Re: Ask TheMetetron about living in or visiting Buenos Aires, Argentin
 

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[ QUOTE ]
IMO, it's a shame that so many people come to this country and only see Buenos Aires and a few places around here. This country has a wealth of natural parks and beautiful places that must be seen.

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Beautiful country. Im curious if you travelled outside of BA by car. I like to take day trips/explore by car, and I am wondering if it is feasible to live in BA and have a car.

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whangarei,

There is absolutely no need to have a car within the city of Buenos Aires. It will be far more of a headache than anything and won't help you get around any quicker. People drive crazy here and I wouldn't want the liability.

You can rent a car to go explore the rest of the country, but it is generally very expensive at like $50-100 a day if I remember correctly. For this reason, everyone takes buses or flies to other parts of the countries depending on where it is. The buses are pretty cheap and a good way to get to parts of the country under a 10 hour bus ride away.

Re: Ask TheMetetron about living in or visiting Buenos Aires, Argentin
 

[ QUOTE ]
Metetron -

After spending the day at Barnes & Nobles reading Argentina travel books, I'm leaning heavily towards a BA relocation. Any further experiences you can share regarding setting up an account with Party (and Neteller?) would be enormously appreciated.

[/ QUOTE ]

Subfallen,

You send in a copy of your passport and lease agreement to them and they change your address. With Party Poker this is a lot bigger pain in the ass than it really should be. 95% of your emails go unanswered and you have to keep calling and emailing until you get lucky. I hate this company.

Re: Ask TheMetetron about living in or visiting Buenos Aires, Argentin
 

"Picking up in Argentina is very easy for an American. They differentiate between US people and US policy. You need to have Argentine friends though, and if it's female friends, women will sort of openly flirt. E.g., they'll openly talk to you, but they'll wait till your girlfriend goes to the bathroom before giving you their number (or showing up at your hotel). Guys who head out alone will have a lot more difficulty. There are a class of dolled up girls called "gatos" (cats) who basically shoot guys down all night and then talk about how cute they (the shot-down guys) were. Many women do this on the street with eye-contact games.

Also, if you get caught cheating, your girlfriend wants you more, as do other women. It's [censored] up. Women are insanely jealous and think nothing of going through your pockets after you go to bed after a night out with the guys, looking for evidence of chicanery. I knew a Canadian there who spoke the local accent perfectly, had lots of cash, and only dated ex-pats despite LOTs of options.

Age acceptable difference is freaky. I shot down girls when I found out they were 17 (looked 24). The 35-year-old next to me called me an idiot. Lots of guys get divorced around 40 and shack up with a late-teens, early 20's girl.

They are by and large very racist and unapologetic about it. I've seen people leaving their leftovers for a stray dog and ignoring the native-American, obviously hungry, prostitute on the corner."

Wtf, have you ever even been to BA? I give your review a C-.

For the most part I'd tend to agree with most everything Metetron and Chairman Wood have said thus far in the thread.

I'll chime in some now, as I just got back from a nearly 3 week vacation in Bolivia.

Re: Ask TheMetetron about living in or visiting Buenos Aires, Argentin
 

[ QUOTE ]

1. When Argentines make jokes about dumb people (like Polock jokes in the US), where do the stupid people come from?
2. When Argentinian mothers tell their children to finish their food, from where do the starving people come? (ex. Africa, Ethiopia, India)
3. Do you like the juh sound they make when pronouncing words with y's or ll's? (Say this 5 times fast Yo lloré ya)
4. Same for "vos".
5. (probably the most important) Who is the best football player ever to put on a Sevilla jersey? (hint: it's incredibly easy to get this, if you can't watch, my avatar for a bit)
6. Know anything about this Fazio guy Sevilla just signed? He's a center back on the Argentina under 21 team.

[/ QUOTE ]

1. Chileans, Bolivians, Peruvians.
2. Ehhhh
3. I like it, and can't quit it.
4. 2Legit2 quit.
5. El Diego.
6. Fazio is a great pickup, looks like a good prospect. I haven't seen him play outside of the U-20s, but he's got good size and quickness, and a good head on his shoulders. I saw on the news that Athletico Madrid just signed some 12 yr old. Damn I feel old.

Re: Ask TheMetetron about living in or visiting Buenos Aires, Argentin
 

How much does your apartment(the one you posted pics of) cost?

The stuff you said about not being able to pick up chicks unless you are with a girl and girls liking you better if you are cheating on them... Is this based on your personal experiences or what other people tell you?

"With Party Poker this is a lot bigger pain in the ass than it really should be. 95% of your emails go unanswered and you have to keep calling and emailing until you get lucky. I hate this company."

It might be because I am probably in the top 25 for Party rake contribution in 2006, but this was a pretty painless process for me.

Re: Ask TheMetetron about living in or visiting Buenos Aires, Argentin
 

[ QUOTE ]

The stuff you said about not being able to pick up chicks unless you are with a girl and girls liking you better if you are cheating on them...


[/ QUOTE ]

I don't think Metetron was the one that said this, and the statement was almost entirely inaccurate.

I personally live here with my fiance and while I'm 100% faithful, have been approached by a few and heavily flirted with by a good number of Argentine girls while alone, with friends, or whatever. Argentine girls, while generally passive (just due to the aggressiveness of the Argentine guys which rivals the Italians)

Argentine women liking you better if you cheat? Wtf? Just retyping that makes me feel silly.

I will say however that nearly 100% of Argentine guys cheat, and the women are all in a kind of unspoken denial. I have friends who have 2-3 serious girlfriends that don't know about each other. It's pretty much a don't ask don't tell type of thing..

Re: Ask TheMetetron about living in or visiting Buenos Aires, Argentin
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

The stuff you said about not being able to pick up chicks unless you are with a girl and girls liking you better if you are cheating on them...


[/ QUOTE ]

I don't think Metetron was the one that said this, and the statement was almost entirely inaccurate.

[/ QUOTE ]

I wasn't, but it took a second to realize you weren't the one saying it. The quoting wasn't very easy to see.

KKF,

The apartment I posted pictures of is grossly overpriced, but was all I could find availability at last minute. I'm moving into a new place for $975 in two weeks or so. Keep in mind I am mostly paying for location here. The same apartment in even Palermo would be $600 or so. Anyways, here are pictures of the apartment I'm moving into:

http://www.bytargentina.com/re/files...scn6897_OK.jpg
The Lobby

http://www.bytargentina.com/re/files...scn6900_OK.jpg
The Building

http://www.bytargentina.com/re/files...scn6867_OK.jpg
Living Room

http://www.bytargentina.com/re/files...scn6878_OK.jpg
Bedroom

http://www.bytargentina.com/re/files...scn6882_OK.jpg
Bathroom

http://www.bytargentina.com/re/files...scn6885_OK.jpg
Kitchen

http://www.bytargentina.com/re/files...scn6891_OK.jpg
Balcony

http://www.bytargentina.com/re/files...scn6894_OK.jpg
Gym

http://www.bytargentina.com/re/files...scn6896_OK.jpg
Rooftop Pool / Asado Area

Keep in mind I definitely could have spent less, but I like it for location, amentities, furnishings, etc. I wouldn't be as happy somewhere else.

Re: Ask TheMetetron about living in or visiting Buenos Aires, Argentin
 

what neighborhood is this in?

Re: Ask TheMetetron about living in or visiting Buenos Aires, Argentin
 

[ QUOTE ]
what neighborhood is this in?

[/ QUOTE ]

Recoleta


Edit: I've got this place rented for a long time, don't think you can jack it [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Re: Ask TheMetetron about living in or visiting Buenos Aires, Argentin
 

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Argentina is definitely the safest South American country... and has a lower rate of violent crime than any country in both North and South America except for Canada*.

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LOL.

Re: Ask TheMetetron about living in or visiting Buenos Aires, Argentin
 

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[ QUOTE ]
Argentina is definitely the safest South American country... and has a lower rate of violent crime than any country in both North and South America except for Canada*.

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LOL.

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I used a few too many absolutes in that statement and I believe I later clarified and added Chile as around as safe as BsAs. I also said Argentina when I meant Buenos Aires in this context.

I can look it up by I'm fairly certain the violent crime in Argentina is below the United States which is the point I was trying to get across. I certainly feel as safe if not safer in Buenos Aires than in many cities in the United States.

Re: Ask TheMetetron about living in or visiting Buenos Aires, Argentin
 

[ QUOTE ]
whangarei,

There is absolutely no need to have a car within the city of Buenos Aires. It will be far more of a headache than anything and won't help you get around any quicker. People drive crazy here and I wouldn't want the liability.

You can rent a car to go explore the rest of the country, but it is generally very expensive at like $50-100 a day if I remember correctly. For this reason, everyone takes buses or flies to other parts of the countries depending on where it is. The buses are pretty cheap and a good way to get to parts of the country under a 10 hour bus ride away.

[/ QUOTE ]

I share the same sentiments as Met about driving here. I wouldn't want to do it within the city. I've only heard of one city that might be worse and that is Mexico City. But just for completeness it really depends on what feasible means to you. You would have to find a parking garage which really shouldn't be too hard and I don't think they are that expensive to rent by the month. I believe I've seen numbers before and they didn't strike me as alarming although I can't remember them right now. The cost of owning a car I believe is very near what you would pay in the US. You will pay for it of course in dollars as you would with any big purchase due to the fact that the peso can change pretty significantly on a day to day basis. Financing though, for foreigners would be nonexistant. Another thing though, gas prices are much much cheaper. It gets cheaper in other places but today gas in buenos aires was around $1.40/gallon

Buses are a good way to get around the country. A little time consuming but affordable and convienent.

Re: Ask TheMetetron about living in or visiting Buenos Aires, Argentin
 

[ QUOTE ]
The stuff you said about not being able to pick up chicks unless you are with a girl and girls liking you better if you are cheating on them... Is this based on your personal experiences or what other people tell you?

[/ QUOTE ]
That was me but not quite what I said. I could have done fine there without a girl, but in venues like clubs it would have been a lot harder.

As for cheating and your stock going up thing, that was my personal experience, as well as what long-time ex-pats and native girls told me. The girls wouldn't come out and say that, but we'd talk about relationships and [censored] and it was pretty apparent, especially given their behavior.

A lot of jealousy, spying, drama comes with this territory.
Argentine women liking you better if you cheat? Wtf? Just retyping that makes me feel silly.
[ QUOTE ]
Argentine women liking you better if you cheat? Wtf? Just retyping that makes me feel silly.

I will say however that nearly 100% of Argentine guys cheat, and the women are all in a kind of unspoken denial.

[/ QUOTE ]
How do you think 100% of men in relationships cheat if there aren't lot of willing women? There's certainly denial in a lot of women, but it doesn't change the behavior.

I'm also not saying they "like" you more if you cheat, they "want" you more if you do, and there's no social stigma attached to it if you're discreet.

Re: Ask TheMetetron about living in or visiting Buenos Aires, Argentin
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
The stuff you said about not being able to pick up chicks unless you are with a girl and girls liking you better if you are cheating on them... Is this based on your personal experiences or what other people tell you?

[/ QUOTE ]
That was me but not quite what I said. I could have done fine there without a girl, but in venues like clubs it would have been a lot harder.

As for cheating and your stock going up thing, that was my personal experience, as well as what long-time ex-pats and native girls told me. The girls wouldn't come out and say that, but we'd talk about relationships and [censored] and it was pretty apparent, especially given their behavior.

A lot of jealousy, spying, drama comes with this territory.
Argentine women liking you better if you cheat? Wtf? Just retyping that makes me feel silly.
[ QUOTE ]
Argentine women liking you better if you cheat? Wtf? Just retyping that makes me feel silly.

I will say however that nearly 100% of Argentine guys cheat, and the women are all in a kind of unspoken denial.

[/ QUOTE ]
How do you think 100% of men in relationships cheat if there aren't lot of willing women? There's certainly denial in a lot of women, but it doesn't change the behavior.

I'm also not saying they "like" you more if you cheat, they "want" you more if you do, and there's no social stigma attached to it if you're discreet.

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, if you go to any foreign country, being with friends of any gender will help you pick up women.... because frankly, people who are alone are creepy. Think about it. What women look for in a guy go like this:

1. Don't rape me or kill me.
2. Money, looks, looks personality etc... etc...

Guys with friends aren't as likely to be planet roaming serial killers. Guys hanging out with girls even moreso.

I've lived here for almost 2 years, and am very deep in Argentine culture, and I can without a doubt tell you that your 2nd statement is almost entirely false.

Women may be a little more indifferent to the cheating, as it's kind of ingrained in the machismo culture here, but I promise you, when boyfriend actually gets caught and the cheating is out in the air, the [censored] hits the fan here just like anywhere else.

Just think "The Sopranos" or any other show or movie you've watched with Italian culture. The women all know deep down that their men have mistresses, but live happy content little lives until the definite proof accidentally surfaces. ... Then Carmela kicks Tony out. GO BACK TO YA WHOOOA.


Oh, y Valenzuela... puto chileno de mierda (j/k).... what Metetron says about violent crime is 100% accurate, although it is on the rise (just like in Santiago).

Just follow obvious rules of safety (aka don't walk into ghetto at night) and you're extremely safe.

I've never once felt threatened here, and my blond 5'3" girlfriend has even taken a couple cabs home at 3-5 am without ever a problem (although I wouldn't recommend that).

Re: Ask TheMetetron about living in or visiting Buenos Aires, Argentin
 

I just got medical insurance so I can finally answer the questions I got earlier about it.

There are many private hospitals and private insurance carriers in Argentina. The private hospitals are somewhat cheaper than the private insurance compnies. It should be noted that you don't technical need to pay for one of these as there is a public health system that will cover foreigners as well, but I'd prefer not to deal with that bureaucracy and wait times.

The private insurance company that I went to was Swiss Medical. They had two all-inclusive plans: one for just specific places Buenos Aires and one that was good all over Argentina at practically anywhere. The limited plan was 140 pesos. My plan was 190 pesos. I'm sure this is adjusted based on your age (I'm 22).

It includes pretty much everything without any co-pays or deductibles. It also includes full dental and they pay for half of any orthodontics you may want/need. You can see a doctor within 15 minutes of showing up at one of their facilities in most cases. Most doctors speak English and you can request one that does so when making your appointment.

My first time using this will be in a few days when I get my teeth cleaned. I'll let everyone know how it worked out in doing so.


Edit: Whoops. Forgot the exchange rate. 3.1 pesos is 1 US Dollar.

Re: Ask TheMetetron about living in or visiting Buenos Aires, Argentin
 

Great thread.

My $0.02.

I left the UK nearly 4yrs ago...to pursue a Perpetual Traveller lifestyle, online poker being my source of income. Ended up in Buenos Aires two years ago.

It's possible to live here for many years on a tourist visa....just hop on a ferry to Uruguay every 3 months.

TheMeteron is bang on with pretty much everything he says.

You don't necessarily have to bother with language school. Get yourself a local GF....a much more fun way to learn [img]/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img]

Biggest downsides to BA:

The noise.
I live on Av Cabildo in Belgrano...pretty much 24/7 traffic.

The food.
Man am I fed up of pasta, pizza, meat and empanadas! Thank god for Barrio Chino (ChinaTown).

The dirt.
Have to say most Argentines don't seem to give a [censored] about litter, have yet to see a Porteno use the bins on the street. Also there's dog [censored] all over the pavements in Belgrano. (All those f-ing poodles!).

I've never once felt in danger here. Argentina is WAY safer than Paraguay for e.g (the GF is Paraguayan). In the better off barrios there's practically a cop on every block. I'm actually more fearful of them than strangers. (Always carry a 100 peso note in your wallet....usually solves any 'misunderstandings').

The people are what make this place IMO. They are warm, friendly and welcoming as a rule. Never had a problem with being English, locals love to joke about the 'hand of god', and I always tell them that Las Malvinas (The Falklands) are theirs. Usually goes down well. The girls are beautiful and plentiful...99% dark skinned, dark haired....if a little high-maintainance at times.

Rents are rising fast. I got lucky last summer and found a studio flat in a brand new building, fully furnished (all brand new), AC, cable, broadband, cleaner service (said Paraguayan [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img])....and best of all pool for 600USD/month, all-in. Expect to pay $800...especially if going through an Inmobiliaria (estate agent).

TheMetereon: fancy a few cervezas sometime?!

Re: Ask TheMetetron about living in or visiting Buenos Aires, Argentin
 

[ QUOTE ]
Biggest downsides to BA:

The noise.
I live on Av Cabildo in Belgrano...pretty much 24/7 traffic.

[/ QUOTE ]

If you live on an Avenida then yeah, you are going to get noise. I live two blocks from Santa Fe but that is far enough away to block out any noise problems.

[ QUOTE ]
The food.
Man am I fed up of pasta, pizza, meat and empanadas! Thank god for Barrio Chino (ChinaTown).

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm going to disagree but I haven't been here long enough. I actually get to eat out more often since it is so damn cheap. I've actually only had pasta once so far and it was when a friend cooked it. I just don't eat at the traditional stuff all the time. There are good chinese, sushi, Indian, Mexican, and Thai restaurants here that help balance out all of the meat and empanadas and pasta. I keep a pretty good balance and haven't found myself getting sick of anything yet. The wine is amazing for $3-4 a bottle. Makes the meal.

[ QUOTE ]
The dirt.
Have to say most Argentines don't seem to give a [censored] about litter, have yet to see a Porteno use the bins on the street. Also there's dog [censored] all over the pavements in Belgrano. (All those f-ing poodles!).

[/ QUOTE ]

This is any big city though. Walk down NYC and there is trash thrown on the street and dog [censored] everywhere. I personally don't think it is that bad, but when I see one of those dog walkers with 25 dogs have them all simultaneously crap at once in front of my place and he just keeps walking, I want to strangle him. That said, this is like NYC or Dublin in dirtiness... not Mexico City.

[ QUOTE ]
I've never once felt in danger here. Argentina is WAY safer than Paraguay for e.g (the GF is Paraguayan). In the better off barrios there's practically a cop on every block. I'm actually more fearful of them than strangers. (Always carry a 100 peso note in your wallet....usually solves any 'misunderstandings').

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, there is definitely a cop every few blocks in my area even in the middle of the night. Have yet to run into a problem with them.

[/ QUOTE ]

[ QUOTE ]
99% dark skinned, dark haired

[/ QUOTE ]

Wait... were we in the same Argentina? I'll give you the 90%+ dark-haired, but almost no one has dark skin. They are 90%+ white.


And yes I will take a few beers anytime.

Re: Ask TheMetetron about living in or visiting Buenos Aires, Argentin
 

I have one Mexican place about 5 blocks from me, and about 40 'typical' restaurants/parillas within the same distance....practically 40 identical menus [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]
Guess I should jump in a cab now and then to get to a chinese/indian/thai restaurant. I cook a curry once a week, the rest of the time I eat out.

There really is quite little real diversity here, I have yet to meet (or even see) an Indian/Pakistani/Bangladeshi in BA for e.g. Sure you get plenty of Chileans/Bolivians/Paraguayans etc.

I have 'lived' (more than 2 months) in London, Cape Town, Sydney, Perth, Christchurch and Toronto, and visited Boston, NYC, LA, San-Francisco and Vegas in the past 4yrs. All have a trash problem, none on a par with BA in my experience. As for las Provincias......

You haven't seen white until you've seen British white (I mean that in a self-derogatory way!). By dark-skinned I mean tanned/Mediterranean. Very sexy.

Re: Ask TheMetetron about living in or visiting Buenos Aires, Argentin
 

I didn't mean to imply parillas didn't vastly outnumber other types of restaurants, just saying that they do exist. It clearly doesn't have the vast number of ethnic restaurants like NYC or something of that nature, but if you are willing to hop in a cab its definitely doable.

You are correct on the complete lack of diversity in BsAs which is odd for a city of 10 million people. Only once in a while will I see an Asian person. Even less often do I see blacks or middle easterners.

I guess the trash thing depends on where you are then. I don't really see it too much here near where I live... not even close to as bad as Dublin was when I was there a few months ago.

Yes, they aren't pale, but they are Caucasian for the most part. And yes the Mediterranean thing is hot.

Re: Ask TheMetetron about living in or visiting Buenos Aires, Argentin
 

Can you recommend a good ethnic restaurant TheMetetron? I'm guessing Palermo might be the best shout? I'd love to find a good Thai place.

Not trying to paint a bad picture of BA, I love it hear 99% of the time. Nowhere's perfect.

It's great to step out of the West's culture of fear for example. The media isn't plastered with terrorist threats, parents don't assume that every stranger who talks to their kid is a paedophile etc etc.

Of course, the weak peso also helps. [img]/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img]

Re: Ask TheMetetron about living in or visiting Buenos Aires, Argentin
 

I'm going to defer to Chairman Wood for a good Thai place. I'm sure he knows the restaurants better than me. I would guess Palermo as well though.

Re: Ask TheMetetron about living in or visiting Buenos Aires, Argentin
 

Audi,
Can you describe Chinatown? Thanks.

Met,
That is a nice apartment and you wont have to worry about trying to sell your furniture if you decide to leave in a few years.

---Does anyone on 2+2 live in a different SA country? I would really like to hear about Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile, and Peru.

Where is the Bruiser to talk about Latin America?

Re: Ask TheMetetron about living in or visiting Buenos Aires, Argentin
 

From Wikipedia

"the population of Argentina is heavily made up of inhabitants of a white European background - 97%[17], the largest being Italians, and Spaniards. There are also significant German, Polish, French, and Slavic populations."

"The Chinese population alone has risen dramatically, now at over 60,000."

Wow, I never would have guessed there were that many whites.

Re: Ask TheMetetron about living in or visiting Buenos Aires, Argentin
 

Met,

How religous are people there? Wikipedia says only 7% of people are non-secular, which seems like a pretty low number.

Re: Ask TheMetetron about living in or visiting Buenos Aires, Argentin
 

[ QUOTE ]
Met,

How religous are people there? Wikipedia says only 7% of people are non-secular, which seems like a pretty low number.

[/ QUOTE ]

I believe the official religion may still be Catholicism. If not, you have to be Catholic to be president. Still, it is very much symbolic. The vast majority of people are Catholic (some Jews, Muslims, and Protestants though) but they don't really practice. Sort of like in the United States as far as I can tell.

Re: Ask TheMetetron about living in or visiting Buenos Aires, Argentin
 

[ QUOTE ]
From Wikipedia

"the population of Argentina is heavily made up of inhabitants of a white European background - 97%[17], the largest being Italians, and Spaniards. There are also significant German, Polish, French, and Slavic populations."

"The Chinese population alone has risen dramatically, now at over 60,000."

Wow, I never would have guessed there were that many whites.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah that's pretty accurate. Argentines who have been here for generations are white. They came from Europe over a hundred years ago. The non-whites are all people who immigrated later from other parts of SA or Asia.

Re: Ask TheMetetron about living in or visiting Buenos Aires, Argentin
 

[ QUOTE ]
Met,
That is a nice apartment and you wont have to worry about trying to sell your furniture if you decide to leave in a few years.

---Does anyone on 2+2 live in a different SA country? I would really like to hear about Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile, and Peru.

Where is the Bruiser to talk about Latin America?

[/ QUOTE ]

My apartment includes the furniture, so I never have to worry about selling it. Microbob can chime in on Peru as I think he spent a few weeks there recently. Also Boquense just spent 3 weeks or so all over Bolivia and he can give a pretty good comparison between that and Argentina. From what he told me, I have no desire to go to Bolivia. It is 3rd world in every sense of the word.

Re: Ask TheMetetron about living in or visiting Buenos Aires, Argentin
 

Overwhelming Catholic here, though only when they want to be, if you know what I mean.

China Town is actually pretty small. I wrote a short review of the place here quite a while back. Essentially it's a few blocks by a few blocks in size, with a range of restaurants from cheap buffet-style asian food to up-market sushi bars. There's 3-4 supermarkets selling Asian ingredients (very hard to find anywhere else in the city in my experience) and a few street stalls selling your typical chinese-style nik-naks.

Re: Ask TheMetetron about living in or visiting Buenos Aires, Argentin
 

[ QUOTE ]
Met,

How religous are people there? Wikipedia says only 7% of people are non-secular, which seems like a pretty low number.




[/ QUOTE ] Everyone is Catholic but they pretty much only go to church for weddings, funerals etc.

Re: Ask TheMetetron about living in or visiting Buenos Aires, Argentin
 

Metetron, great thread!
Like many others, I have been strongly considering relocating from the US. I must say that Beunos Aires really does sound like the perfect fit for me. However I was more into the casinos more than poker (though I have been forced to go back to poker since Neteller went down). I was wondering if you have had any experience with playing online casinos from Argentina. e.g. what form of ID do you send, passport and local utility bill?
Also, my girlfriend is currently in medical school and would like to continue her education wherever we decide to go. Are you familar with any of the local medical schools? From a google search it appears that the University of Beunos Aires has a pretty respectable program. What is the local consenus on the University?
Thanks again for the awesome thread. The Argentinain government should give you some money for this! [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

Re: Ask TheMetetron about living in or visiting Buenos Aires, Argentin
 

University of Buenos Aires is pretty well respected internationally. I can't give you too many specifics since I've never looked into it much. I'm not sure how the admissions process works at all.

Re: Ask TheMetetron about living in or visiting Buenos Aires, Argentin
 

The following was posted in an Internet Gambling forum by me where some people were started to get the idea they were moving to Buenos Aires for the wrong reasons and without much thought. I love BsAs, but I don't want anyone doing anything stupid.


I actually agree with the naysayers here.

If you aren't doing this because you love to travel, go to new places, and soak up their culture you aren't going to like it here or anywhere else for that matter.

You have to give up your family, friends, and everything you've ever known. You are moving to a new country with a different history, way of doing things, and language. If you come to Argentina and want to act like you still live in the United States and do things the American way you are going to be in for a big disappointment.

I'm beginning to get the feeling I've made moving to BsAs too appealing to people and there will be some people doing it who won't enjoy themselves here once they start to experience daily life. I couldn't be happier than I am here right now, but this is my personality and what makes me happy. If that's not you, don't come. Especially the guy who has never lived on his own... that guy trying to move to Argentina has me cringing. He is going to hate it.

Also, I didn't speak correctly. I mean rent is at least 1/3 as expensive here than in NYC even if you don't try. If you do, it can be 1/3 as expensive as say smaller cities in California. Everything else here is at least 1/3 as expensive as California, except for imported stuff.

Still, if the only reason you are here is because it is cheap and you want to play poker, you are coming for the wrong reasons and I don't want to hear any bitching when you arrive. Don't forget the hidden cost of Spanish classes if you are going to be here for more than 3 or so months. If you are here that long and don't learn Spanish it is going to severely limit your interaction with the locals. So far I only have 3-4 local friends, while I have 10-15 english speaking friends. This isn't a good distribution and you don't want to fall victim to that.

Argentina is awesome. I love it, but tread lightly and don't come in with unrealistic expectations. Yes, it's cheap. Yes, it's an awesome big city. Yes, it is fairly safe. Yes, it has an awesome nightlife and beautiful countryside. No, it's not paradise. I need to add an entry into that thread with the ten things I hate most about Argentina. They exist.

Re: Ask TheMetetron about living in or visiting Buenos Aires, Argentin
 

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University of Buenos Aires is pretty well respected internationally. I can't give you too many specifics since I've never looked into it much. I'm not sure how the admissions process works at all.

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The admissions process is actually quite a unique one. Apparantly, the only requirement for admission is a high school education, and its free. "Study at UBA is based on the Darwinian principle of survival of the fittest--everyone can enter, but only a small minority of the students who enroll eventually earn degrees--and they do this often by sheer persistence."

http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/soe/cih...s14/text3.html

Re: Ask TheMetetron about living in or visiting Buenos Aires, Argentin
 

Thing I Hate About Buenos Aires


- The dog walkers who have 30 dogs on their leash and let them take a crap anywhere on the street without picking it up. I don't know who picks it up but eventually its gone. Still, around the time all the dog walkers are out there is way too much crap on the ground.

- The way Argentine business are run. They are never on time for anything. Never. When I arrived I had to wait for 2 hours in front of my apartment building with all my luggage in a country I'd never been to before waiting for them to show up and let me in. Then when I got in, the chick didn't speak English and I had to wait another 30 minutes for an English speaking guy to come. Last night we reserved a room at this restaurant for 5. We get there and the area where our room was supposed to be in was closed and they had a reservation for 4 with no available tables for 5. This is surprisingly standard.

- The complexity of the bus system. This is good and bad. It's really easy to get around using buses, but there isn't a good map for sale anywhere. I picked up the "Guia T" which is the best you can get, but it is horribly put together. I take the subway and taxis everywhere for this reason. On the other hand, my friends who know the bus network swear by it and I'm sure once I figure it out it is an awesome way to get around for 26 cents.

- Cost of flights into and out of BsAs. It is a pretty isolated city geographically compared to the rest of the world. Even South Africa which isn't really that far away is expensive, because flights have to go through London. It is going to cost me at least $1,300 to get to Europe and trip home to the States are about the same price round trip. Luckily, most places in South America can be reached via very cheap buses. I think it was $30 or maybe a bit more for a friend to get to Bolivia.

- Watching the Super Bowl with Spanish commentators. There was a bar here that for U$S 25 would let you watch the American feed... yeah that's not happening. It wasn't so bad though being with friends and talking throughout the whole game. Rex is a joke.

- Apparently a lot of restaurants close between 3pm-8pm. I haven't experienced this yet, but apparently it is very common. Argentines eat a later dinner in case you didn't notice.

- Feeling like you are going to die every time you are in a cab. Sometimes the cab feels like it is going to explode. The rest of the time, people here have no idea how to drive and make 4 lane roads into 7 lane roads. Traffic laws are merely suggestions, but they do seem to follow the no right on red rule.

- For a city called Good Air, the air quality isn't that great. It is mostly the horrible buses that do it and luckily we get an offshore breeze to blow the pollution away, but if you are standing on the street and one of the buses drives by you, good luck trying not to cough.

- There is also more litter than there should be for a city with trash cans on every corner. I'm not sure what the story is here. Argentines can't really be that lazy. It isn't horribly bad or anything, but there shouldn't be any with the way the system is set up.

- Nobody can make [censored] change anywhere. Paying with a AR$100 bill is a pain in the ass (about U$S 33). Almost no one will have change without going back to the safe... and they never look happy about it.

- Buses/subways striking. I haven't experienced this either, but apparently large parts of the city can get shut down when everyone decides they want to strike. You won't get stuck in the middle of the subway line or anything, but this is how people get around and it [censored] things up a lot.

- The high cost of electronics. There is a 50% import tax on electronics and everything is imported. In addition to a 21% VAT on everything you buy, the price of consumer electronics is pretty high if you buy them here. Bring everything you want with you. Once you are here for a while you start to find friends that are going back for a bit or know people coming. It's not uncommon for them to pick up some stuff for you.

Re: Ask TheMetetron about living in or visiting Buenos Aires, Argentin
 

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I'm going to defer to Chairman Wood for a good Thai place. I'm sure he knows the restaurants better than me. I would guess Palermo as well though.

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We went to a crappy Thai place in Las Canitas that was horribly expensive and not very good at all. I highly recommend against it. I'll try to get the name posted here. There was no spice at all in the food and we paid $5 for a liter of beer (horrible ripoff here). Going to try a few different places in the coming weeks. Hopefully, something good comes up.

Re: Ask TheMetetron about living in or visiting Buenos Aires, Argentin
 

[ QUOTE ]
We went to a crappy Thai place in Las Canitas that was horribly expensive and not very good at all. I highly recommend against it. I'll try to get the name posted here. There was no spice at all in the food and we paid $5 for a liter of beer (horrible ripoff here). Going to try a few different places in the coming weeks. Hopefully, something good comes up.

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This was not my suggestion for the record. Although way overpriced, the food wasn't that bad and the $5 beers were tasty but not worth it.

Re: Ask TheMetetron about living in or visiting Buenos Aires, Argentin
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
We went to a crappy Thai place in Las Canitas that was horribly expensive and not very good at all. I highly recommend against it. I'll try to get the name posted here. There was no spice at all in the food and we paid $5 for a liter of beer (horrible ripoff here). Going to try a few different places in the coming weeks. Hopefully, something good comes up.

[/ QUOTE ]

This was not my suggestion for the record. Although way overpriced, the food wasn't that bad and the $5 beers were tasty but not worth it.

[/ QUOTE ]

The food was bad. Yours might not have been because apparently it had some spice, but mine was the least spicy Thai food I've ever tasted in my life. I swear we asked for all of our dishes to be extra spicy, right?

Re: Ask TheMetetron about living in or visiting Buenos Aires, Argentin
 

The Met,

It sounds like BsAs is more similar to Europe than I had originally thought.

How difficult would it be to live a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle down there? I noticed "beef with a side of beef" as being a common dinner mentioned once or twice.

Is bicycle riding common? How about the cost of bicycles?

I am getting a bit confused on the exchange rate. Your apt. is 1k USD/month? So what if my median net income was 2k USD per month. Half that gone in rent, so that leaves me 1k USD or 3300 pesos. How manageable is that?

This is a great thread, thanks for the info.

Re: Ask TheMetetron about living in or visiting Buenos Aires, Argentin
 

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The Met,

It sounds like BsAs is more similar to Europe than I had originally thought.

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It is. For a long time it was known as the Paris of South America. That's fairly accurate though the economic crisis has obviously made it a much poorer Paris. This isn't necessarily a bad thing.

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How difficult would it be to live a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle down there? I noticed "beef with a side of beef" as being a common dinner mentioned once or twice.

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It is possible. There is one or two completely vegetarian restaurants in town. Most restaurants have at least one or two vegetarian dishes on the menu. I have a friend here who is a vegetarian. She finally cracked down and started eating fish because once in a while there would be places without a vegetarian option, but there is always a fish option. Obviously, you'd probably be happiest cooking your own meals, but when you go out you can usually find something good to eat.

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Is bicycle riding common? How about the cost of bicycles?

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You mean as a means of transportation? If so, I wouldn't recommend it. The drivers here are insane and I'd be surprised if you didn't get hit in your first month trying to bike around town. The public transit is good enough, don't worry about a bike.

If you mean for recreating, there are some nice parks and trails that you can ride your bike through. I have no idea about the cost. If the bike is made outside of Argentina, it is probably about the price of a bike in the USA. If it is made in Argentina, probably about 1/3 the price.

[ QUOTE ]
I am getting a bit confused on the exchange rate. Your apt. is 1k USD/month? So what if my median net income was 2k USD per month. Half that gone in rent, so that leaves me 1k USD or 3300 pesos. How manageable is that?

This is a great thread, thanks for the info.

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My rent is 1k USD per month. Most people don't pay this much. I've seen some good 2 bedrooms in my neighborhood for $700 or so a month. So if you split with a roommate you can be under 1000 pesos per month. I'm just spoiled.

Even so, if I only made 2k USD per month and had about 3,100 pesos per month after paying rent, I'd be fine. The poverty line is 1,000 pesos per month INCLUDING rent. 3 times that with rent paid is more than enough to get by with. I know people here who aren't making 2k USD a month and living just fine. You probably won't be going to Opera Bay every Saturday and eating out 5 times a week, but you can survive just fine.

Re: Ask TheMetetron about living in or visiting Buenos Aires, Argentin
 

What are the supermarkets like? Might be fun reading if you described a typical trip down the ailes. How about the delis? What do you like to prepare at home? And how are the prices?