Retirement in Buenos Aires

[Nine years]

Hi

I am a resident in Toronto Canada and I am planning
to retire in Argentina

I am a loner and I would like to live in a town/city which has a very lively
day and night atmosphere Which place should I choose?

I will have an adult beagle dog
Will it be difficult to find a small apartment as landlords are wary
of dogs in the premise?

I do not speak Spanish so I will have to use a dictionary to help
me in my daily activities Say if I were to need a plumber how could I call the tradesman?
I am monolingual and I would like to live in a neighbourhood which has a
high concentration of English speaking people - where would that be?
Town/City?

Is it true that run away inflation and deflation (the opposite of inflation) is a
common occurrence in Argentina?
Is it true that an immigrant should keep all of his savings in USD to combat inflation

I love warm and hot weather and long sunny days - which town/city should I choose?

Please advise me

Thanks

 

[QuilmesSlo]

You need to study this website first. It's slightly off putting that you obviously haven't done that.

 

[Rich One]

Book a studio apartment in Palermo/Recoleta area, Buenos Aires, via Airbnb and decide for yourself about where to go from there. Best free advice.

 

[earlyretirement]

You will easily be able to manage in a city like Buenos Aires. There is a LOT of nightlife and vibrancy in the city. You won't have issues finding an apartment that allows you to have a dog. MANY locals have dogs. You'll probably have to leave a higher security deposit but if you offer extra you shouldn't have any issue.

Of course Argentina has run away inflation. You won't want to keep any of your savings in Argentine pesos. Just exchange as needed each week/month.

It's a shame but a lot of expats there don't take the time to learn Spanish. I think that's pretty pathetic, especially the ones that have lived there for several years.

You won't have any issues finding a good handyman. If you need one, you can post on this forum and people will recommend reputable ones.

 

[Stephano]

I am monolingual and I would like to live in a neighbourhood which has a
high concentration of English speaking people - where would that be?
Town/City?

I guess it is possible in Buenos Aires, but you are going to miss a lot of the culture of this wonderful country.
I don't know how old are you, but I started studying Spanish in my fifties and now (a few years after) I am reasonably fluent and in general have no problems dealing with Spanish-speaking people. It is never too late to learn (Hard? Yes, Impossible? I don't think so)

 

[earlyretirement]

I totally agree with Stephano. It's never too late to learn a foreign language. These days there are so many options to learn with online courses, Apps, etc. What I'd recommend is to start using one of the various foreign language Apps. And what helped me when I was learning many years ago was just make flashcards every single day. Like old school flash cards with paper. Start with one room of your house. For example, start with the kitchen and learn 10-15 words a day. Keep going until you learn everything in that one room (fork, spoon, plate, knife, etc. etc). Keep going moving from room to room.

You will be surprised how much easier it will be when you can master even just vocabulary and learn how to say everything in each room of your house. Even just doing that and being able to say anything will be a huge help to you when moving to a foreign country.

Your dollar will go much further in Argentina vs. back in Canada. The weather absolutely SUCKS in Toronto much of the year. You will love Buenos Aires compared to the cold weather up north. The biggest frustration you will probably face here is that it's a totally inefficient society. So nothing is particularly quick or efficient.

But in retirement, you will have more time and life can be quite enjoyable in Argentina vs. Canada.

 

[SanTelmoForever]

I am monolingual and I would like to live in a neighbourhood which has a
high concentration of English speaking people - where would that be?

I don't think that place exists here. Not anywhere that I know of.

I don't know how old are you, but I started studying Spanish in my fifties and now (a few years after) I am reasonably fluent and in general have no problems dealing with Spanish-speaking people. It is never too late to learn (Hard? Yes, Impossible? I don't think so.

You need to learn Spanish if you want to live here. At least enough to be reasonably proficient. If not, you'll always be uncomfortable and unduly stressed. You won't enjoy your life here. Fortunately, living here, you'll find that it's easier to learn Spanish than you think. It's like being thrown into the deep end of the pool when you can't swim. You'll learn, or you'll die, or some approximation of it.

I totally agree with Stephano. It's never too late to learn a foreign language. These days there are so many options to learn with online courses, Apps, etc. What I'd recommend is to start using one of the various foreign language Apps. And what helped me when I was learning many years ago was just make flashcards every single day. Like old school flash cards with paper. Start with one room of your house. For example, start with the kitchen and learn 10-15 words a day. Keep going until you learn everything in that one room (fork, spoon, plate, knife, etc. etc). Keep going moving from room to room.

You will be surprised how much easier it will be when you can master even just vocabulary and learn how to say everything in each room of your house. Even just doing that and being able to say anything will be a huge help to you when moving to a foreign country.

Your dollar will go much further in Argentina vs. back in Canada. The weather absolutely SUCKS in Toronto much of the year. You will love Buenos Aires compared to the cold weather up north. The biggest frustration you will probably face here is that it's a totally inefficient society. So nothing is particularly quick or efficient.

But in retirement, you will have more time and life can be quite enjoyable in Argentina vs. Canada.

Lots of good advice here. I bought a box of flash cards before moving here (I didn't know a word of Spanish when I arrived). But what really helped me was reading the newspapers. I read La Nación and Clarin 2 hours a day, every day. And I've been doing it without fail for 16 years, Not only do you build vocabulary and reinforce your understanding of Spanish grammar, but you learn about everything Argentina, the good, the bad, and the very ugly.

I would go so far as to say that if you can't make this relatively small commitment of time and effort, you should reconsider your plans to retire here.

 

[Agribotics]

I use Google Translate in Taiwan and Japan when I don't know how to say something and it works quite well these days. If you need to hold a long, detailed conversation it's not enough but if you need to know how to ask where the pipe wrenches are at the local hardware store it works quite well.

 

[zeno]

Believe in yourself. You learn new things every day, even if it's reading something in the news. Your brain wants to flex and exercise and learning a language is a great way to do it.

Your quality of life will be diminished if you don't try to learn Spanish.

 

[Rich One]

Reading Spanish is one thing , being able to Communicate in Porteño Spanish, is a different thing requires phonetics and vocalization to be understood. Practice , Practice. communicating with the Taxi driver or the greengrocer is fundamental.