Who has left or is planning to leave?

[sergio]

I think the question is just how bad do things have to get to compel people to leave?

 

[sergio]

I loved Buenos Aires once with such a passion but now that seems like a distant dream. In 2003 when I moved here there was a joy in the streets and most people were living a decent life . Remember from 2003 to 2009 Argentina had one of the fastest growing economies of the planet and with a stable currency and low inflation of less than 25% annually it was one of the best periods ever in our history . Food was much better quality then and for less than US$ 10 you could eat in most restaurants in the city a large meal . Palermo Soho was my barrio then and it still retained a bohemian feeling then and its people were very friendly and welcoming .

Most porteños are struggling terribly now and will gladly leave for sunnier shores now . For me the best bet is Peru to live in . Arequipa is the jewel there with a very low cost of living and great lifestlye

I can't say that I remember a moment when there was 'joy in the streets'. I do recall the crisis of 2001 when the country defaulted, bank accounts were converted from dollars to highly devalued pesos and then frozen. People lost their life savings. People were desperately eking out a living. Eventually the economy improved but most people remained poor by first world standards. You only had to travel into the province of BA or worse, into the towns of the north to see grave poverty. Malnutrition was frequently reported in the newspapers. A doctor at a private clinic told me how his father, a surgeon in Formosa, had to provide his own surgical instruments because the hospital was lacking in basics. If there was any happier time in Argentina it was during the Menem years, especially the first term (toward the end of the second term the economy started to get bumpy) when there was almost no inflation, the peso was pegged to the dollar and property values were low. Just about every taxi driver had been to Miami and "Disney" and there was some feeling of optimism. Whether the Menem/Cavallo ecomomic plan was realistic is a matter for debate but the sense one had living in Argentina was more optimistic than I have ever seen it. Post 2001 default the economy improved with what you say was 25% inflation. Most people wouldn't consider that stability however it's true that some people were making money though I really do NOT believe that most people were living well. That's not what I saw, especially when leaving the bubble of Recoleta, Barrio Norte, Zona Norte etc. You only have to look at the tremendous expansion of Villa 31 to see how poverty had increased long before the current government. That the situation now is bad goes without saying but the Golden Age (if ever there was such a time) was many decades ago. And if it had been so golden, there would have been no need for a demagogue like Peron. Demagogues only come to power when there is a void, when something is wrong.

 

[antipodean]

I loved Buenos Aires once with such a passion but now that seems like a distant dream. In 2003 when I moved here there was a joy in the streets and most people were living a decent life . Remember from 2003 to 2009 Argentina had one of the fastest growing economies of the planet and with a stable currency and low inflation of less than 25% annually it was one of the best periods ever in our history . Food was much better quality then and for less than US$ 10 you could eat in most restaurants in the city a large meal . Palermo Soho was my barrio then and it still retained a bohemian feeling then and its people were very friendly and welcoming .

Most porteños are struggling terribly now and will gladly leave for sunnier shores now . For me the best bet is Peru to live in . Arequipa is the jewel there with a very low cost of living and great lifestlye

Joy on the streets in 2003? With a 63% poverty rate, in which more than 20% of people were people classed as "indigent", right after Argentina's most violent and traumatic economic collapses? Most people living a decent life? (63% poverty ...does not compute Will Robinson!) 2003 was somehow better than today?

Perhaps the only joy in the street back then was newly arrived foreigners feeling like kings of the world with dollars to spend in a bargain-basement economy, much like the "joy" those eagerly watching the WU rate back in 2022/2023 so they could feel the satisfaction of paying $15 for a three course steak dinner with wine.

¿Cómo evolucionó la pobreza en la Argentina con cada presidente?

El INDEC informó que en el primer semestre de 2024 el 52,9% de las personas se encontraban bajo la línea de la pobreza y el 18,1% por debajo de la línea de indigencia. La nueva cifra de...

chequeado.com

 

[Ronnie Hotdogs]

By the way BKK may be cheap if you want to live off street food and drink bottles of Chang in your abode but other than that I when I was there few months ago I found it expensive.

 

[Kenitobkk]

Txs @Ceviche knowledgable Sharp good guy.

Is there a @Ceviche equivalent on Thailand expats website?

Argentina isn't the cheapest

I have used Numbeo to compare Buenos Aires and Bangkok: https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_cities.jsp?country1=Thailand&city1=Bangkok&country2=Argentina&city2=Buenos+Aires&displayCurrency=USD Assuming the site's correctness it looks like Buenos Aires is overall cheaper than Bangkok.

baexpats.org

You might find the info in my post from Sep 2023 useful in terms of prices.

 

[Caribbean Cool]

Can't wait until you lot pack your vacuous bags and F off, that'll be the best reset for BA and your shallow spoons. Embarrassing

One thing great about BKK is that is has tigers and Jimbobs....

 

[QuilmesSlo]

By the way BKK may be cheap if you want to live off street food and drink bottles of Chang in your abode but other than that I when I was there few months ago I found it expensive.

Not to mention that your friends will start whispering pedo guy behind your back.

 

[QuilmesSlo]

[elon musk joke -- please do not take offense]

 

[jbeas176]

this is the craziest thread i have ever read. indonesia and your looking for a safe place to live to avoid wwlll. wow. north korea, japan, china. you have to be kidding me. the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, so they say. viva argentina.

 

[Caribbean Cool]

Not to mention that your friends will start whispering pedo guy behind your back.

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