Temp Move To Ba

[digitalnomad]

Hi Everyone!

I am spending two months in BA from late Feb with my husband and our 2 year old daughter.

We are really excited about the trip, and want to experience "real" life as much as possible which is part of the reason for the long stay vs. a holiday. We have rented an apartment (near the park Las Heras) and we want to integrate as much as we can. My husband's Spanish is great, mine is rusty but hopefully good enough. We both speak Portuguese. Time will tell I guess!

I have a few questions though:

1) Safety...how much of an issue is it really? We plan to not to wear watches/jewellery, we will swap iPhones for cheap local phones and not carry any non essential cash. Will that cover us? Do you think having a pram/family makes us more of a target? I was also told to get a kind of A to Z (can't remember the name now!) so we can orientate ourselves without drawing too much attention unfolding tourist maps etc.

2) Eating out - I have read a lot about late dinners being the norm... how do other ppl with kids arrange their schedules to accommodate, or do kids not go out for dinners in BA? My little one generally naps during the day still for about 2 hours but would normally be in bed by 8pm and up again at 7am.

Also please shout out if there is anything else I should know. Thanks in advance!

 

[ElQueso]

Curiously enough, I've seen robberies and such of people I know go down significantly in the last two years or so, even as things got worse economically. For my family and their brothers and sisters that may be because they've wizened up a bit - they were not ones to wear bling at all in the streets, but rather often got robbed in the early mornings when they were leaving to go to school or work. For us generally in our neighborhood, in Recoleta, we had a home invasion near us about a year ago and since that moment there have been police in the streets at all hours. Around Parque Las Heras it might be different, but the number of home invasions I've heard about as well have gone down dramatically.

Personally, I've never been robbed (knocking on wood like crazy right now), but I go around in jeans or shorts and a t-shirt most of the time anyway and I never wear jewelry (just because I don't like it).

I see people with smart phones all the time nowadays too, although a friend of my wife recently had one stolen a couple of weeks ago, right out of her hand, but in a not-so-good part of town.

Keep it simple and watch yourselves and you'll be fine.

Eating out - I think the earliest restaurants open here for dinner is 7:00 pm. There are some restaurants that stay open all day, but many close lunch around 3-4 pm and reopen 7-8 pm. (people are big on merienda here - a snack, or even cakes and tea, around 4-6 pm) It depends on where and what kind of restaurant. The crowd usually doesn't hit until about 9:30 - 10:00 pm.

Kids here accompany their parents to restaurants at all hours. Although most parents probably try to go out and have a meal earlier rather than later when bringing their kids (at least younger ones), I can't think of a dinner I've gone to (although I'm sure there are) where there are not at least one or two tables with kids, anywhere from babies to teens, and all ages in between. Though now that I think about it again, higher-end restaurants don't have too many younger ones (babies and toddlers, say) late.

 

[jantango]

Parenthood requires an adjustment in lifestyle and reorganizing priorities, no matter where you live.

 

[Ceviche]

If you go out with your little one to the restaurant..you are welcome.

But please mind the child, such that the child is not running up and down the restaurant spoling the evening of the other diners with the noise and ruckus.

 

[ElQueso]

Good point, Ceviche - I remember one toddler at a restaurant who was just fascinated with the food on my plate - his parents were about two tables from us. The kid was running around from table to table with no restraint while everyone around was watching fondly. I was OK until the kid tried to grab a piece of meat off my plate with his fingers...

 

[Ceviche]

Good point, Ceviche - I remember one toddler at a restaurant who was just fascinated with the food on my plate - his parents were about two tables from us. The kid was running around from table to table with no restraint while everyone around was watching fondly. I was OK until the kid tried to grab a piece of meat off my plate with his fingers...

Thanks El Queso.

Recently I was enjoying a meal with a hot woman in a fancy restaurant and this kid ..probably 10-12 years old was runnning like crazy all over the place and really testing my patience. But suddenly the kid tripped near my table and fell. He was not hurt but he got up and quietly went away. For few minutes everything was cool..but suddenly the mother came and started shouting at top of her voice in Spanish and abusing me. I tried to remain calm and told her in Spanish to remain calm. But soon some other Argentines patrons, were also pointing fingers at me as if the whole clan got together against the foreigner. But luckily by then, my meal had finished, paid up and I was on my way out.

I am not sure, why do all parents think that their "innocent" children have the right to spoil other people's evening and afterall they are just "children". I have seen good kids too, and they are trained and nurtured..so they behave in public places and exhibit the right manners, and understand its a public place ; not their backyard.

 

[digitalnomad]

Thanks for the replies guys, we leave in 3 weeks and I am really getting excited now.

ElQueso - I think reasonable precautions will be the way to go re: safety and I am feeling pretty relaxed about it now, so thanks Lisbon isn't all that safe at night either, and mugging/pickpocketing are common so I will do as I normally do.

Jantango - yes, very true! I guess I just wondered if its the norm for kids in BA to have a longer lunchtime nap for example or get up later, ie. how do Portenos do it. I assume kids in nurseries in BA will have a common routine, even if all parents handle it a bit differently. Just wondered what that is?

Ceviche - that sounds really really awful. If my kid is in a restaurant she has to sit still eat properly and not scream/shout/generally misbehave. I have taken her to a number of very nice restaurants for various family special occasions and I have (at least until now) never had any problems with that rule. She is only 2 so I don't expect her to join in polite conversation or sit doing nothing between courses/while waiting to order, she has crayons etc to entertain her quietly, but I think if you set an expectation early on re: behaviour then (hopefully) it continues. We work hard on this because we like eating out, and remember what it was like before we had a kid! Maybe it gets more taxing as they grow, but for now she is pretty much an angel when we eat out. Wish the same could be said of her the rest of the time but you can't have everything!

My parents will be coming to visit us for a few weeks, so I will save one or two really nice places for then, so they can be our babysitter and we can also really enjoy our food and wine in a relaxed way.

 

[RodalfoWalsh]

I have an iPhone and have for six years of living here, walking the street and taking public transport I've never had one stolen. My girlfriend had one picpockted in the last 4 years of carrying one. Don't wave it around obviously, but lots of people here own and use iPhones. It's not like wearing a Rolex, that will definetely get you mugged.

 

[Roxana]

As going out to eat with your kid, there are places with a playground, or "pelotero", like "la payuca" which is a parrilla walking distance, perhaps 1 km from Parque Las Heras. Most neighbours go often to Parque Las Heras, more those with dogs, and became acquintances. You are not far away from Plaza Francia.

 

[syngirl]

Thanks El Queso.

Recently I was enjoying a meal with a hot woman in a fancy restaurant and this kid ..probably 10-12 years old was runnning like crazy all over the place and really testing my patience. But suddenly the kid tripped near my table and fell. He was not hurt but he got up and quietly went away. For few minutes everything was cool..but suddenly the mother came and started shouting at top of her voice in Spanish and abusing me. I tried to remain calm and told her in Spanish to remain calm. But soon some other Argentines patrons, were also pointing fingers at me as if the whole clan got together against the foreigner. But luckily by then, my meal had finished, paid up and I was on my way out.

I am not sure, why do all parents think that their "innocent" children have the right to spoil other people's evening and afterall they are just "children". I have seen good kids too, and they are trained and nurtured..so they behave in public places and exhibit the right manners, and understand its a public place ; not their backyard.

Alright Ceviche -- confess! Did you trip the kid?? 10-12 yrs old is big enough to know better, I`d have been tempted to trip him myself!