Spanish-American Newcomer's Observations

[dani28]

Well, I finally did it and came down. Thus far, I must admit I am seriously loving it and wondered why the hell I stayed in Madrid (where I am originally from) for so long, and why I even bothered with making an attempt this January at living in over-priced, job-forsaken Chicago (where I studied, as I also hold US citizenship)

A few observations:

Why are ex-pat's hating on that it takes sooo much money to live here? I am living in Recoleta, in a nice shared flat and my rent is expensive by Argentine standards since I am charged in dollars(more on that later) but just about everything else seems pretty inexpensive to me from both a €uro and a USD perspective:

Dining out: I had a steak dinner for 2 at a very posh restaurant in Puerto Madero complete with a nice bottle of wine for the equivalent of about $70 USD. Back in the States, any ex-pat knows this will barely pay for 1 Ruth's Chris steak. Among other bargains, Benihana's daily lunch menu is 50 pesos complete with salad, soup, entree, drink, and dessert. I have never seen Benihana's so cheap anywhere in the world. Dining out definitely seems to be cheap, and to be honest I have yet to cook in the 2 weeks I have been here.

Going Out: Pretty comparable to the States or Europe, however I am told that this is because most bars/clubs target a wide international crowd and that this is why their prices reflect this, still though you definitely get a farrrrrrr farrrrrr more liberal pour on your drink than you would in the States on alcohol. Also, the bartenders here and PR people are a dime a dozen at handing out ¨free passes¨ or ¨free drink¨ invitations.

Clothing: While I have only window shopped, I find that MOST clothing and shoes, which are of non designer label, but still of high haberdashery ¨Brooks Brothers¨type quality, are a great value. There is a shop in Santa Fe in Recoleta that has nice, quality mens blazers for about 140 pesos and made in argentina dress leather footwear for around 200 pesos. I found this remarkable, really. However, yes, designer, import-label clothes are ridiculously expensive here.

Esthetics: A poshy poshy Vidal Sassoon like hair salon in Recoleta wanted 55 pesos to cut my hair. And, this is supposedly one of the top top places. I cant remember ever paying this except for maybe Great Clips in the USA. Hell, even the Spa at many top hotels like the Four Seasons here is quite cheap.

Groceries: Did them for the first time today in 2 weeks. Fresh food is very cheap. Frozen food was quite expensive (IE: frozen pizzas) at the Carrefour I went to. Anything imported which I could get in Europe as a daily staple is crazy expensive (Pelligrino sparkling water 42 pesos as opposed to 1,49 euro in Madrid)

Electronics: An insult! My charger to my MacBook Air blew out the first week and the ¨authorized Mac store¨ (there are many here) wanted 900 pesos for the standard Mac charger. Armed robbery!!! As god as my witness i will never buy electronics here! LOL

All this being said, the reason I am prob still in reverse culture shock is because yes, I am doing the math in dollars and euros, and yes, it would probably be different if I were earning in Argentine pesos, however most of my Argentine friends in their mid 20's early 30's are earning about 3,500-5,000 pesos and are also doing quite well, living alone or in shared flats, so who knows?
A friend of mine who is argentine but studied with me in USA told me that with about 10.000 pesos a month in income, a single person or even a couple with no kids could definitely live an upper middle class life here (2000 euros or about 2800 $) provided that all of your expenses are in pesos, and you dont waste any money unneccessarily on ridiculously priced items (IE: buying Iphones at argentine prices, imported designer clothes, etc)
Right now my mind is trying to be as argie as possible. I am paying about $600 USD for a room in a nice shared flat in Recoleta, all my Argentine friends think I am being shafted due to the fact that I am being treated like a foreigner. I am in the process of obtaining the visa rentista, but have no means of obtaining a garantia at the moment. Any way around this? Paying someone? LOL Please let me know, also please feel free to comment and contrast my observations.

 

[dani28]

haha well i am sorry for being detailed.

 

[Smcali23]

Wow - I think I used to be that enthusiastic once!
I think some of your observations may change with time, but I wish you all the best! Having been here for 10 years, I'm not sure I see the country in exactly the same way, but part of me wishes I still did.

 

[dani28]

How so? If you dont mind me pressing, part of the reason why I was so detailed (much to the dismay of some LOL) is because that is what I'm looking for, people to compare and contrast my findings with their own experiences!

 

[Smcali23]

I think in comparison to how cheap things were, the city seems expensive to me now. For instance, I'm not sure you'd find a good quality blazer for 140 pesos (was it in cuotas perhaps?). Anyhow, if you did it's not the norm. And generally, I'd say clothing was over-priced.

Maybe the country is still comparatively cheap, but the rate prices are changing it's a bit difficult for me to be too excited... Maaaan, you should have been here about 7-8 years ago.... that was cheap!

It's still cheap to get your hair cut and a fair few other things are cheap, but I can't help looking back to the good old days of 7 peso lunches with a glass of champagne welcome, main course, dessert and glass of wine (anyone ever go to Anastasia?) It used to be cheaper to go out for lunch than cook!

But, as I said, I'm not trying to criticize. I genuinely wish I still felt that way about the city. There's a lot to love!

 

[Napoleon]

I think in comparison to how cheap things were, the city seems expensive to me now. For instance, I'm not sure you'd find a good quality blazer for 140 pesos (was it in cuotas perhaps?). Anyhow, if you did it's not the norm. And generally, I'd say clothing was over-priced.

Good call on the cuotas guess, because "good quality" and "140 pesos" can only be used when describing WINE & STEAK.

A "good quality" blazer for a man usually runs about AR$800 to AR$1,400 depending on the store. That's still probably pretty good by US standards.

PS- Ruth's Chris = La Cabaña Las Lilas (more or less) and you can pay US$70/person there without batting an eye.

PPS- Congratulations on finding a job that pays you NYC/Chicago/SF wages while allowing you to live in Buenos Aires. [thumbs up]

 

[sergio]

$140 for a men's blazer! WHERE? The closest to Brooks Brothers, the store you cite, in terms of style and quality would be James Smart. WHat do they charge for a blazer? I paid much more than that at James Smart for a blazer about five years ago.

 

[dani28]

LOL I am serious about the blazer and clothing prices. Tommorrow as I walk down Santa Fe I will make sure to take note of the name of the shoppe. They seriously have items at incredible prices without being an outlet and no, they are not quotas, as I am familiar with this from Spain and am a native Spanish speaker, and know when it is quotas and when it is the price outright. It as a normal mens haberdashery type shoppe in Recoleta on Santa Fe. I must admit perhaps it is just this particular store, although I have seen other nice high-end Argentine shops with very decent prices, and I have also seen some that seem to have imported things with ridiculous prices, again all of this is window shopping so I've yet to take a garment home and actually wear it and test its actual wear quality so who knows, even though the shoppe with the 140 peso blazer has a security guard inside, a door buzzer to be let in, and 3 sales men ready to assist, it may be selling outright rags.

@Napolean: I have yet to go to La Cabaña Las Lilas but have heard great things so its good to know these things. So then, a good steak runs about 280 pesos per person at this establishment?

 

[PhilipDT]

I'm sorry I seriously doubt 140 pesos will buy you the fabric to sew a nice blazer.