Ask TheMetetron about living in or visiting Buenos Aires, Argentina

[TheMetetron]

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In your experience how are Americans treated by the local populace? How receptive are the girls? Is the level of anti-Americanism higher there than in Western Europe?

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Like everywhere else in the world, they aren't especially fond of Americans. They are very friendly people though. I haven't been here long enough to guage exactly how bad it is, but they are at least very good at hiding it. They realize that you are vital to their economy at this point and will treat you very well; though it's very possible they are saying stuff beyond your back. If you make any effort at all to speak their language, they are generally pretty happy about that.

The girls are very passive because the guys here are so aggressive. They are generally receptive to foreigners, but due to a lack of Spanish 80% of the girls I've interacted with so far speak english, so it's hard to say.

[TheMetetron]

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How would you compare Argentina to other South American countries? Where would you most like to study abroad if you were in school? What towns would you suggest looking into that are not as multicultural as buenos aires?

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Argentina is very different than any other South American country. First of all, the population is somewhere between 80 and 95 percent Caucasian and of direct European descent. There are some "mixed race" people, but they are mostly immigrants from other South American countries, as the Argentines did a good job of killing all of the natives, much like in the USA.

Partially due to that ancestry, Argentina is much more like Europe than any other SA country. There is a lot of European inspired/created architecture and a lot of the cultural scene spills over as well. During the first half of the 20th century, Argentina was a powerhouse country with Buenos Aires being one of the world's great cities (and the most expensive one as well). After World War II, a lot of things started going wrong for the country, eventually getting to the point it is today where they are attempting to recover from a financial crisis that has put 70% of the nation below the poverty level ($330/mo for a family of 4). Still, there is a lot of money here, especially a lot of old money from Europe. Argentines consider themselves better than the rest of SA, on equal footing with the USA and Western Europe.

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*. Still you have to be careful in bad neighborhoods and exercise caution in Buenos Aires like you would in any big city.

As far as what towns are not as multicultural as BsAs, I'm not sure I understand your question. BsAs isn't really a multicultural city unless you are breaking down the Argentine culture back to its roots. True, many Argentines are proud of their Italian or Spanish heritage, but the culture here, while influenced by those cultures, is a totally different and unique Argentine culture.

Another thing that makes Argentina much different than any other SA country is its varied landscape. There are huge glaciers in the south, snow-covered mountains in the winter for skiing, many beautiful beaches, a huge wine country producing some of the world's best wines, a major metropolitan city, and everything in between. It is very much like the USA (or even just California) in that regards.

[TheMetetron]

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What happened to the Swedish chick?

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She was Danish. And nothing besides the normal stuff. Sorry to disappoint.

[Botch Gallegos]

Hey Metetron,

I've always wanted to vist BA and plan on doing so this summer. I'm Mexican/Puerto Rican so I'm kinda brown. Will the the people in general hate on me because of this? How will the women respond? I speak Spanish pretty well and do well with the ladies here, but I've always heard of the Argentineans having pretty racist tendencies...

Also, I'd want to live in an apartment within walking distance to the bars and clubs. What town should I be looking at?

[TheMetetron]

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Hey Metetron,

I've always wanted to vist BA and plan on doing so this summer. I'm Mexican/Puerto Rican so I'm kinda brown. Will the the people in general hate on me because of this? How will the women respond? I speak Spanish pretty well and do well with the ladies here, but I've always heard of the Argentineans having pretty racist tendencies...

Also, I'd want to live in an apartment within walking distance to the bars and clubs. What town should I be looking at?

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Umm, the bars and clubs aren't really all centered in one area and you don't want to live by some of them. I'd say Palermo may be a good fit, but it is far out there from a lot of stuff. Recoleta is of course a good stanby. You don't need to be in walking distance because cabs are $2-3 from Recoleta to anywhere in town you could want to go. If you want to feel like a local, the bus system is good and costs 30 cents per ride.

As far as the brown thing, I'm of Mexican descent (although I admittedly am not a very dark brown) and I haven't really felt any sort of discrimination yet. Although, I don't exact give off a poor mixed race vibe that they are used to either. I'm sure if I was on the street begging and in torn clothes the reaction would be a lot different than what I get dressing nicely and going to expensive clubs. I don't think you'll really have any problems.

[Dids]

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What happened to the Swedish chick?

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She was Danish. And nothing besides the normal stuff. Sorry to disappoint.

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Unless I'm wrong, moving to another country for somebody seems not the normal stuff.

[TheMetetron]

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What happened to the Swedish chick?

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She was Danish. And nothing besides the normal stuff. Sorry to disappoint.

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Unless I'm wrong, moving to another country for somebody seems not the normal stuff.

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She moved to the states for me first. We were both getting bored of it. Sweden seemed like a fun idea. I stayed there for months afterwards on my own until the winter made me want to leave for someplace warmer. Afterwards, I moved to Argentina instead of back to the states. It's not like I moved there solely for her; it was, however, a convenient reason to go. I was on the way out of the country anyways.

Edit: That's about as much detail as I'm going into, especially in this thread, which should remain about Argentina. And no, there won't be pics. PM me if you need to know something that bad.

[Golden_Rhino]

Great thread! I was born in Argentina, and came to Canada when I was 2 years old. I am fluent in Spanish, and obviously English.

Are there any big money making opportunities for someone like me? You mentioned that to lease you need a guarantor. As a citizen of Argentina I would be allowed to do whatever I want with land. Is there any money to be made in that area?

Have you ever been to a place called Hurlingham? (Just curious because I was born there).

Do you cheer for River or Boca?

Have you gotten tired of asado yet?

Were you surprised by how 'white' most people are?

Have you had any alfajores? If not, highly recommended (the Havana company ones are the best).

Have fun pal. Try not to mess up the motherland too much.

[TheMetetron]

For money making opportunities, buying an apartment, furnishing it, and renting it out to foreigners seems to be a big racket here. Places that can't cost more than $100k with furnishings are going for over $1,000 or even more per month. That seems like a solid investment if I were you.

Never been to or heard of Hurlingham.

Boca Juniors all the way.

I'm not tired of Asado, but I wish they would spice it up. Luckily, there is some decent (albeit overpriced) Indian food here that lets my tongue feel alive at times.

I wasn't surprised when I got here, but when I first learned of how white everyone is it was a bit of a surprise, yeah.

[JaBlue]

by multicultural I was referring to the European feel... I guess I meant "which country feels more like South America," or "what are some towns that feel more culturally South American" because I had heard that Buenos Aires was a very international city.