Ask TheMetetron about living in or visiting Buenos Aires, Argentina

[fut]

lol

[ QUOTE ]
It will be about how it is back in the USA. This has been my experience in most foreign countries.


[/ QUOTE ]
That's how I know you don't know what you're talking about in this situation.

Any foreign country you go to, you will always have an edge if you come from a distant land. This is the same for men and women.

Or maybe you've been stuck in Recoleta for too long. Try out Palermo or some other barrio where there's less Gringos.

[LuckyDevil]

Ok, i have a load of ATM questions.

1. Can you withdraw US dollars from ATM, or only pesos?

2. What is the maximum you are allowed to withdraw in a day, in both dollars and pesos? I know this is ATM card and teller dependent, but assuming you had no limit on your card, what is the highest ATM daily limit you have found?

3. How does the conversion from dollars to pesos work? Are you charged a percentage?

4. Whats other ATM machine fees can i expect to pay, and how much? Assume my card deals in dollars.

5. Finally, are ATM machines he best way of getting money, or is there something better you have found?

Random questions i just thought of.

6. Can you usually pay for apartment with credit card? If so how do they usually give you back your deposit?

7. Have you had any bad experiences with getting your deposit back?

8. Assuming i am a good tenant, what percentage of my deposit can i expect back? I know this depends a little bit on how long i stayed. Perhaps you can share your experiences.

I know a lot of these questions have variables, maybe you could just tell me what your experience has been in these areas. Thanks.

[TheMetetron]

[ QUOTE ]
Ok, i have a load of ATM questions.

1. Can you withdraw US dollars from ATM, or only pesos?

[/ QUOTE ]

Only pesos. Some ATMs give the option of dollars but you need to have an account at the bank to do that.

[ QUOTE ]
2. What is the maximum you are allowed to withdraw in a day, in both dollars and pesos? I know this is ATM card and teller dependent, but assuming you had no limit on your card, what is the highest ATM daily limit you have found?

[/ QUOTE ]

It depends on your card. Some machines appear to have almost no limit. I've withdrawn over 2,500 pesos before on a card that allowed it.

[ QUOTE ]
3. How does the conversion from dollars to pesos work? Are you charged a percentage?

[/ QUOTE ]

I assume from an ATM you mean? Depends on your bank what they charge. Washington Mutual is inter-bank exchange rate + 1% fee.

[ QUOTE ]
4. Whats other ATM machine fees can i expect to pay, and how much? Assume my card deals in dollars.

[/ QUOTE ]

Depends on your bank. Like the rest of the world (excluding USA) the banks here don't charge you for ATM use. Your USA bank probably does.

[ QUOTE ]
5. Finally, are ATM machines he best way of getting money, or is there something better you have found?

[/ QUOTE ]

Either an ATM or bringing US Dollars in cash.

[ QUOTE ]
6. Can you usually pay for apartment with credit card? If so how do they usually give you back your deposit?

[/ QUOTE ]

LOL, not a chance in hell. US Dollars (or occasionally pesos) in cash.

[ QUOTE ]
7. Have you had any bad experiences with getting your deposit back?

[/ QUOTE ]

Only had a chance to get it back once but it went fine. Got the full deposit back.

[Chairman Wood]

[ QUOTE ]
1. Can you withdraw US dollars from ATM, or only pesos?

[/ QUOTE ]

Only if you have an account with that specific bank that you are withdrawing from. There are a few banks here such as Citibank and BNP that are foreign companies but I'm not sure if that makes any difference if you have a foreign account (as in you have an account with Citibank in the US or BNP in France) with them and want to withdraw dollars here. I believe it has to be an account here.


[ QUOTE ]
2. What is the maximum you are allowed to withdraw in a day, in both dollars and pesos? I know this is ATM card and teller dependent, but assuming you had no limit on your card, what is the highest ATM daily limit you have found?

[/ QUOTE ]

This is actually a problem I'm having right now and I'm still trying to get to the bottom of it. There are two major networks of ATMs here in Argentina: LINK and BANELCO. What I know for sure is that through LINK ATMs with a foreign ATM card you can only withdraw 1050 pesos per day. I'm unsure with BANELCO but I've done higher but not recently. I think it may be up to the limit you have with your own bank. That is daily limits but now I'm having an entirely different problem that I've talked with a few banks about and still not totally clear.

For some reason at LINK ATMs I can take only take out 350 pesos and at BANELCO 300 pesos per transaction. For example at LINK if I wanted 1050 pesos(daily max.) I would have to do 3 transactions in a row resulting in a $2 fee from my bank each time. So instead of just one $2 fee for 1050 pesos it is $6. This is a giant pain obviously. I'm doing some things with a Bank here now which uses LINK ATMs and a manager there told me that this is something done by LINK ATMs to all users of VISA PLUS ATM cards. Why I don't know. It is ridiculously unfair and a giant pain. I have no exact answers to why this happens with BANELCO but I assume it is the same thing. Right now I'm exploring other options and I am going to try to get a different type of card when I go back to the US in a couple of weeks.

I do have some other friends with US banks/debit cards that don't seem to have this problem. I don't know if they have VISA PLUS or what.

Also what is more strange is that until last January I used to be able to withdraw 500 on each transaction.
[ QUOTE ]
3. How does the conversion from dollars to pesos work? Are you charged a percentage?

[/ QUOTE ]

For ATM transactions from my bank they don't really say they are cutting X% off the top. They just give list an exhange rate that isn't as good as ones listed on the street. E.g 1U$D = 3.10 pesos one day but my bank gives me 3.02. I'm remembering now there might be an adjustment fee that might be % based. Hmm... Anyway, for this and the reason above I try not to use ATMs much. I pay for things mostly with Credit Cards and I used to bring a lot cash down with me but not anymore.


[ QUOTE ]
4. Whats other ATM machine fees can i expect to pay, and how much? Assume my card deals in dollars.

[/ QUOTE ] Standard $2 non part of your network ATM fee plus whatever your bank does. Maybe there is an adjustment fee such as I talked about in 3. Again, I'm not sure about the adjustment fee.

[ QUOTE ]
5. Finally, are ATM machines he best way of getting money, or is there something better you have found?

[/ QUOTE ]

Cash... maybe. Again, I try to pay for most things with Credit Cards and that keeps fees down. When I would go back to the states I would come down here with a few thousand dollars in cash to make things easier. Maybe not your style to have that money on you while traveling. Also do be aware that when you carry cash with you there are some legal complications when that amount is over 10K. What they are I don't know.

[ QUOTE ]
6. Can you usually pay for apartment with credit card? If so how do they usually give you back your deposit?

[/ QUOTE ] Definitely not usually and maybe not at all.

[ QUOTE ]
7. Have you had any bad experiences with getting your deposit back?

[/ QUOTE ] Only had one apartment other than the one I'm in now and I didn't have any problems. Like landlords all over the world, I think this depends directly on you and the people you are dealing with.

[ QUOTE ]
8. Assuming i am a good tenant, what percentage of my deposit can i expect back? I know this depends a little bit on how long i stayed. Perhaps you can share your experiences.

[/ QUOTE ] If he's not a crook and you leave everything in the condition you found it 100%. Again though, this depends on you and your landlord.

[LuckyDevil]

Thanks guys, those ATM answers were very helpful.

I've booked my tickets and i'm almost finished booking an apartment in Palermo. We (me, my GF, and my cat) should all be down there on July 18th. I hope meet up with a bunch of you guys sometime and buy you all beers for all the help you've been in this thread.

Oh, just thought of another question. Can i get P.O. box address and have any mail sent there? Anyone know the cost? Thanks.

[Chairman Wood]

[ QUOTE ]
Thanks guys, those ATM answers were very helpful.

I've booked my tickets and i'm almost finished booking an apartment in Palermo. We (me, my GF, and my cat) should all be down there on July 18th. I hope meet up with a bunch of you guys sometime and buy you all beers for all the help you've been in this thread.

Oh, just thought of another question. Can i get P.O. box address and have any mail sent there? Anyone know the cost? Thanks.

[/ QUOTE ]
I know they exist but I know nothing about the rates or rules (e.g. if foreigners can obtain one). Try www.correoargentino.com.ar for more information.

[whangarei]

Thought I'd write up a trip report on my visit to BA. Thanks to TheMetetron for starting this thread and everyone who has contributed.

My first full day in town I took an all-day private tour of the city. The tour got me well-acquainted with the city and helped me effectively plan my sightseeing for the rest of the trip. It was very helpful to have an English speaking guide to answer any questions I had. I learned some of the history and politics of Argentina from my guide as well.

The weather was pretty nasty with continuous clouds and cold. The sun did appear for a few days. Still not bad for winter with temps in the 50s usually.

One of the best aspects of BA is the amazing and cheap food. I had breakfast 5 or 6 days at an awesome cafe on Arenales near Montevideo. $5 for a couple of capuccinos, a flan, fruit salad, and croissants. I had the best pizza on the planet at Guerrin Pizzeria. $6 for a "chica" pizza (about the size of a medium pizza in the US) and a large moscato drink. I had this at noon and didn't eat until the following day. Also huge, delicious, cheap steaks everywhere. I had several amazing meals for $30-$35 that would have cost around $100 in the US.

I had a great time at dinner with ChairmanWood at an awesome steakhouse. His friend then joined us at a pub where people brought their guitars and sang. This was a lot of fun.

I visited a couple of nice art museums: MALBA (mainly contemporary) and National Fine Arts Museum. I took a day trip to La Plata (about 1 hour south by bus) to visit the Natural Science Museum, which has tons of cool stuff. La Plata also has an impressive cathedral which was worth seeing.

I also visited the northern suburbs. People seemed more uptight and snobby than in the city. Also all the houses had iron bars on all the windows to prevent break-ins. The houses were also closely packed together for the most part. I had envisioned a typical US suburb scene but was very disappointed.

I had an extra day since my flight was cancelled so I took the boat to Colonia, Uruguay. I only had 3 hours there but I rented a scooter and saw much of the city and riverside. I stopped in a dive bar and had a great dark beer ($3 for a liter, 6% alcohol, woohoo [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]). The night before I joined a crowd celebrating the Boca soccer championship by marching down Corrientes. The march turned into a sprint as windows were broken and police rushed in behind us. I escaped safely along a side street. It was exciting to share in the victory celebration with other porteños.

[TheMetetron]

Only in Buenos Aires will the bus driver randomly decide that traffic is taking too long (probably due to some strike) and completely change the route without telling anybody. After a few minutes I realize we are going down the wrong street entirely and I end up having to get off about 7 blocks from where I originally was supposed to.

[RiverPlay]

[ QUOTE ]
I had the best pizza on the planet at Guerrin Pizzeria. $6 for a "chica" pizza (about the size of a medium pizza in the US) and a large moscato drink.

[/ QUOTE ]

You are rigth man, that's how I describe Guerrin when I have to: The best in the world. Guerrin is one of the main reasons I would never live Buenos Aires for more tha a year.

[RiverPlay]

http://www.guiaoleo.com.ar is where you should check when looking for a place to it.

In the pizza field Guerrin is the best, if you liked that fatty, with loats of cheese, pizza style you might try:

El Cuartito


http://www.guiaoleo.com/detail.php?ID=104
(this is like four blocks form Guerrin)

Las Cuartetas
http://www.guiaoleo.com/detail.php?ID=674
This is also in the same area, and its almost the same pizza, the special thing here is "Fugazzetta rellena",cheese stuffed onions pizza, which is awesome), also in the same area.

---------------

A very cool place to eat is Osaka - Japanese/Peruvian fusion, and is great (not so much if u are from NY, where I lived some time and had the best sushi there)
http://www.guiaoleo.com/detail.php?ID=2116



Olsen, scandinavian restaurant, is another good choice (two years since my last time there), and the place is really nice.
http://www.guiaoleo.com.ar/detail.php?ID=7



ocho7ocho (878), is another cool place. If you take a look from the outside it just looks like a house, but in the inside there's a cool resto/bar, with the owner serving drinks at the bar. The place is stuffed with arty people since filming companies are all spread around that area. The drinks are really really great!!
http://www.guiaoleo.com.ar/detail.php?ID=2845