Visiting BA in April. Have questions.

[rob0001]

I intend on moving in August from Mexico to BA. I'm a retired former USA resident...single male.
I'm getting a retirement visa and have a trustworthy attorney in BA to help me. I'm staying in Palermo in a hotel for this scouting trip.
Where is a good place to exchange dollars for pesos in Palermo? Obviously, I don't know how to determine fake pesos so I need a good place to do this...I will bring cash with me. I understand I should only do a little at a time due to the inflation rate.
Can someone recommend a good tour guide so I can see the different neighborhoods and maybe explore a few sites? Is it best to use Uber?
Let's start with those questions, lol...
Thanks for all your help...I have been lurking for a while now.

 

[jblaze5779]

setup a western union account and withdraw money as you need it.

Uber sucks here. I don't live in BA so I can't tell you what the next best alternative is but I usually just use cabs when I'm there.

 

[sts7049]

cabify is your other alternative to uber in BA. it works well i think, in my experience the cars are a little nicer.

neither are as good as the services in the US but it's decent enough. i try to avoid cabs.

 

[Caribbean Cool]

Uber works very well in B.A.

 

[rob0001]

setup a western union account and withdraw money as you need it.

Uber sucks here. I don't live in BA so I can't tell you what the next best alternative is but I usually just use cabs when I'm there.

Sadly, Western Union has banned me for life, lol...they saw too many transactions while I was traveling to Central American and SA countries and concluded in their "wisdom" that I was doing something nefarious. I spent a year trying to prove to them I was legit. I sent them a dozen documents and they would let me for a while and then stopped altogether. So, I just need a cambio somewhere that is good in Palermo.

 

[DK72]

Regarding fake pesos bills: the highest denomination bill (1000 pesos) has a value of ca 4 USD. This makes it not economical to counterfeit them. There might be some old fake 1000 bills going around (when it was worth a bit more), but generally this is not a big problem at the moment. At least I have never come across a fake bill here in recent years.

 

[Redpossum]

Sadly, Western Union has banned me for life, lol...they saw too many transactions while I was traveling to Central American and SA countries and concluded in their "wisdom" that I was doing something nefarious. I spent a year trying to prove to them I was legit. I sent them a dozen documents and they would let me for a while and then stopped altogether. So, I just need a cambio somewhere that is good in Palermo.

Whoa, that's scary!
How many transactions is too many? WU is something of a lifeline for some of us here

 

[rob0001]

Whoa, that's scary!
How many transactions is too many? WU is something of a lifeline for some of us here

It was the number but mostly the particular countries and amounts...they suspected drugs I assume. They didn't like Colombia and Guatemala for sure. I used a VPN and a fake location app on my phone for this because if they see you are not in the USA and you are using a USA Western Union app then you are flagged and eventually they will block you. I was a vp of a bank and even proved that to them as well as giving them an FBI background check, hahahahaha. I use all the other money apps with ease.

 

[rob0001]

Regarding fake pesos bills: the highest denomination bill (1000 pesos) has a value of ca 4 USD. This makes it not economical to counterfeit them. There might be some old fake 1000 bills going around (when it was worth a bit more), but generally this is not a big problem at the moment. At least I have never come across a fake bill here in recent years.

That's fantastic news and puts me at ease.

 

[Redpossum]

Rob, we get such inquiries all the time, about people moving here, and more and more often as time goes by. Check my reply to an inquiry from last July here, mine is the 5th post on the first page. Noting has changed much since then, though street crime has gotten a bit worse.

Given that you have already spent much time in Latin America, much of my rambling advice will already be familiar to you.