SELL ME on BA .... please :)

[tangobob]

Unfortunately there are those who can see no good in the place, why they should choose to stay I do not know. Most of what is said has truth to it, but I think it is all down to attitude.

Let me start with the dog crap: True it lurks to catch out the unwary, but recently I have seen people collecting it and putting it in bins. Buildings that have porteros do clean up each day, and I have seen men with a bowser cleaning up around Caballito. While you have dog walkers with eight or ten dogs the problem will not go away. Big problem?? I have stepped in it twice, spent about eight months here, and walk every where.
Bad pavements (sidewalks); This is true, my wife gave up on street heels early on when she broke hers. The pavement outside our appartment was jackhammered up before the building was even finished. I just spent the day shaking my head.
Noisy: YES NOISY
Beauracracy; I could write a book on it (actually I probably will) do not even think of buying here unless you are fully committed.
Now we come to crime: If you fear walking the streets here do not even think of coming to the UK. The only place I have felt safer walking the streets is Monte Carlo where the only people who are frightenend are the criminals. True some of the streets can be intimidating, but the horror stories you hear of, are daily occurances in the big cities at home.
I hear on this site of the unfreindliness of the people. I cannot relate to this at all. Everyone I have met has been overly generous, I have been invited to family gatherings, parties, even Christmas celebrations, people stop me on the street and offer advice, in the dances (everyone is a teacher here). Respond with courtesy and a smile and you have a friend for life.
The buildings: true a lot are in disrepair, but the beauty is still there, just look up and enjoy, and the parks and plazas are being restored, they are wonderful places to just sit relax and let the world go by.
Finally, if you were to ask the one thing that makes BsAs stand out, it would be hard to answer (obviously for me it is the Tango) but why do 80% of visitors return, it can't be for all the negatives.

 

[cujodu]

Cultural diversity ( as a country of immigrants you will find people of mixed origin: Asian, Jewish, Polish, Irish, Italian, Spanish, Middle eastern, Russian, English, etc ). Big variety of restaurants, bars, coffee stores,
Now for some cons: customer service is mediocre in general,

If you've ever been to the US, then you know what real cultural diversity is. It simply doesn't exist here. Yes, the asian population has increased in the last 5 years, but I see almost no diversity of culture but the Jewish population. Variety in restaurants bars and coffee shops? Quantity, yes, but there's nothing different about any of the 5 pizza places on every block. OH, and replace "mediocre" up there with "non-existent."

 

[Napoleon]

Unfortunately there are those who can see no good in the place, why they should choose to stay I do not know. Most of what is said has truth to it, but I think it is all down to attitude.

Let me start with the dog crap...

I read the "Sell me on BA" headline to my roommate and she responded with an "Ewww... that just sounds 'American'. 'Sell me'..."

I'm thinking...

I'm already here. I don't know if BsAs (the local version of "BA") particularly needs someone that wants the current locals to "sell him/her" on a city. Maybe I am the one who needs to be sold on giving free information. Hmmm....???


RE: Cultural Diversity

I see it everywhere! Everywhere you look you can see both kinds of porteños. The ones who wash their hair every 3 days as well as the ones who definitely was it every week... at least every week. And no less than 4 times a month. I see both kinds of people everyday. Sometimes even talking to each other.

 

[Lucas]

This is typical of expats all over the place. Some hate where they are and will leave for some other place as soon as they can work it out, some love where they are and seek to find a way to make a more substantial life there, and some are just passing through -- vagabonds.

In my opinion, expats (here and everywhere) carry with them and are not able to discard their inherent personalities, their ingrained way of seeing things, as if sewn to their skin, or baggage they cannot put down. So reading threads like this, all the threads that purport to describe how terrible a place is or how wonderful a place is, are doing little more than telling the reader a lot about the person writing the comment. The personality of each commenter here sticks out as the most powerful element of each comment. Once you understand and accept that, you can place yourself within the personality category that best suits you, and that is how you are going to find this city, or any city, to be.

So if the haters, the paranoid, the frustrated, the angry, ring a bell with you, I will bet any amount you wish that you are going to find Buenos Aires to be just like they have reported. Conversely, if you find an empathetic feeling when reading positive comments made by people who truly enjoy living in this city, then I'll make the same bet that you are going to enjoy it too. It doesn't matter what city it is.

I have enjoyed living in every city I've lived in, and there are more than a few, and of course there are annoying aspects of life in each, and of course I would like to see some things done differently, and of course I would if king change all sorts of things and force everyone to live the way I prefer. In the main, I try to accept the realities of life in any city, seek out and enjoy what is best about it, and save my whining and moaning for ... well, I actually don't like to engage in whining and moaning. If I was that upset by some place, I would be out of town on the next stagecoach.

Buenos Aires is a fine city to live in for me. If it weren't, I would, as locals always accuse us of being able to do, simply move on. That's why we are expats and vagabonds.

But I do wish all car and bus horns could be disconnected, and that Portenos were a little more embarrassed to have the sidewalks of their beautiful city stinking and littered with the residue of their beloved pets.

Oh, and they could sparkle up their cuisine just a little.

Spot-on HDM, thank you for your important and focused input exactly what it's.

I did not read "Bad times in Buenos Aires" but I can just imagine what an englishwoman can write on this city or any city in the world for that matter, and not necessary on a non english spoken western country.

"The inhabitants of Buenos Aires are famously unhappy. All over South America they are known for their arrogance, their fixation of Europe and their moodiness. Very soon, Miranda France encounters' bronca' - the simmering and barely controllable rage that is a staple feature of life in the Argentinian capital. She finds that 'bronca' has deep roots: the violence and racism of the first European settlers; the dictatorships, especially in the 1970s when so many 'disappeared'; even Evita Peron, for there was no rage to rival Evita's."

A lot of crappy nonsense stuff there.

Anyway thanks a lot again.

 

[jp]

Gotta say...

I never really notice the dog shit. Sure, its there, but seeing how you're looking out for broken pavements half the time anyway, avoiding stepping in dog mess isn't too difficult. And for what its worth, its far worse in cities in spain, france and other places I've lived...

 

[HotYogaTeacher]

you can bone up on a lot of these questions by going to the forum and looking up past posts. most of these topics have been recently explored. you will find good and bad things about anywhere. ba is ranked the 138 cheapest city to live in. but its up to you to see if it fits you.

"ranked" by who and when is a relevant question here. The city gets more expensive by the day. Inflation is rampant. If you were here 6 months ago don't be surprised to find prices for many items double what you paid for them. I bought a pack of 4 double batteries the other day for $12 USD. A quick trip to the grocery store here, not for the big shop, just for things for a few days, regularly runs me near $100 USD. Some things are super cheap, but not mostly. You can live here cheaply and I do hear people who say that they find it cheaper than where they come from but they are often from the most expensive cities in the world, SFO London, NYC and so on...

For me it is not cheap here and the quality of food, goods and such is not nearly as good as at home...

Peace~

 

[rivardco]

QUOTE - "I'm already here. I don't know if BsAs (the local version of "BA") particularly needs someone that wants the current locals to "sell him/her" on a city. Maybe I am the one who needs to be sold on giving free information. Hmmm....???"

As it turns out, I seem to have created an offensive title. It suggests applying enthusiasm and effort with no certain reward. That turns some people off. However, where I am from SELL is not a dirty word.

Of course I understand that there is a over fixation with acting European. That suggests an emphasis on manners. Generally, is there brain power to back this up? Or just stuff shits and mannequins?

 

[steveinbsas]

The city gets more expensive by the day. Inflation is rampant. If you were here 6 months ago don't be surprised to find prices for many items double what you paid for them. I bought a pack of 4 double batteries the other day for $12 USD.

Are you sure you paid $12 USD for four AA batteries? Where are you shopping? There can be a huge (double the price) difference between shopping and spending (buying). Perhaps you bought rechargeable batteries when you only wanted the alkaline variety? I bought a two pack (DURACEL ALKALINE) in a Chinese market in Recoleta last week for $13 pesos. If a four pack cost $26 pesos that would still be less than $7 USD.

I find some prices have doubled in the past three years, including the espensas for my apartment and ready to bake "fresh" pizza from Coto (my favorite) , but very few (if any that I buy on a regular basis) have doubled in the past six months.

The greatest increase in costs I have encountered have been ABL taxes and migracion fees, which have actually tripled (and have little or nothing to do with inflation).

A quick trip to the grocery store here, not for the big shop, just for things for a few days, regularly runs me near $100 USD. Some things are super cheap, but not mostly. You can live here cheaply and I do hear people who say that they find it cheaper than where they come from but they are often from the most expensive cities in the world, SFO London, NYC and so on...

Are you on the live Maine lobster diet?

 

[nikad]

If you've ever been to the US, then you know what real cultural diversity is. It simply doesn't exist here. Yes, the asian population has increased in the last 5 years, but I see almost no diversity of culture but the Jewish population. Variety in restaurants bars and coffee shops? Quantity, yes, but there's nothing different about any of the 5 pizza places on every block. OH, and replace "mediocre" up there with "non-existent."

I am comparing BsAs to other South American Cities, since the OP lived in Colombia.

 

[diego7david]

inflation is bad in ba. but dont think, just because you used to live in california, or ireland or wherever, and you remember a price there, thats it still that price. the rest of the world is experiencing inflation too, and significant price increases. many of cost increases are just slow to hit argentina. argentina prices are slowly catching up to other places and is still along way behind most other international cities. a high inflation rate on a product that cost ten cents in one country is still a bargain if it costs a dollar somewhere else. housing cost have gone up 10x or 1000 percent where i come from. not so in argentina. they may have doubled in the same time period. you want to check food prices in the states? google or check freshdirect.com, a grocery in new york with some of the best prices available. you want to check housing costs or rental costs. google real estate, apartment rentals in new york
hamptonsrentals.com - Hamptons Rentals - The Hamptons Rental Home Experts.

or east hampton. or paris or moscow or any other major city except those in paraquay and peru. although i cant say anything in paraguay equals a major international city. buenos aires still is cheap. from apt purchase to apt rental, to hiring labor, to eating out compared with any where else.