Aiken_Drum
Master Don Juan
Hey guys, I thought it would be a good idea for all of us who are thinking about living abroad for a few years to have an honest insider view on how's living in a certain country / city.
I'm very interested about hearing your reviews of Sydney, Melbourne, Barcelona & Madrid, the 4 cities I'll most probably move to in about 4 years from now (need to get my degree first).
So, here's mine:
Buenos Aires, Argentina.
POSITIVE:
- If you have a stream of passive income, you can live quite well. For example, I met a guy from england who was earning around 5.000 euros passive... he was living like a fcking king with 2500 (and I mean ****ING KING) and saving the rest. Things are getting expensier even as we speak, but still, with U$S 1500 you can leave MUCH better than in the US.
- The night life is very good, we have all kinds of clubs, opened until very late in the evening.
- Natural beauties just U$S 150 away in a plane... the south, the west, the north west, the north east, just check it out: http://www.turismo.gov.ar/eng/menu.htm
- The women are a good mix from everywhere around the world, specially Spain, Italy, some from eastern Europe, makes quite a good mix. I wouldn't dare going as far as saying "most beautiful in the world", that's bulls***, but I think we have a nice level. Most of them are intrigued by foreigners, so that's a plus.
- Most people who you'll probably meet (that is, in trendy clubs, to rent your apartment, in a hospital, in case you need it, let's hope not) speak english fairly well. I'm not saying cab & bus drivers, but you can get around with 3+ months of language training.
- Did I mention your dollars are worth a lot here
?
- The local cuisine is a very interesting mix from all the cultures that created this country. Ah, and if you like meat, we have the greatest asado in the world (asado is SIMILAR to barbaque, difference being we do it with wood, not gas as you do... damn, nice way to kill the taste :nono: !!!). Also, you have international restaurants from all over the world; you can eat anytime you want sushi, thai, greek... anything you want.
- There are some very interesting places to visit as a foreigner, the city is very interesting (not to me, I've been here all my life & I'm used to it). But places like Palermo's lakes (lagos de Palermo) are incredible!
THE BAD:
Well, where should I start? I'm afraid we have some important problems that must be balanced when making the decision to come here.
- Corruption. It should not affect you as a foreigner, unless you want to establish a business. To me, being a local, sickens me so bad. To think that paying taxes is stupid because you know our *****ing politicians are going to steal it anyway... if you want to do something good, you better donate it to Caritas or an organization like that... it's a big con if you want to do biz here. Why? Let's say you want to import something to Argentina. Everything will run more smoothly if you throw in a few dollars here & there. Most business man don't get surprised when asked for a bribe in some business lines.
- The total disregards of most Argentinians for keeping our city clean & respecting others in general. Well, I'm not saying you walk around the city stepping at garbage at every turn. But... a lot of people end up their cigarettes & throw the box at the street, even if they have a garbage bin 20 mts away. Almost everyone with a dog leaves the dog's sh!t on the floor :trouble: .
Also, about the disrespect for others... most people are unnecessarily aggressive when driving here. We have the sad honor of being one of the countries with the highest death toll for driving accidents.
- The country is currently (and that doesn't seem to be changing to me, even in the long run) experiencing a total sense in distrust in the government. This has been going on for many years, and I mentioned it above. It just sucks not having the feeling that the state is watching over you like a loving parent, and instead, you must watch be with your guard up... This will give you an idea of what Argentina is made of, politically. DON'T come here without checking this out first. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corralito . Basically, the government decided the argentinian peso was not worth 1 dollar from one moment to the other, and most people here lost 2/3 of the money they had in the bank.
- Violence. It's not so bad as brazil's Rio do Janeiro, but lately it's been getting worse. It's not like you are gonna be kidnapped the second you leave our airport. Myself, for example, I'm cool when walking down the streets at night... I'm just careful of not going through places too quiet, bad neighborhoods... etc.
So my point is, if you take this country like a place to leave at for a couple of years, is great. As for living in it for a LONG time, I wouldn't recommend it... I'm going to leave it myself.
I'm very interested about hearing your reviews of Sydney, Melbourne, Barcelona & Madrid, the 4 cities I'll most probably move to in about 4 years from now (need to get my degree first).
So, here's mine:
Buenos Aires, Argentina.
POSITIVE:
- If you have a stream of passive income, you can live quite well. For example, I met a guy from england who was earning around 5.000 euros passive... he was living like a fcking king with 2500 (and I mean ****ING KING) and saving the rest. Things are getting expensier even as we speak, but still, with U$S 1500 you can leave MUCH better than in the US.
- The night life is very good, we have all kinds of clubs, opened until very late in the evening.
- Natural beauties just U$S 150 away in a plane... the south, the west, the north west, the north east, just check it out: http://www.turismo.gov.ar/eng/menu.htm
- The women are a good mix from everywhere around the world, specially Spain, Italy, some from eastern Europe, makes quite a good mix. I wouldn't dare going as far as saying "most beautiful in the world", that's bulls***, but I think we have a nice level. Most of them are intrigued by foreigners, so that's a plus.
- Most people who you'll probably meet (that is, in trendy clubs, to rent your apartment, in a hospital, in case you need it, let's hope not) speak english fairly well. I'm not saying cab & bus drivers, but you can get around with 3+ months of language training.
- Did I mention your dollars are worth a lot here
?- The local cuisine is a very interesting mix from all the cultures that created this country. Ah, and if you like meat, we have the greatest asado in the world
(asado is SIMILAR to barbaque, difference being we do it with wood, not gas as you do... damn, nice way to kill the taste :nono: !!!). Also, you have international restaurants from all over the world; you can eat anytime you want sushi, thai, greek... anything you want.- There are some very interesting places to visit as a foreigner, the city is very interesting (not to me, I've been here all my life & I'm used to it). But places like Palermo's lakes (lagos de Palermo) are incredible!
THE BAD:
Well, where should I start? I'm afraid we have some important problems that must be balanced when making the decision to come here.
- Corruption. It should not affect you as a foreigner, unless you want to establish a business. To me, being a local, sickens me so bad. To think that paying taxes is stupid because you know our *****ing politicians are going to steal it anyway... if you want to do something good, you better donate it to Caritas or an organization like that... it's a big con if you want to do biz here. Why? Let's say you want to import something to Argentina. Everything will run more smoothly if you throw in a few dollars here & there. Most business man don't get surprised when asked for a bribe in some business lines.
- The total disregards of most Argentinians for keeping our city clean & respecting others in general. Well, I'm not saying you walk around the city stepping at garbage at every turn. But... a lot of people end up their cigarettes & throw the box at the street, even if they have a garbage bin 20 mts away. Almost everyone with a dog leaves the dog's sh!t on the floor :trouble: .
Also, about the disrespect for others... most people are unnecessarily aggressive when driving here. We have the sad honor of being one of the countries with the highest death toll for driving accidents.
- The country is currently (and that doesn't seem to be changing to me, even in the long run) experiencing a total sense in distrust in the government. This has been going on for many years, and I mentioned it above. It just sucks not having the feeling that the state is watching over you like a loving parent, and instead, you must watch be with your guard up... This will give you an idea of what Argentina is made of, politically. DON'T come here without checking this out first. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corralito . Basically, the government decided the argentinian peso was not worth 1 dollar from one moment to the other, and most people here lost 2/3 of the money they had in the bank.
- Violence. It's not so bad as brazil's Rio do Janeiro, but lately it's been getting worse. It's not like you are gonna be kidnapped the second you leave our airport. Myself, for example, I'm cool when walking down the streets at night... I'm just careful of not going through places too quiet, bad neighborhoods... etc.
So my point is, if you take this country like a place to leave at for a couple of years, is great. As for living in it for a LONG time, I wouldn't recommend it... I'm going to leave it myself.
