steveinbsas
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danc said:
You can live a life of luxury for a LOT less than that here.
retirement salary
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You can live a life of luxury for a LOT less than that here.
Ok, since you actually wrote back I'll give you a serious answer. Right now B.A. is more expensive than the average U.S. city.
Health insurance if you can get it will cost you more than medicare in the states. Starting at age 66 figure about $300 a month, but with inflation at about 30% in 09 it will probably be $400. If you have a partner double the number.
My guess is that if by your standards you can't live comfortably in the states on $72k you won't be able to in B.A. either.
Health insurance if you can get it will cost you more than medicare in the states. Starting at age 66 figure about $300 a month, but with inflation at about 30% in 09 it will probably be $400. If you have a partner double the number.
My guess is that if by your standards you can't live comfortably in the states on $72k you won't be able to in B.A. either.
kjhebert
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Right now your dollars will get you 3,4 pesos each. Internally, the economy is still based on a 1 to 1 relationship, though inflation is driving consumer goods and services closer to equilibrium, not all prices have changed. From what I've seen, you can rent a nice three floor apartment for 3600 pesos a month, or a flat on Libertador Ave, the upper west side of Bs.As, for 2500 pesos. The key is to get in on the local rate, which requires a guaranture and a 2 year lease. Food, when priced in dollars is still relatively less expensive than in the states, a nice steak dinner with drinks for two is still about 120 pesos. Same dinner in the states would cost about 120 dollars. Consumer electronics are high as are any imports. Generally, areas with high tourism and a middle class have seen prices rise up, but some of the cities in the interior are less expensive than BA.
$72K USD/year is sufficient, not excessive. Without a DNI and a desire to get into a 2 year contract you will not get the local rate for an apartment so expect to pay $2K USD for a furnished nice quiet pad in Recoletta or Barrio Norte. Monthly expenses (food, entertainment, taxi's, cinema, theater, medical, travel every other month etc..)$3K. Remember folks this person is NOT an 20 year old english teacher, he is retiring and wants to enjoy life. That is $5K a month or about $60K a year. $72K is sufficient not excessive.
steveinbsas
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If you are already receiving the monthly income indicated, you can immediately apply for residency. Please refer to my posts on residency and the DNI for more information. Does your user name "justarrived" mean that you are already here?
If you come/came here with all of the necessary docs you can have them translated and legalized in about a week. Meanwhile, you can get an Argentine criminal report. Then all you have to do is go to migraciones and submit the papers. If they are all "in order" you will be told to return in less than 30 days and you will be issued your "residencia precaria" which you will then take (along with another copy of your passport, birth certificate, and a certificado de domicilo which costs 10 pesos) to the registro de las personas to apply for the DNI.
If you do not speak castellano it would be wise to have a native speaker go with you when you apply for the resident visa. It does not have to be a lawyer. I can (highly) recommend someone if it is necessary. It is NOT necesary to speak more than a couple phraes of castellano when applying for or renewing the DNI. You can do this on your own.
Once you have the residency from immigration there is a 100% certainty you will be issued the DNI. It will bear the date that you were granted residency, so you might have to renew it a lot sooner than you were expecting. The renewal process is EASY, takes a couple hours, and costs $45 pesos!
Once you have the DNI you will be elligible for domestic air fares which are about 50% less than charged to non residents. You will also have no trouble opening a bank account and you can renew the visa annually without leaving the country.
The cost of the resident visa is 600 pesos per year. You will spend between 1000 and 2000 pesos for the translations, depending on how many pages you have (it's just simple math). The Argentine police report costs 40-60 pesos.
If you have the resources and desire to buy an apartment, you can do so at anytime (even with just the tourist visa), but with the residencia precaria you will be able to transfer as much money as you like without the 30% hold by the national bank on the amount over the "stated" price of the property. Just be sure you can show that the money was legally earned. It is also very important to have the residency and DNI when selling property here.
It is still possible to buy a nice, remodeled, front facing, two bedroom apartment in Recoleta for $200,000 but at this price they are rare. I do know of one at the moment. (No, I am not in the real estate business.) Add about 8% to the purchase price for closing costs (real estate agent's commission, escribano, and money transfer fees).
My best advice is to rent a furnished "temporary" apartment for one to six months and see how you like living here. I came in May of 2006 and rented in Palermo for six months. Then I bought an apartment in Recoleta. I have not regretted it for a nanosecond.
If you have any questions, please post them here or send me a note.
Remember, utilities and property taxes are low here and if you don't have a car, you will not be spending nearly as much on a monthly basis as you would living in the US.
If you come/came here with all of the necessary docs you can have them translated and legalized in about a week. Meanwhile, you can get an Argentine criminal report. Then all you have to do is go to migraciones and submit the papers. If they are all "in order" you will be told to return in less than 30 days and you will be issued your "residencia precaria" which you will then take (along with another copy of your passport, birth certificate, and a certificado de domicilo which costs 10 pesos) to the registro de las personas to apply for the DNI.
If you do not speak castellano it would be wise to have a native speaker go with you when you apply for the resident visa. It does not have to be a lawyer. I can (highly) recommend someone if it is necessary. It is NOT necesary to speak more than a couple phraes of castellano when applying for or renewing the DNI. You can do this on your own.
Once you have the residency from immigration there is a 100% certainty you will be issued the DNI. It will bear the date that you were granted residency, so you might have to renew it a lot sooner than you were expecting. The renewal process is EASY, takes a couple hours, and costs $45 pesos!
Once you have the DNI you will be elligible for domestic air fares which are about 50% less than charged to non residents. You will also have no trouble opening a bank account and you can renew the visa annually without leaving the country.
The cost of the resident visa is 600 pesos per year. You will spend between 1000 and 2000 pesos for the translations, depending on how many pages you have (it's just simple math). The Argentine police report costs 40-60 pesos.
If you have the resources and desire to buy an apartment, you can do so at anytime (even with just the tourist visa), but with the residencia precaria you will be able to transfer as much money as you like without the 30% hold by the national bank on the amount over the "stated" price of the property. Just be sure you can show that the money was legally earned. It is also very important to have the residency and DNI when selling property here.
It is still possible to buy a nice, remodeled, front facing, two bedroom apartment in Recoleta for $200,000 but at this price they are rare. I do know of one at the moment. (No, I am not in the real estate business.) Add about 8% to the purchase price for closing costs (real estate agent's commission, escribano, and money transfer fees).
My best advice is to rent a furnished "temporary" apartment for one to six months and see how you like living here. I came in May of 2006 and rented in Palermo for six months. Then I bought an apartment in Recoleta. I have not regretted it for a nanosecond.
If you have any questions, please post them here or send me a note.
Remember, utilities and property taxes are low here and if you don't have a car, you will not be spending nearly as much on a monthly basis as you would living in the US.
Granted money is important, when one thinks about retiring. But there are so many other things to consider.
It seems that you have done little (no) homework on this subject, except to think about what everything will cost. While inflation is out of control here, as it is in the States, but all things considered, it is still VERY cheap for a U.S. retiree to live very well here on a fraction of what it costs in EEUU land.
There are so many other things to consider. Do you speak Spanish? I and many others don't and survive nicely without it. What are your interests? Have you checked out healthcare here? Have you timed a visit to a Disco supermarket? Have you had fun crossing streets? Have you been a crime victim (apparently not), yet? Have you been cheated or given fake money? What about social life in BA?
There are lots of things to consider. Money is certainly one of them, but only one. Also, you don't know a place, until you live there. "lived there" doesn't mean renting a furnished apartment for a month or two. I lived in Barcelona (Catalona) for almost 5 years. When I arrived there, I only saw the good stuff. The locals hated anyone who wasn't Catalan.
Great museums, good medical care, cheap wine, you won't own a car, good weather and maybe more.
More investigation, monsieur
It seems that you have done little (no) homework on this subject, except to think about what everything will cost. While inflation is out of control here, as it is in the States, but all things considered, it is still VERY cheap for a U.S. retiree to live very well here on a fraction of what it costs in EEUU land.
There are so many other things to consider. Do you speak Spanish? I and many others don't and survive nicely without it. What are your interests? Have you checked out healthcare here? Have you timed a visit to a Disco supermarket? Have you had fun crossing streets? Have you been a crime victim (apparently not), yet? Have you been cheated or given fake money? What about social life in BA?
There are lots of things to consider. Money is certainly one of them, but only one. Also, you don't know a place, until you live there. "lived there" doesn't mean renting a furnished apartment for a month or two. I lived in Barcelona (Catalona) for almost 5 years. When I arrived there, I only saw the good stuff. The locals hated anyone who wasn't Catalan.
Great museums, good medical care, cheap wine, you won't own a car, good weather and maybe more.
More investigation, monsieur
steveinbsas
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That was spot on (though inflation isn't really "out of control" here or in the US)!
And I don't think the locals hate foreigners here at all!
And I don't think the locals hate foreigners here at all!
In addition to Steve's advice on renting for a bit, you'll probably want to hold off on buying anyway since they (meaning every person hanging around hoping to buy, and every real estate agent that's been suffering from a slow market) are expecting the real estate market to take quite the dive in 2009. This of course has been a rumour for awhile now, but what's changed is that no one really is buying anything at all at the moment, so eventually a breaking poit will be hit.
Rent for a bit, see how you like it. One month or two doesn't give you a lot of insight -- if you've only got that to spare at the moment I'd say hold off on the buying until you've got the time you'll need to see a bunch of places and to decide which barrio you want to live in. I personally don't think that anyone should buy until they are at least 6 months into their stay, but others may disagree.
Inflation isn't out of control here if we're comparing Argentina to Zimbabwe. However if we're comparing to the States I'd say yes, it is. People there balk when the price of dairy goes up by 2% -- here yogurt's already gone up by 70% this year. When things jump here, they jump a lot. http://www.inflacionverdadera.com
Rent for a bit, see how you like it. One month or two doesn't give you a lot of insight -- if you've only got that to spare at the moment I'd say hold off on the buying until you've got the time you'll need to see a bunch of places and to decide which barrio you want to live in. I personally don't think that anyone should buy until they are at least 6 months into their stay, but others may disagree.
Inflation isn't out of control here if we're comparing Argentina to Zimbabwe. However if we're comparing to the States I'd say yes, it is. People there balk when the price of dairy goes up by 2% -- here yogurt's already gone up by 70% this year. When things jump here, they jump a lot. http://www.inflacionverdadera.com
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