Thinking Of Retiring In Ba. Have A Few Questions.

[Nounou]

By the way, do retired expats in Argentina have any trouble getting senior discounts in Argentina? I have wondered about that -- Do you need to be Argentine to get the discount, show some ID, or is the discount automatically extended? I know that there are some "jubilado" discounts but I assumed they would not always be given to foreigners.

From information I have seen in other countries, including here in Australia, is that the whole concept of retiring in a country other that that of permanent domicile is based on the idea that any prospective applicant must be fully self funded. There's only so much tax you can get out of a retired person, if any at all! As immigration is based on the country's ability to tax the income of any migrant 'give aways' or discounts to non nationals especially retirees must surely be limited.

 

[studiodio]

My husband and I retired to Argentina 4 years ago and do not regret it. We are 66 now, have Medicus insurance for 800+ pesos a month each, just got our permanent visas, We do not want to buy property for the reasons listed before in this thread and have rented places in different barrios in Buenos Aires, now renting in La Falda Cordoba. We started out with 3 suitcases each ,but now have furniture, appliances etc that we got second hand and therefore can pay lower rent for a bigger place that is unfurnished. We spend about 2000 dollars a month after rent, and eat out at least once a day....We decided that spending our money on "café society" was more important to us than "owning" a place we would have to upkeep , and allows us to be more mobile (although each move is harder cause we keep accumulating stuff, like now we even have a dog!).

 

[sergio]

My husband and I retired to Argentina 4 years ago and do not regret it. We are 66 now, have Medicus insurance for 800+ pesos a month each, just got our permanent visas, We do not want to buy property for the reasons listed before in this thread and have rented places in different barrios in Buenos Aires, now renting in La Falda Cordoba. We started out with 3 suitcases each ,but now have furniture, appliances etc that we got second hand and therefore can pay lower rent for a bigger place that is unfurnished. We spend about 2000 dollars a month after rent, and eat out at least once a day....We decided that spending our money on "café society" was more important to us than "owning" a place we would have to upkeep , and allows us to be more mobile (although each move is harder cause we keep accumulating stuff, like now we even have a dog!

You must have the Medicus expat plan. I am paying 2,000 + pesos a month for another company and am not of retirement age. I can not leave now as I have been in it for many years and can not take the risk of losing seniority in my health care plan. Is the MEdicus plan for expats run by Medicus or outsourced? That was something I am not clear about and wonder if it is as secure as a normal Medicus plan. Anyway, I am glad that ypu are happy living in Argentina. I think you are wise to rent and have the flexibilty to leave when you want. I can not in conscience rtecommend that anyone settle in Argentina in retirfement if that means any commitment that would make a quick departture difficult.

 

[studiodio]

we did initially get our medicus plan through expat....but I now deal directly with Medicus and I think my plan is as secure as any Medicus plan...as secure as anything is these days around the world....

 

[Yogur griego]

Yes, Spain is in a terrible mess now but it is part of the European Union and they will not let it sink. Also there is a longstanding, mostly British,expat community there. I said too that Spain was one retirement option among others, not the only one. If people on this forum react negatively to an inquiry about retiring in Argentina it is not necessarily a gag but maybe based on experience.

I was more referring to the kind of univocal negativity that has become a kind of repetitive thing. Anyway, I think it is just a matter of time untl the Eurozone collapses and Spain will enter an even more serious phase of economic disaster. People can survive with savings but I fear a lot of people will lose a lot of money in the future, like what happened in the Argentine. The country will eventually recover, but I don't see a lot of positive things happening in the next few years. Anyway, it's still a much better organized country than Argentina, and even if this disaster is going to be more serious, I stll have faith in institutions in Spain, which is not the case in Argentina, like it probably never has been.

 

[GS_Dirtboy]

There is always such a hysteria among the expat community about buying and selling property here. I work in this industry and I can tell you for a fact that there are many transactions happening and many more to happen in 2013. You can get your money out of your investment and out of Argentina. If you don't believe that then no problem. That means that you are one less person buyers here need to compete with.

 

[lamarque]

There is always such a hysteria among the expat community about buying and selling property here. I work in this industry and I can tell you for a fact that there are many transactions happening and many more to happen in 2013. You can get your money out of your investment and out of Argentina. If you don't believe that then no problem. That means that you are one less person buyers here need to compete with.

Hysteria is never missing in this community, that for sure jaja

 

[sergio]

we did initially get our medicus plan through expat....but I now deal directly with Medicus and I think my plan is as secure as any Medicus plan...as secure as anything is these days around the world....

So you do not have the expat plan? The price is so low. I can not take the risk of dropping my plan after many years to join a cheaper one, too risky. I will have to keep on paying 2,000 pesos +

 

[JamesKTusa]

There is always such a hysteria among the expat community about buying and selling property here. I work in this industry and I can tell you for a fact that there are many transactions happening and many more to happen in 2013. You can get your money out of your investment and out of Argentina. If you don't believe that then no problem. That means that you are one less person buyers here need to compete with.

Jeff,
Although I appreciate your disclosing your vested interest, simply stating "believe me, you can always sell and get your money out" doesn't help too much. For example it doesn't address the fears of folks about wanting to sell and recover their capital in the future if the market is (temporarily) down or less-liquid. Just like R.E. anywhere, never risk-free.

On a positive note, what WOULD help is explanation of the process & changes re: pesification, offshore vs. onshore dollar-transfers, AFIP certificate to sell, etc. Maybe even hold an info-packed seminar like Jaime Jensen did a few years back, bringing-in a few experts in law, money transfers, etc. to review the process, new laws/rules, answer questions, etc. Would go a long way toward assuaging that hysteria you mention above.
- Jim

 

[citygirl]

There is always such a hysteria among the expat community about buying and selling property here. I work in this industry and I can tell you for a fact that there are many transactions happening and many more to happen in 2013. You can get your money out of your investment and out of Argentina. If you don't believe that then no problem. That means that you are one less person buyers here need to compete with.

So out of curiosity, the reports in the news are that selling/buying activity dropped off considerably in 2012 and into 2013. Are you saying that's not the case?