think you get the neighbourhood vibe without all the tourists slinking around and the noise from the bars, etc. Yet you're close enough to enjoy the shops, restaurants, etc. What you're probably looking for when you say "Palermo", as one of the other posters suggested is Palermo Hollywood or Palermo Soho.

 

[ElLatingo]

Totally agree, and it's not just a problem in Bs. As. In New York, they're trying to control what brokers can claim to be specific neighborhoods:

http://therealdeal.com/blog/2011/04...uld-ban-broker-babble-renaming-neighborhoods/

I think you have to be careful to pinpoint the exact part of Palermo you want to live in as they do differ vastly and some Palermo-whatevers are actually nothing but a ploy by real-estate agents to Palermonize other parts of the city. Palermo Queens is Villa Crespo, Palermo Cementerio is Chacarita...NOT Palermo at all. Having said that, both V Crespo and Chacarita are right on the border of Palermo Soho and living there I think you get the neighbourhood vibe without all the tourists slinking around and the noise from the bars, etc. Yet you're close enough to enjoy the shops, restaurants, etc. What you're probably looking for when you say "Palermo", as one of the other posters suggested is Palermo Hollywood or Palermo Soho.

 

[JHK2131]

I'm only looking to stay for one month. Thanks for telling me about brokers including more areas as Palermo, I just said Palermo and not Palermo Soho/Hollywood.

There are two apartments I like right now. First Apartment is in Palermo (Ravignani and Sante Fe) but it's only 26 days between two other rentals and the broker won't even negotiate the price down and wants me to pay monthly rent. I am stubborn and won't on principal so doubt I will...

Second apartment is the one I was trying to talk myself into in Recoleta, Sante Fe & Ecuador. Going to try to email the broker and see if I can mix and match maybe 2 weeks in Palermo property he has and two weeks in Recoleta.

 

[recapitulation]

Mmm, personally, I would make sure the building is not on Sante Fe. Right to the side of Sante Fe (on those other streets is probably fine). I find Sante Fe itself to be super noisy at night and a nightmare of pedestrian and street traffic.

 

[mariposa]

i live in nyc and palermo soho. in nyc i live on the upper WEST side and don't care for the upper east side. i love palermo. i don't like recoleta at all. i didn't like it as a gut reaction when i firsty came here, until i realized why i didn't like it: yes it is like the jupper east side. in my mind, that's not a good thing. snobby, stuffy, conservative, boring. but that is my own very humble opinion. and, unlike the upper east side, some parts of recoleta seem to be unsafe at night.

ok, just my five centavos...

 

[Napoleon]

... First Apartment is in Palermo (Ravignani and Sante Fe) but it's only 26 days between two other rentals and the broker won't even negotiate the price down and wants me to pay monthly rent. I am stubborn and won't on principal so doubt I will...

This made me laugh. It's really cute. And yes, I'm being condescending, because I was that way too. I still do/don't do things "on principal", but let me tell you how to enjoy your month in Buenos Aires.

Expect to get #^$&@%. It's going to happen. So bring some extra cash and let that be your lube. Just know that if you "don't do things on principal", then you might as well go to Germany/Austria/Switzerland or Scandinavia for your vacation. There are practically no principals here. And if you spend your entire time worrying about principals, you're going to miss out on all that Buenos Aires has to offer. (Principals is not one of them.)

Don't cut off your nose to spite your face.

PS- When are you coming?

 

[TheBigDaddy]

I love the area around ecuador and santa fe . Had a lot of great times around there... was also closer for 'real' argentina girls from consititucion/monsteratt side to visit by bus although if u are only here for a month u probably wont care for that