I'm a retired U.S. citizen with permanent resident status in Argentina. Earlier this year I sold my house in the U.S. and moved permanently back to Argentina, where I recently purchased another house. This proved to be far more difficult than expected, even though I'd researched things for months prior to making the relocation decision. I hope what I've learned can be useful to others.
Two major issues needed to be addressed:
1) whether to sell everything before moving and start over (again) OR ship all my belongings to Argentina
2) Getting sufficient dollars into Argentina to purchase real estate, which is done in dollars.
In this post I'll discuss #1, and will do a separate post for #2.
In my research, I'd read many horror stories about shipping household goods into Argentina. I encountered frequent warnings about how things "disappear" at Aduana (especially electronics), bribes needed to grease wheels, overcharges, etc. Often the information was second hand at best, though common refrain was "DON'T DO IT!".
I did do it, and I'm very happy I did.
Packing in the U.S. went smoothly, the slow 4-month shipping time actually worked to my benefit (it gave me time to solve the "Dollar Problem"), and the ONLY issues that turned up at Aduana were actually due to the U.S. shipper's improper inventory and labeling. Nothing was stolen, not even my new bleeding edge custom-built gaming desktop computer & high-end monitor. An oak hutch did have a damaged door, but I was able to repair that myself.
The company I used, Dinamo Logistica Internacional, was beyond excellent. I found them through Baexpats (thank-you Nikad!). Rather than simply stating that I had no complaints, I seriously cannot think of any way the service could have been better. It was like my brother was taking care of me and I now consider Nazareno, the owner, a personal friend. This says something, coming from me --- an asocial curmudgeon.
Shipping was not inexpensive, but much of what I have could not be replicated in Argentina. And it was worth every penny to quickly make my new home "home". I have zero regrets.
For anyone considering shipping their belongings anywhere in the world to or from Argentina, I wholeheartedly recommend Dinamo:
Nazareno Villa Abrille
Dinamo Logistica Internacional
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Tel.: (54) 11-5372-6782
Cel.: (549) 11-3884-5221
www.dinamolog.com.ar
Two major issues needed to be addressed:
1) whether to sell everything before moving and start over (again) OR ship all my belongings to Argentina
2) Getting sufficient dollars into Argentina to purchase real estate, which is done in dollars.
In this post I'll discuss #1, and will do a separate post for #2.
In my research, I'd read many horror stories about shipping household goods into Argentina. I encountered frequent warnings about how things "disappear" at Aduana (especially electronics), bribes needed to grease wheels, overcharges, etc. Often the information was second hand at best, though common refrain was "DON'T DO IT!".
I did do it, and I'm very happy I did.
Packing in the U.S. went smoothly, the slow 4-month shipping time actually worked to my benefit (it gave me time to solve the "Dollar Problem"), and the ONLY issues that turned up at Aduana were actually due to the U.S. shipper's improper inventory and labeling. Nothing was stolen, not even my new bleeding edge custom-built gaming desktop computer & high-end monitor. An oak hutch did have a damaged door, but I was able to repair that myself.
The company I used, Dinamo Logistica Internacional, was beyond excellent. I found them through Baexpats (thank-you Nikad!). Rather than simply stating that I had no complaints, I seriously cannot think of any way the service could have been better. It was like my brother was taking care of me and I now consider Nazareno, the owner, a personal friend. This says something, coming from me --- an asocial curmudgeon.
Shipping was not inexpensive, but much of what I have could not be replicated in Argentina. And it was worth every penny to quickly make my new home "home". I have zero regrets.
For anyone considering shipping their belongings anywhere in the world to or from Argentina, I wholeheartedly recommend Dinamo:
Nazareno Villa Abrille
Dinamo Logistica Internacional
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Tel.: (54) 11-5372-6782
Cel.: (549) 11-3884-5221
www.dinamolog.com.ar
