Quick Question - The Golden Age For Expats In Ba

[Joe]

Some people, all they care about is how cheap things are.
Buenos Aires today is not the place for them.

But overall, a lot of things are better here now.

Yes. BA is never going to be as cheap as Thailand and for those people that want today's muggy weather 365 days a year. 24 hours a day Thailand is great. If you want cheap and mild weather, Ecuador or Peru are good choices. I prefer it here though.

 

[argsteve]

I agree with Joe.....I almost died in my three months in Thailand ..I could take my shirt off and ring it out like a sponge..damn is it hot.....

I didnt get here until 2005..it was amazing then... the prices and food was amazing and there was then enough foreign food to live like a king... but I agree with most of the others....

the Golden Age is what and when you make it..... I feel you make the life you want and you adapt and I still love this place...... I am here to stay.....

The golden age is anytime I have a great bife de lomo with a lot of chimichurri and a good bottle of malbec....

 

[sleazemerchant]

The most recent "Golden Age" of expats began in 2005, started to decline significantly in 2008 and was over and done with by 2010. During the beginning of this period there was a very special energy in Buenos Aires, many interesting expats from diverse walks of life were setting up shop here and there was a real feeling that Argentina had learned it's lesson, was in the process of getting its shit together, and it was the right time to be a part of it. By 2010 the vast majority of the "smart money" expats were long gone as it became abundantly clear that Argentina was flushing it's economic potential down the toilet again and thing were going to start to get ugly.

 

[pauper]

By 2010 the vast majority of the "smart money" expats were long gone as it became abundantly clear that Argentina was flushing it's economic potential down the toilet again and thing were going to start to get ugly.

That awkward moment when you realise you're not a 'smart money' expat...

 

[Caliexpat]

For me there's no doubt that the "Golden Age" was right after the 2001 crash up to about 2006 like some have stated previously. Things were so incredibly cheap that you didn't need a blue rate because the crazy inflation hadn't started to take noticeable effect yet.

Also, and I've not seen anybody mention this one yet, as an expat you were much more exotic and unique to Argentines. Everybody would be fascinated to know why somebody from North America, especially California, would want to come to Argentina. Argentina used to be such a relatively isolated society in terms of exposure to large amounts of foreigners simply because it was so expensive to travel here with the dollar and peso being equal at that time. Those were the days of cheap backpacking through Europe before South America started becoming popular.

They way we picked up women was by simply having a conversation in public in English. We could be talking about any nonsense. Heads would turn, which would soon be followed by "where are you from" and "why did you come to Argentina". The girls loved showing off the English they had learned in school and relished having a native English speaker to converse and practice with. Our Argentine guy friends would introduce us to all of their friends because having amigos from North America was such a novelty and made them look cool. We were like trophy friends.

Contrast that period with a party that I attended earlier this year. After I was introduced, I was greeted with "otro yanqui mas!?".

 

[Ries]

That awkward moment when you realise you're not a 'smart money' expat...

Its true, I lack the backpack, dreadlocks, and amazing stories that change every five minutes, that those smart money people had back then.
There were an amazing amount of what ol' Hunter Thompson would have called "cheapjack hustlers" in 2008- and I, for one, am not sad to see fewer of em around.

 

[lucha54]

Much more organic food is here now, better selections of artisan beers, unpasterized milk, and in general, quality food.

AMEN!!!!!

 

[French jurist]

They way we picked up women was by simply having a conversation in public in English. We could be talking about any nonsense. Heads would turn, which would soon be followed by "where are you from" and "why did you come to Argentina". The girls loved showing off the English they had learned in school and relished having a native English speaker to converse and practice with.

Same thing with me speaking French (or even speaking Castellano with my accent)... with just a minor difference.
The women who would talk to me had indeed learned French at school, but they were are school like 55/65 years ago p

 

[lucha54]

The most recent "Golden Age" of expats began in 2005, started to decline significantly in 2008 and was over and done with by 2010. During the beginning of this period there was a very special energy in Buenos Aires, many interesting expats from diverse walks of life were setting up shop here and there was a real feeling that Argentina had learned it's lesson, was in the process of getting its shit together, and it was the right time to be a part of it. By 2010 the vast majority of the "smart money" expats were long gone as it became abundantly clear that Argentina was flushing it's economic potential down the toilet again and thing were going to start to get ugly.

LOL I just read this post and then saw your user name and had myself a little chuckle!

 

[Skar Fargas]

I'm not sure about the idea of a "Golden Age." There are times when the dollar goes further, but those also tend to be times of economic trouble and crime. Right after the 2001 collapse, Argentina was incredibly cheap (for foreigners) - and also dangerous. I don't think there's ever a 'perfect' time to be in Argentina because it's always in a state of flux.

This is an astute observation. If one simply equates golden age with a time when the foreign currency goes far, then 1975-1976 was a golden age. A whole fresh chicken cost me USD 0.25 in the supermarket, an apple a penny, my bilingual maid also 25 cents/hour, a good steak dinner for less than a buck. When the black market peso became devalued from 25 to the USD in 5/75 to 400 to the USD in 3/76, my swank furnished rental apt on Arenales right in front of plaza Vincente Lopez was $15 /month (that was the rent, not a utility bill). However, it was also the time of the disappeared and a coup that led to Vidella's military regime which continued the AAA activities instituted by Lopez Rega (the historical analog of Capitanich, but on steroids). In fact, easy living for expats usually equates to bad times for the locals.