Buenos Aires

[Ocotillo]

Turns out it's the new hot spot for American expatriates. What say you Argentinians?

Washington Post article (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/21/AR2006042100585.html)

http://media3.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/photo/2006/04/21/PH2006042100997.jpg

Expatriate Games
Travelers Are Heading to Buenos Aires for the Culture -- and Staying for the $250 Rent

By Allen Salkin
Special to The Washington Post
Sunday, April 23, 2006; Page P01

Meghan Curry starts her day with a walk to the river. The former real estate agent from Denver, who is 26, holds hands with her fiance, Patricio de Vasconcellos, 31, a wavy-haired Argentine with dark eyes, as they gaze over the coffee-colored waters of the Rio de la Plata. Around midday, when de Vasconcellos heads to work at the wine shop where the two met a year ago, Curry settles into her two-bedroom apartment to work on her travel memoir and a collection of poetry. Then she might nap or head downtown for café con leche with friends at one of the city's thousands of outdoor cafes. Later, much later, it's time for a slow dinner on Buenos Aires time, where many restaurants don't open until 10 p.m.

"This," said Curry, "I could never do if I had to earn more than $6,000 a year."

Her apartment rents for $250 a month. An espresso costs about 65 cents. A restaurant dinner -- appetizers, thick steaks and wine -- costs about $25 for two. Stylish leather handbags from designer boutiques go for $20. Tickets for first-run American movies are about $3.50.

Sound good? It did to Curry, who came to the city known as B.A. in February 2005, intending to stay for a few months and learn Spanish. Once in Argentina, she fell in love with the low-stress lifestyle and with de Vasconcellos, and now plans to stay indefinitely.

Curry is one of thousands of Americans and others who have given up lives in places like Washington, Los Angeles and London in the last three years -- some permanently, some temporarily. Lured by B.A.'s high culture at low prices, this new crop of expatriates aims to pursue dream versions of themselves in the Argentine capital.

"Prague was the place in the early 1990s," said Margaret Malewski, author of the 2005 guide "GenXpat: The Young Professional's Guide to Making a Successful Life Abroad." "B.A. is the hot spot now."

American retirees who choose to settle outside the United States are still heading to established locales like Costa Rica and San Miguel de Allende in Mexico, and there's a solid crop of baby boomers retreating to former Eastern Bloc countries like Bulgaria and Slovakia. But right now, the under-50 set is flocking to B.A., said Roger Gallo, publisher of the expatriate Web site Escapeartist.com.

"It's a fairly sophisticated city in which people from New York, San Francisco and other large cities can find a culture with which they can identify," Gallo said. "It's got one of the great opera houses in the world, acceptable jazz, tango. It has some good restaurants and good wine."

The rush started after January 2002 with the collapse of the Argentine peso, which in 2001 was 1 to 1 with the U.S. dollar and is now roughly 3 to 1. The once-expensive city became one of the world's great bargains for visitors. Add to that B.A.'s other basic attractions: pleasant weather, an efficient mass transit system, relatively low crime and a daily English-language newspaper, the Buenos Aires Herald, that lists everything from AA meetings to tryouts for the choir of the Danish Church.

According to the U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires, 23,000 U.S. citizens with addresses in Buenos Aires are currently registered with the embassy. But not all are finding what they came for. Some expats are thriving despite challenges, but others looking to leave their troubles back home have found new ones here.

There's more, just click on the link for the complete article.

[danyel]

Nice article, thanks for posting it.

[atxrocker]

i'll take costa rica over buenos aires anyday.

[Vashner]

Too bad the Bugs destroyed it..

ROUGHNECKS .. mount up!

[ManuLoco]

pleasant weather, an efficient mass transit system, relatively low crime

what? That guy has never been in Buenos Aires! :lol

[SequSpur]

They don't have chipsahoy, they still use Commodores and they have no Lowes or Home Depots for tile, pergo or wood floors.

[tlongII]

Too big and the slums are hideous. Other than that it is a nice place.

[ALVAREZ6]

Good article :tu

[Extra Stout]

BA is Paris at a 70% discount.

[NASpurs]

American retirees who choose to settle outside the United States are still heading to established locales like Costa Ricahttp://spurstalk.com/forums/images/smilies/smismokin.gif

[spurschick]

Hmmmm... very interesting. I've always wondered where in the hell I was going to live when I retired and I considered investigating Europe as an option. Perhaps B.A. would be worth looking into as well.

[Vashner]

I have some friends that retired in Cozumel. They said they spent 100k paying off the local officials just to get the title to a house and utility connections. Also if your a gringo your expected to give at least $1000 bucks to the police chief every year for "protection". The only way gringos can live there is with the corruption of grease.


EDIT: Btw I read on another forum a story that this guy did buy a small shack house in cozumel and didn't grease the cops after the chief asked.

The next day this lady ran out in front of his moped and layed down in the street. They threw his ass in jail, no food or water for 24 hours. Confiscated his moped and forced him to pay $10,000 grease to lady and cops.





Now my retirement spot.. Springs on the Frio river. Upstream of Garner, just north of Leakey.

[young_prosecutor]

I went there with my sorority.

[batman2883]

Too bad the Bugs destroyed it..

ROUGHNECKS .. mount up!
kell em...kill em all

[Manu'sMagicalLeftHand]

Then she might nap or head downtown for café con leche with friends at one of the city's thousands of outdoor cafes. Later, much later, it's time for a slow dinner on Buenos Aires time, where many restaurants don't open until 10 p.m.

Bullshit. Very, very late for a restaurant here would be openning at 9p.m..


Add to that B.A.'s other basic attractions: pleasant weather,
Obviously this article wasn't written in April. :lol


an efficient mass transit system, :lmao



Some expats are using the low cost of living to break into the cultural scene at a distance from their home countries, where life as an artist is less affordable.

Great, we get all the lazy Americans who don't want to work. They are stealing Argentinian jobs!!1! Kick 'em out! We don't want no gringos stealing jobs!


Buenos Aires has one of the world's most thriving late-night scenes. An evening out usually starts around 11 with steaks, sausages and wine at a local parilla (grill).

Again, bullshit. Very few times you start eating at 11. Most of the times it's between 8:30 and 10:30.


City streets are narrow Only in downtown. And we have the widest avenue in the world. Yeah, what a pointless record.


Curry, for instance, has found it difficult to relate to girlfriends in a city that singlemindedly worships a tall, thin ideal of beauty. "It's hard to meet local women who share your interest in things that aren't fashion- or bulimia-related," she said.

OMFG, what a pathetic loser! :lol
Seriously dude, we have girls with HUGE breasts and the best asses. You are a loser.


"They are living here because it's cheap," said Andrea Roiter, an accountant who was at the gallery event trying to recruit foreigners to join a weekly English-language conversation group with Argentines.

No shit, Sherlock. I guess they'd rather live in a place where they can't afford luxury...


"They are not making business investments that can help the economy grow." The devaluation of the peso caused many middle-class Argentines to struggle, with imports such as computers and cars becoming three times more expensive.

Hum, yes they are. They spend their money here. They open business. They promote tourism for other foreigners.


Curry became so homesick for her parents and for "a good bloody mary and a nice omelet"

You can get both easily, just learn the gotdamn language you filthy foreigners! :lol


Having learned fluent Spanish by avoiding English speakers during her first eight-month stint, she's living differently this time, courting expat friends and bringing a little bit of the United States to South America.

"Now I cook a lot of things I didn't eat much in the U.S.," Curry said, standing in her apartment in B.A.'s outlying Nuñez neighborhood. "Like meat loaf and mashed potatoes and apple pie."

See what I mean? It's not that complicated bitch! :lol

[ALVAREZ6]

What's not efficient about the mass transit system???


I think it is.



Manu'sMagicalLeftHand, ever been to LA or New York?

[Manu'sMagicalLeftHand]

What's not efficient about the mass transit system???


I think it is.



Manu'sMagicalLeftHand, ever been to LA or New York?

No, but I've been to London, Manchester, Madrid, Rome, Milan, Berlin, Munich, Glasgow, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Oslo, Moscow, Warsaw, Cracow, Paris, Montevideo, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Santiago de Chile, La Paz, Asunción, Lima, Bogotá, Medellín, Cali, Caracas, etc, etc, etc.

Our transport system is not the worst, but certainly it isn't the best. We have too many old trains, and people travel very uncomfortable in rush hours. The Bus and taxi system is OK, but the traffic is chaotic.

The only really good, on-schedule system is the subway.

[MaNuMaNiAc]

No, but I've been to London, Manchester, Madrid, Rome, Milan, Berlin, Munich, Glasgow, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Oslo, Moscow, Warsaw, Cracow, Paris, Montevideo, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Santiago de Chile, La Paz, Asunción, Lima, Bogotá, Medellín, Cali, Caracas, etc, etc, etc.

Our transport system is not the worst, but certainly it isn't the best. We have too many old trains, and people travel very uncomfortable in rush hours. The Bus and taxi system is OK, but the traffic is chaotic.

The only really good, on-schedule system is the subway.
Holy crap! hey Manu, how old are you? and what exactly do you do for a living??

[1369]

I'd retire to Argentina in a heartbeat. Find a nice little estancia (proper spelling?) outside Cordoba, shoot case after case of rounds at palomas, drink plenty of Quilmes and eat two inch thick steaks on a regular basis.

Been to Argentina a few times and I love the people and the atmosphere of the country. Too bad the economies down that way can't seem to get their shit together. If and when they do, with the resources out there, South America can become a major player in the world IMHO.

[Manu'sMagicalLeftHand]

Holy crap! hey Manu, how old are you? and what exactly do you do for a living??

23, and that's because of many reasons:

- I have 4 different nationalities from my grandfathers. So I went to Spain, Poland, Lithuania and Italy to visit distant family. We took the chance to visit many other places in Europe in those travels.

- My dad was given the chance to go to Scandinavia and the UK because of his work. We also stopped for a day in Switzerland.

- Uruguay, Chile, Colombia and Brazil: Vacations with my parents.

- Bolivia, Paraguay and Peru: Vacations with my friends.

Of course, most of those travels were in the days of the mothereffing Turk and his 1 peso=1 dollar policy. Since 2001, I only went to Uruguay, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay and Peru.

[1369]

Since 2001, I only went to Uruguay, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay and Peru.

I thought Argentinans only went to Brazil under penalty of death or exile... :lol

[Manu'sMagicalLeftHand]

I thought Argentinans only went to Brazil under penalty of death or exile... :lol

Lol, actually, before the 2001 devaluation of the peso, a lot of Argentinians used to take their summer vacations in the Brazilian beaches, specially those of the south.

[ALVAREZ6]

Our transport system is not the worst, but certainly it isn't the best. We have too many old trains, and people travel very uncomfortable in rush hours. The Bus and taxi system is OK, but the traffic is chaotic.

The only really good, on-schedule system is the subway.
Who cares about trains, the taxis are fine, and so is the subway.

Also, isn't the highway system pretty good there too?


I think the transport system is fine, but I haven't been there in 2 years and maybe I'm remembering wrong images. I'm going back to Buenos Aires in July, so I'll see when I'm there.

[Manu'sMagicalLeftHand]

Who cares about trains, the taxis are fine, and so is the subway.

Also, isn't the highway pretty good there too?


I think the transport system is fine, but I haven't been there in 2 years and maybe I'm remembering wrong images. I'm going back to Buenos Aires in July, so I'll see when I'm there.

For a tourist, taxis are fine. But if you live in the city, you are not going to take taxis everyday, unless you are filthy rich.

The highway and subway systems are good, but if you live in Gran Buenos Aires or in a corner of the city (like Devoto, Liniers, Nuñez, Lugano), you still have some time to get there. And once you get down of the highway, you are back into the traffic jam.

In rush hours everyone seems to be heading or leaving downtown, which is what causes the traffic jams, the packed trains and buses. This problem has particulary increased in the last two years with the economic recovery, I've read that there are between 10 and 20% more cars circulating than last year.

[ALVAREZ6]

Rush hours in cities are the same everywhere, people are always heading or leaving downtown.




Only approximately 1 million people live on the island of Manhattan, but 6 million come into Manhattan and then leave every single day. That is what I call traffic.





But you do bring up a good point about the taxis and how you aren't going to use them everyday unless you are rich, but how bad is it get in the subways during rush hour?

How long does it take for someone to get from downtown to Belgrano or Palermo on the subway during rush hour?

[Manu'sMagicalLeftHand]

Rush hours in cities are the same everywhere, people are always heading or leaving downtown.




Only approximately 1 million people live on the island of Manhattan, but 6 million come into Manhattan and then leave every single day. That is what I call traffic.





But you do bring up a good point about the taxis and how you aren't going to use them everyday unless you are rich, but how bad is it get in the subways during rush hour?

How long does it take for someone to get from downtown to Belgrano or Palermo on the subway during rush hour?

When travelling through the subway, the problem is not the time or distance. It's how you travel.

In the peak rush hour (8-9 a.m. and 5-6 p.m.) you go packed almost like sardines. The subway is the fastest way of leaving downtown, faster than a bus, a car or a taxi.

From downtown, to Palermo or Belgrano, you have 5-10 minutes depending when you catch the subway (a frequency of 4-6 minutes). For the rest of the day, the subway is the best transport. Cheap, fast, and you can get a sit depending the hour.

Don't get me wrong. I love this city, it's beautiful. But something should be done to improve the transport system, specially if the economy keeps growing and more people use cars or travel downtown. I don't know, another highway or another subway line (it is projected that the current lines reach almost the General Paz, but that's not a solution, the subway lines will be even more packed).

Well now I can officially be called the Buenos Aires Buddy Holly, I just need to steal some pics.

[ALVAREZ6]

Yeah I know you get packed like sardines in the subway, I have experienced that there, but it's not that bad, it's for a short period of time, and it's cheap.


I do think they should make more lines, from what I remember, there's not many subway lines. All lines head straight to downtown, from what I remeber, I don't even think there are any subway lines that go vertical, they all head east to downtown right?

I'm not saying they have to turn it into a Paris subway system, but in that direction.

[ALVAREZ6]

I just found this picture off the internet.

http://www.urbanrail.net/am/buen/buenos-aires-map.gif

[NASpurs]

haha I love you Argentines. Che boludos! (no offence, I just wanted to say that) :lol

You guys have an incredible dirty humor if you're anything like the people on those Argentine channels.

[Manu'sMagicalLeftHand]

Yeah I know you get packed like sardines in the subway, I have experienced that there, but it's not that bad, it's for a short period of time, and it's cheap.


I do think they should make more lines, from what I remember, there's not many subway lines. All lines head straight to downtown, from what I remeber, I don't even think there are any subway lines that go vertical, they all head east to downtown right?

I'm not saying they have to turn it into a Paris subway system, but in that direction.

Exactly, there should be at least two lines that run like the General Paz, or like Juan B. Justo, to give two examples. Something like the projected H line, but not so close to downtown. So, if you wanna go from Belgrano to Flores, you don't have to go all the way to 9 de Julio to combine lines.

[ALVAREZ6]

Exactly.


That has to be a pain in the ass if you want to just go south when you live in NW Buenos Aires, and you have to go downtown to switch lines.

[AlamoSpursFan]

Seriously dude, we have girls with HUGE breasts and the best asses.

I'll be right down.

:lol

[ManuLoco]

we have girls with HUGE breasts and the best asses.

Definitely the best asses (brazilians may argue in this one) but I'm not sure about the "huge breasts" :depressed .
He said women are bullimic because most of the girls in the US are huge (fat for us but slim to them). What I love most in our women are the skin colour (americans are too white), their waist...I love thin waists :elephant (no more than 65 cm :fro ) and the way they dress (and the way they undress :smokin )