Well, where do I start....

[JJWilliam]

OK, I will try to be brief... . American, although I have also lived in Mexico. Fluent in Spanish and am pretty comfortable with the BA accent specifically and Argentinian accents in general . I have visited Argentina before, but am considering a longer stay. How long? Let's start with the 90 days and see.

I am retired (I'm 65, but healthy and active), have a decent, but not "Elon Musk" monthly income in dollars could likely live in BA without too much problem. .I am familiar with the "people before efficiency" frame of mind having lived in Mexico and I know what that feels like and how it looks in a functional way.

So my first question: Would you say as a rule the general BA vibe is more, umm, interactive, than the silliness we have in the US? (When the surgeon general says there is a loneliness epidemic and its killing us, its not a good sign. ) .

What does BA, and the region in general, feel like day in and day out? Basically, in 10,000 words or less, what's it like to live there?

I'll stop there for now, but I am sure to have a 1,000 more questions. BTW, I picked Argentina to try because my Argentinian friends dubbed me an "honorary Argentinian", As they say "¡Tenés pasaporte yanqui, hablás como mexicano, pero tu corazón es argentino! Who knows, but thought I'd check it out.

 

[LuckyLuke]

Howdy JJ,

When did you visit Argentina? Where did you stay? What was it like for you? That might help us tell you what's the same and what's different since your last visit.

 

[JJWilliam]

It was a cruise in 2018, generally not my thing, but that's another story. I can't say I was able to really get into the heart of things, so Im not sure that is a really a viable comparison point. My impressions were it was bigger, more cosmopolitan than I would have thought. I also remember there were quite a number of parks and many tree lined streets which I really liked, I'm guessing in Recoleta. .. I do remember escaping the cruise ship mob briefly and chatting with the locals. I think they were surprised I spoke spanish, but I found them to be surprisingly open and without the usual social resistance I find in the US. I also thought the place was "alive", that is lots of people, not frantic like Manhattan, but, dunno. just different from any US city I could think of. A touch of old world maybe.

I wouldn't call that trip anything more than a brief flyby, so again, I hate to use it as a reference point. I imagine many of you are coming from the US, so that might be a better point of comparison.

 

[elhombresinnombre]

One good thing about the "silliness" of which you speak is that it has distracted the rest of the world from pointing at us Brits and telling us how Brexit was utterly idiotic. Still, we are where we are - both of us.

Standard advice to those thinking about a move is to come down and stay for a while - and that seems to be exactly what you have in mind. Great! Even if at the end of it you decide Buenos Aires isn't for you (and hopefully you'll have also explored provincial cities like Mendoza, Salta and Cordoba (Jujuy is my favourite but don't forget Tucuman) and maybe neighbouring countries too) you will have had a great time and be well on the way to deciding where you might want to settle.

Good luck!!!

 

[Macanudo]

✓ Fluent in Spanish
✓have a decent monthly income in dollars could likely live in BA without too much problem.
✓Argentinian friends dubbed me an "honorary Argentinian"
✓"people before efficiency" frame of mind
✓general BA vibe is more interactive, than the silliness we have in the US
✓a number of parks and many tree lined streets which I really liked,
✓chatting with the locals.
✓open and without the usual social resistance I find in the US
✓thought the place was "alive"
What does BA, and the region in general, feel like day in and day out?
What's it like to live there?
Day to day:
Shopping for food and other necesities, Going to restaurants, cafes, bars.
Discovering the city.
Walking, biking, colectivos, subways, ubers.
Going to the gym, parks, concerts, live events, birthday parties, dancing. Planning trips.
With your profile, Buenos Aires is a blank canvas waiting for you to create your magnum opus.

 

[JJWilliam]

Humm, perhaps I am not asking the question correctly.

If someone was going to move to Mexico from the US and asked me what it was like I would say:

Its a different approach to life, one based in human interaction rather than efficiency where even buying some bread could be a long process. It is social, warm, and people have a seemingly endless capacity to smile with patience, although humor is often used to dissipate pain and people are not generally inclined toward deep philosophical discussion. There can also be at times a fatalistic approach to things, a shrug of sorts of 'what's to be done about it' which if you are not used to it can seem a bit tough and very different from the American 'can do' approach. So I guess I am looking for something like that.

✓ Fluent in Spanish
✓have a decent monthly income in dollars could likely live in BA without too much problem.
✓Argentinian friends dubbed me an "honorary Argentinian"
✓"people before efficiency" frame of mind
✓general BA vibe is more interactive, than the silliness we have in the US
✓a number of parks and many tree lined streets which I really liked,
✓chatting with the locals.
✓open and without the usual social resistance I find in the US
✓thought the place was "alive"
What does BA, and the region in general, feel like day in and day out?
What's it like to live there?
Day to day:
Shopping for food and other necesities, Going to restaurants, cafes, bars.
Discovering the city.
Walking, biking, colectivos, subways, ubers.
Going to the gym, parks, concerts, live events, birthday parties, dancing. Planning trips.
With your profile, Buenos Aires is a blank canvas waiting for you to create your magnum opus.

So you are saying my observations were pretty accurate? That having fluency in spanish is a big check as is having a "pension" in us dollars, that I have already lived outside the US in Mexico... that the general vibe is more social, which fits me, than the US (the bar is pretty low with that example). That with all that BA offers me the possibility to "paint" my new life ?

 

[Macanudo]

So you are saying my observations were pretty accurate? That having fluency in spanish is a big check as is having a "pension" in us dollars, that I have already lived outside the US in Mexico... that the general vibe is more social, which fits me, than the US (the bar is pretty low with that example). That with all that BA offers me the possibility to "paint" my new life ?

Yes, that is what I was saying. You seem to be in the enviable position to move to Buenos Aires and live like a King.

 

[Utopos]

Although I do not recommend it for everyone, even most, Argentina may be a very good fit for you. If you don't struggle financially or linguistically, it can be a wonderful place with wonderful people, a place that makes one smile just thinking about it. And remember, Argentina is a large country that offers far more that CABA.

Buen suerte!