U.S..Citizens - why did you move to Buenos Aires?

[Matty]

Speaking from experience, I raised a teenager in California. ( Yes, with the drugs, shooting, and all that violence so rampantly mentioned here) I was never delusional and handed my child to the school system and expected them to educate him, part of his education was from home, I made sure he learned what the school cannot give him, that is a parent's role. I never surrended my child to any education system. That would be irresponsible and unconscienable. He was fortunate to partake in an international program for one year. Again, what that systems missed I made sure I provided. He, yes, came to Argentina was not all the taken by what he saw and he had taken French, Japanese and Spanish classes in the USA. You education or your child's education is what you make it to be - parents play a pivotal role in their children's education no matter what first world country you come from and it was my son that insisted on meals together. He never even had a drive thru meal until he was in the 3rd grade, never even saw a TV dinner until he was in the 5th grade. He is a young adult now and detests the fact that Virginia, Columbine and others is defining all of the school system in the US when all it does is focus on the bad and not the good.
Japan suicide amongst teenagers are up and all the rage - they are all of school age and pact suicide is a common thing there now, do we hear a lot about that? Do we even talk about that? What about the under reported crimes here in Argentina? The kids kiling kids (or should I say tots killing tots)? What about the crimes in countryhomes? What about the home invasions in condos in broad daylight? What about the hit and run that happens almost every other day on Libertador? Do we hear about that? Is that reported? What about the daily attempted murders by the reckless and murderous driving of some motorists on the autopista. Do we hear about that? What about the never ending ATM amount limit scam that is going on...and never ends. I mean c'mon, BsAs is good on some aspects but please do us this favor and do not coat it with dulce de leche or else it starts to get sickening.
Same with the US, we see what is good and love it and go raving mad about things we do not like.
We need to keep these things in perspective

 

[steveinbsas]

The following includes portions of two posts I made yesterday under the topic "traveling
with teenage girls/safety??? They seem appropriate here considering the
last few posts. I'll write about the original topic (why I moved here) if and when I am able to remember...
"Recently, a couple of guys came to the door of my Recoleta apartment
building and told two girls who were entering the building that they
were there to see the yankie who lived on the fourth floor (that would
be me). At the lift they pulled a knife and proceeded to the girl's
apartment (I wasn't home). They talked a lot and even told the girls
that they had a van waiting outside and that they had previously been
in the building looking through key holes to see which apartments had
the best loot. Fortunately, no one was hurt and building security has
since been improved.
I have
lived here two years, and though my circle of friends is small and
includes no expats, almost everyone I know has either been a victim of
street crime: picked picket, purse snatched, watch stolen at gunpoint,
or a "home invasion" as I described in my previous post has occurred
in
the buildings where they live. I was certainly the target of the
latter and an elderly Argentine man was killed in a similar incident
not far from my apartment in December '07. I've also felt fingers going
into the pocket of my jeans on the subway. One Argentine with whom I do
business was recently robbed of $48,000 US Dollars as he and his wife
left the bank. He also told me the story of a woman in GBA who observed
her car being stolen. When she went to the comisaria to file a report,
she found herself face to face with the thieves who stole her car. They
also happened to be policemen. She went "over their heads" and filed
another report with their superiors. Soon after, her house was invaded.
They took everything. She did not file another report. "In
addition to the above, my girlfriend's bag was recently stolen by a man on a moto as she walked on the sidewalk (he cut the strap with a knife when she wouldn't let go). I've also witnessed two incidents of purse snatching: one in the street and one in a restaurant as well as a couple of cell phone grabs. In January of '08 there were over 3000 reported robberies of businesses in
GBA. Most were kioskos and locutorios which are usually open to the
street during business hours. Almost all other small retail shops
operate behind locked doors all of the time they are "open" for
business.

Suejud wrote: "in pretty much all of my experiences they are warm and kind and seem
to always be thinking of ways to help each other out when they can."
"Since my first time here, people just seem more sane and tranquil and think of each other more than themselves first." That sounds like she is still in California, though it sounds even more like Iowa...

I just spent a month in San Francisco and two weeks in Illinois. Except for a couple small sections of San Francisco (the Tenderloin and the Mission Districts), I don't remember seeing many houses or apartments with bars on the windows. I never felt threatened (even in the Tenderloin or on Mission Street), never witnessed a crime, and I never had to press a button or ring a bell to enter a store or restaurant, either.

 

[bigbadwolf]

I have lived here two years, and though my circle of friends is small and includes no expats, almost everyone I know has either been a victim of
street crime: picked picket, purse snatched, watch stolen at gunpoint, or a "home invasion"

Yes, your depiction resonates with me. You have to be unceasingly vigilant in BsAs, and being paranoid helps. The middle-classes and even more so, the upper classes, live in a state of siege.

 

[suejud]

I don't have a lot of time now - but I will return to reply to all the 'constructive' criticism of my opinions of why I choose to live here. Funny and such typical attacks for people having different opinions. For all of you who think I am somehow trying to delude those potential visitors to Bs As by my dulce de leche coated view - remember, in fact, I wrote of MY experiences here - not of YOUR experiences as clearly mine have been far better without question it would appear. Also as far as being ignorant about Argentina - wrong again - as I understood this forum it is a question of what brought foreigners here - that is how I answered it. Amazing how some of you were so offended by my experiences.

 

[Johny]

Johny and Bigbadwolf, it sounds like you have a more realistic view so could you please give some more information and details about the education and crime here in Argentina compared to US ???

The truth is argentine society is full of crime and violence of all kinds... Kidnappings, murders, domestic violence, sexual assaults, robberies, pickpocketing, school shootings, you name it. You don't even need to buy a newspaper to realize this. You just have to watch how the people behave. I mean, the paranoia is palpable... Most argentines live in a permanent state of fear, especially in the big cities like Buenos Aires. That has to mean something, right? Most people here have either been victims of crimes themselves, or know someone who has been. That's why I cringe when I read all those comments about argentine society being so peaceful and tranquil... Surely the people who post that nonsense must be living in a bubble.
BTW, the other day I had my cell phone pickpocketed on the bus...

 

[suejud]

So Johnny, if Argentina is such the horrid place you depict and clearly experience - why would you choose to live here or even be here? Again, I fortunately have not had such awful experiences, nor of all the Argentines I know, have they had all these negative experiences. No more than 'almost all americans experience drive-by shootings daily' - Wasn't it you who said how important it is to keep things in perspective for the many who read this? Why not paint a more balanced view if reporting the daily news report is your goal here. And, again if you do live here - I am very curious what could possibly be keeping you here?

 

[austin]

Are there really people out there who think that BA is a peaceful and tranquil place? Anyone who has been here any length of time knows about the high crime rate and the myriad social problems. Of course foreigners with dollars or euros can live here comfortably and avoid most of the problems but the Argentines I know have no illusions about this being a peceful society. Such an idea has to be unique to disgruntled expats.

 

[Johny]

suejud,
My goal here is to let people know the truth. I'm just telling it like it is... no more, no less. If you live in denial about Argentina, that's not my problem. The crime and violence are there, whether you want to admit it or not... This is not a matter of personal experience but a FACT.
You really need to GET REAL. Why don't you go get informed? That would be a good start. It's not much to ask...

 

[cbphoto]

...for your information: http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_tot_cri_percap-crime-total-crimes-per-capita
please search through this site for a while...much information is missing...seemingly not accurate at 1st, but if you spend a good 1/2 hour searching through different pages, you can decipher the gaps in information and come to your own conclusions....here is another link:http://www.visionofhumanity.org/gpi/results/rankings.php

 

[steveinbsas]

Austin wrote: "Of course foreigners with dollars or euros can live here comfortably
and avoid most of the problems but the Argentines I know have no
illusions about this being a peceful society. Such an idea has to be
unique to disgruntled expats."I agree with Austin to a degree, but thieves and home invaders listen for foreign accents or people speaking foreign languages in the streets,especially in upscale areas. Taxi drivers are in a great position to share the knowledge of where the foreigners are living with those who prey upon them. Perhaps "oblivious expats" would be a more appropriate expression. We actually become disgruntled after becoming aware of the high incidence of crime...or victims of it.