What To Do With My Money?

[French jurist]

It also depends how much money you are willing to have in Argentina at any moment, and how much you spend on living every month.

If you don't mind going every 2 or 3 months to Colonia to bring back the equivalent of 10k USD (assuming you can live a few months with that & you're here for a couple of years at least), then it might be EV+ to make the big jump & open a multicurrency account in Uruguay (easy to do, you don't need anyone to do it and can withdraw 10k USD if you wish, when you wish, you just need to lose a day and pay for the boat).

In synthesis, depends on your own cost of living here too.

 

[splattermatter]

Semi,
I can buy a certain amount of dollars or euros per month close to blue...Pm me
Corey

 

[splattermatter]

Semi,
I can buy a certain amount of dollars or euros per month close to blue...Pm me
Corey

 

[ElQueso]

Thanks mate,

I am not a tourist.

And I am not interested in holding dollars, I want pesos, but I want the most that I can possibly get of course. If I go to Uruguay I can withdraw dollars and change them at Florida.

If I use Azimo, they will send it to me and I collect it from an office.

Does either of these scenerios have a good chance of me getting shot, stabbed, hanged, raped, or whatever it is they are doing here this week?

Well, I didn't think you were a tourist from what you'd said

One reason to hold dollars is because from one week to the next the blue rate could go up significantly. Last week or week before it was a bit over 13, now it's a bit over 14. You never know. If you have dollars you can take advantage of the fluctuations (although you could lose as well, but nowadays that's less likely than it was even a few months ago).

Both scenarios with Azimo and going to Uruguay could put you in some jeopardy, but no more than getting money out of an ATM here - although the Uruguay option may be the safest but I don't think any of the three are sufficiently dangerous to warrant anything more than ordinary caution, which should be exercised at all times anyway. Could be someone waiting to follow a client waiting to leave the offices where you pick up money sending via Azimo, but maybe just as likely at an ATM here. Leaving the Buquebus building returning from Colonia is probably safer overall because most thieves wouldn't be watching passengers to see if they have any telltales about carrying money (since there is not a concentration of people making a money run to Colonia) and I think that Colonia is reasonably safe for getting money out while you're there at the ATMs.

As far as going down to Florida, I've been doing exactly that for the 8 years I've lived here, sometimes more often than others, and have had zero incidents. Neither counterfeit bills nor issues where the cambios send someone to follow me, nor someone on the streets following me as I leave a cambio. The PFA are paid by the cambios to make the area safe. Best thing to do there is go to a street that crosses Florida (like Paraguay) and hop in a cab after you change money just to make sure.

 

[semigoodlookin]

Well, I didn't think you were a tourist from what you'd said

One reason to hold dollars is because from one week to the next the blue rate could go up significantly. Last week or week before it was a bit over 13, now it's a bit over 14. You never know. If you have dollars you can take advantage of the fluctuations (although you could lose as well, but nowadays that's less likely than it was even a few months ago).

Both scenarios with Azimo and going to Uruguay could put you in some jeopardy, but no more than getting money out of an ATM here - although the Uruguay option may be the safest but I don't think any of the three are sufficiently dangerous to warrant anything more than ordinary caution, which should be exercised at all times anyway. Could be someone waiting to follow a client waiting to leave the offices where you pick up money sending via Azimo, but maybe just as likely at an ATM here. Leaving the Buquebus building returning from Colonia is probably safer overall because most thieves wouldn't be watching passengers to see if they have any telltales about carrying money (since there is not a concentration of people making a money run to Colonia) and I think that Colonia is reasonably safe for getting money out while you're there at the ATMs.

As far as going down to Florida, I've been doing exactly that for the 8 years I've lived here, sometimes more often than others, and have had zero incidents. Neither counterfeit bills nor issues where the cambios send someone to follow me, nor someone on the streets following me as I leave a cambio. The PFA are paid by the cambios to make the area safe. Best thing to do there is go to a street that crosses Florida (like Paraguay) and hop in a cab after you change money just to make sure.

Thanks a lot. What is the deal on Florida, is it better to change a small amount or can I just go ahead and change a lot? Where does the exchange typically take place?

 

[Matt84]

Florida will give you a better rate than many cuevas but if you change large amounts you run the risk of getting fake notes or even blank papers. It's better to find a tried and true cueva (informal exchange place with a solid clientele)

 

[ElQueso]

Better to change more, you'll get a better rate for the quantity. Make sure the bills are all 100s (you can change 50s and 20s but they will give you a terrible rate for those) and the bills should be relatively clean and not marked up. A couple of weeks ago I had a 100 bill that they rejected because it was missing a little corner, even with no numbers missing - didn't even impact the printed border but they wouldn't take it.

As for where the exchange happens, 95% of the time the guys on the street calling out "cambio, cambio" will take you to a store (often a "travel agency" that is obviously not a travel agency) along the street, usually in a nearby galeria, where the actual money changers are, out of sight of the public. If someone wants to change in public, tell him you're uncomfortable with that (he may take you to his bosses at that point) or leave and go to the next guy.

For the rate they offer you, I'd check dolarblue.net and see what the split is between buy and sell (either of the two top items listed - there's a number of blue rates) so you have an idea of what the rate should be. Don't go on Mondays and Fridays if you can help it because the rate is always worse on those days and never go on the weekends unless it's an emergency. you should expect 15 - 20 centavos less than the blue rate buy/sell split as a reasonable rate on Florida Tues-Thurs. That rate could be 40 centavos difference or worse Fri - Mon.

Also, if they mark you as a tourist (I speak good Spanish but have a bit of a US accent and they often mistake me for a tourist, most often from Brasil!) you could be offered a horrible rate. Last week at some point I was expecting at least 13.50 and I was offered 12.80, for example. In that case you tell the guy no thanks and move on - there are plenty of cambios on Florida and Lavalle as well, so you can take your pick. Most of the time they will follow you and say "alright, hey, what rate do you want?" Tell them what you're expecting and they may haggle a bit off of that, but you'll not get the horrible tourist rates.

 

[ElQueso]

Florida will give you a better rate than many cuevas but if you change large amounts you run the risk of getting fake notes or even blank papers. It's better to find a tried and true cueva (informal exchange place with a solid clientele)

Man, I've never gotten a fake note on Florida. I rarely change less than a grand and the most was around 5 grand. Have you had a bad experience there? I ask because I've heard people talking about counterfeits on Florida, but the guys I hear it from have never actually had the experience, they've only heard about it.

 

[semigoodlookin]

Man, I've never gotten a fake note on Florida. I rarely change less than a grand and the most was around 5 grand. Have you had a bad experience there? I ask because I've heard people talking about counterfeits on Florida, but the guys I hear it from have never actually had the experience, they've only heard about it.

It would be about a grand each time for me too, nothing crazy or anything.

 

[Matt84]

I have NOT, personally, had any bad experience in Florida, only stories and some common sense: lots of people might be eyeing you when you go into those gallerias after talking to the cambio guy. So just be careful, and yes they will give you a slightly better rate than any cueva.